The Ideal Hotel IVR Solution That Vastly Improves Customer Experience

Hotels and hospitality find that Hotel IVR solution is perfect but, at the same time, if not done right it could prove to be an impediment to their business, turning away rather than roping in clients.

The client journey

A single IVR solution with complicated tree and branch structure could prove counter-productive for the hotel industry. This is simply due to the nature of the guest journey. The requirement is different at each stage.

The inquiry stage: At this stage the prospective guest is scouting for an appropriate hotel that matches his criteria. Self service IVR is good provided he can get information he is looking for without having to go through innumerable key presses. Desired information such as location, room types available, tariffs and amenities need to be accessible within just a few key presses. If he gets the information, the prospective guest may be presented an option to book and make payment.

The booking stage: At this stage the guest wants to pick a certain type of room and book it for a certain day or a number of days. The next step is to let him receive confirmation and prompt him to make use of the IVR to make payment to confirm the booking. The last stage here is for the hotel IVR to send out an SMS or email confirmation with thanks.

Intermediate stage: A nice touch in hotel IVR solutions is to have an intermediate stage where the Hotel IVR:

• Sends out a reminder about the booking;
• Accepts requests for cancellation or rescheduling with appropriate follow through procedures;
• The IVR guides guests who are in transit on how to arrive at the location or to request a pick up from the airport.

Within the hotel: Once a guest has checked in the requirements change and necessitate a different set of IVR functions such as:

• IVR to order meals or book a taxi or any such service
• IVR to set wake up reminders
• IVR option to get the bill ready for checkout.

Making self-service a pleasure

As can be seen the Hotel IVR Solution is quite complex and if it is implemented the normal way a caller is bound to get frustrated listening to options and a long train of key presses. One way to make self-service a pleasure for the guest is to transform the hotel IVR into a visual hotel IVR solution. The visual indication of the tree-branch structure makes it easy for the user to jump straight to the desired service option. It cuts short time required to complete a process and gives happiness to the caller, possibly turning him into a loyal customer. Another must have feature is to give the caller an option to straightaway talk with a human representative at the start. In case he does opt to talk with a person then he may be given the option of video chat during which he may be shown interiors of the hotel, exteriors and the interiors of the room. This can prove to be far more engaging than a mere description and it leads to a highly satisfying interaction. An omnichannel, CRM linked hotel IVR that keeps the above mentioned journey stages distinct and yet integrated is the one to look for.

It does need meticulous care and attention to tailor hotel IVR to suit that specific hotel and to be dynamically responsive if one desires to improve customer experience into a delightful one.

Source: https://ivrpaymentprocessingsolutions.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/the-ideal-hotel-ivr-solution-that-vastly-improves-customer-experience/