As we saw in the previous blogs, the majority of hotels across Rio de Janeiro have recorded occupancy levels above 90% in light of the upcoming Olympics. While that’s a great situation for hoteliers in the city, it still presents them with a welcome, yet considerable problem – managing so many visitors and ensuring that the guest experience is never compromised.
Fortunately, the cloud offers owners a variety of powerful management tools that can help simplify the various aspects of their property’s different operations. Technology like the property management system can significantly optimize a hotel’s resources and enable greater efficiency, enhancing the experience for owners, the staff, and ultimately even guests.
Let’s dive a little deeper into the potential benefits of adopting modern technology.
Higher staff availability:
Unlike the larger international brands, independent hotels are generally understaffed and it’s not uncommon for one person to handle multiple responsibilities. Manual entry of data and organization of booking information for every reservation can be a time-consuming process. With a cloud property management system, hoteliers can automate a number of these tasks including reservation organization and night auditing, freeing up the staff to spend more attending to guests.
Tasks can also be assigned instantly to specific personnel, allowing managers to make the most of the available manpower. Not only does this improve the guest experience, it saves the hotel money!
Complete front desk controls:
Checking guests in and out of the property becomes a quick and simple process, as the PMS automatically organizes bookings. A large number of the bookings made prior to the event will usually be from groups – friends and families turning up to cheer their country. With a comprehensive property management system, checking in these large groups doesn’t take much longer than single guests. Moreover, managers have a wide variety of facilities at their fingertips, such as the ability to split bills amongst different members of the group, folio consolidation from all POS terminals, and so on. This doesn’t just make the hotelier’s life easier, it also makes things more convenient for the guests.
Saved guest preferences:
A number of guests do come back to a country after their first time, even if the first visit was motivated by an event (such as the Olympics in this case). According to data release by Brazil’s federal government and Ministry of Tourism, of the 1 million tourists the country entertained during the FIFA World Cup 2014, 61% were first timers in Brazil while 95% declared their intention to return in the future. Having saved guest preferences can give hotels a serious advantage when these visitors make repeat bookings. By personalizing their visit the next time, properties can invoke a sense of loyalty and encourage guests to recommend the hotel to friends and family.
Automated review collection:
Reviews play a very important role in a hotel’s online authority. The majority of guests today will not make a booking without reading about other travelers’ experiences at the hotel. With high occupancy virtually guaranteed for the Olympic period, hotel owners would do well to take advantage of the excited, tournament fueled atmosphere to generate positive reviews about their stay. A popular property management system offers integration to famous review sites like TripAdvisor, enabling hotels to send automated emails to remind guests to leave a review. Since most guests forget to post reviews even if they enjoyed their stay, this could make a massive difference to the property’s online standing on sites like TripAdvisor.
Making the most of this period of high occupancy can have a number of long-term positive ramifications. Guests remember every aspect of a successful trip, and you want your hotel to be a significant memory they cherish for the rest of their life.
Stay tuned for part 3!
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