How Smart Hotels Use Messaging to Connect With Guests
Photo Credit: Hotel staff at the W Paris communicate with guests via messaging services like WhatsApp. More and more hotels are finding different ways to engage with guests via messaging as a part of their customer service and loyalty strategies. Marriott International
Skift Take
Hotels are finally beginning to implement messaging strategies that make it easier for their guests to get in touch with them via SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and the like. But how are they doing that, and what's next in messaging?
Earlier this year, Skift proclaimed messaging as the "new language of the globe" and asked, "Are travel brands listening?"
It looks like hotels finally are, if they haven't already.
With an expected additional 1.1 billion new users set to adopt messaging by the end of 2018, for a total of 3.6 billion users, it's clear that messaging really is the new social media.
Why? Because they're realizing the importance of messaging to building loyalty, increasing guest engagement, and enhancing the overall guest experience. And what better way to continue making inroads in getting more guests to book direct?
Over the next few months, expect to see more hotels offering guests the ability to text or message the hotels, whether through their own proprietary apps, established messaging channels like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, or the use of third-party technologies.
The different methods by which hotels are choosing to message with guests, while they all fulfill the same objective
