Hoteliers rely on guest feedback to determine what the hotel does right and what the hotel needs to improve. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to listen to what guests have to say. People will soon be traveling again, but their behavior will change. Now is the time to research, re-think past approaches, and analyze the data that currently exists.
Revinate offers three survey types: Flex surveys, In-stay Surveys and Post-stay surveys. Each of these help to cover different stages of the guest’s journey.
Learning From the Past
Look at the feedback data you collected right before the pandemic hit. Search the Sentiment Analysis for topics such as Cleanliness, Safety, and related terms. Are there any concerns from pre-COVID-19 days? If so, those should be addressed immediately since today, guests are even more concerned about their safety and cleanliness. These topics (keeping guests safe and areas clean) will be crucial given the introduction of the coronavirus.
Taking Action
Why ask the question if no action will be taken on the responses? Make sure that after analyzing the data, the negative feedback is shared internally and is addressed. It is important to create an agile environment when it comes to customer feedback. Furthermore, communicate back to guests the resolutions put into place so they feel heard and valued. Some of the changes you make now will lead to guests feeling safe enough to return.
The Beginning of a New Future
This is the right time to engage with guests, regardless of whether they have a reservation on the books or not. Since it’s always a good idea to do research prior to making any long-term changes, find out what loyal, past guests want in tomorrow’s travel experiences. Use Revinate to send out segmented surveys to loyal guests. Think about asking for the guests’ new booking and travel behaviors. Here are some options for potential pre-stay or no-stay-yet-on-the-books survey questions:
- When do you intend to take your next trip?
- Will it be for business or pleasure?
- Did you have travel plans which were canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak?
- If so, what were they?
- Have you missed out on any events which you were excited about because of coronavirus?
- Do you feel comfortable traveling by public transportation, such as airplane or train?
- What can we do to make you feel more at ease the next time you return?
Based on guests’ responses, set up strategies to provide relevant offers to guests when the timing is right.
Do the current, existing in-stay and post-stay surveys that are being sent now still make sense or should they be updated? As an example, a lot of Food & Beverage department questions might need to be adjusted if restaurants are closed or if only Room Service exists. Here are a few examples of in-stay or post-stay survey questions:
- Do you believe our staff took the necessary precautions (cleanliness and safety) to make your stay more comfortable? (Leave this as an open-text question)
- If not, what can be improved?
- Did you feel our COVID-19 safety measures were sufficient?
- How would you rate our efforts to provide a clean and safe environment for you in light of the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak?
- Is there anything that would have made you feel more secure during your stay here?
- Would you like to visit us again?
- Did our new Room Service procedures keep the Room Service Attendant a comfortable distance away from you?
Of course, the sky's the limit! Feel free to get creative and ask questions that you want to know the answers to, and will take action on based on the results.
Revinate will continue to provide recommendations and updates as things progress. For now, be sure to check out our Covid-19 resource center.