Why a Digital Guest Directory is going to be on every hotelier’s wishlist for 2023
So, why are digital guest directories fast becoming the number one choice to help hoteliers save resources, be more sustainable and enhance the guest stay?
What is a Digital Guest Directory?
Have you ever been to the end of a holiday and only realised on the last day that the hotel offers free shuttles into town?
Maybe you've been craving that midnight snack yet your room does not have a room-service menu to see what's available, so you can't be bothered to call and ask.
Or maybe you're the person who rings the front desk for everything – what time is breakfast, can you request dry cleaning, does the spa have availability in 10 mins?
In some form or another, hotels' services and amenities can easily get overlooked or may not have the best booking systems, potentially resulting in lost revenue for the hotelier.
As a hotelier, you want to do everything and anything you can to improve your guest's experience – making services easily accessible with little friction in booking or accessing.
A digital guest directory provides your guests with all the information they may want and need to know during their stay. It can be accessed online through a QR code so that they can read the information anywhere – not just at the front desk or in their bedrooms!
With a digital guest directory, you can let people know what time the shuttles run into town, browse, and order from an online room service menu, and best of all – guests can get the answers to all their questions in the directory before bothering your front desk staff.
How Hoteliers can use a Digital Guest Directory
There are many ways those in hospitality can use a digital guest directory to cut costs, streamline processes, and ultimately improve your guests' overall experience.
General guest information at the guest’s fingertips:
Discover the local area – information about what's available in the area, such as nearby restaurants, tourist attractions, local events (e.g. festivals), experiences, etc. This is especially useful for first-time goers as it will help direct them to the right spots.
General hotel information – This could hold information about the hotel, amenities offered, or classes and clubs they could attend during their stay.
Hotel rules and policies – can contain information on Privacy and security policies, health and safety measures, sustainability goals etc.
Hotel loyalty programmes – take Marriott Bonvoy, for example, showing methods to earn points, how to join, how to redeem etc.
Transportation links – This could link to Google maps which could show the surrounding area's transportation links as well as local bus timetables and trusted taxi companies that could be booked.
Guest/Customer Service Communication – This can be a chatline or automatic calling system connecting directly to the customer service helpline from the website or app.
Keep guests in the know with hotel announcements & notices
Events/What's on Section – Hotel activities and shows, kid's events, live music, disco nights etc. that are available for all guests to participate in can be included in this section.
Special Offers and Specials Boards – Promotion of one-off events and offers, such as Christmas Dinners at one of its dining areas or even discounted rooms.
Hospitality Services – make it easy for more bookings and orders
Hotel restaurants and bars –This would provide the guests with information regarding the hotel's dining options (if more than one).
F&B Digital Ordering – IRIS' F&B ordering app can be integrated with your hotel restaurants and bars section. This can be used to view the menu and order food and/or beverages.
Hotel Booking Systems – This can be integrated with the hotel's internal booking systems. Book yoga classes, spa sessions, gym classes, and reserve tables at restaurants at any time.
What are the key benefits?
Easily Accessible
No need to call the front desk or trash your room looking for the spa menu. The digital directory can be accessed via a QR code placed all around the hotel – on TVs, in lifts, at reception, on key cards, and even in booking emails so they can start browsing straight away.
Reduce friction in booking and ordering processes and reach guests in a way that suits them, at any time, with a digital directory.
Keep Guests Informed and Updated
Guest directories can improve your communication as they can help you reach your guests in a way they prefer. A digital guest directory can actively inform guests of the latest hotel updates before, during, and after their stay. Promote your latest services at any given time and let your guests have all the information they need– quickly cater to their queries, requests, or complaints anytime, anywhere.
Should anything require updating, a digitalised directory can easily be updated by your team members instantly. This saves time from ordering and printing new paper guest directories and will free up more of your staff's time.
Sustainability
Hotel sustainability is at the forefront of consumers' minds, and you can gain their trust and loyalty by investing in areas that reduce your environmental impact.
Especially post-Covid, a digital guest directory is a more sustainable way for guests to access information about your hotel, its facilities, menus, and any promotional material. This is because you will no longer have to print and reprint mass quantities of paper for guests to pick up and discard within moments of having them.
Think about it - how often do you think 'there should be a QR code for this' post-Covid? Your guests are thinking about it too!
digital guest directory
Lower Costs and Higher Reward
Digital guest directories positively impact not only your environmental sustainability but also your economic sustainability. Going paperless leads to the cost of producing and updating guest directories being reduced to almost zero.
Better quality photos and the addition of videos to the directory can increase guest engagement and sales/bookings. Content and how you communicate information can be optimised for better results instantly, thanks to analysing data on what your guests are and are not engaging with (how they are interacting with the directory and its contents). You can align your content, offering, and even messaging by having insight into what guests like – ultimately increasing your profitability over time as you optimise towards the best mix.
Streamline Processes
A digital guest directory helps share the workload equally between all members of your team – with all necessary members having access to update and publish all necessary information and content within a digital guest directory. This will improve overall staff satisfaction and can help improve customer service with accurate information readily available. Happy guests, happy staff.
Help Promote the Local Area
A digital guest directory can help you promote local businesses and areas by helping drive tourist's/guest to them. Highlighting the best of what your local area offers further enhances your guests' experience as it helps authenticate your hotel as a member of the community it is in and gives a more local experience for your guests.
The Bottom Line
Hoteliers want happy guests and better processes that cut costs and improve performance.
Happy guests want many things – but the key to a great stay is a relaxing time – ease of doing what they want, when they want. This is precisely what you can deliver with a digital guest directory.
Hoteliers who know this and invest in their digital services are already reaping the benefits.
