For hoteliers considering transitioning from on-site to cloud-based software at their property, here are a few ways making the change can elevate guest experience before, during, and after their stay.
In the case of property management systems, there’s been a number of hoteliers who want to stick with the devil they know: on-site systems. While switching to a cloud-based system is becoming increasingly popular, there is still pushback against moving from running tech via a physical device to managing hotel operations and solutions through the cloud. What this tension ultimately boils down to is, what’s the benefit of making the switch? And will it outweigh the hassle?
Before They Even Arrive, Give your Guests the Comfort of the Cloud
More Booking Flexibility
With the recent wave of COVID outbreak driven by the Delta variant, travelers are once again hesitant to make travel plans for fear of having to cancel their bookings or change them last minute. With a cloud-based PMS, hotels can offer flexible cancellations options. When a platform connects to the cloud, guests can utilize self-service capabilities to update bookings details. Refunds and rescheduling can be made easy without adding extra work for staff.
Security at Every Step
In the current age of technology, vigilance around digital security is more important than ever. Verifying guest IDs and banking info through cloud-computing massively elevates security because the guests’ information isn’t actually on-site. Cloud-based ID verification mimics the process of physical verification without opening up a guest’s ID and banking info to the same vulnerability that an on-site verification process does. Plus, cybersecurity offers added protection such as firewalls, SSL encryption, intrusion detection that physical on-site hardware typically don’t.
During Their Stay, Make Every Interaction Count
Personalization
Having a cloud-based platform means customers’ preferences can be stored and automatically acted on in future stays. Room control preferences, for example, can be saved so the next time a returning customer books a stay, their room will be set to their liking—temperature, lighting, and more. Beyond that, their interests can be logged to the cloud and further utilized through targeted microtransactions via smart-room tablet or mobile app ads.
Service Recovery
With staffing shortages affecting the hospitality industry worldwide, service recovery is vital when making up for gaps that may arise from having a reduced staff. With cloud-based technology, service recovery is made easier, and most of the work can be offloaded from the staff. Ticketing and service recovery steps can be tracked through a system that communicates well with both guests and staff devices. Cloud-based solutions can also allow management teams to generate reports that can be used for further review and analysis of customer complaints and recovery time.
After They Depart, Leave Them Wanting More
Checkout… and Security Again
Checking out should be painless. And guests should be able to leave a hotel feeling confident their information is going to continue to be secure. However, their banking and identification details should be able to be verified easily, when needed; specifically, when they go to book again. Keeping everything in the cloud allows for added digital protection while making it so returning guests won’t have to re-register or fill out forms again when booking a visit.
Follow-Up
Personalization doesn’t stop when a guest checks out. A scheduled follow-up email can go a long way. Some properties are finding added value in attaching a survey to the follow-up email. With a cloud-based system customer pain points can be gathered and tracked. This allows hotel management to locate issues much quicker and more effectively.
One of the benefits of cloud-based technology is the ability to add various tech solutions to your tech stack that would improve operations functionality, guest communication, revenue management and more. Having a well-integrated tech stack can also provide you with data and deep customer insights that can be used to improve operational efficiency and customer experience. This is why the most important aspect of choosing a cloud-based system is trusting the vendor. You need a vendor who will keep up with software updates and troubleshoot any integration issues for you. Is switching to the cloud worth it? We say yes, as long as you have the right vendor in your corner, making the switch go as smoothly as possible so you can start reaping the benefits, ASAP.
Want to learn more about cloud-based systems and what they can do for guest experience? Let’s chat.
