Why your hotel needs a chatbot

 

Chatbots, chatbots and more chatbots. You’re probably asking yourself, does my hotel really need one? And more importantly, what actually is one?

 

To put it simply, a bot is a piece of software that can have a conversation with a customer and perform a functional service task, usually online.

 

So does your hotel actually need one?

 

Hotels not just here in the UK but across the globe, all seem to have the same problems. From mounting paperwork and admin to worrying about how to reach and engage prospective and current customers. Especially with budgets getting tighter and tighter.

 

The solution is one that offers automation, scalability and cost-effectiveness.

 

 

5 practical ways your hotel can use a chatbot

 

-Bookings

-Check in, check out

-Answer FAQ’s

-Mobile concierge service

-Reward customers with loyalty points

 

Customer experience is so key to your hotels’ marketing strategy. It is your front line, your shop window and something you have to get right every time. If you don’t (especially in this crowded market) your customers will go elsewhere, rapidly.

 

The hospitality industry is constantly changing. Your customers are all online, using social media and now predominately their time is spent on messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

 

It is reported that now over 5 billion users worldwide are using messaging apps, surpassing active social media users.

 

This is the ideal place to engage with them. Right where they are. Not what suits you but what suits them, your customer.

 

How can a chatbot make your job easier?

 

 

Free up your staffs’ time

 

 

Like most people I speak to in the hospitality industry, their getting bogged down with more and more paperwork and growing hoops to jump through.

 

Chatbots don’t always have to be customer facing. They can automate internal processes, so your hotel or chain of hotels saves money and frees up time internally to concentrate more on your customers.

 

 

Give your customers a better experience

 

 


 

Prospective customers

 

Give your customers what they want. Information on demand. Whether it’s making a booking with you effortless, directions or when their room is ready to check into. Make it easy for them. Automate simple tasks that don’t need a human to be involved in. Leave that for more complex tasks.

 

Loyal customers
 

Give a reason for your customers to choose you every time over the competition. Reward their loyalty with unique offers and perks if booked directly through you. This can all be handled by the chatbot. Again, if you make it easy for your customer they will reward you with their cash, consistently.
 

 

Around the clock marketing – done right

 

 

Customer experience is key in driving revenue and it all starts at your front line.

 

Your customers and staff want questions answered correctly on demand, no one wants to be glued to their emails all night answering them.

 

A chatbot is a great way to get across your hotels brand and what it stands for without anyone manning it – it does all the hard work for you and easily scalable. It doesn’t have to be limited to just one conversation being processed but 10, 100, 1000’s at any given time.

 

 

Keep costs down and save some money



 

By automating conversations at such a large scale, you don’t have to employ a large amount of staff to carry the load. The chatbot is doing all the work for you.

 

Of course, you’re not going to shut down all the phone lines and automate everything, that’s not what a chatbot is for. If someone wants to talk to a human quickly, make sure they can do it easily through the chatbot.

 

It is to help you with the basic things that take up a lot of your time.

 

By automating, you’re saving a large amount of time and money. It pays for itself very quickly.

 

 

Like you, they get better with age

 

 

By harnessing Artificial Intelligence and getting an experienced agency to look after the chatbot for you, the chatbot will learn more and more through the conversations it’s having on a daily basis.

 

Over time, it will get better and better at dealing with more complex tasks freeing up even more of your time, giving your hotel a deeper level of engagement with customers and staff whilst saving you money.

 

Yes, a chatbot won’t solve everything that keeps you up at night. Creating a chatbot shouldn’t be seen as a short-term fix. What it is though, is a sustainable long-term solution that will improve not only your customer experience but your bottom line too.

 

If you want to learn more, have an initial chat then please feel free to get in touch with one of our hotel marketing experts here.

 

For more information on avoiding the pitfalls of chatbots click here.

 

 
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puzzlelondon

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