It’s no secret that the hospitality industry is facing significant challenges with hotel staff retention and shortages. As we emerge from a global pandemic, guests are eager to travel again. Yet they are also more cognizant of safety, sanitation, and health precautions. Fortunately, with help from key technologies, hotels can improve guest satisfaction while increasing staff retention at the same time.
Strategic use of hotel technologies can streamline check-ins and check-outs and accelerate guest services, while making everyday tasks simpler and more efficient. Further, it can improve efficiency to decrease redundant tasks and free up employees from work that can easily be automated and integrated into your PMS. By unburdening staff, these solutions can help reduce employee burnout and make work more enjoyable. As a result, you’ll see improved staff morale, and you’ll likely see a lower turnover rate with greater staff retention.
Boost Hotel Staff Retention with Contactless Check-In and Digital Keys
Giving guests the option to check in on their phones is a win for everyone. Guests enjoy the ability to bypass the front desk and go directly to their rooms. Plus, with fewer guests checking in physically, front desk staff have more time for other tasks to ensure that guests have an enjoyable stay at your hotel.
When guests check in on their phones, Digital Key technology gives them instant access to their rooms – delivering a streamlined contactless experience. Plus, there is no risk of a key getting lost, damaged, or demagnetized. This removes a lot of work for front desk staff – work that often involves helping frustrated guests. Guests will benefit from shorter wait times at check-in and smoother transitions as they settle into their rooms. Hotel staff retention will reduce with the benefit from fewer tasks and more efficient check-in workflows. By simplifying the check-in process with mobile check-in and Digital Keys, you remove a source of frustration for guests and staff alike.
Facilitate Service Requests with SMS Capabilities
Picture this. It’s the busiest weekend of the year. Your hotel is completely booked, and it feels like everyone arrived at once. You have a line of guests at the front desk waiting to check in. You also have guests already in their rooms, and they expect prompt, friendly service for things like in-room meals, extra towels, and answers to questions about local attractions. This could quickly become a guest services nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Even with minimal staff, you can empower your employees to better handle high volumes of service requests with the right technologies. Mobile check-ins will help alleviate the burden on front desk stress. However, even with this feature, service requests can quickly fall between the cracks. This is where an SMS platform can help improve customer service while unburdening staff.
More and more, guests prefer to use text and online options to make orders and ask for information. Many guests will see this option as an upgrade over calling the front desk for anything they need. Not only that, but it will also streamline tasks for your staff and make their jobs easier by providing automation and documentation for service requests.
Automate Daily Tasks in Your PMS
If you want to take your automation to the next level, you can also integrate your SMS platform with your PMS to further optimize service tasks. The most effective PMS should be mobile, so your staff can use it anywhere they interact with guests. It should also include scheduling and automation functionalities to improve organizational efficiency and remove hassles for the operations team.
An automated ticketing system, for example, can help you easily integrate guest requests into daily tasks for your operations team. Instead of housekeeping and operations staff running back and forth while front desk staff attempt to get everything in order, with the right PMS, you could implement a system to track, organize, and manage all of those tasks – including periodic maintenance tasks that are easy to overlook, as well as daily cleaning and housekeeping.
As hotels face staff shortages and increasing demands from guests, technology can be a huge help. Along with improving customer service, the right technology can take the load off of your employees. Front desk staff will have more room to breathe and more time to give guests personal attention without feeling hurried. Operations and housekeeping staff will have more efficient processes with fewer trips back and forth between tasks. Simplifying and streamlining employees’ daily work is a great way to remove stress, improve morale, and increase staff retention.
Want more info on how Digital Keys can help improve staff retention and customer satisfaction? OpenKey is the leading provider of digital key services. Schedule a demo today to see how you can do more for your guests with Digital Keys.
