Why you should work on guest retention and why your hotel should have a program for this purpose.
Small independent hotels can put a program in place too, and sometimes it is even more efficient.
- Saving time. You do not have to do all your speech again.
- Saving money. As a general rule, the cost of maintaining a customer will always be cheaper than the cost of acquiring a new one. You don’t have to spend money to win that customer back, you have already conquered its heart and its loyalty, but of course, watch out to maintain your standards.
- Build your contacts portfolio, that means you will be saving time and money also when you will be working for another company: a loyal client will follow you everywhere, because of you!
- Satisfying human relationships. We all can happen to meet a particularly disagreeable person. I am not pretending that it’s full of angels out there. When you treat people with respect, you are creating a positive business environment. I believe in customer retention because my job is made of relationships, not only products and services. What makes my job special is this atmosphere, the pleasure of dealing with people I appreciate and who appreciate me. Having the chance to welcome back a client is like meeting an old-time friend. Should I reason only in terms of money, I would not take so much pleasure in this job. Stay human!
- Build your Brand Reputation. In time, it will help to sustain and enforce your Brand. Here is a quote from Isadore Sharp (a reference for many hoteliers) that I have always liked: “Never risk what you can’t afford to lose, and you can never, ever compromise your trust, because once you lose that you can never get it back. It will take a lifetime to build and minutes to lose.” Your clients have chosen you once, give them a reason to come back and build that trust that everybody talks about but a very few have really understood. The trend at this moment is to give away freebies, discounts, and free upgrades. All fine as long as it works but never neglect the most important and tricky aspect of this interaction: the trust that you are building needs to be maintained at all costs. Don’t take a step longer than your leg, and don’t engage in promises and concessions that you cannot maintain in time. This is an investment in the long term.
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