With so many hotels and hotel chains across the country, it’s easy to assume that all you really need is a good location and a few good reviews to get repeat customers. However, the best way to keep your hotel up to date with customer needs is by optimizing the software that your establishment uses. These software tools will make sure that not only are you keeping up with your competitors but also meeting the needs of your guests at every turn.
CRM Software
One of the most important pieces of software when it comes to knowing and understanding what your customers expect is a program that keeps track of all of them. These can come in the form of a GRM or Guest Relationship Management system, or a Customer Relationship Management system also known as hotel CRM software. These systems are popular within all fields of hospitality, as they allow you to gather and store information about your guests throughout their stay at your accommodation. This can include how they paid, events they went to, special accommodations for their rooms, whether they’re a member of your loyalty program, and so on. This software is designed to help you learn about what they like so that you can personalize a great stay for them every time they choose to visit.
It also allows you to work with a larger client base. Say that you’re a hotel with a lot of events that cater to family such as entertainment or sight-seeing. You can pinpoint which of the events you’re offering are more popular and provide those more often to allow more customers to get the chance to participate. You might even partner up with some of the local events around town to give those families a discounted rate if they choose to stay at your hotel.
On the other hand, if you’re in a location where a lot of business travelers stop in, it could be worth your while to offer to arrange cab rides for those traveling business partners. These are all ways to make sure that your clients are having the best time possible and will keep returning when they’re in the area. And these are ideas that you can easily implement once you know a little more about your client base.
Central Reservations
Having rooms reserved is one of the hardest parts of keeping a hotel running. And that can lead to you putting up your information on multiple websites to try and get more exposure to potential clients. The problem with that is that it takes a lot of work to maintain that information so that everyone is up to date. It can easily lead to multiple people booking the same room at different prices or even double booking for the same weekend without realizing it. That can really hurt a hotel and its reputation, which is why it’s important to have a system that can oversee it.
Central reservation software allows hotels and other hospitality companies to share their rates on a variety of sites. It has multiple benefits for your accommodation, including giving you more exposure and keeping all your information up to date in real time. This may consist of information about room rentals, rates, or availability that travelers may need access to online. They can even book those rooms online and that information will get rerouted back to your hotel system to make sure that you can accommodate them. These reservation systems can also save you time and money because you don’t have to do all the leg work. You let the travelers book the rooms they want themselves and you automatically get updated.
Maintenance Management
This is another key piece of software that allows you to keep track of information in real time. The difference is that this information pertains to maintenance issues or other problems on the property. Leaks, changing light bulbs, cleaning the pool, getting elevators maintained or even scheduling emergency repairs can all be done through this software. You can even track regular check-ups or schedule tasks to be done periodically instead of just as needed. You can even assign housekeeping tasks through this same software if you think that will make it easier for your employees.
One of the biggest problems that guests have during their stays is a lack of cleanliness or something that isn’t working properly. Having this kind of software gives you every opportunity to make sure they don’t have to be exposed to that. You can’t lose these maintenance requests and you can schedule any kind of repair you need with it. It makes it even easier to run a tight ship, and the results will speak for themselves.
