Four years ago, we launched our hospitality blog in order to support you even better as hosts and hoteliers. We would like to share our knowledge with you, inform you about current topics in the hotel industry and give you exciting insights into digital guest communication and digitalisation in the hotel industry. For our 100th anniversary we have collected the ten most frequently asked questions about hospitality and have put together the right answers for you.
1. Personal contact with my guests is very important to me, won’t it get lost through digital guest communication?
No, quite the opposite! In addition to information, communication and interaction are also very important – especially with the digital guest directory:
- It answers questions at any time and your guests feel well looked after all round. This improves internal processes, such as check-in, and gives you more time for the really important conversations.
- Interactive functions allow the guest to choose how to contact the host. In the blog article about chats and push messages in the hotel industry, we will reveal how you can use these tools to promote direct communication in a targeted manner.
- Digital solutions, such as the digital guest folder, are particularly suitable for contactless and hygienic care of your guests.
2. Why a Digital Guest Directory, Hotel Newspaper etc. when I already have a website for my accommodation?
The first contact with a new guest almost always takes place via your website or an online booking platform. Before booking, potential guests inform themselves there about your accommodation, facilities and prices. In the best case, they will then book directly via your website so that no commission is charged to you. After that, the contact and digital support of the guests usually breaks off and you give away a lot of potential.
On site, your guests need different information, want to know more about your services, book offers in an uncomplicated way and get in touch with you personally – this requires a more interactive solution and functions that a standard website does not have. You would also like to generate additional turnover, a higher utilisation rate, increase the satisfaction of your guests, save costs and relieve your team at the same time.
In terms of service and turnover, tools for digital guest care are therefore an absolute must. In our contribution to successful, digital guest communication, you will find out which helpers you can rely on even without special IT knowledge.
3. For what kind of accommodation are Guestfriend’s solutions suitable?
Whether holiday flat, city hotel, camping site, holiday hotel, hotel chain, B&B or pension – the digital tools of Guestfriend are a must-have for every accommodation!
The digital guest directories, hotel newspapers and info channels are as different as the houses themselves, because they are designed to match the accommodation and its offers.
The digital travel guide to the region should never be missing. Whether a city trip or a relaxing time-out: great excursion tips, routes & tours as well as interesting information about the region are guaranteed – free of charge, up-to-date and without your intervention. This rounds off your individual contents perfectly. Click here to go directly to our digital travel guides.
4. How helpful is the digital guest service in the hotel star classification?
The digital guest service ensures a real star frenzy! In line with the changing needs of guests, digital and sustainable solutions have also been scoring points since this year – and not in short supply. We have checked the criteria for star classification for you and show how easily you can secure points. With the help of the Digital Guest Directory, you can secure important points in the star classification, including for the digital accessibility of staff, a (multilingual) service guide, regional information material and sustainability.
As question 3 reveals, the digital tools of Guestfriend are not only indispensable for hotels that strive for star classification!
5. What requirements do I need to meet to set up my digital guest service and how do I get my digital helpers?
- All you need to set up your Digital Guest Directory or create your hotel newspaper is a working PC or laptop with an Internet connection. You can do without expensive hardware in the rooms, because guests use your digital service via their own smartphones, tablets and laptops. If you would like to offer the hotel newspaper additionally printed, a simple (colour) printer, which can print at least DIN A4 paper, is sufficient.
- For even more visibility for your information, tips and offers, store the web version of your Digital Guest Directory as the start page after logging into the Wi-Fi. Simply set this via the settings of your router. For older models, you should check whether they are capable of a “redirect” and whether you can set a website as the start page.
- There is also nothing to stop you from having your own info channel if you have monitors, televisions or a distribution system with HDMI and Internet access. If you would like to change contents and designs independently after we have created them, you will also need a functioning computer with an Internet connection.
Once these few requirements have been met, it is not far until you have your desired product “in your hands”. For example, it only takes three steps to a digital guest directory!
6. Can I determine and change the contents of the Digital Guest Directory myself?
The answer to our third question already reveals that each digital guest folder is individually designed – in line with the accommodation and your wishes.
In order to enable you to use your digital guest file as quickly as possible, we will take over the initial creation for you and design the contents specifically for your accommodation. Afterwards you will get your own access to our editorial system. During a training session, we will of course show you how to make adjustments yourself at any time, send news to your guests via push message or create events. Of course, this also applies to our other products, such as the hotel newspaper or the info channel.
In this way, you can maintain all channels via one system and use content once it has been entered, such as news and events, on all media – this makes your everyday work twice as easy.
7. How do I make my guests aware of my digital services?
Especially now – in times of Corona – guests want a hygienic, contactless, but still personal service from their hosts and are already asking for it.
Nevertheless, it’s best to use every contact point and make them aware of your digital service. To support this, you will receive individually designed flyers to hand out at check-in and display, also with a QR code. With displays in the room, restaurant or wellness area, you can guide your guests directly to your digital menu, guest registration, applications or your in-house weekly programme.
!! Attention spoiler to question 8
Combine the pleasant with the useful: Make sure to include the note on the digital guest folder in the confirmation e-mail and ask your guests to fill out the registration form directly in digital form so that they can prepare everything for check-in and check in even faster.
All products of Guestfriend are also intelligently linked to each other. When logging in to the WLAN, for example, the Wi-Fi landing page opens directly, which automatically directs guests to the digital guest folder. They can also get there via the hotel newspaper or the information channel – using a QR code which they scan with their smartphone. Conversely, the hotel newspaper can be accessed as an e-paper via the digital guest folder.
8. Can guests fill out the registration form via the Digital Guest Directory of Guestfriend?
The answer is: Yes, via a digital form! In accordance with the law, you can use it to request the data for the registration form in advance, print out the completed document and only need to have it signed on site. By the way, the digital enquiry and booking forms enable you to offer many other services: Reserve a table and enter guest data, order breakfast, book wellness treatments, etc.
9. Why is Guestfriend the right partner for me when it comes to digital guest communication?
We have already answered a few questions about the features of our products. Here once again an overview of your advantages:
- We offer you everything you need to reach every guest – no matter whether you need a digital guest folder as an app for iOS, Android or as a web version, the printed or digital hotel newspaper as an e-paper or additional installed info points on site.
- With Guestfriend you have an experienced partner with over 5,000 customers and a long-standing expert for digital guest communication at your side.
- You come first: Our support team will assist you personally and free of charge, we will design your content at the beginning and will also provide you with a large data pool of ready-made content (weather, …) and travel guides.We have our finger on the pulse of the times, constantly develop our products further and offer functions with sense and reason.
PS: Another big advantage is that you don’t have to bring along almost any prerequisites. This means that you can do without expensive trays in your rooms – this saves you a lot of money, just like the elimination of printing costs for the paper room folders. If you want to draw even more attention to your digital service, you can do this quite simply with the info channel or a touchscreen kiosk.
10. What does it all cost?
A fair price is as important to us as a comprehensive and personal service. No matter whether it is a holiday flat, business hotel or large wellness hotel – digital guest care is a profitable step for everyone.
The bigger the house, the more functions and contents have to be created, maintained, furnished and set up – that’s why the prices also vary according to the size of the business and are calculated individually by us. What is always free with us is our service: We provide our customers with a personal contact person right from the start, who supports them with advice and assistance at all times.
We were able to clarify the most important questions and you would like to get started digitally?
Get in touch with us, we will be happy to support you!
info@guestfriend.com | +49 831 930 657-0
This text has been translated automatically.
