Here’s a hypothetical situation for you to ponder: You’re about to book the vacation of your dreams. Of course you first do a quick search online first. The hotel you’ve long dreamed about visiting claims to be a five star accommodation, but disparaging guest reviews paint an entirely different picture. Who do you trust in this case? More than that, based on negative reviews are you still going to book your upcoming trip at that hotel or will you choose another destination? 

In an era of peer based reviews trumping even the most glowing hotel claims, chances are good that most of us will choose a destination based on a variety of factors. And while many of us trust a hotel brand’s reputation, we also pay attention to the smaller details. 

Reviews on travel websites are great, but so are announcements about new hotel innovations including tech upgrades to aspiring digital hotels. State of the art technology meant to guide guests everywhere from researching, to booking, to checking in or out or arranging experiences also plays into ratings. And in a COVID-aware world, things like cleanliness, digital and physical safety in the form of visible hotel employee panic buttons and more are expected.

 

Reviews aren’t everything, but trusted reviews can make or break your hotel

While most people don’t book a vacation based on the amazing panic button systems in place, they do keep track of hotel amenities as closely as they do the upgraded technology. And in a post-pandemic world, people expect better than ever tech. More than that, if they’re already using the internet of things to manage their home lives, they’ll consider it a downgrade if you don’t have these things easily accessible on your property.

If as a hotelier, your destination hasn’t changed at all as travel restrictions ease up in much of the world, you’re doing something very wrong. And you can expect that guests past and present will be sure to share their opinions loudly and publicly. To avoid negative reviews and increase five star ratings, you need to lean into your guests’ preferences and expectations.

At Relay, we’re proud that our devices connect distanced workers and empower them through the use of a panic button and a completely connected cellular network. Contact us to find out how to empower your staff and clientele through connectivity with a device that alerts anyone to potential danger.

 

Reviews and ratings are critical to hotels

Back in 2015, Tripadvisor released a study focusing on customer satisfaction. At the time they revealed that 96% of Tripadvisor users consider reading reviews important when planning trips and booking hotels. 

If garnering positive reviews was never part of your outreach or marketing plan, you’re going to miss out on future guests. The same study revealed that more than half of Tripadvisor users won’t book a stay at a property without any reviews.

 

Are you requesting positive reviews prematurely?

Here’s an interesting conundrum. You know that you need positive reviews to boost your hospitality business. But before you ask guests for a positive review, you need to ensure you’re providing them with the best possible experience. Once you’ve done that, you have to amplify everything you thought was once acceptable and instead try for superior experiences for every single guest. In other words, before you can collect as many five star raves as possible, you need to give your guests something to rave about.

Do you have the cleanest rooms and excellent sanitizing system? Is your restaurant known for a dish so tantalizing that people drive hundreds of miles for a taste? 

And when it comes to safety, do you protect every member of your staff and equip them with associate alert devices as per the new employee safety device mandates? 

 

More reviews vs. authentic reviews

In a fascinating article on NBC news about five star reviews and ratings, the author shared facts about how much people rely on positive reviews. 

Some takeaways included that having over a hundred thousand reviews might be critical for something like an Instant Pot, but not as much for smaller companies or products. In those cases people understand that rave reviews might not be plentiful, but they have to be meaningful. More than that, negative reviews can be damning. As explained in the article, people often vote up bad reviews meaning that your clients and guests might see those first.

Better tech leads to better customer service and the five star ratings will follow

If you’re ready to make some positive changes to your property, we suggest taking a serious look at the tech you have in place. If you’re up for the challenge, now would be a good time to upgrade whatever is more than a year old. Travel is moving forward in a way not many of us expected two years ago, and what was once acceptable is probably now obsolete. 

 

The hospitality industry has gone way beyond providing clean sheets and a comfortable room. If it isn’t state of the art, it’s outdated.

 

2022 will be the year of travel and people are impatient to create their experience. Your future guests expect your virtual and onsite technology to be able to aid and anticipate their needs along with every element of their experience. 

 

• If you have on-site staff to greet guests, make sure that they don’t hover. In a post-COVID world, some guests love being welcomed, but they no longer want your staff in close proximity. 
• Create a check-in kiosk that seamlessly mirrors the experience you provide on your website and app. When people are traveling the last thing they want is to have to figure out the rest of your system.
• The same goes for your in-room experiences. It’s fine to try to dazzle and delight guests. The hospitality industry has gone way beyond providing clean sheets and a comfortable room. If it isn’t state of the art, it’s outdated.
• Make safety a priority. From well-lit public areas, to signage that states hygiene and physical safety protocols, guests may anticipate a tech-based experience, but they want to know safety is your priority. Have your associate alert devices proudly and prominently worn by staffers so guests can be reassured that constant safety is a hallmark of your brand. 
• Gently solicit feedback. Guests are already overwhelmed by new experiences when traveling. Allow them to soak up the experience and then write their positive reviews. Conversely, if you gift your guests a one-of-a-kind amenity or experience, consider asking them for a quick rave review. They’re more likely to share the good feelings while still basking in the afterglow.

 

The Relay difference:

If you’re ready to set up your own network of panic buttons, look no further than Relay. Our products are affordable and efficient. Relay is an easy to deploy, flexible panic button. Best yet, it’s also an elevated communications solution, so you’re combining two critical line items into one (with better value). With Relay, you save money, setup is nonexistent, and our products offer hotel staff a practical, easy solution.

Last fall we released results of a survey we conducted with fascinating results: Almost 50% of workers polled said they would consider quitting their jobs for better, safer workplace communication technology. In fact, if we had to distill the survey results to a single takeaway, here’s what it would be. Survey takeaway: All the employee incentives in the world won’t matter if your staff hates your current walkie-talkies. 

Before we take on the way you’ll keep your staff happy and hopefully avoid losing more hotel staff in the future if you upgrade your associate alert devices, let’s take a bit of a deeper dive into the turnover rate that always existed in the hospitality industry.

 

High turnover in the hospitality industry is nothing new

In March 2020 4hoteliers.com ran an article called Why Does the Hospitality Industry Have Such High Turnover? The author of the article shared some startling statistics including claims that the hospitality industry holds a turnover rate of almost 74% which is significantly higher than the national average of 10%-15%. As the Great Resignation rages on, MSN reported that the U.S. is still missing roughly 5 million pre-pandemic jobs. And while better pay and incentives are considered ways to lure staff back to your properties, it isn’t the only option offered.

Beyond emerging from the pandemic and back to better business, it’s important to understand the high turnover before it can be remedied.

 

Why don’t hotel staffers stick around?

The hotel industry is often seasonal. While some properties operate year round, others are staffed to accommodate ski season or an extended summer break. It makes sense that staffers might move around from property to property and even on to competitors offering better incentives. 

 

Improved employee safety technology = happier and more loyal staff

As evidenced in the results of our survey, staffers demand better tech to stay at their current jobs. More than that, everyone from the housekeeping to kitchen and restaurant staff want and need to feel safe at work. 

In an era of mandated walkie talkies, your property has to provide staffers the best devices and experience possible. If you don’t, they’ll seek employment at hotels that are committed to protecting staffers while keeping them connected.

At Relay, we’re proud that our devices connect distanced workers and empower them through the use of a panic button and a completely connected cellular network. Contact us to find out how to empower your staff and clientele through connectivity with a device that alerts anyone to potential danger.

 

Updating your safety tech will keep staffers loyal

While upgrading your walkie talkie system isn’t the only way to keep your staff happy, it is a major priority for them – and therefore should be a major priority for you.

Last year, Karen Fichuk, CEO of temp and staffing agency Randstad North America, said in a media report that “the COVID-19 pandemic has had the most significant impact on the labor market since the Great Depression.” In discussing job recovery efforts, Fichuk also said “The pandemic has exposed deep-rooted vulnerabilities to the workforce and has underscored the need for policies that will promote a fair and even recovery.” And the way to counter vulnerabilities felt by frontline workers is to empower them with agile, easy to use walkie talkies and safety technology that makes them feel less vulnerable.

 

5 ways to improve employee safety technology at hotels

It isn’t enough to simply place an associate alert device in a housekeeper’s hand and wish them well. To ensure that your staff knows you’re committed to their safety and wellbeing, you have to improve the technology that keeps guests and staffers safe. 

Don’t go for flashy or expensive tech upgrades before you understand what staffers need most.

 

Here are a few great ways to start:

1. Address critical upgrades first. Don’t go for flashy or expensive tech upgrades before you understand what staffers need most. Ask your CTO to compile a list of staffers favorite tech products and the ones that they hate. If needed, create a staff focus group for them to share wish lists of tech products.
2. Always follow protocol. Even if you pride yourself on being a family business, you’ll have to stringently keep to the law and all new updates and mandates. There’s nothing cute about asking staffers to share a walkie talkie if your state mandates one walkie per staffer. This isn’t the place to save money either. 
3. Prioritize spending. We can’t stress enough how important it is to keep updating your planning budget. And as more properties add in fully digital hotel capabilities, you need to keep up without looking insecure. If it helps, don’t draw up your entire year’s budget until you’re sure of how post-pandemic travel will affect your bottom line and then budget and spend accordingly.
4. Don’t cheap out on panic buttons. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get the best associate alert devices possible. What you do have to do though is invest in products that will empower your staff without overwhelming them. To keep staffers loyal and to attract new employees, you need to remind them how important each and every one of them is. And that means taking the time to understand and address their concerns. And because you can’t accompany every staffer to every area of the hotel and property daily, their walkie talkie reassures them that they’re safer and accounted for.
5. Train your staff vigorously. In addition to budgeting for actual hardware, you’ll need to budget for training sessions. What good is the latest touch free check in system if staffers have no idea of how to help guests who become stuck in the process? Your goal of keeping employees on staff by switching to the newest safety technology will fail if there’s no response system in place. 

 

The Relay difference:

If you’re ready to set up your own network of panic buttons, look no further than Relay. Our products are affordable and efficient. Relay is an easy to deploy, flexible panic button. Best yet, it’s also an elevated communications solution, so you’re combining two critical line items into one (with better value). With Relay, you save money, setup is nonexistent, and our products offer hotel staff a practical, easy solution.