I

t’s the next part of the long-awaited relaxation of restrictions as hotels, bed & breakfasts and other tourist accommodation providers fully reopen. In addition to going and staying somewhere for a break, you can also travel with friends and family for an overnight stay provided you follow the rule of six or two households only.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to kickstart our economy and get out of the house. Hotels and B&Bs have been preparing to open their doors to ensure their customer and guest experience is positive and safe.

Beating the competition

How do you ensure that your venue stands out from the rest?

Competition in the hospitality industry has always been stiff but now, more than ever, it is critical that your accommodation leaves a lasting impression in the right way. You want guests experiencing your business to come away wanting to return again and again. One way of checking how they felt is through guest surveys.

These can be easily completed via mobile or online and collated into valuable data that allows you to adapt and react to comments. However, being proactive instead of reactive to public feedback is also key, and this is where mystery shopping helps.

Ensuring brand values are reflected in service

If your hotel is part of a chain, you want to ensure each location represents your brand in a way that reflects your values.

Measuring how well your team handle face-2-face enquiries with prospective customers is invaluable to their training and development. A mystery shopper can report on everything from their first impression of your business, how they were greeted by staff, how clear the signage was, to the cleanliness of the rooms. This is a great way to ensure you consistently deliver high standards across your venues that will make guests already look forward to their next visit.

What can be measured

Mystery Shopping allows you to measure all aspects of your guests experience and can be tailored to your needs. You may have questions on the guest experience in the room, the comfort of the beds, how clean the rooms are, right through to if the towels or complimentary toiletries gave a sense of luxury in the bathroom. It could focus on your catering, such as is the menu appealing and offers suitable alternatives for vegans or people with intolerances, how were the waiting staff and most importantly, how did the food taste? If your venue is a boutique hotel or privately owned B&B, then you need to stand out from the crowd and generate a customer experience that reflects your goals for the business. Mystery Shopping allows you to deliver a set of data that really helps you to move the business forward.

Speak to one of our Research Consultants to find out how we can develop a bespoke customer experience programme for your business!