With renovation season fast approaching, effectively communicating information to customers is critical to maintaining guest satisfaction and a revenue-driving online presence. Ongoing renovations impact overall guest experience. When unsuspecting guests check-in to find themselves in the midst of construction, it could result in a negative view of your property and result in an unfavorable review on any of your online platforms.
Get ahead of the curve and tackle this potential inconvenience head on to minimize the negative impact on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TripAdvisor.
Below are 3 ways to prepare guests for your hotel renovation to avoid negative feedback.
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HONESTY
For most travel shoppers, they consider your hotel as their home away from home. It’s where your corporate travelers work and your leisure guests relax, so ensuring a peaceful environment is crucial to guest satisfaction. With that being said, it’s important to be honest and transparent in regards to the renovation process, providing guests with updated information on what they can expect during this period.
For example, the renovation of your hotel’s breakfast room was expected to be completed by the end of the month, however due to unforeseen circumstances your scheduled renovation must now be extended for another 3 weeks.
Ensuring that this has been communicated to guests effectively provides a sense of value, appreciation and honesty, as this could become a factor in both their current and future reservations. One way to avoid this issue is to refrain from adding a specific completion date in your messaging so you are not creating unrealistic expectations.
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COMMUNICATION
Consider your Vizlly website and social media platforms as your main communication tools. Use these channels to celebrate new additions to your hotel, as well as updates on the overall renovation process, to create interest and suspense. Ensuring your messaging is as transparent, informative, and optimistic as possible will help build rapport with your guests.
Holiday Inn Kitchener have utilized their social media by including “behind-the-scenes” content regarding their current ballroom renovation. Once again, this kind of content keeps your guests in the loop while also building anticipation.
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VISIBILITY AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
When alerting travel shoppers of your scheduled renovations, ensure the messaging is placed in a part of your website that will allow it to stand out. Understandably, there are valid reasons to be fearful of losing reservations from guests wary of staying at a hotel undergoing construction, but you have final control over the final message that is communicated to your customers.
Best Western Plus Executive Inn included messaging on their homepage about the renovation taking place at the property. They highlighted the main components of the job and specific reasoning.
Some things to keep in mind for your hotel's messaging about the renovation:
- Keep it light and positive- remind your guests that these renovations are being implemented to create a better experience for all visitors.
- Reassure them that your hotel will remain open throughout the renovation process,
- Share what your staff is doing to ensure there is no disruption in their stay.
- Make it clear which parts of the hotel will be affected
Share your message
With your Vizlly subscription, you have access to monthly edits that can reflect changes in property information, updated special offers & packages, and seasonal specials. Send your Success Manger an email asking to include some messaging on your website about these renovations, either providing the exact working or some general information, and one of our Content Specialists will add it to your website!
Use your Vizlly website to provide your guests with important information regarding your upcoming renovations, controlling the messaging as you see fit. As reviews will still be written based on overall guest experience, providing guests with all the information about your hotel’s renovation prior to arrival will help alleviate customer dissatisfaction.
If you still get a couple of negative reviews, ensure your response shows empathy, as the main goal is to have a loyal repeated customer. By setting expectations and openly addressing these negative reviews, you build trust with future guests and create a more accurate portrayal of the renovation phase. For more information on responding to reviews, check out our article on developing an effective review strategy.
If you have any questions regarding the messaging around your upcoming renovation, feel free to reach out to your Customer Success Manager!
Written by Daniel Grant, Success Manager, CHDM.