Whether it is a locally-owned hotel or is part of the multinational chains, both still create a good portion of the overall tourism of a specific region, city, or country as a whole. Island tourism is a whole other level, since they are more isolated, these kinds of hotels need ways to market their individual organizations. Although they are readily available at the locations, most often than not, the ones who do not have a very good online presence will not get booked. So today we will go through some of the ways on how island hotels can maximize their bookings by (1) generating extra revenue, (2) promoting local businesses to drive connections (3), and most importantly providing an overall unique guest experience – all through digital implementations!
1. Revenue Generation Opportunities
- Upsell amenities through lobby kiosks or your very own hotel app. Connect with a solutions provider who can allow your guests to choose additional subscription options or room upgrades as they check in on your property. If you have a native hotel app or progressive web apps, you can also see about implementing upsell opportunities to give your guests more options for upgrades to increase sales. If you are still undecided about getting an app for your property, read here to learn more about how to build a great app and it should get you started.
- Providing your guests more ticketing and tour options. While they are on your property, offer different options on where they should go and what they can do within the island. Conveniently allow them to book events or tourist attractions through your hotel kiosks or mobile app. Alternatively, you can also display upcoming events on your lobby’s digital screens to promote more awareness.
2. Digital implementations to drive local awareness and connection
- Your new guests or visitors may have little information on where the best places for them or their family would be. Don’t assume everyone would do their homework, so we do ours instead. You can use technology to help your travelers with their whereabouts within the destination. By providing ratings or other guests reviews, the ability to call or interact with vendors to ensure it’s the right fit. Provide different ways for them to see videos or engage with pictures on social media. Usually, touchscreen technology works best to show the “You are here” tracker but now, through wayfinding and interactive mapping, you can definitely give them more power by using their own phones through an app. If you want to learn about how progressive web apps are giving the hotel app a new life, better click here.
- Utilize technology to help build relationships with your guests and bridge the gap between them and the local businesses as well. Some features such as text and video conferencing can give your visitors a good idea of the great deals, shops, restaurants, and attractions within the property. Providing a contactless and convenient way to connect with staff and vendors.
3. Unique guest experience.
- Know that your guests may be jumping from one island to another as part of their trip. This means you have just enough time to provide them a wonderful experience to either make them stay longer or at least, make their stay unforgettable! Through technology, you can make them feel more in control of their stay – talk about self-service accesses! Provide them the liberty to visit/access inclusive benefits or locations without the need to always call someone for help. Tools like mobile/digital keys would be very helpful especially if they need to be somewhere during the wee hours of the day or just when no one’s available to entertain their queries.
- Notifications, guestbooks, surveys, and reviews. Make that stay count and get to hear real-time feedback from your guests. Use notifications and text solutions to provide easy feedback. Connect lobby touchscreen technologies to provide information and allow them to share things they would love to see. Ensure you connect with guests while on the property to solve any issues and keep those reviews sparking. Take the chance to also ask for a review for your property, because note that according to Tripadvisor, 4 out of 5 travelers would only book only after reading reviews and other customer feedback. That’s roughly 81% of all tourists.
If you are looking for a tech partner to help you with digital implementations on each island/property, reach us at 833 300 6664 or email us at info@trueomni.com and we will get a marketing/sales specialist to assist what you need and what suits you best!.
