Guest expectations in hospitality and other service-based industries have always evolved with trends and shifts in market sentiment. You can see this in the shift in expectation regarding daily linen changes – as the environmental consciousness has grown, even many guests of luxury hotels have been happy to forgo having their linens changed daily. With today’s concerns about COVID-19, these fluctuations in expectations are happening much more quickly – seemingly daily – as news updates and social media stories influence perspectives.
As people begin traveling again, even some of the “obvious” expectations around cleanliness may be challenging to gauge. Federal, state, and local requirements provide for necessary safety and sanitation protocols, but those vary jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Therefore, guests may carry expectations based on the requirements in their local area that are not the same where they travel.
To make the necessary operational adjustments in concert with the variations in guests’ expectations, there are two key adjustments management needs to make to their guest feedback program to ensure they are continuously working with current data:
- Ask for feedback while your guests are on site.
It is one thing to communicate the methods being implemented to address any concerns or to mitigate potential hazards; however, if your guests do not feel the methods are being accomplished, you lose their trust and future business. Checking their opinions as soon as possible allows you the ability to address any lapses in the execution of those protocols. Finding out what is essential to them within hours of their arrival, gives management the ability to tweak processes and procedures to improve the guests’ experience while they are still on property. - Get specific with post-stay feedback.
Collecting data after your guests leave the premises is still a vital tool for management. However, the generic questions rating “a clean room” or “a clean bathroom”, while potentially still viable, are not nearly enough to glean the information necessary today. Adding questions specifically addressing the current impression of “cleanliness” means focusing on the exact protocols you’ve put in place. If masks are always required of all employees, your data needs to indicate that the requirement is being adhered to at all times. Ensuring all jurisdictional requirements are wholly observed while having the independent data to back it up provides the property and the company a significant advantage in gaining guests’ trust, and their return visits sooner rather than later.
Tying it All Together
As we navigate the next several weeks and months, only one thing is certain… change will be a constant. Your competitive advantage will depend on having accurate, timely information directly from your customers and demonstrating the ability to adapt and adjust based on that data.
Asking your guests how they feel about their health and safety after arrival gives you the opportunity to make those adaptations and adjustments necessary to make them feel more confident while they are still on property. Once the guest checks out, they can validate you made the applicable modifications based on their initial opinions. Tying that information together and following up with the guest after obtaining their feedback makes them feel valued and truly confident that you are committed to their safety and worth their future business.
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