The experience your guests enjoy while staying at the hotel may depend on how you receive them. By offering exceptional service long before guests arrive, you may develop a high level of customer loyalty. A guest’s first impression of a hotel can significantly impact how they perceive your hotel brand throughout their stay, starting with the reservation process and continuing through check-in and arrival at the hotel room with comfortable hotel amenities.
To leave a lasting impression on their customers, hotel owners must also think about the “look and feel” of their establishment. Because the façade and immediate interior (such as the hotel lobby) leave an initial impact, some hotels have become landmarks. Warm lighting may create a cozy and secure atmosphere in the foyer. A potential traveler is drawn in by comfortable furnishings and hotel amenities, which improve the atmosphere.
Why Are Hotel First Impressions Important?
Initial impressions are important because generally, in the hospitality industry, whether in restaurants, resorts, entertainment venues, nightlife bars, hotels, or spas, all you have with your guest is that first impression. First impressions are important to a guest’s pleasure because we often only connect with our guests for less than 30 seconds at a time.
First impressions are formed rapidly by most people. How accurate or faulty these impressions are is a subject of dispute. But generally, it’s agreed that first impressions aren’t always fair. But they endure for a long time. They found that once an initial impression is formed, “people presumably have significant difficulty overcoming this bias.”
How To Create a Lasting First Impression?
The Cleanliness
When guests enter their room, one of the first things they notice is how clean it is. Customer satisfaction will drastically decrease if a hotel is messy, smells weird, or is dirty. They will almost certainly look elsewhere to stay the next time they travel as a result of this. Clean bathrooms and guestrooms and the cleanliness of the front lobby and hallways may enhance the visitor experience and make them feel at ease during their first few moments at your hotel.
Overall cleanliness should be a top priority for hotel buildings, from the parking lot to the restrooms in the lobby, as well as the guest rooms and amenities. Fresh towels, bathrobes, linens, and slippers must be available and comfortable for the guests. A great manufacturer of hotel supplies must be considered as it will provide the safest and most sustainable products for your hotel that will impress the guests, such as Soft Touch Hospitality Supplies.
Hotel Check-in Process
The expectations that customers develop during the booking process will be put to the test once they check into the hotel. The check-in procedure frequently sets the tone for how guests will feel about the rest of their stay. Their first perceptions of your hotel brand will be influenced by the exterior design of the building, the friendliness of the front desk staff, and even how quickly they can check in.
Long lineups caused by a slow check-in process make guests tired and stressed. A recent study indicated that if customers wait longer than 5 minutes, their satisfaction decreases by 50%. By allowing guests to check in remotely via the hotel’s website, hotels can completely alter the guest arrival experience. Your staff will have more time to concentrate on more significant ways to enhance the guest experience due to the guest’s ability to check in and access their room from their mobile device.
Employees and Housekeeping staff
Your employees, and how effective and competent they are, or how annoying dealings with them are, truly “make it or break it” in terms of the passenger experience. Your team could take a potentially unpleasant scenario and make it better through their actions by being prompt, effective, friendly, and helpful.
Today’s problem facing the hotel industry is balancing the ever-present demand for a positive person-to-person experience with the growing preference for self-service. It is possible to enhance the arrival experience before a visitor ever steps foot inside your establishment by implementing follow-up phone calls or emails after booking a room to learn what their needs will be throughout their stay.
Staff will be able to give better service to guests when they arrive by anticipating their demands and knowing why they are staying. Casual guests may appreciate having a knowledgeable staff who can provide excellent recommendations for dining and nightlife.
It’s vital to clean a room thoroughly and with extra care on the first night because this will leave an excellent first impression.
Examples include:
Placing a bottle of water on the nightstand.
Folding laundry.
Placing slippers beside the bed.
Setting and folding towels.
Clean and Aromatic Toiletries
This satisfies guests and encourages them to stay again, especially on the first night. With Soft Touch Hospitality supplies your housekeeping staff will have an excellent housekeeping service by using our luxurious and environmentally sustainable hospitality supplies.
The Food and Restaurant Service
When guests meet with another essential element of your brand, your cuisine, they can confirm their initial impression of your hotel. The hotel restaurant’s staff must be welcoming and friendly to guests. There cannot be a distinction between a restaurant customer and a hotel customer, and there must be a seamless experience, whether it be identifying a guest’s hotel loyalty status, learning about their preferences and routines, or setting the restaurant apart from other non-hotel establishments.