When it comes to running a hotel, it can be difficult to keep on top of day-to-day tasks like managing bookings, dealing with customer feedback, marketing your business and getting ahead of your competition. Luckily, advancements in technology mean that it’s easier than ever to manage your hotel.
Below, we’ve put together four of the best business tools to use within your establishment.
1. Online booking systems
Managing bookings through telephone and an online order form isn’t ideal, so switch to a hotel booking system like Eviivo to take the pressure out of your room management. By using this online tool, you’ll be able to provide an easier way for customers to book a room in your hotel, and your receptionists and admin staff will be able to spend more time delivering excellent customer service.
2. Review websites
With 88% of consumers trusting review websites as much as personal recommendations, you cannot ignore TripAdvisor and other travel websites for your hotel. Whether you download their respective applications to keep on top of customer feedback, or you set up alerts to your email address for every new comment on your hotel, it’s essential that you keep on top of your reviews. Remember to leave positive messages to both positive and negative reviews – show disappointed customers that you’ve acknowledged their criticisms and get in touch with them directly to provide a solution.
3. Social media management apps
Social networking is important for any brand, but spending all day on Facebook and Twitter when you’ve got a hotel to run isn’t the most sensible business decision. TweetDeck and Hootsuite are two of the most popular social media management tools – they allow you to schedule posts, send out promotional messages during peak periods and monitor what your competitors are getting up to. Relying on such management apps, instead of the standard Twitter and Facebook applications, will allow you to stay focused on your business and prevent time wasting.
4. Search engine optimisation tools
If your hotel has a website, then you’ll want to make sure your content has been optimised for search engines to ensure that you’re achieving high rankings. If you Google your city and find that a competitor is ranking higher than you, then you’ll want to use a search engine optimisation tool to find the best ranking keywords for your industry. The SEOBook Keyword Research Gadget is a free tool that you can use to monitor keywords and see how your website compares with competitors’. With 65% of all same-day reservations being made via smartphone, it’s essential that your hotel is at the top of the search engine results pages so that you can enjoy consistent occupancy rates.
Takeaway
By taking advantage of these four hotel management tools, you will be able to save time, save money and provide a better service to your guests. While the internet can’t make breakfasts and do your laundry, it can certainly go a long way in making your hotel management role easier.