Hotel mobile marketing has come a long way in the last decade. It’s not enough to have a functioning mobile site or app anymore; in a highly digital world and a competitive hospitality industry, brands that invest in mobile innovation will have the upper hand.
Despite this, hotels have been slow to adopt new mobile technologies; that is, until the COVID-19 pandemic made them a necessity. Suddenly tasked with the challenge of serving guests from six feet away, hotels had to quickly embrace the digital transformation.
But the benefits of a mobile communications platform don’t stop at health and safety. In this blog, we discuss how hotels can use mobile technology to improve guest satisfaction, build customer loyalty, and create more personalized digital experiences.
The Importance of Mobile Marketing for Hotels
In many ways, COVID-19 has changed the hospitality industry forever. Not willing to risk their health or jeopardize their vacation by standing in a check-in line or interacting with hotel staff, many consumers explored alternative forms of accommodation, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, that offered them a sense of seclusion and distance from other people.
As a result, many guests are now placing a premium on limiting interactions with other people while traveling.
This change in customer needs and wants has prevented many hotels from leveraging one of their greatest marketing assets: their people. Mobile marketing has helped hotels adapt through the adoption of contactless guest interactions, such as mobile room keys, contactless check-in, and contactless room service while still providing personalized experiences that make guests feel valued.
6 Ways Mobile Marketing Is Improving Hotel Guest Experiences
Positive guest experiences are what shape your brand’s reputation and turn first-time guests into loyal, repeat customers. Here are six ways that hotels are effectively using mobile marketing to create meaningful touchpoints with guests:
1. Checking in (and out) has never been faster.
When guests check in or out at your hotel, the experience should be frictionless. Especially when check-out mornings can be a chaotic scramble to pack and dash, giving guests the option to check out on their mobile devices is a welcome convenience.
Technology like NFC (near-field communication) can also simplify the process by allowing guests to tap their phone on a kiosk or terminal to confirm a booking or make a payment. While it’s still important to offer guests the option of a face-to-face check-in experience, busy guests will appreciate the decreased wait times.
2. Guests receive the right reminders at the right time on their preferred platform.
With a omnichannel platform like CPaaS, you can easily connect with customers via SMS messages, push notifications, social media, or any other platform of their choice to send reminders directly to the guest’s phone or tablet.
You can use mobile messaging to send instant reminders about:
- What’s happening during a guest’s stay (e.g., “Breakfast is served from 7 am–10 am every day”)
- Approaching check-in/check-out times
- When sold out rooms become available
- Special offers and booking deals
- Room-ready alerts
- Leaving a review after their stay
3. Making restaurant reservations is a breeze.
Dinner reservation reminders are helpful, but what happens if guests are running late and need to change their reservation time? With an omnichannel mobile marketing platform, they can do so through your app, your website, or through rich text messaging—because everything’s connected.
This saves time and money on your side and makes it easier for guests to make changes at the last minute on their preferred platform. Notifications also decrease no-shows, saving you money and allowing you to plan more effectively.
4. Contactless room service puts guests in control of their experience.
Hotels are now effectively using mobile technology to make it easier for their guests to enjoy all of their amenities. From the comfort of their room, guests can use their phones to:
- Order room service
- Access information about their stay
- Schedule a wake-up call
- Make payments
- Book spa appointments
- Access any number of other services you have to offer
They can also use their phone or tablet to control the television, lighting, and thermostat temperature—the possibilities are endless.
5. Guests feel heard, and hotels receive more feedback.
Hotels can also tap into mobile marketing tools to better understand what their guests think about their experience by sending easy-to-complete polls and review reminders. You can ask questions about what features are most important to your guests or what types of entertainment would be most beneficial for families staying at your hotel.
By providing opportunities to leave feedback, guests feel that their voice matters, and their answers will help guide future decisions about how your hotel operates.
6. Guests have access to special mobile offers.
Incorporating exclusive offers into your mobile marketing strategy provides an engaging way for guests to browse your offerings and gives them an easy way to make reservations or purchase exclusive deals on the go. You can use this technology to offer special pricing for extending a stay, promoting upsells, or even offering them the ability to book a future trip.
Implementing a Hotel Mobile Marketing Strategy
Mobile marketing is a key tool for capturing the attention of guests and keeping them engaged before, during, and after their stay. To implement an omnichannel communications strategy at scale, hotel brands need an experienced partner.
For more than 30 years, Syniverse has been at the center of the mobile ecosystem—we’ve seen where it’s been, and more importantly, where it’s heading. That’s why we’re focused on creating scalable, future-proof solutions like Hyperscale Communications Platform, the world’s first cloud-native, unlimited capacity communications platform for enterprise.
Contact us to speak with an expert and learn more about our custom mobile engagement solutions for hotels.
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