What are the Benefits of CRM in the Hotel Industry?

Usage of CRM in the hospitality industry is highly underestimated. Given that the hospitality industry is all about providing the best possible customer experience, CRM and hotels go hand-in-hand. The hospitality industry is growing faster and needs a proper automation tool to customise the guest experience and thrive.

Getting the customers to return is the biggest aim of hotels. CRM provides top-tier customer service to ensure that the retention rate remains high and new customers are gained simultaneously. However, even a single dissatisfied customer can damage the hotel's reputation with a review or word of mouth complaint.

A good CRM will allow the hotels to scope out the areas that can be improved and elevate the guest experience to ensure that they return and recommend the hotel to their family and friends.

"CRM doesn't have to be hard if you plan for how all the pieces will work together before you start your implementation."

-Lars Helgeson

What is a Hotel CRM?

A CRM or Customer Relationship Management software allows one to manage leads, sales, marketing and even projects. This solution is ideal for every business as operations are vast, and doing them manually is counterproductive and prone to human errors.

Even the smallest of mistakes can overturn the results that can lead to bad decisions, which will impact the business negatively.

A hotel CRM is specifically customised for the hotels. Apart from managing customer expectations, CRM will handle customer data, feedback, loyalty programs, promos etc. It provides a unified view of the customer data and interactions that have taken place.

Making the guests feel at home is their top priority. A good hotel CRM will allow them to understand what areas can be improved and the guests' preferences.

Why does the Hotel Industry need a CRM?

The concept of occupancy runs the hotel industry. If there is less occupancy, it would mean there are fewer profits. Retaining customers points towards the fact that the service provided was satisfying.

A good hotel CRM will target existing customers mostly because these customers have experienced the service provided by the hotels and will be the main source of reviews and recommendations. If they return to the place, a good service will ensure that the customers stay at the hotel rather than the competitors.
Hotels have many sources for leads, and they aim to not miss even a single of them. Whatever brings in business is welcome and a viable option to consider for the future.
Following up with the customers is extremely important. If a single follow up is missed, the customer might end up choosing another hotel for their stay, causing you to lose business.

Without a proper CRM, the sales team will find it challenging to keep up with the leads and the follow-ups. Since every customer will have different demands, the team will likely sideline one customer for another.
Additionally, most of the hotel business comes from booking agents and travel sites. Integrating your platform with these third-party websites is extremely important. All top CRMs like Optimiser offer third-party integrations with customisations.
To maintain the occupancy rates at the hotel to ensure that the customers do not end up booking a room that has been booked already, the hotel will need a proper system that provides updates of the ongoing of every channel. It allows managers to see all the information from the dashboard and keep the staff updated about the same.
Hotels can use different softwares like ERP, PMS as well as a front desk application. Depending upon the need, they opt for software. The major benefit of CRM here is that it is easy to integrate, transfer data, and affordable in most cases. It can be integrated with all the existing software to maintain a centralised system for data management and avoid any form of data duplication.
Apart from managing several properties with ease, with a hotel CRM, one can handle staff rostering and even tips/ salaries calculations. Incentives and bonuses for employees can be calculated as well.

How to Implement a Hotel CRM?

Implementation matters!

A CRM may be considered the best in its field, but if the implementation is not done right then, the vendor may have to set back their expectations of profits.

Debunking the common myth, you will not witness a sharp rise in profits immediately after using a CRM. It will take time. The same is the case with productivity.
Your employees will learn the system, begin to use it and then learn some more about it. It can take them a while to use the software to its fullest potential.
Upon getting the CRM and adding it to your systems, the automation will begin sorting out the leads, dishing out reports, removing duplicated or useless data and even updating your system promptly. With all this process happening, it will take a while for your business to be up and running up the profits.
Also, you will be training your staff accordingly. Do not discount the importance of training either. If your employees do not know how to use the software, they will not be able to enjoy its full benefits.
Ensure that you run regular audits of the system. Simply because it is an automation that cannot make mistakes doesn’t relieve you of the duty. You should know the information that is being stored and how it is being sorted.

Summary

A CRM for the hotel industry can be customised and tailored according to one’s requirements. The first step is to know what are your business requirements, finding a CRM will not be a daunting task after that!