Guests are the key to your hotel’s success.
Harry Gordon Selfridge, of Selfridges department store fame, coined the term “the customer is always right” in the early 1900s and the rest is history. The same mantra can be applied to your hotel. Without guests, where would your hotel be? Your guests want to feel welcomed and appreciated. Putting the guests needs before your own, increases the chance of repeat bookings, glowing guest feedback, and referrals. If you don’t prioritise your guests, your competitors will, and you will risk losing out on bookings. The guest is always right.
If a guest walks into a hotel reception and is greeted with a lack of enthusiasm or a long waiting time, their immediate response would be to feel unwelcomed and uninclined to return, or worse, submit a negative review on digital channels such as TripAdvisor. The quality of the guest experience you provide will make or break your hotel’s success.
It Sets a Standard
Encouraging the mantra “the guest is always right” creates a benchmark for excellence. If a guest believes something is not up to standards during their stay at your hotel, you should accept that something is wrong and address the issue, regardless of what you may believe. Debating and engaging in conflict with your guests, despite the rights and wrongs of a position, is only going to damage your hotel reputation in the long run. Accepting a guest’s opinion and addressing it to their satisfaction, places them as the focal point, and could result in you creating a long term, profitable relationship in the future.
Happy Guests Multiply
Positivity is contagious. A guest who is satisfied about their stay is likely to spread the news about your hotel to friends and family. One happy guest will most likely have a domino effect and encourage a whole host of potential new guests.
Guest resentment is risky
A guest who leaves your hotel dissatisfied can lead to many more unhappy guests.
A successful hotel prioritises loyalty. If one guest feels unwelcomed and rejected, they could very well share their negative experience with friends and family, leaving your hotel with a bad reputation and at the bottom of the pile of potential bookings.
The guest is always right in a digital world
The notion that the guest is always right, can take on a new, somewhat trickier meaning in a digital-first world. Without face-to-face interaction, during the booking or enquiry stage, it is sometimes more difficult to grasp what a guest wants to get out of their experience at your hotel.
Technology can present a challenge to some, and it is crucial to remain patient and understanding that some guests may find the online experience harder to navigate.
Ensuring all your staff are upholding the belief that the guest can do no wrong, will encourage members of staff to exercise patience when dealing with guests on online channels, such as chatbot or social media, whether they are looking to book or complaining about an issue with their stay.
Adhering to the concept that “the guest is always right” sets a standard of excellence on all your digital platforms. It will encourage speedier responses to guest complaints and questions or queries surrounding their experience. It will also ensure all your staff are kept on their toes.
The guest is not always right?
Are there exceptions to every rule?
In some extreme cases, upholding the notion, “the guest is always right” could strain the management-employee relationship and some guests may pose a threat to your business.
In some instances, if a guest continues to complain and perhaps fabricates complaints, you might feel the urge to sacrifice losing one negative guest to protect your employees. Whilst some could ague that the more guests you have the better it is for your hotel, this isn’t true in all cases. You could argue, fewer yet more loyal guest, who keep returning, could be better for your hotel.
Should your hotel follow the mantra “the guest is always right”
Ultimately, if a guest is disappointed with their experience and believes something is wrong, even if you don’t agree, you must deal with it as if it is true and accept it. It is important to remember that guests are the reason your hotel is still standing.
