What are the benefits of digital guest directories and how can they impact guest experience? Let's discover the four major reasons you need to digitalize your guest directory

6 mins read

Hotels are constantly developing, and technology is nowadays crucial for the proper operation and sustainability of a property. Maintaining a guest directory is certainly one of the most time-consuming and costly procedures in a hotel, as keeping up with the traditional paper-based directory has become almost impossible.

What a guest directory does is provide guests with information about the property, room service menus, and the activities and things to do at the destination. It’s certainly one of the most important components of premium guest experience, thus, it’s essential for every hotel and should not be omitted.

As technology has fully infiltrated the hospitality sector, it is only natural for it to impact guest directories too, which have now become digital and with many more features than the previous versions, as well as extra benefits that impact the hotel’s operation. Let’s find out how digital guest directories can affect a hotel’s guest experience.

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SuitePad: The most efficient way to communicate with your hotel’s guests

SuitePad is one of the most efficient ways to achieve room digitalization. SuitePad is a tablet, created with the needs of modern hoteliers in mind, that features all the main services of a modern tablet, as well as extra applications that enhance guest communication, reduce costs, and optimize processes, leading to higher sales revenue.

SuitePad automates communications and helps you directly “speak” with your hotel’s guests to inform them about new offers, promote your services and facilities, guide them through the area’s events and activities, and provide valuable information that will greatly enhance their overall stay. The best part is that you can achieve all that through push messages and PMS automation, so it’s also beneficial for your hotel’s economy.

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They improve guest communication, allowing you to send direct personalized messages and promote services and facilities based on your visitors’ needs

Communicating with your guests during their stay is extremely important for your guest experience and upselling. In the past few years, several ways have been developed to increase guests’ interaction with the property, and, little by little, more hotels are keen on investing in these methods.

Up until recently, the telephone was the most direct and popular way of interaction between a property and its guests. Although the room phone is still very important, nowadays, it’s mainly used for emergencies, as travelers seem to disfavor the idea of calling the reception for any request they might have.

On the other hand, in-room tablets gain more and more popularity, as they take guest directories to the next level, enabling guests to take action. Visitors can order online, contact the reception with one click, or even find interactive maps with nearby things to do. Controlling room features, such as the lights or temperature, with smart applications is also an option.

They reduce in-room collateral, resulting in a more sustainable and eco-friendly hotel room experience

Hotel sustainability is the future of hospitality, and hoteliers are already called to invest in such practices to run their properties. Digitizing your guest directory affects not only the ecological but also the economic sustainability of your hotel, as costs are significantly reduced.

With paperwork gone, the cost of producing and updating the directories is reduced to zero. At the same time, digital guest directories have almost no impact on the environment, while tablets last much longer than physical paper, and guests seem to take better care of them.

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How does SuitePad help hotels look more eco-friendly and promote room service as a key feature for their upselling policy?

SuitePad is a company that provides in-room concierge tablets with built-in high-level software that facilitates your in-hotel communication with your guests. But how does this technology help you reduce costs while being more eco-friendly?

  • No more printed materials: The SuitePad tablet solution replaces the use of room directories, menus, and promotional material with high-level digital information. The use of technology in room service can also boost your in-hotel sales and promote a more eco-friendly status.
  • Promote in-dining sales: To be in line with the new global hospitality trend that invites guests to “stay in,” follow health protocols, and maintain social distancing, it is important to boost your in-room dining sales.
  • Guest Room Tablet Buyers Guide: The data presented in SuitePad’s latest Guest Room Tablet Buyers Guide gives an exclusive insight into the latest trends in guest room tablets and the key benefits of this technology, of which hoteliers may not be aware. Hotels can apply those findings to their room service upselling methods.
  • SuiteCast: This new feature transforms existing hotel TVs into modern entertainment systems. Therefore, hotels can maximize their guests’ in-room experience and make them feel at home.

Learn more about SuitePad and their products

 

Your hotel and facilities are better presented, as you can include more information and visual content

Updating your guest directory is a hassle, which is why most physical guest directories are outdated soon after their first print. Any changes in the menus, facilities, or hotel services require the updating of all your room guest directories, which is a costly and time-consuming procedure. Digital guest directories, on the other hand, can be updated instantly whenever there is a change in one of your services.

At the same time, in digital guest directories the content is better visualized, the photos can be of better quality, while you can also display videos of the hotel’s facilities and services. Tablets are also easier to clean, while paper cannot be cleaned properly and therefore needs replacement, which leads to most guest directories having stains or doodles, which leaves a bad impression of the property.

Digital guest directories provide analytics on travelers’ behavior, interests, and preferences

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a hotel is a crucial step for business development. Digital guest directories provide valuable feedback on travelers’ interests and preferences, so you can polish your guest experience and make more efficient updates on your services and facilities.

Of course, most of those analytics might also be derived from other procedures, for example, the room service analytics can also be tracked by the Food & Beverage department. However, digital room directories might do more than just point to the best-selling products, as they also highlight the weaknesses, such as bad quality photos, wrong product placement in the menu, etc.

Summing up

Undoubtedly, the benefits of digital guest directories are many, while the digitalization of the process is relatively easy and at a moderate cost. What is important is to pick the right company to back up your decision to digitalize your guest directory, such as SuitePad, which has a top-notch service that’s ready to support you for any software failure or relevant malfunction.