If you work in the hotel industry and are wondering how to provide your guests with exceptional customer service then look no further. These online forms and workflows can offer an unlimited number of benefits to your business, particularly with eliminating repetitive manual tasks.
Although the Henn-na Hotel in Japan recently introduced a robot to greet guests, other hotels have introduced iForms as a way of generating automated workflows to greatly improve customer service.
Dajon Data Management, a workflow specialist, has researched how these workflows can improve responsiveness to customers, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction with the end result of repeat business and more recommendations, coming up with five key takeaways.
Read on to discover some of the ways online forms and workflows can automate the hotel industry and the companies leading this change.
1. Automated room booking
The first step of any guest’s hotel stay is researching and booking a room. While most companies now provide online booking, some have gone further and allowed guests to use automated online forms to pre-select which room they would like to stay in during their trip from a digital floor plan. Exclusive to the Hilton Honors program, The Hilton also allows guests to choose any additional amenities to be delivered to their room before their arrival.
This process is seen by guests as very valuable, allowing them to set-up their preferred booking in advance, whilst benefiting the hotel substantially with time savings at the front desk and room allocation planning. Workflows behind the online forms create tasks for specific employees to bring additional amenities to the room. Additional benefits allow for in-advance resource planning by building a digital picture of what regular guests are likely to want during their stay.
2. Quicker check in and check out
Alongside The Hilton, luxury hotel Ritz-Carlton has developed an app for its guests that uses online forms to check-in prior to arrival and check out without stopping by the front desk. Guests can also request services such as free towels via their smartphones, with automation creating tasks for staff and updating hotel records.
3. Automated room service
Similar to requesting additional amenities, online forms can allow customers to quickly and efficiently pay for their room service. A guest can use their smartphone or computer to read a menu online and pay for an order, this can then automatically create a task for the kitchen and remove the ingredients from stock levels.
This workflow automation allows guests to have their order fulfilled quicker with less chance of errors occurring, resulting in higher levels of customer satisfaction, as well as time savings across the hotel.
4. Reduced time spent on data entry
With automatically populated fields, staff no longer spend time manually inputting data into the hotel CRM. This not only reduces time, but also reduces the likelihood of data entry issues through human error. Staff can then spend this additional time focusing on guests and ensuring they are having a pleasant stay.
5. Higher levels of customer service and quicker replies
Lastly, one of the most popular areas where iForms have been applied is customer service. When a customer raises a support question online, workflows can automatically create a task for an employee to give the customer a callback or send them a message. When responding to a task, data fields will be pre-populated, so staff quickly have details regarding a guest’s hotel stay and contact details.
Don’t forget that workflows can be very simple for just one role or a single person, or can be built to involve a series of more complex processes covering many people, groups or departments. Whatever the size of your requirement, workflow automation could be a helpful solution.
For further information on automated workflows, Dajon offer this free to download guide “The Benefits of Workflow Automation”.
