If there is something that people working in marketing in hospitality are talking about is the power of a CRM system created especially for hotels. 

But why has it become so important? 

Today, the challenges of hotel marketing are increasing consistently. Customers demand more personalisation, better reach, multi-channel approaches, and so on. And if you are not meeting these requirements, the numbers will show it. 

One of the main points that accommodation providers must consider is how to stand out in front of other hotels. There are so many brands offering the same and using the same messages that brands must fight to get the travellers’ attention. 

However, one of the most powerful tools to help you make this happen is CRM software that is focused on the hospitality industry. 

In short, with a CRM you can leverage your guest data to extract insights and understand your guests but also use that information to create marketing campaigns that resonate with your guests and increase conversions.

It is a tool that holds incredible power to help you navigate the waters of hotel marketing and boost your revenue, but only if used properly. What can you do with a CRM to increase revenue and conversions?

Here are 6 things: ‍

1. Personalise your communications from pre-stay to post-stay

The power of personalisation is real. 79% of people say they are more likely to engage with a brand if the communications they receive are targeted especially to them and consider their preferences. 

With a CRM you can create different audiences based on hundreds of characteristics. For example, identify high-spenders, one-time visitors, returners, business travellers, and more. Not only that, but identify where are the majority of your guests coming from, what generation they belong to, and more.

You can track guest behaviour and preferences, such as their room type preferences or preferred amenities, and use that information in your campaigns. In this way, you will be sending a message that is interesting for them instead of a one-message-fits-all approach. 

For example, you can send a couple’s massage offer to couples instead of sending it to a business traveller. Or an offer for breakfast to all guests who haven’t booked one yet. 

Personalising your communications across the entire gets journey will greatly impact your open and click rate and your engagement rate. More interactions mean building a relationship with your guests, and therefore a higher chance of ending in more bookings and more services acquired.

People want to be seen and heard, and by receiving relevant information you are showing that you take into consideration their preferences. 

If you want to learn more about how to use a CRM for personalisation, read this article.

2. Unlock the power of multi-channel communication

If the CRM you are using is a multi-channel one, just like Bookboost’s, you have even more power in your hands because you can leverage more channels. 

Guests not only use email. Some of them prefer to be reached via WhatsApp or SMS. And the secret is to be able to reach them in the channel of their preference. 

A multi-channel CRM allows you to reach your guests in the most effective way, which translates into 8 times more conversions than with an email-only CRM. The right channel added to the right message sets you up for success.

Hospitality brands using a multi-channel guest journey have highlighted that, among the main benefits, is that the brand comes across as more professional and innovative, which also leads to increased brand awareness, better positioning and increased revenue. 

Still not convinced with multi-channel communication? Get inspired with: 4 reasons why being multi-channel steps up your guest communication

3. Get insights to empower your services and offerings

To leverage your guest data you need a way to organise it and structure it. A hotel CRM will help you to get a clear overview of your information, getting rid of messy and duplicated data. Once the data is structured and duplicates are gone, you can start crafting insights out of the information.

You will be able to identify opportunities to upsell and cross-sell services or amenities to guests. How? By obtaining and reflecting on the data about your best-selling services. What do the people that buy them have in common? 

You can identify preferences based on location, the type of traveller and even the other services they bought, to put together smart packages that are more likely to be bought. 

Your guest data is one of your most valuable assets and once you learn how to leverage it, you will have an advantage over your competitors. Discover more about how to use hotel guest data to increase your revenue in this article.

4. Nurture a relationship and increase guest loyalty

Acquiring new customers is highly more expensive than engaging with your existing customers. And this is the same for hotels. Therefore, nurturing the relationship with your guests once they leave the hotel is key to turning them into loyal customers. 

With a hotel CRM, you can track all your communications and create nurturing workflows to ensure you are communicating to the right people and with the right message to bring them back to your hotel. 

An example of this is using your guest data on the CRM to create an audience from people that haven’t made a reservation in the last six or twelve months. Then you can send them a campaign with a discount code to motivate them to book in the same hotel or in a new city. You can go further and then divide them by the type of traveller, if they booked family stays, leisure or business trips, and so on, and craft the message accordingly. 

5. Lead the guest journey

‍One key point is that your CRM can track 2-way communication. This means, not only tracking what the guests send you but that you can start the conversation as well. 

In this way, you will go from being reactive to being proactive, and you can lead your guests across the entire guest journey instead of just reacting to their messages and answering their questions. 

When you are proactive, you can be a step ahead, providing information about their concerns before they even realise it, and building bridges between your hotel and your guests. 

Proactively taking care of your guests across the entire guest journey will result in higher guest loyalty which turns into higher revenue.

6. Automate your marketing campaigns to save time

One of the biggest advantages of a hotel CRM is the option to create guest journeys and set up triggers. Time translates into money so the more time you can spare from repetitive tasks to dedicate to new projects, the better for you and your team. 

 You can use your CRM to create specific triggers that automate touchpoints like booking confirmations, newsletter subscriptions, pre-arrival information, asking for feedback, and more. Can you imagine the amount of time you will save without having to send each message manually?

Despite CRMs being among the hottest topics in the last months, there is still a great percentage of hotels that haven’t looked into it or considered it as a new addition to their tech stack.

‍Without a doubt, a CRM system not only will help you to achieve higher revenue but also to provide an enhanced guest experience to your guests and to increase your guest loyalty, both key for a hotel’s survival and success, not only now but also in the future.

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