Running a bed and breakfast can be fun, but there’s a lot of hard work involved. And, if you take into account today’s competitive hospitality marketplace, it can be even harder to stay afloat and make your business a success. Luckily, there are things you can do to improve guest satisfaction and encourage them to return to your establishment. Here are just a few.
- Offer them a great service
The most obvious point on this list is to offer your guests the very best service. Think about how much they’ve paid and what value they’d be able to get elsewhere – if you can trump that, you’re on to a winner. Things such as free tea and coffee and late checkout can set your bed and breakfast apart from the competition, while optional extras such as laundry, babysitting, room service, transfers and early check-in can all improve a guest’s experience and make them want to come back.
- Think about guest experience at every opportunity
When you’re planning a new room or opening a new bed and breakfast, try to think about your guests’ experiences at every opportunity. Things such as having the towel rail on the right wall and leaving enough room between a bed and a wall can change how comfortable and relaxed your guests feel. Of course, if your bed and breakfast has long been established, then you can still make changes, like replacing your linen every several years and updating older rooms with new furnishings and bathroom accessories to keep your hotel at its best.
- Give them a ‘carrot’ to come back
Offering guests an incentive to come back to your establishment makes sense. You could choose to enter all of your guests into a prize draw to win a free holiday at the end of the year, or you may offer them a discount should they book within the next 30 days. The opportunities are endless – just make sure you collect guests’ data so you can market your special offers and room discounts to them through email marketing and on social media.
- Make it easy for them to book their trip
The chances are that the majority of your guests aren’t going to want to book a return visit the day they leave your establishment. It could be that guests haven’t decided on dates or that they want to do some research before they book. Therefore, setting up a B&B booking system on your site will help you stand out and make it easier for guests to book their next trip whenever they’re ready – even during the night when you’re asleep. Having this feature in place makes it easier for you to accept bookings – and it makes sense when you consider the fact that 80% of us now book our holidays online rather than on the telephone.
We’ve put together just four ways to make sure your guests return to your bed and breakfast, but there are, of course, more options to consider. Whether you’re new to the hospitality industry or you’re a seasoned pro, good luck!
