Council Post: The Do’s And Don’ts Of Effective Text Messaging In The Hospitality Industry

Nathan Mayfield, Vice President of ResNexus: Elevating industries, one business at a time, through service, innovation and education. 

Whether you love or hate technology, it continues to change how we communicate with one another. Texting is a great example. At times I find myself reminiscing about the “good old days” when we used our phones just to call one another. It seems we have come full circle; our main method of communication is now short electronic letters that lack the refined sophistication of classic written missives found in a Jane Austen novel. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

One growing trend I’ve observed in the hospitality industry, specifically, is to use texting to provide contactless arrivals, departures, meals and more. And though texting has been around for well over two decades, I believe its golden years have arrived even earlier than expected — propelled by the challenges brought by the pandemic. As odd as it might sound to many hoteliers, a meaningful human interaction doesn’t necessarily have to be in person. 

Through my time leading a company that provides texting software for hospitality businesses, I’ve seen that until recently, only the most cutting-edge hotels were texting guests on check-in, asking for a review or even text marketing. Now, all of these activities are quickly trickling down to other hospitality markets. Even if hotels were reluctant to use texting tools in the past, they are quickly adopting them as a means to automate and reduce staffing costs while still maintaining a high perception of service. 

I believe text messaging and text marketing in the hospitality space are here to stay. And as properties transition to texting as a means of communication, it’s important to note that there are clear do’s and don’ts your business should keep in mind:

Texting Do’s:

1. Do use texting to direct inquiries and complete bookings. It’s important to keep in mind that even back in 2016, one-fourth of travelers were booking via their smartphones, and that number is only increasing. As a result, hotels should have a “text me” option tied to their contact phone number.

This reduces communication friction and lets travelers make inquiries via text message, which allows hotels to close the deal and reduce online travel agency commissions. For businesses in remote areas such as campgrounds, texting can help your property overcome spotty cell service coverage.

2. Do provide contactless guest management. While some guests might want more freedom and autonomy to go straight to their room on arrival, that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to be completely left alone. Consider sending text messages a day or two after the guest has checked in to ask if they need anything and thank them for choosing to stay at your property. Text messaging also comes in handy to announce fresh cookies in the lobby, storm warnings for campgrounds and more.

During Covid-19, you can also consider using texting to communicate sudden travel restrictions to your guests in the local area. I know of a hotel that had a water pipe unexpectedly burst and said that text messaging would have saved them hours in phone calls to let the guests know they would not have hot water the next morning.

3. Do ask for reviews. We all know that positive reviews are essential for any online business. Over the past couple of years, I have witnessed new companies dedicated to generating positive reviews via text messaging.

These companies send automated text responses after the guest stays at the hotel to qualify the customer. The hotel text asks a question such as, “How was your stay with us? Rate us from 1 to 10”. If the customer says “10,” they are asked to leave a review on social media or Google. With a less-than-stellar score, the guest is asked to provide feedback. Texting in this manner gives your hotel valuable feedback either way.

4. Do take a personal approach to text marketing. Keep in mind there is a difference between sharing important information via text and text marketing. I have found effective text marketing is selective and personalized. In other words, instead of sending a weekly marketing text, choose a birthday or anniversary to thank guests for their business and offer a special deal. The key is to be genuine and thoughtful.

Texting Don’ts:

1. Don’t text without permission. Permission-based communication is important and respectful. In addition, privacy laws continue to evolve toward getting more approval before personal information is shared among businesses. When it comes to texting, as the guest books online and the phone number is collected, I recommend having a check box that allows the guest to give or deny permission to the hotel to send text messages.

2. Don’t use text marketing too generically or too frequently. Texting technology is often automated and can easily be overused or abused. Many business owners are concerned about alienating their customers by texting them too frequently. If you’re trying text marketing, avoid being generic or texting customers too often. Otherwise, it is likely they will text “Stop” to avoid receiving any more messages, and you’ll lose your ability to market to or communicate with them in the future.

3. Don’t sell your guests’ information. Hotels have a lot of personal information about their guests, phone numbers being one of them. Don’t lose trust by selling that information or sharing it with another company. Case in point, I recently realized an organization sold my cell phone information, and now I’m ready to pull my hair out at the nonstop texts that appear unsolicited on my phone. Situations like this can turn a fairly positive experience sour quickly.

In Summary

Texting is quickly becoming standard practice in the hospitality industry. It is a powerful tool that can save time for both the hotel and the guest, as well as increase communication and help you gain valuable customer feedback.


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