Hospitality industry goes digital: how to improve customer experience

The hospitality industry, like so many other sectors, has taken advantage of digitalization to, in addition to modernizing its systems and work processes, offer broader and more appropriate experiences that meet new needs and create good memories of stays in your business.

Digital tools also help to generate greater visibility and reach so that more customers know your business or, for example, to store information quickly and effectively about them in databases and thus improve their future experiences there.

Tips for digitizing your facility

If you want to implement digital tools that make your business grow and, of course, improve the experience of the people who visit it, we give you some ideas:

1. Implement an online reservation system: Who hasn't had the experience of wanting to go to an establishment and there was no room available? To help people book at your establishment, in addition to providing a contact phone number, you can incorporate a system that guarantees that your customers will have their table or room available on the day and time they want, using a mobile application or through the website. This will allow them to book when they want and from wherever they want, and it will make it easier for you to collect their details more quickly and effectively.

2. Offer your services on digital platforms: in addition to saving and reducing the use of paper, your customers will be able to check your menu or services through a link or QR code. The advantages are clear: on the one hand, they will be able to consult your products and services whenever they want -even before coming to your establishment- and, on the other hand, it will facilitate the task of including or modifying information about what you offer in your business since you will not have the tedious limits of space and format that paper has.

3. Facilitate digital payment: nowadays, customers make their payments in different ways: in cash, by credit card, from their cell phone... and even from their watch! Use an application or program that links the card reader digitally with your payment gateway so that customers can pay their amounts in the way they prefer. Help them to make everything more convenient and agile!

4. Add a loyalty program: it is common to return to establishments where we have had the best experiences. On average, a recurring customer spends 67% more than a new one and this data helps us to strengthen the idea that implementing a loyalty program manages to attract more customers and, most importantly, to make their experiences more interesting, offering them good reasons to always come back to your business.

5. Create a space for opinions: encourage people to express their opinion about your SME through digital tools. It can be an online form or from platforms such as Google My Business. With this, you will know firsthand how their stay has been and, in addition, they can share their reviews with future users to encourage them to visit your business.

6. Interact on social networks: in addition to making publications that attract the attention of your followers and help you attract customers, actively respond to their comments and carry out promotions or surveys to make them feel like protagonists. This will help you generate a closer relationship with the people who follow you and, with this link, they will be encouraged to try or repeat in your business and also improve your visibility on these platforms.

7. Personalize the service: collect detailed information from each customer to provide them with a tailored experience through forms or web analytics tools such as Google Analytics. This way, you will be able to know what they like and what they prefer so that, when they return to your establishment, everything is prepared to their liking. This is something that all people always value very positively!

Nowadays, digitization is basic for the entire hospitality industry and is becoming more important every day to be relevant in front of the competition. So, in order not to be left behind, start implementing some of these digitization tips.

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