In today’s competitive landscape, relying on technology is paramount in the hospitality industry. Hotels that are still resistant to adapting modern technology almost lose their guests’ trust, as technology enhances their experience to higher levels.
This forces hotels to leverage technology to survive cutthroat competition and ensure that guests trust them to provide the best service.
Moreover, technology has been a buzzword for a decade now, with everyone wanting to make the most of it and embed it into everyday activities.
Guests become accustomed to technology and if they find traditional manual service in hotels slow, they become highly dissatisfied and may spread negative word-of-mouth to potential customers.
Why is the manual process not enough?
In a service-oriented industry, it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate guest complaints and requests, even after implementing the best service methods.
Typically, complaints are handled using manual methods, which involve logging the complaint in a spreadsheet or a notepad (either digital or manual) once it is raised at the front office.
The front office coordinator then categorizes the complaints to the right department and informs the specific head of the department about the complaint.
The department head then informs the appropriate staff and assigns the complaints to them. The staff then addresses the complaint approximately 10 to 15 minutes after it has been raised.
Now, consider a guest who has complained about the AC not working and has to wait for 15 minutes for the issue to be addressed and another 30 minutes for the issue to be resolved. In total, the guest has to wait around 45 minutes to 1 hour for the issue to be resolved.
As a result, the guest grows frustrated and is highly dissatisfied with the service provided by the hotel.
Hotels take a longer time to address complaints because of the time-consuming process that involves passing on complaints instead of directly assigning them to the right staff.
Having robust complaint management software in place helps hotels automate the complaint assignment process thereby reducing the wait hours and satisfying the guests.
To find out the importance of the guest complaint and request management software, read our article on “Why is the guest complaint software important to hotels”.
It is evident that complaint and request management software is crucial to the hotels but let’s find out what are the hidden costs in not using the guest complaint and request management software.
The impact of dissatisfied guests on hotels
The guests are highly dissatisfied if their complaints are not properly handled making them feel unvalued and ignored.
A single dissatisfied guest greatly impacts the hotel revenue negatively thereby repelling the potential customers to choose our hotel.
The easiest way to elevate the guest experience is by promptly handling their complaints and making them feel valued.
The hidden costs of not using an ideal complaint and request management software are detailed below:
1. Reputation Damage
A single negative word-of-mouth marketing can affect a hotel by around 20-25% in terms of revenue.
Source: Internet
Hotels build their future only with their reputation in the market. Once the reputation of the hotel is damaged socially, the hotel loses its grip in the market and mostly ends up the future sustainability.
A single unresolved complaint can spiral into a PR nightmare. A single bad word-of-mouth marketing or a negative review in popular travel advisory apps like TripAdvisor can shake the entire reputation of the hotel.
“According to a study by BrightLocal, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, including hotels, before making a decision”.
Source: Internet
A guest’s negative experience, when left unaddressed, can spread across social media and review platforms, tarnishing your hotel’s image.
2. Increased Operational Costs
Manual methods are also prone to errors in addition to being time-consuming.
Imagine if the head of the department who usually is backed with a lot of work forgets to assign the complaints to the staff or the staff who is mostly busy during peak hours misses to address one of the complaints which is highly possible in everyday life.
This can drastically affect the hotel’s reputation because the dissatisfied guest shares the bad experience with the potential experience.
Without an automated system, complaints can easily slip through the cracks, leading to repeated issues and increased operational costs.
“Research by McKinsey shows that automation can reduce the cost of handling a customer inquiry by as much as 40%”.
Source: Internet
3. Loss of Repeat Business
Repeat business is a key revenue driver for hotels. The repeat business can only be achieved by ensuring guest satisfaction during their stay.
Boosting guest satisfaction directly boosts positive word-of-mouth marketing and also positive online reviews and higher ratings online.
However, without an efficient system to manage and resolve complaints, hotels risk losing loyal guests due to a lack of consistent service.
For example: A frequent guest experiences a problem during their stay and reports it. If their complaint is mishandled, they may choose to stay at a competitor’s hotel next time, costing your hotel not just one guest but potentially many others they influence.
“According to Bain & Company, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%”.
Source:Interent
4. Lower Staff Productivity
Handling guest complaints manually can overwhelm your staff, leading to lower productivity and morale.
Moreover, without a centralized platform for logging complaints, it is hard to track the complaints assigned to the staff thereby creating a mess in assigning the complaints.
There may be a situation when one staff is loaded with issues and the other one barely has one issue.
Thereby it reduces employee productivity despite having enough employees in hotels.
“A study by the Harvard Business Review found that employees spend an average of 40% of their time dealing with internal processes that could be automated .”
Source: Internet
5. Lack of Analysis
Effective complaint management software not only helps resolve issues but also provides insights into guest preferences and trends.
With the centralized platform to log all the complaints and reports it is very easy for the hotels to track the tickets and also the detailed reports generated by the software add a boon to the software.
Hotels that leverage this data can create personalized offers and services, driving additional revenue.
“A report by Deloitte states that 80% of frequent travelers are more likely to book a hotel that offers personalized experiences”.
Source: Internet
For example: Without software to track complaints, your hotel might miss patterns—like frequent complaints about room service. Identifying this trend could lead to menu changes or staff training that improves guest satisfaction and increases revenue.
Conclusion
The hidden costs of not using guest complaint and request management software are substantial and multifaceted.
In a competitive industry where guest experience is paramount, relying on outdated or manual processes can hinder growth and erode profitability.
Embracing the right technology not only streamlines operations but also enhances guest satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately driving long-term success.
Investing in guest complaint and request management software is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity for any hotel committed to excellence.
If you are interested in a guest complaint and request management software, feel free to reach us via www.geedesk.com or mail us at [email protected].