Resorts are places of fun, relaxation, and memories for people who stay at them. There is a certain expectation of luxury and unique experiences when the moniker “resort” is added to a hotel. Guests expect nothing less than perfection on their trips. The key to keeping guest satisfaction high is fostering a positive guest experience. This responsibility falls on the resort’s staff and, mostly, the person running it. Running a resort is a lot of work. You have to think about the peak seasons, how to get people into your resort during off-seasons, how to get repeat guests, hosting large events and destination weddings, how to get consistently excellent reviews, and much, much more. Improving resort guest experience is always front and center when looking to increase bookings, revenue, and brand awareness.
Make a unique guest experience through personalization
Guests want to feel welcomed and special when they’re on vacation. Making gestures to recognize guests’ individual experiences are important to the resort. Small gestures include things such as leaving a personalized gift in the room for guests upon arrival. For example, if it’s a guest’s honeymoon, you could leave chocolate-covered strawberries or a bottle of champagne in their room before they arrive. Or, if a family with kids is coming, try leaving small snacks and a kids’ activity schedule out in the room. These little gestures can go a long way to make guests feel appreciated. They’ll remember how special the gesture made them feel and it’ll start off their stay with an outstanding first impression.
Offer complimentary services
People love freebies. Resorts that charge for every little thing typically foster a less positive experience and can make guests feel a bit gouged. Offer some services for free to guests and provide plenty of amenities to add a sense of care and comfort to guest experiences. Here are some examples of complimentary services guests appreciate at resorts:
- Complimentary Wi-Fi in their own rooms and in the hotel lobby.
- A free drink handed to them upon arrival in the lobby while waiting to check-in.
- A complimentary water bottle placed in their room every morning.
- A provided comfortable robe to use during stay.
- Complimentary slippers to use during their stay.
- Provided transportation to popular local excursions and tourist hotspots.
- Comfort items available upon request such as toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, comb, feminine hygiene products, contact cases and solution, and other items commonly forgotten by guests.
Reward guests who return to stay at your resort again
If guests had such a great stay with your resort previously that they’ve decided to return, reward them. Having a loyalty program to work toward a free stay or major upgrades is great to put into place. The issue with these programs is they can take a long time to get enough stays to qualify for a reward. Try implementing smaller incentives and surprising guests with small tokens of appreciation for returning. For example, when a guest books a second stay with your resort, send them a coupon for a free drink at the bar with their confirmation email or offer them late check out.
If you have a regular who stays with you many times a year, start leaving a bottle of champagne or freebie drink coupons for them to find upon arrival. Making people feel at home and appreciated will keep those regulars coming back, and most likely tell others about their consistently wonderful experiences.
Provide small gestures to make guests feel appreciated
Attention to detail is important when running a resort. Guests notice little gestures from the resort to show they’re appreciated and that their stay matters. Things as simple as a small surprise for guests to look forward to when entering their room every day can greatly improve the overall guest experience. Here are a few examples of gestures to leave for your guests:
- Fold the hand towels into a different shape or animal likeness each day and leave it on the bathroom counter for guests to find and look forward to.
- In true old-style hotel hospitality fashion, leave a chocolate or a mint on the pillow for guests each time their bed is made.
- Leave new event information for the day on the foot of the bed so guests can plan their day easily. Mention any events or activities going on at the resort and in surrounding tourist-centric areas.
Update the outdated fixtures at your resort—especially in the rooms
No matter how wonderful the overall experience is for guests, it’ll always be damped in their memories by outdated features. Guests establish their first real impression of your resort’s quality by visual inspections. Your resort should have modern, updated conveniences to keep the décor with the recent times. Here are common areas resorts should update to keep the experience modern, convenient, and exceptional for guests:
- Bathroom tubs/showers/sinks
- Beds
- Décor
- Carpeting
- Color scheme
- Keyless entry
Create a brand that guests can easily connect with
Resorts are more than just a place to lie down after a long travel day. People make trips to resorts to spend significant time at them. Your resort should stand apart from others in the surrounding area. Make sure people can connect with your specific brand. You don’t want people simply visiting the general area you’re located in, but you want them to visit your resort specifically. To achieve this, connect with your guests and build a brand they feel at home with.
Invest in some promotional products with your brand logo on it so the guests are fully emerged within your brand’s personality and culture for their entire stay. Small touches such as embroidering decorative pillows or swapping out boring plain bar napkins with personalized beverage napkins that display your brand’s logo and resort name on them can help you achieve this. Interacting with guests on social media and featuring their posts on your page also helps guests feel more connected with your brand and might even inspire them to post organic content about loving their stay at your resort.