SMS Marketing

How Text Messaging for Hotels Can Improve the Guest Experience

text messaging for hotels

Text messaging for hotels can be an invaluable ally when it comes to improving your guests’ experience. Its ease of use, unbeatable 98% open rate and high-level of acceptance by people in general are some of the reasons why you would want to use it. 

In this article, we will show you some specific examples on how you can use text messages to better serve your hotel or resort guests during every stage of their experience: before arrival, during their stay, and after leaving. 

How to Use Text Messaging for Hotels in Each Different Stage

Before Guests’ Arrival

The objective of every hotel or resort is to increase booking and earn revenue. You can do that from the very beginning; even before guests’ arrival. They will definitely appreciate it if you send valuable information that helps them get ready beforehand.

Booking Via SMS

Most hotels and resorts offer online booking; but how many do that via text message? You can use SMS to cover the whole booking process; from inquiry to confirmation. For example, you can have an SMS auto responder to let guests know if the room they want is available. Or enhance your text messages with MMS messaging and send photos of the room they’re interested in.  

Confirmations

Another way you can use text in this stage is to confirm guests’ arrival plans. You can send an automated text message asking time of arrival, number in party, and other additional information. You can even allow two-way-texting to these messages so clients can reply to those questions, and thus offer them a better experience. 

Faster Check-in Via Text

One thing that will definitely delight your visitors is to check in fast after a long trip to your hotel. You can offer that by automating a message to be sent with the address and other check in information the same day of their arrival. Check in via text can be especially convenient and for busy guests, late night travelers, or early morning visitors. 

Local Attractions

You can use location-based marketing to let your guest know about interesting places around your hotel or resort. Whether you have a commercial agreement with those places or not, letting your visitors know about local parks, stores, and other attractions can be a great incentive and definitely improve their stay.

text messaging for hotels

During Their Stay

Special Offers

Once they checked-in, you can send text messages offering discounts or special promos via SMS coupons. For example, you can promote a happy hour at your resort’s bar by sending a discount that’s available only between the happy hours’ span. Special offers are also good to use in the previous stage; commonly used as special offers in hotel rooms or vacation packages.

On Demand Room Service

You can make room service more dynamic and successful by making it on-demand via SMS messaging. Guests can request housekeeping service by texting to a specific number and the designated team members can reply and have any necessary back and forth. That way, instead of having a fixed schedule to have their rooms tidy, guests can have that without disrupting their vacation’s schedule. This on-demand room service can also be a good sales pitch before guests’ arrival.

Food and Beverages

Just like with room service, you can text guests to ask when and how they would like to receive their meals. Do they prefer to pick it up? Should you leave it in the lobby? Placed by the door? You can also replace printed menus with text messages that include a hyperlink with a la carte information online. This information can be personalized to each guests’ preferences (eg.: vegan options) and even be used to upsell their booking as a special in-room package.

Safety Protocols

This applies, for example, when guests have to follow certain protocols to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 contagion (such as masks usage or sanitation procedures). You can send a brief SMS message explaining about the regulations and use a compliant link shortener to attach a hyperlink to a landing page with more information.

After Visit

SMS Surveys

You can follow up your guests’ experience by sending automated SMS text surveys. This is a great way to collect information on what worked (or not) for them. Text surveys have a high response-rate (31% on average) so you can rely on them being answered. In case that doesn’t happen, you can automate a second survey message for those guests that didn’t reply to the first one.

Loyalty Rewards

Keep clients coming back by rewarding them with loyalty rewards. Guests who visited your hotel can receive text messages to sign up and find out details about your loyalty programs and what they have earned through it. Then, next time they decide to have some day off, they can redeem those reward points at your place instead of choosing another destination.

The Most Complete Platform to Use Text Messaging for Hotels

If you own or manage a hotel or resort, you know how competitive the industry is. Staying on top and offering experiences worth traveling for is essential. Trumpia’s texting software is an invaluable asset because it features the widest range of tools available in the market. Whether you need to send a simple SMS marketing campaign or a complex workflow, we have you covered.  Call or Text 1-888-707-3030 to learn more about it, or sign up today for a free trial.