Are post-stay online surveys today smart enough to reflect that the staff knew all about a guest’s stay?
The interest of a guest can wane in a minute today, and as a result, the questionnaire can be left incomplete. If such online surveys pose questions about only the amenities or services used, however, then a hotel brand stands to gain. For instance, a disgruntled guest might not write a negative review if his or her concerns are addressed in a timely manner.
“Without some preemptive investigative work it would be difficult to refine such tailored questions,” said Ed Reagoso, general manager at The Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange, New Jersey. “What a great asset this would be, however.”
Beyond standardized surveys
Most surveys start off generically. They seek information about the amenities used and then ask for a rating.
Hawaii-based Outrigger Enterprises Group is looking beyond standard questions. Charlene Goo, Outrigger’s vice president of brand performance, explained that if a hotel offers five different dining options but the guest dined in just three of the restaurants, they would check the names of the specific eateries and see questions that only apply to the three restaurants in which they dined.
“While we haven’t quite reached the level of customization where we track our guests from the initial booking process, to their actual on-site experience, to post-stay, we know the industry is moving in this direction and continue to monitor the technology,” Goo said.
A spokesman for Singapore-based Marina Bay Sands noted creating a tailored survey requires an infrastructure that has the ability to interface data from different back-end systems, integrate this data on a unifying platform, then push a tailored survey out to the guest, which can be challenging.
A tailored questionnaire would involve two steps: collection of data when the guest has used the service, and analysis of data and availability in usable form for the staff to prepare questions for a survey. Currently, hotels’ various data systems are not very well integrated.
Real-time feedback + human touch
Taljinder Singh, general manager of Tal Palace, New Delhi, said his team encourages guests to give real-time feedback to associates while they are at the property. Every guest gets a welcome letter with the GM’s contact details. Also, every room has speed dial to the duty manager phone. “We collect all feedback and discuss it with senior management on a daily basis,” Singh said.
Caroline Hardman, director of operational excellence at Minor Hotel Group, said while there is opportunity to collect more real-time data through on-property surveys during a guest’s stay, her team finds it is better positioned to place emphasis on genuine and warm interactions with guests. “We focus on coaching our team members to carefully observe behavior and anticipate unique ways to exceed our guests’ expectations as opposed to interrupting a stay with the request to help us data mine,” Hardman said.
Hardman added that aligning technology so the guest-survey tool and the PMS “talk to each other” also would be a great initiative.