Everything technology-related for Monscierge.
Have you ever filled out a comment card or done an online survey and wondered if anyone would ever look at it? Does the data you offer to companies in hopes of improvements even matter? Is anyone listening? Hotels perhaps have the greatest available insight into customer data, because they own (and receive feedback on) everything from breakfast time to bedtime. Last week, we talked about actionable data hoteliers can capture through branded mobile apps. But how valuable is it? Five ways to improve operations based on mobile data: What is grabbing your guests’ attention in your app, and what are they ignoring? Better yet, which aspects of your app are bringing in the most revenue? An understanding of guest behavior in the app gives you the power to promote various aspects of your property as needed, and tweak the things guests aren’t using. Are guests using your app more on property or off? You can use this kind of information to tailor messages to the guest. If more guests are using your app off site for area recommendations, try pushing your in-house dining. Alternately, this would be a good time to push any special discounts you may have with …
We know why guest data is important to hoteliers; no matter how streamlined your operations, if the guests aren’t happy, nobody is happy. Information gathering has come a long way since the days hotels relied on comment cards. While those cards are not yet extinct, hoteliers have come to rely on technology for gathering, translating, and reporting guest data. Online booking and behaviors provide insight to guest preferences and satisfaction, but without mobile, are you getting the entire picture? A recent report by Flurry shows that mobile users are spending 86% of mobile time on apps, and only 14% on mobile web. This means that companies relying solely on web are missing out on a huge piece of the data puzzle. So what could mobile do for you? Here are five things that we’ve found, actionable by hotels into a better experience for all of their guests. Are your guests sharing your hotel information on their social networks? What is grabbing your guests’ attention in your app, and what are they ignoring? Better yet, which aspects of your app are bringing in the most revenue? Are guests using your app more on property or off? Are the guests in your …
Two of the biggest hurdles to overcome with hotel apps are adoption and retention. In January, Angie shared ideas for getting guests to download and use your branded app. This month, we hear from Ken Marold on maximizing the power of your hotel app. Hotel smartphone apps have a unique burden in that they own a lot of power over the guest experience and subsequent loyalty. They have to intelligently address every aspect of each guest through their entire journey. Right now, you may have the OTAs or a booking app, but there’s a much bigger picture. If your app has reached its full potential, your guests will not need to leave it for their travel needs. On the business side, approaching an app as an end-to-end experience opens up incremental revenue opportunities along the entire guest journey. Just think for a second, what services could you promote through mobile if you could combine it with a personalized guest profile? For instance: Signature moments: Can you think of new signature moments that would be exclusive to your mobile app, something that you could use as a differentiator? Local expertise: Individual insight means custom tailored experiences unique to each person. The …
Don’t use it – If you and your staff are not using your app, you are putting it at a serious disadvantage. The best way to increase guest adoption is to create a buzz, and that starts with you and your staff. Make it inaccessible – Your app should be available for use by as many guests as possible. Make it available for multiple devices. Or, as is our current focus, multi-lingual capabilities to break down any language barrier between guests and staff. Make it useless off-site – Guests are more likely to download and keep your app if you provide value beyond the stay. Your concierge recommendations, directions, and even other travel information are all functions that can be useful to guests even when they are not on your property. One-sided conversation – Provide a channel for guests to speak with your staff, instead of just using your app as a fancy marketing message. Sure, it’s useful to view spa or restaurant hours, but what if they can make reservations while they’re looking? Limit functionality – Along the same lines, try to think of your app as an extension of your hotel as a whole, rather than an …
Today’s post is written by our VP EMEA, Eric Lunt. Eric spent his early years living and working in France in the hospitality industry and has spent the last 15 years in various areas of technology, most recently with Monscierge working with international hotel brands and developing technologies to improve the guest experience. He is excited to be part of a rapidly changing cultural and technological evolution. For a few of us at Monscierge, this is not our first attempt at building a global software company. Some of us will remember the frustration of trying to make software designed in America work in Europe. Something innocuous like an unfamiliar date format could bring it to a grinding halt. A truly multinational platform benefits from being designed that way from the beginning and we just need to take a peek at what’s available in the market to know how challenging this must be. The decision to grow Monscierge simultaneously in multiple geographies and to build a platform that was both unphased by and, highly aware of, the location of its user is now revealing its full worth. I recall a trip to sub Saharan Africa where, for once, speaking English could not get me by. …