The trips last winter were fast and furious. With one daughter traveling with her high school show choir and another daughter traveling with her college gymnastics team, you and your husband had to divide and conquer. One of you would stay in town for the show choir competitions that were within driving distance, while the other would board a plane heading for the gymnastics meets that were throughout the country. Between hotel reservations and airline flights, it was an expensive view months.
Americans are not known for the decisions to stay at home and let moss grow around their feet. From summer family vacations to trips for work, many families spend several nights a year in motels and bed and breakfast accommodations around the country. And while many of these stays can be fairly expensive, the experienced traveler often has a few tips for finding the most affordable room rates.
Fortunately, hotel reservation software has advanced to the point of being both efficient and customer friendly. And while many people make use of many online sites to book their stays, other travelers still book most of the reservations over the phone, talking in person to people who are knowledgable, helpful, and patient. Attempting to meet the needs of guests who want to arrive early and check out late, these travelers know that getting a hold of the right reservation person can make all of the difference in the world.
The Latest Trends in Hotel Industry Technology Help Travelers Find Locations They Like at Rates They Can Afford
Hotel management personnel and hotel management software can make or break a business. Whether it is a small four room bed and breakfast or a large hotel with hundreds of suites and rooms, the best hotel management software used efficiently by the best staff can keep the rooms sold as much as possible.
Property management software for hotels can provide services as diverse as alerting the front desk staff when the person who is calling is a high priority rewards member who has access to different pricing, as well as provide employee retention features to track those workers who garner the most positive comments from guests and supervisors.
In the hotel management industry, perhaps more than almost any other industry, providing the best care is key to making sure that your guests book with your property again. For while many online services can provide great rates from one property to the next, hotels find the most success when they can create an environment where loyal customers always book with the same property stay after stay. For this reason, many of the largest hotel chains are extra careful about quickly recognizing their most frequent visitors and providing them the very best service. With that said, hotels also need to provide exceptional service to all of their guests so that propertied do not end up battling damaging online reviews from unsatisfied guests.
Consider some of these statistics about the service industry and how important good customer care is:
- 96% of customers forced to expend ?high? effort with a company over the resolution to a problem are likely to be disloyal, according to CEB research.
- 86% of consumers quit doing business with a company in the year 2011 because of a bad customer experience, according to Harris Interactive/RightNow.
- Building loyalty with a mere 5% more customers can lead to an increased average profit between 25% and 100% per customer.
- Software that allows careful tracking and immediate notification about cancellations is invaluable. Did you know, for instance that the average no-show rate is 10% a day for all places across the industries that take reservations?
- 53% of people use their mobile devices to find travel related information, so it is essential to have a site that is easy to understand and operate and can easily access the reservation system, as well as connect with a knowledgable employee when necessary.
- Nearly three out of four travelers plan to return to a destination they have visited previously. It is very likely that this 74% is making this decision based on a positive previous experience.
Where is your next travel destination? Do you already have hotel rooms booked? What exactly are you waiting for?
