In the column “5 questions to …”, Gastfreund employees, customers, partners or industry experts answer questions in short interviews. Shanice Saulich is the “Head of Content” at Guestfriednd and is responsible for creation of our clients’ Digital Guest Directories. Today she answers a few questions that we are asked from time to time.
Where does the content for Guestfriend’s Digital Guest Directories come from?
Some of the content is supplied by our customers, but the majority of the design of the Digital Guest Directory is done by our team of editors.
How long dies it usually take to create a Digital Guest Directory?
At the beginning there is personal contact. It is important to us that our customers know at all times who is responsible for them and who will support them if they have any questions.
To create the content, we usually orientate ourselves in advance on the homepage as well as a so-called guest A-Z (meal times, WLAN, etc.) of our hosts to work out a concept. Meanwhile, we are happy to receive a selection of images that we may use. Especially in the digital age, meaningful pictures are, after all, irreplaceable. We then present this concept to our clients in a telephone conversation and clarify any open questions. Of course, we are also happy to respond to their wishes. After the personal meeting, we order individual advertising materials for our customers to promote their digital guest folders in our marketing department, if desired. We then create the guest folders based on the content discussed and notify the hoteliers that they can now view their digital guest folder. Finally, after editorial approval, we introduce them to the Gastfreund editorial system in a free online training session and explain the editing options.
How do customers feel about Guestfriend taking the work off their hands?
According to our experience as well as some positive feedback from our hosts: very good!
Regardless of whether it’s a star hotel or a small accommodation business, we look after each of our customers individually and support them in the best possible way on their way to digitalisation. Some hosts may have been a little torn at the beginning or were unsure about using digital tools.
However, through our personal support and design of the guest portfolio, we have managed to make them more aware of their digital options and alleviate any worries they may have had – after all, 95% of our customers recommend us to others. In my opinion, a very clear advantage of Guestfriend!
Can hoteliers do anything at all by themselves and if so, what?
Of course! We are always happy to receive your own ideas. We create the Digital Guest Directory and the concept, but the hoteliers decide for themselves which images they wants to load into the editorial system and which ones we should use. Also, they are always welcome to contribute during the concept discussion.
After completion of the Digital Guest Directory, they manage, edit and update the content independently via their own access to our editorial system. If, for example, a hotelier wants to exchange relevant content or images, they can do this independently at any time and is completely independent. A big plus for all hosts!
Which services are important for customers?
In my opinion, the personal support during the entire process and the free availability of our service team from Monday to Friday are especially important. With the help of our products, hoteliers also save a lot of time, which they can in turn use for the so important, personal guest care on site.
Our customers are never alone! Even after completion, our existing customer service team continues to support hosts in successfully implementing digitalisation in the hotel and is happy to help with any questions or concerns.
Shanice Saulich in conversation with Sandra Schneider, Gastfreund GmbH
Do you have any questions? Then feel free to email us directly at info@gastfreund.net.
