Offer your guest the prospect of greater convenience and time-savings at check-in, and you will ultimately influence their decision-making process and overall guest satisfaction.
—Justin DeRise
No one likes to wait in line. Hotels, particularly resorts, deal with high volumes of customers at peak times and lines at the front desk are often the norm. A long wait for hotel check-in can be painful for guests arriving after a grueling day of travel and naturally has an extremely negative impact on guest satisfaction scores. A study completed by Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research supports this natural disdain
for waiting in line. Based on two years of data with guests from eight different countries, their study found that guests’ tolerance of delays during check-in vary significantly by nationality. The study looked at country-level differences in wait time and identified “breaking points” that resulted in a negative impact on guest satisfaction:
(1)
For guests from the United States, exceeding the “breaking point” of a 5-minute wait results in a 47% decrease in guest satisfaction!
(2)
“The issue with hotel check-in at present isn’t really due to technical limitations.
It’s the conflicting human goals involved. Hoteliers have traditionally conceived of check-in as an important high-touch service moment, not a solely transactional function…I’m a fan of these hospitality goals, but the trouble is when they come at the expense of speed and efficiency – and without giving guests any choice in the matter.” Micah Solomon Customer Experience Consultant.
In other industries, such as the airlines, the efficiency of self-service check-in has eclipsed staff-assisted check-in, which is now painfully slow to many of today’s travelers. Research indicates that the mere availability of solutions like mobile check-in – allowing travelers to bypass the front desk and proceed directly to their rooms – has an impact on consumer hotel selection decisions.
A study conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) found that 76% of people said being able to check-in ahead of time would minimize potential frustration, and 41% indicated they would be more likely to select a hotel that offers the convenience of advanced check-in via web or mobile device over one that does not.
Choice. That is the new service goal for hospitality. Yes, guests still like the high-touch services experience – but only on their own terms. Offer your guest the prospect of greater convenience and time-savings at check-in, and you will ultimately influence their decision-making process and overall guest satisfaction.
In the early 2000s, the airline industry changed the travel experience. By instituting kiosks, they de-centralized the agent counter and reduced waiting lines. At first
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecast that, in the coming years, the growth in global tourism will outpace the growth in the global
It’s no secret that a primary focus of every hotelier is to increase their bookings. With the increasing amount of accommodation options available to consumers,
See how StayNtouch’s Cloud PMS, Guest Mobility, and Guest Kiosk solutions deliver better results for hotels through better front & back of house communication, increased mobile touch-points, more revenue and operational efficiency, and unlimited interfaces.
Your demo will include how to:
Manage and Set Tasks Across Your Departments
Ensure Guest Satisfaction & Safety With Contactless Check-in Options
Automate Easy Upsells & Monetized Early/Late Checkouts
Set & Manage Rates/Availability
Integrate With Tools and Platforms Essential
to Your Hotel
And More!
