Everybody in hospitality knows the phrase 'live like a local', but what does it actually mean? The best trips we take are usually not where we stay at a hotel, but when we stay with a friend. This is because your friend knows you, and they know the destination you're visiting. This is living like a local.
How can hospitality brands try to recreate this sentiment to enhance their guest experience? The answer lies in personalised recommendations and being able to deliver them in a cost-effective and efficient way.
In today's experience-driven world where travellers demand personalisation, simply meeting basic needs isn't enough. Travellers crave a sense of connection, a feeling that their stay has been curated specifically for them and is not purely transactional. They aren't only looking for a bed for the night. This is where personalised recommendations turn a hotel into a host and add rocket fuel to the guest experience.
Why Recommendations Matter To Guest Experience
Imagine a young couple checking in for their honeymoon. If the TV in the room, the hotel app or the front desk provides them with a few generic restaurant suggestions, the hotel is missing a massive opportunity. Not only does a generic set of recommendations fall short of delighting the guest, but they could create a negative sentiment that they are being treated as generic guests.
Personalised recommendations on the other hand could highlight a romantic candlelit dinner with a breathtaking ocean view, or a couples' spa treatment in the hotel. This small touch shows the guests that the hotel team understands them and why they are there, elevating their experience from ordinary to extraordinary. On the other hand, showing the same couple's treatment to a solo business traveller would have the opposite effect - generic recommendations not only fail to delight but actually deter guests.
Static content on your website or app, or relying on the hotel team's local knowledge, is unlikely to achieve your goals. Static content doesn't adjust based on the needs of the guest and a member of staff can't possibly maintain an up-to-date knowledge of everything on offer at your destination, or know the guest inside out to recommend the right thing. An AI system like Obvlo enables your hotel to learn about each guest and connect them to rich up-to-date content that provides the right recommendation to the right guest at the right time.
The Power of Personalisation: A Multifaceted Approach
The benefits of personalised recommendations extend far beyond creating a memorable stay. Here's how they can truly transform your guest experience:
- Enhanced Guest Satisfaction: People want to live like a local when they travel and crave a sense of being understood. Recommendations that cater to a guest's interests, dietary restrictions, or travel style make them feel valued, leading to a surge in satisfaction and a more positive overall stay. Expect guest satisfaction scores to increase.
- Increased Revenue: It's not personalisation to offer a room upgrade. Guests see right through this type of generic upselling. Personalised recommendations can suggest relevant services or amenities, enticing guests to spend more. You could be describing your restaurant differently to a couple as you do to a business traveller. You could be recommending a private yoga session for the wellness enthusiast, or suggesting tickets to a local sporting event for the sports fanatic.
- Boosted Loyalty: Guests who feel their individuality is appreciated are more likely to return and become loyal guests. They'll rave about the guest experience to friends and family, generating new business through positive word-of-mouth.
- Positive Reviews: Happy guests leave glowing online reviews, which can be a major deciding factor for potential guests. A string of positive reviews that highlight personalised experiences positions your establishment as a leader in exceptional service. Even a slight increase in your global review index has a significant impact on ADR.
Putting Personalisation into Action
Implementing personalised recommendations doesn't require any major overhaul to your tech stack or massive increases in staff or marketing budget.
Obvlo has a fully hosted solution that can be up and running in days, not months. This white-labelled service allows you to introduce personalised local recommendations to your guest journey pre-arrival and in-stay and start enjoying the benefits from day one. Unlike static content on your website, in your guest app or a ring binder at the front desk (!), Obvlo is dynamic, meaning content is kept up to date and adjusts seasonally. Roof top bars are shown in the summer, Christmas markets are shown in the winter, and everything in between.
The key to personalisation lies in information. Obvlo gathers data like why the guest is there, who they are with and their interests. As well as personalising their guest experience, this valuable data can be fed back into your marketing engine to improve return on ad spend (ROAS) through more effective targeting.
Key Guest Experience Takeaways:
- Up and running in days not months: Personalised recommendations can start to boost your guest experience in days, not months, using a service like Obvlo as either a stand-alone offer or embedded to your guest app or website.
- Respecting Privacy is Paramount: Guests should not be asked for a dozen fields of personal information to join the wi-fi. Data collection should be a value exchange and personalised recommendations give the guest something in return for their data.
- Flexibility is Key: Personalisation shouldn't be restrictive. Guests should still have the freedom to explore other options and discover hidden gems on their own. This isn't about replacing hotel staff either, but rather empowering them to focus on where the human touch has the biggest impact.
- Focus on Quality, not Quantity: Don't bombard guests with a never-ending list of recommendations. Personalisation allows you to focus on quality over quantity, offering a curated selection of suggestions that enhance their experience. Like Spotify, personalisation requires having a large volume of content in order to show a small selection of the right thing to each individual.
Personalised recommendations lead to a guest experience that feels closest to being hosted by an old friend or someone who knows you. These meaningful guest experiences lead to higher satisfaction and increased revenue and loyalty. In today's competitive hospitality landscape, this is the key to making satisfied guests your biggest brand ambassadors. So, ditch the generic brochures and one-size-fits-all approach. Embrace personalisation and watch your guest experience soar.
Get in touch for a free demonstration to see how Obvlo can help.
