Landline Texting – Hotels were hit hard from the effects of travel restrictions due to the pandemic and hundreds of thousands of workers lost their jobs. With experts predicting that travel won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, hotels will need to use tools to operate as efficiently as possible.
The U.S. hotel industry is expected to add 200,000 hotel operations jobs in
2021, but that will still keep the total number of jobs 500,000 short of
pre-pandemic employment levels, according to an industry report by the American Hotel & Lodging
Association.
Furthermore, industry reports indicate leisure travel is beginning to rebound
much faster than business travel is. That means hotels will need to focus more
on accommodating weekend guests, families, and people who are looking to enjoy
their relaxing vacations.
A business texting service for hotels can help staff members communicate
directly with guests, spend less time speaking on the phone, and streamline
some of their day-to-day duties so they can focus on providing the best
experience for guests despite being short-staffed.
Hotels have already been taking advantage of business texting, allowing guests to text their landline phone number to ask about room availability, room services, and other amenities. Text My Main Number is ready to assist hotels and other businesses in the travel industry quickly get set up with business texting so they can boost productivity levels and bounce back from a difficult year.
Here are a few ways hotels can use business texting in 2021
1. Send safety reminders before and after check-in using Landline Texting
Ease any lingering nervousness about traveling during the pandemic by sending your guests information about the hotel’s health safety procedures and policies. A study by the University of Florida found that 90.5% of travelers expect hotels to clearly communicate their increased sanitation practices with guests, and the same percentage of travelers expect hotels to adopt increased sanitation practices in the hotel’s public areas.
Landline Texting allows staff to clearly communicate their health safety rules and procedures, and it lets guests discreetly voice any health safety concerns they may have during their stay.
2. Offer guests a chance to extend their stay
Hotel occupancy rates plummeted as travel restrictions around the world kept people at home. Since mid-February, U.S. hotels lost more than $46 billion in room revenue, according to the AHLA. As travel restrictions begin to ease up and more people get vaccinated, travelers may be more willing to extend their vacations a little longer.
Hotel staff can schedule a text to automatically send to each guest on the last day of their stay to ask if they would like to extend their visit. If a guest agrees to extend their stay, hotel staff can easily adjust the reservation and confirm the change via text. If a guest responds no, hotel staff can respond and thank the guest for staying at the hotel.
3. Allow guests to text food and beverage orders to the hotel restaurant or bar
With many people still trying to practice social distancing as much as possible, hotel guests may be hesitant to sit down in the hotel restaurant for a long meal. Hotels can give guests the option to text their food and beverage orders to the hotel bar or restaurant and get them delivered right to their room. Traditionally, guests would have to call down to the front desk or restaurant to order room service, but a business texting service for hotels can make ordering room service much easier and more efficient for both guests and hotel employees.
This is not only a convenient service to offer guests, but also a good way to reduce the need for people to gather in hotel common areas.
Landline Texting can also help settle disputes over room charges later on since both the hotel and the guest will have a written record of the extra services that were ordered during their stay.
4. Upon checkout, text guests a link to a follow-up survey or discounts for
future stays
Hotels are operating under unprecedented circumstances, and there is still likely a lot to learn and improve on. Guest surveys are a great tool to collect feedback so hotels know what they should change to offer a better experience.
However, it’s not always easy to get guests to fill out these types of surveys, even if they have an incentive to do so. Travelers are more likely to see and respond to a text message that pops up on their phone than open an email that will likely get lost beneath the other promotions and junk mail they receive.
To encourage guests to take the time to complete the survey, and to possibly keep them returning in the future, add a discount offer to the text message to use on their next stay.
5. Free up employees for increased cleaning and sanitation duties
With many hotels facing labor shortages, remaining employees will need to have time to help guests and keep the hotel clean and sanitary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Phone calls can eat out hours of an employees’ day that they could be spending doing other things. A business texting service for hotels can help streamline operations and help hardworking employees feel less overwhelmed by added responsibilities.
Business texting includes many convenient options like scheduled messages, quick responses, and automatic replies to take some of the pressure off of employees. Plus, all staff members can log in and access the messaging platform from their computer or mobile devices.
Text My Main Number is a longtime business texting service provider that’s
ready to help both large and small hotels and hospitality companies upgrade
their old landline telephone technology to better serve modern travelers.
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