How To Welcome Guests at Your Hotel
When a guest walks through your doors and into your hotel lobby, they should feel safe and at home. Every positive impression begins with dedication and planning well before guest arrival. Here is how to welcome guests at your hotel.
Friendly Front Counter
The front counter is your guests’ first contact with your hotel. While they will pass your sign and see the outside of your building, the lobby and front desk is your true first encounter with customers. As the guests approach your staff, your team should make eye contact and invite them over. Avoid overly scripted welcomes that seem more like a robotic encounter than a warm, human touch.
You should also have a simple and fast check-in and check-out process. A well-oiled system is vital to creating repeat guests at your hotel. When you force people to spend a long time waiting for your system to load or you have too many steps before they enter their room, you can lose their positivity.
Clean, Orderly Room
Once a guest receives their key or card, they almost always head up to their room. This is where the next first impression comes in. You need to wow your guests with the quality of your rooms. Guests likely perused your photos online, so they will have an idea of what to expect when they see your units. However, a clean, orderly room goes a long way.
If your customers find a room with bedsheets out of whack or towels strewn about the floor, they will know that you don’t care about the basics of an orderly room. You must take great care to wash and wipe down surfaces to ensure guest health, too. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, you can be sure guests want a clean room.
Welcome Letter and Local Information
If you want to go the extra mile with your warmth and hospitality, you should include a welcome letter on guests’ beds along with a small chocolate or treat. In the welcome letter, you should thank them for choosing your hotel, remind them of your beautiful amenities, and invite them to call or email you with questions. And if you want to go the extra mile, you can add a few pamphlets and guides on the local area. This will help out-of-town guests find fun things to do.
Knowing how to welcome guests at your hotel can make the difference between an acceptable stay and an incredible one. Implement a customer feedback system so you can always hear about guests’ stays. With the right information, you can keep improving and give new customers a reason to come back.
