Hotels are businesses and, as such, provide a service in exchange for financial remuneration from their customers.

Basically, hotels make money by offering stay experiences to their guests.

Consequently, understanding guests and their needs is critical to providing memorable experiences.

One of the best ways to do this is to learn about the customer journey; let's see what it consists of.

What is the Customer Journey and how to make a Customer Journey Map for your hotel

The customer journey represents the entire path a guest takes from the time they first desire a vacation to its completion and return home.

This journey is divided into several stages.

The best companies, not only in the hospitality world, create a map, called a customer journey map, to establish the actions to be taken to meet the customer at each of the stages.

This makes it easier to improve guest touchpoints and increase the perceived value of the property.

The 5 stages of the hotel customer journey

Typically, the stages of the customer journey in the hospitality industry are:

1. Inspiration and research
2. Booking
3. Arrival and check-in
4. Stay
5. Check-out and post-stay

Let's look at them one by one.

1. Inspiration and research: how to be found by customers

In the inspiration and research stage, potential customers are still very much dreaming about their vacation.

They still have vague ideas, have to decide where to go and when, by what means of transportation, what activities to do once they arrive, etc.

What can you do at this stage to attract your prospective guests?

You need to work on two fronts.

On the one hand, it is important to provide answers to practical questions (distance to the city center, what services the hotel offers, etc.).

On the other, you need to keep the vacation dream alive (talk about the area, hotspots for shopping, sports, the best restaurants and clubs).

This way, the guest will continue to dream about the vacation in your location, but at the same time they will get useful information and more clarity.

2. Booking: how to provide a simple and intuitive booking experience

The booking phase is a sensitive time for the guest because they perceive it as a no-win decision (even though it really isn't).

At this stage, your job is to provide assurance and eliminate the fear of making the wrong choice.

Here, too, you need to work on two fronts.

On the one hand, you have to reassure the guest about what they are doing, and on the other you have to convince them why their choice is the best one they can make.

In the first case, clarify the services included in their reservation and rights such as the cancellation policy.

In the second, remind them of the beauty of the destination, the relaxation they will experience, and the lasting memories they will create during their vacation, including showing them reviews from previous guests.

3. Arrival and check-in: how to create a memorable welcome experience for your guests

The moment of guest arrival is important for two reasons:

1. because the guest finally realizes the vacation dream,
2. because any worries and fears are erased.

That is why it is of paramount importance to manage it well.

The goal is to keep bureaucracy to a minimum and to meet the guest's immediate needs: whether they need parking, want to rest, eat, drink.

Try to be flexible in the procedure.

For example, if you see that they are tired from the trip, don't force them to listen to five minutes of explanation about the hotel, breakfast times, children's area, etc.

Rather, try to give them a chance to rest right away and give them a way to receive this information at a later time.

In case you cannot fulfill a guest's request right away (e.g., they cannot enter the room because it is too early), explain the situation and try to offer an alternative.

Remember that goodwill in trying to solve a problem is often more important than the solution itself, so show that you are genuinely trying to meet them.

4. Stay: how to provide a high-quality guest experience

During the stay, it is critical to make sure that the touchpoints between the guest and your staff are in line with the hotel's identity.

What this means.

It means that all of your staff members and all of your services must be able to provide an experience that is consistent with the customer segment you are targeting.

For example, if your hotel is dedicated to families but has an adults-only restaurant, this goes against the very image of the hotel.

The same thing would happen if staff members don't like children (and this shines through in their interactions).

So figure out if the services you are offering, or want to offer in the future, are aligned with each other and with your target clientele.

5. Check-out and post-stay: how to end the customer's stay successfully

At the check-out stage and during the post-stay phase, you need to make sure that the guest has a positive memory and that they want to return.

What should you focus on?

First, remember that the last memories, in chronological order, often define an entire vacation.

Mistakes at check-out or a bad experience at breakfast on the last day can leave a guest with a bitter taste in their mouth, even if everything went smoothly until then.

Pre-departure services must therefore be flawless.

Afterward, when the guest has already left and returned home, it is important to work both to get them to come back (through email marketing, for example) and to convince them to have other people come to your hotel.

What mistakes to avoid when managing the customer journey map in hotels

1. Not creating one

Very few hotels write their guests' customer journey down in black and white.

This is because still few people are familiar with this methodology, while others believe they have already got it right.

In fact, sketching out the customer journey allows you to observe some aspects that might otherwise be missed.

2. Not personalizing

Every guest is different, and every hotel caters to different target customers.

For example, a family hotel caters to families, but which ones exactly?

A single mom with children has different needs than a couple with children, just as a family with small children has different needs than a family with teenage children.

Therefore, it is important to make multiple customer journey maps and customize them for different types of customers.

Remember: the more precise you are in personalizing experiences, the more the perceived quality of your service increases.

3. Not updating

Guests and their tastes and preferences change over time, as do the products and services your hotel offers.

That is why it is important to keep your customer journey map flexible and updated frequently.

4. Excluding staff

One mistake hoteliers make when developing a customer journey map is to lock themselves in their office and build it on their own without the support of their team.

In reality, it is your staff who are on the front line organizing, managing and delivering services to guests.

Only if you involve your staff will you produce a customer journey map tailored to your guests and in line with your hotel's identity.

Planning your guests' customer journey is key to aligning your services with their needs and delivering a superior guest experience, from booking to check-out.

But that's not all: curating each touchpoint with personalized communications and consistent ancillary services will help you increase loyalty and revenue.

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