Should hotels build guest loyalty?

Imagine a hotel where guests feel at home, returning every time they plan some time off. This level of loyalty builds a positive reputation for the hotel while bringing tangible financial benefits. In this article, we'll discuss why building guest loyalty is crucial to hotel success, what benefits it brings, and how to effectively achieve this goal.

Benefits of building guest loyalty

1. Increasing revenues: Loyal guests are more likely to return and spend more on subsequent stays. Research shows that increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%, which indirectly indicates higher revenues generated by loyal customers.

2. Cost savings: Acquiring new guests is much more expensive than retaining existing ones. Hotels can save significant sums on marketing and advertising by focusing on retaining existing customers.

3. Recommendations: Loyal guests often recommend the hotel to their friends and family, which contributes to an increase in bookings. Additionally, positive online reviews and mentions on social media help build a positive brand image.

4. Improving occupancy rates: Thanks to loyal guests, hotels can enjoy higher occupancy rates even in off-season periods. Repeat bookings help maintain revenue stability throughout the year.

Ways to build guest loyalty

Personalization and high quality customer service are key elements that contribute to hotel guest satisfaction. By tailoring services to the individual needs and preferences of guests, hotels create a deep emotional bond with their customers. This bond leads to increased loyalty because satisfied guests are more likely to return and recommend the hotel to others.

1. Personalized marketing

Using CRM systems to track guest preferences allows hotels to create personalized marketing campaigns. This makes it possible to provide guests with offers and information tailored to their individual needs and interests.

Forbes emphasizes that loyalty programs can no longer be limited to a one-size-fits-all model. They must tailor each customer's experience to their individual needs: "flexibility, inclusivity and technological integration - these are the elements of hyper-personalization that help maintain consumer loyalty."

Examples of personalized marketing activities include e-mails with special offers or dedicated promotions for subsequent stays. 

2. Exceptional customer service

A key element of building loyalty is training your staff to exceed guest expectations. The right attitude, courtesy and willingness to help can make guests feel special and want to come back. It is important that the staff is always helpful and responds to guests' needs quickly and professionally.

Forbes notes that "by feeling noticed and appreciated, customers will be more willing to recommend the brand to their friends, becoming its ambassadors who contribute to the organic growth of the customer base."

3. Guest engagement

Regular communication with guests through newsletters and social media helps to maintain contact with them. It is worth sending guests messages containing special offers, but also regularly reminding them about your brand during major holidays and holiday periods. Automation of communication improves these activities and does not conflict with personalization if your CRM efficiently segments recipient groups. 

Organizing interesting experiences and events, such as local trips, culinary workshops or themed evenings, makes guests feel more connected to the hotel and its offer.

Best practices in building guest loyalty

1. Personalized guest experiences

Unique and personalized experiences are the key to building loyalty. By understanding the preferences of loyal guests, hotels can tailor their services to provide them with unique, unforgettable experiences, which in turn increases their satisfaction and willingness to return.

Organizing local trips, special events and themed stays gives guests unforgettable memories associated with the hotel, which strengthens the emotional bond with the brand. These types of attractions make guests want to come back to experience something unique again.

These may include, for example, cooking lessons with local, seasonal products, tasting of local wines, or a bicycle trip in the area.

2. Special offers and packages

A romantic spa package for couples, a special package for families with children including activities for the youngest, or a stay package with yoga classes - these are popular offers that encourage guests to take advantage of more than just accommodation. At the same time, using the hotel's offer enriches the guest's experience, creates positive associations and strengthens loyalty. 

3. Consistency in quality

Maintaining high standards at every stage of a guest's stay is crucial. Whether it's the cleanliness of the room, the quality of meals or the level of service, guests expect consistent and high-quality service. Consistency in this area builds trust and loyalty.

4. Rewarding loyalty

Recognizing and rewarding regular guests is an important element of building loyalty. Exclusive benefits such as free room upgrades, discounts on stays and access to special gifts make guests feel appreciated and more connected to the hotel. 

Hotels have a wealth of options for rewarding returning guests: from free services, such as free late check-out or free parking for loyal guests, to small gifts, such as a glass of wine or a fruit basket in the room. 

How to create personalized communication with guests

Guest segmentation

A key element of personalized communication is guest segmentation based on their preferences, stay history and behavior. This makes it possible to create marketing campaigns tailored to the individual needs of various customer groups. This strategy increases the effectiveness of marketing activities and positively affects guest loyalty. 

Profitroom CRM is a fully automatic tool that builds a guest profile based on their previous experiences, behavior on the website and preferences. The data obtained in this way can be easily used for e-mail marketing.

Marketing automation

The use of marketing automation tools allows for more effective management of communication with guests. Automatic sending of personalized emails, promotional notifications and reservation reminders helps you maintain constant contact with your customers and increases their engagement.

Here, we recommend using our Email Marketing tool which covers the entire guest journey, from the first email inquiring about the offer, through reminders and upsell messages before arrival, to regular marketing campaigns after the visit. 

Creating valuable content for guests

Regularly providing valuable content such as travel tips, information about local attractions and exclusive offers makes guests feel more connected to the hotel brand. It is worth investing in creating content that is interesting and useful to guests, which in turn increases their loyalty.

Social media activity

Social media is a great tool for building relationships with guests. Regularly publishing attractive content, responding to comments and messages, and organizing competitions and online events helps build an engaged community around the hotel brand.

Use of guest-generated content

Guest-generated content, such as photos, reviews and videos, is extremely valuable. Sharing these materials on the hotel's social media profiles not only builds an authentic brand image, but also encourages other guests to share their experiences.

Summary

Building guest loyalty is not only profitable, but also crucial to the long-term success of a hotel. Increased revenue, cost savings, positive reviews and improved occupancy rates are just some of the many benefits of loyal guests. Implementing effective strategies such as personalized marketing, exceptional customer service and staying in touch with guests through regular email campaigns will help you build lasting relationships with your guests and increase their satisfaction.

Therefore, we encourage all hotel managers to invest in loyalty activities and constantly improve the services offered to attract and retain loyal guests.