I was just reading last week that Tripadvisor just became the #1 most popular travel website ahead of Expedia.
Let’s be honest, we all think the same, Tripadvisor is hotels worst enemy and the tool of the cowards. Ten years ago, the only solution we had to express our bitter feelings was the little guest comments form delicately handed over by the front office staff. But now we have the ultimate weapon. We don’t care anymore whether the management will read our comments or not because we know we will have our ultimate vengeance!
Any hotellier on this planet is scared of bad comments on Tripadvisor; there are even courses on how to manage it, how to respond to a bad guest review and manage collateral damages.
So it made me think, is it right to put so much efforts into a welcome gift while the last impression is what will dictate what the guest will think about his stay? Should hotelliers really be so obsessed with finding creative ideas for welcome gifts to be given upon check-in while it is upon check-out that John Doe will decide whether the experience he had was worth the USD1,000 he just spent?
Managing correctly a check-out is a crucial and very delicate matter. Even if all went fairly well during the stay and that all brand promises have been delivered smoothly.
Saying Thank You upon check-out
It is a bizarre thing but saying “Thank You” upon check-out, in one way or another, has never been part of traditional hotels SOPs (but who still writes fresh SOPs these days?). Massive efforts are being put in the arrival experience but no investment is made in a check-out procedure and gift that will make John and his family feel valued and recognized – As opposed to a cash cow. Create a departure experience and fully integrate it within your brand promise.
What matters is not really the value of the gift but really the attention and the gesture. The guests need to feel special. Don’t take them for granted because they just paid. It can be as simple as a coffee at the bar, an OJ for the kids or a souvenir from the destination. Anything that can generate trust and makes the guests feel appreciated.
Any best practice or experiences I would love to hear them.
Fabrice Burtin – July 2010
Anthony Green
July 21, 2010
I couldn’t agree more. Recently, i took the family away to the seaside, and had a fantastic time at a great resort with all kinds of things for the kids to do. Room? Great. Staff? Great. Check out? Absolute pain! 30 mins spent in a queue to check out completely soured my experience of an otherwise great hotel, and unfortunately for them, that’s the last memory i took away,
Brings it home how we need to consider every single touchpoint with the customer as a place to impress, or be judged negatively, whether it’s the booking experience, the stay at the hotel, or leaving.
Fabrice Burtin
July 22, 2010
Thanks Anthony. I’m guessing the front office staff could not deal with the bottle neck with many simultaneous check-outs. What do you think they could have done to ease the process or make you feel less upset about the whole thing? Would you have accepted to be offered a drink at the bar with your family so you didn’t have to queue?
Anthony Green
July 24, 2010
Good question. If the hotel doesn’t want to change their operations, a simple single-queue system, similar to what you find in the banks, would help.
I don’t really think that a drink in the bar would really help when trying to organise 3 kids!
Ideally, i’d call down from my room, telling the front desk i want to check out. They would then call me when they were ready for me to pay. Isn’t that simple?
Robert
July 23, 2010
Every guests that comes to our hotel has a letter waiting for her in her room. The letter explains that they can turn to our reception with their questions and it also has my direct contact details in case they have anything to share with me (GM)
After check out I send them a letter inquiring about their stay. I ask them to write a review:
on tripadvisor.com if they were satisfied
to ME if they think there are things to improve.
So far it has worked: I had the opportunity to handle complaints personally and We went from the 219th hotel to the 49th (in Budapest) in 3 months
Robert
Fabrice Burtin
July 25, 2010
Thanks a lot Robert for sharing your best practices.
Martin Rosberg
August 5, 2010
With our opening coming up in 2 months we are looking for ideas for welcome and check-out gifts.
I think Andaz 5th Ave. is doing something very interesting: http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/7/19/82620/7145/hotels/Andaz_5th_Avenue_Sends_You_Home_With_a_Little_Something_Extra
We are thinking about traditional small gifts (something you can’t get in any other country), silversmith works maybe, or possibly some nice organic handmade soaps. A bottle of wine is out of the question: with hand luggage regulations and risk of them breaking on the way home.
I like the idea of a letter in the room with the GM phone number when the guest arrives.
Martin
Fabrice Burtin
August 5, 2010
Hi Martin, Thanks for your question. The gift has to match your brand and the locality. That’s the most important thing. Have you thought about giving the gift upon departure as opposed to arrival? That would leave your guest on a positive note and something he or she would not expect. The letter is a good idea but as we know one of the first thing any guest doe waling into the room is to clear the clutter on the desk. Best, Fabrice