How to Turn SMS Messages Into Better Reviews for Your Hotel
![How to turn SMS messages into better reviews for your hotel](https://dox4euoyzny9u.cloudfront.net/images/fastsms/How-to-turn-SMS-messages-into-better-reviews-for-your-hotel.png)
There’s no doubting the power of reviews in today’s world. Social media and review sites like TripAdvisor give potential visitors a pretty good idea of what to expect at a hotel without ever having to visit it.
That’s one reason ensuring guests get the best customer service is high on a hotelier’s list of things to do. If that’s true for you, read on to see how sending SMS messages to your guests can improve your guest satisfaction ratings.
Impact Of Reviews
To keep things in perspective, here is some data from a study done by the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism at New York University.
- Travelers are 3.9 times more likely to choose a hotel with higher review scores when the room price is the same
- When given the option, travellers will book a more expensive hotel with higher ratings over a less expensive one with lower ratings
- 76% of travellers are willing to pay more for hotels that have higher ratings
More data from Travelocity showed just a single point increase on a five-point scale (3 stars to 4 stars for example) means hotels can charge 11.2% more and still keep the same occupancy rate.
The question is, how can you get that extra star or review points? Enter SMS messaging.
SMS Examples
I’ve read in many places that hotels received better reviews that could be directly attributed to the use of SMS messaging. Unfortunately, the sources for those statements were never mentioned (I’m a stickler for finding original sources), so I can’t quote you the definitive study that proves it.
But what I did find were two examples that can help make the case. One is an anecdotal example pulled from TripAdvisor. The other one is a limited study of a hotel group “left unnamed” discussed in an article.
The claim that SMS messages are directly responsible for improved ratings is based on a couple different ideas. First, good communication often helps resolve guest issues, which means they are likely to leave a positive review. SMS is quick and very familiar to guests so it’s a perfect choice to use.
Second, is when guests leave specific positive comments about using SMS in their reviews, we can assume SMS helped contribute to the positive review (the opposite may also be true too). Here’s an example in the image below.
It’s pretty easy to see they were impressed with the use of SMS messaging at that hotel.
My second example comes from an article on tnooz.com. It recounted an unnamed hotel brand that experimented with SMS messaging. It tested it out on half of their customers, and the other half only received the current standard communications (via phone, email, in-person, etc.).
The SMS messaging side did so well the hotel brand implemented it and saw a 20% boost in its net promoter score on average. Assuming the article is accurate, that’s a pretty good example to follow.
How To Use It
SMS messaging can be used in many different ways within a hotel. Here are some examples:
- Send welcome texts to guests the day before check-in to get the experience started
- Provide weather information for their stay too so they can come prepared
- Send hotel contact details the day of arrival so they can easily access it if they need it
- Update them on check-in times if there is early availability of rooms (see review from TripAdvisor above)
- Offer room service via text message rather than a call to a busy kitchen with potentially short-tempered staff
- Wake-up “calls” via text are effective, yet less intrusive to the guests (provided they remember to leave the sound turned up on their mobile)
- Take complaints via SMS for those who are averse to confrontation, but not to writing bad reviews
- Follow-up with guests via SMS after their stay with an SMS survey
That certainly isn’t a complete list, but it gives an idea of what’s possible.
Another thing to remember is it’s always important to personalise the messages if you can. Simply including the guest’s name in the message will help them feel more recognised and appreciated. Other details like check-in times, activity reservations or other specific information the guests find useful will only make them feel even better about their stay – and about you when they rate you on their favourite review site.
Have you had a great SMS messaging experience at your hotel? Have you ever been a guest at a hotel that used it? Please share in the comments.
Related Articles
Drive Up Attendance During Festival Season with SMS Messaging – Part 1
People love live music. Ticket sales worldwide are expected to reach $20.5 Billion (~£14.2B). The UK alone has around 900 festivals each year. There just aren’t enough headliners to go around. What else can you do to draw people to your event (whether you have a headliner or not)? The answer: Make your event an experience rather than just a destination.
SMS Messaging for Cafes and Restaurants
With more and more people than ever before eating out and sampling food from around the world in eateries up and down the country, the restaurant sector is booming. But if you're operating a small business in the hospitality sector, you need to make sure that you keep your premises as full and thriving as possible in order to pay your bills and keep the enterprise sustainable. That's where SMS messaging comes in. In this blog post, we will look at ways you can use SMS messaging to make your business processes more efficient, boost your customer numbers and become the most popular place in town.
How to Turn SMS Messages Into Better Reviews for Your Hotel
Hotel guests use review site ratings like TripAdvisor to make decisions about where they’ll stay. If your hotel doesn’t rate well, you’re in trouble. Find out how you can get more positive reviews when you use SMS messaging to communicate with guests.
Do hospitality trends in 2016 include SMS messaging?
Hotels Use Text Messaging to Help Improve Customer Experiences
Hotels constantly strive to improve customer experiences, but sometimes things go awry. Many problems could be fixed if the customer complains while at the hotel rather than later when they return home. By having a 'textline' you can give guests the opportunity to share their views directly with management without a direct confrontation.
Enhancing Two-Way SMS Messaging with Autoresponders
SMS messaging can be a one-way, or a two-way affair. Sending coupons, sale notifications, or event announcements are all one-way messaging. The recipient doesn’t need to reply in order to use the information sent. In two-way messaging though, recipients can reply to your messages. And that makes it much more interesting, engaging, and potentially a lot more work to manage.
Building an SMS Inbound Marketing Campaign for Your Hotel Business
SMS flies under many marketers radars when it comes to building an inbound marketing strategy. But if Buzzfeed's news app is to be believed, there are days when SMS generates the greatest percentage of shares on that channel, beating out Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and email. SMS share buttons are reported to have been used 4 times more than Twitter buttons. When you consider Twitter has 317 million active users, then SMS marketing has huge potential for a hotel business.
5 Ways Hotels Can Use SMS Marketing to Increase Brand Loyalty
More and more industries are tuning in to the advantages that SMS marketing can offer their business. SMS marketing is not only useful for acquiring new customers, it can be used to increase brand loyalty as well. This is particularly true for the hospitality industry, which faces challenges unique from other industries, in that they are on the front line when it comes to delivering customer service.
How Campsites Can Use SMS Messaging to Get New Business
The campervan and caravan industry grew 16% this past year. Campsite and holiday park owners can connect with the thousands of new travellers using SMS messaging. After all, 76% of travellers prefer to take their mobile on holiday rather than a friend.
How the Travel Industry can use A2P Messaging
The travel industry has made some inroads into using SMS messaging, but hasn’t yet taken real advantage of the potential of A2P messaging. Find out how it can be used to save time and provide the high-quality service today’s mobile travellers expect.