How to have NO guest feel neglected?

Yes, it is possible and no, it does not require endless effort when you have things placed the right way. These are simply called standards or principles which you do not break because they ensure ease of running business sustainably.

If you are clear in communicating your values and then committed to fulfilling your promise plus you have systems in place to support execution of these, that’s it! Going above and beyond is an extra that you tackle once you’ve got this, not before and not to selected few but everyone.

This is how I see it.

Moral of the story: No guest is more important than other. Grow with each guest no matter how awkward they or their requests may seem. This way, you will love the people you gathered around your brand.

So, no guest is more important than other? Absolutely. This is also called business integrity. Do not give some guests more privileges while making others less important. This is how you lose authority and trust when you should be loyal to your business boundaries.

Set rules and apply them each and every time.

In practice this means, if a guest asks to have a whole spa area for themselves that night, give them options according to your policy. You may not allow this or you may but with two weeks advanced notice so that you have time to inform other guests of this inconvenience or you may allow only buy out of the whole hotel. Whatever it is, do not break your own rules, because in the long term this is only the way to lose credibility and money.

One size does (not) fit all. Adjust but don't indulge.

Once you have your messaging clearly directed only to your ideal guests, you will notice that they belong to the similar social groups. This also means that you will not have a need for a wide price range and significantly different offers. Ideally, there should only be one offer that you tweak for each guest depending on their preferences.

This will not only set clear expectations that are easy to recommend and trustworthy but will also make your business run smoother. When you are speaking the true, there are less things to remember, so when you are what you decided to be, it is easy to take ownership and deliver the promise.

Teach your team genuine hospitality.

I strongly suggest you to forget about fake compassion and flattering, because it eventually reveals into hypocrisy. Instead, encourage your employees to listen to the guest and understand their point of view. Depending on your communication policy you may want to encourage them to say what they mean when asked for opinion and give an honest answer stating it is their personal point of view.

Fake hospitality is very easy to spot. It can be seen and felt from the way you act, look, talk and it leaves an annoying impression that remains for a long time. Figure out your way of being humble, attentive and engaged and do it honestly.

Have same communication policy for everyone.

Don’t be more polite to easy going guests while being less welcoming to guests who might need more attention. Understand their point of view and what disturbs them from fully enjoying your premises.

Communication policy with your guests should fit your company's culture therefore your inner communication style. This will look natural and effortless yet high standard.

Use the same protocols in general. Follow them.

Make sure you follow your protocols. Have clear goal to hit that standard for the baseline experience whatever you do. Miss no guest. For example, have a baseline that you fulfil every single time when every guest comes no matter circumstances. If it is high probability there may be some difficult conditions like rush hour, plan for alternative scenarios. But again, apply all protocols in the same way for everyone. If you ask one guest about housekeeping preferences, ask everyone! Don't let their experience start by secretly staring at what other guests are getting.

Have an extreme ownership over things happening in your hotel.

Have control over the situation especially when it is not regular/normal situation to be expected. Be honest, say you need time and that you will inform them about decision in an hour or as long as you need but do not underestimate and set wrong expectations. Have policy for your employees not to make any decisions in rush or under pressure if it is something they do not have control over, you do not encourage them to solve by themselves or they simple feel overwhelmed. This will serve both your guests and your employees but then also you since there will be less mistakes and great lessons for future decisions to be included in updated protocols.

Use all the data you have. Use it.

Make the use of your guest database. It can inspire you when you are in specific situation with certain guests. What is it that you know about your guests and what is it that you need to know in order to provide above and beyond experiences? How can you get creative with this data yet keep it simple?

Choose some trait of your guests that is fun or unexpected or they usually have in common which also corresponds to your concept and values. Think about ideas to reference it and meet their needs in connection to it.

Be transparent when going above and beyond for certain guest.

Providing additional value and extra attentive service or simply overdelivering is probably part of your positioning but it is not something you will always be able to afford for each and every guest. Be clear when something is customised for them, communicate it directly in a polite way, pleased that you were able to provide them with something extra.

This way your guest will be conscious about it while spreading the word about your hotel. This will prove to be helpful in situations where one guest overhears the conversation where you might be approving something additional to other guest. You do not want to set new standards for everyone when going for more personal experiences while still doing your best to customise for every guest. This will help you set realistic expectations while creating gratitude for going above and beyond whenever possible.

Clear ethics is more than appreciated.

Definitely have tip policy and clear ethics. No quality of any service should be dependent on the tip expectations. Some positions, usually in restaurants, are highly dependent on tips. I don’t think you can afford it unless and only unless you clearly communicate it making sure your guests know about it. Having such policy that is so transparent is not bad thing at all. Instead of confusing your guests why not write them your missions by department, present them your employees and let them know how they earn money. Also, discuss with your employees any potentially weird situations they may have such as accepting a big tip, being asked about sharing tips or similar. Always choose to go for honesty and being genuine, have this in mind when setting good practices with your team.

Learn before judging.

When some needy guest appears encourage your team to understand them, to investigate their needs and motivation instead of judging and giving them unfriendly looks. Teach your team to negotiate and communicate in difficult situations in order to learn about the specific guest and details of problem such as a root motivator. Use this further on in your prospects development.

Use live data, act on spot.

Eventually, follow your guest satisfaction live, during their stay. Don’t be afraid to do so and find out unpleasant things but be open to address them while they are still there. It will go very long way and fix much more things than you can even imagine before they occur.

What tools can you use to find out more about how they feel about specific services and if they have particular preferences? Not all of your guests watch TV in the evening so pulling a TV out and leaving a remote control next to bed may rather make them fix things the way they like when they should be relaxing and feeling understood.

I invite you to share your business wisdom! Tell us, what was the most awkward situation you had with a guest? Comment bellow.

ELEVATE your hospitality business.

Master consistent excellence DELIVERED in practice.

Be WORTH EVERY PENNY & every second of your guests.

Schedule a free discovery call HERE

Tell us YOUR story & get REAL feedback.