What does hospitality experience mean?

A hospitality experience is a service encounter that guests have with a hospitality business like a hotel. The aim of that business is to make the guest feel welcomed, cared for and valued during their stay.

The hospitality experience, AKA the guest experience, is one of the most important factors for a hotelier to consider. Create a high-end, personalised and memorable experience in hospitality, and you’ll enjoy an enhanced brand reputation, more word of mouth referrals, and increased loyalty from your guests.

What counts as a hospitality experience? In short, any interaction that a guest has with your hotel. The call or email to arrange the booking, the check-in process, ordering drinks at the poolside bar, or enjoying a massage at the on-site spa.

In this blog we’ll look at how you can enhance the hospitality guest experience you offer as a small, independent, hotel to earn more bookings and maximise the value of your occupancy.

Earn more by crafting a truly satisfying hospitality experience

From streamlined booking and check-in to enhanced guest comms, Little Hotelier elevates the guest experience and wins you more business.

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Why does hospitality experience matter for small hotels?

The hospitality experience you offer guests is the primary factor that determines whether you enjoy their patronage again, and whether they tell their friends and family about your hotel or leave a glowing review. As such, it can have a huge effect on the ongoing success of your hotel business.

Most of us have had the experience: you arrive at a hotel that doesn’t appear spectacular by any stretch, but it instantly feels like home, with staff ready to meet your every need. The attention and care you receive compels you to enjoy more add-on services, then leave a glowing review post-stay, and share your experience with your loved ones.

This is why your experience matters: it drives loyalty, and can even turn your guests into salespeople who spread the good word about your business for you. Word of mouth remains the most effective form of marketing – 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising – and high quality hospitality experiences earn you more of it.

Key takeaways:

  • Word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing.
  • By creating amazing hospitality experiences, you capitalise on it.
  • You enhance your ability to both attract and retain guests.
hospitality experience

What hospitality experience examples do guests expect?

Why your hospitality experience needs to meet guest expectations:

  • 75% of guests are willing to share preferences to receive customised service.
  • 80% are more likely to return to a hotel offering personalised experiences.
  • 65% of guests expect smart room features (like IoT and in-app controls).

There are a few elements of the guest experience that are non-negotiable, but that can still be enhanced in a way that makes them a difference maker for your hotel business.

1. A warm welcome and seamless check-in

Greet every guest with a warm and ideally personalised welcome, and make the check-in process as quick and easy as possible.

2. Meet any and every guest request

If a guest has a special request, from pillow preferences to dietary requirements, do whatever you can to make it happen.

3. Guarantee cleanliness and comfort

Cleanliness is the ultimate non-negotiable – every inch of your hotel should be sparkling. But you can stand out by offering added comfort through amenities like luxurious furnishings and on-demand massages.

4. Efficient check out

Avoid holding your guest up at check-out by allowing them to fix up their bill ahead of time, and by offering a drop box for their keys.

Key takeaways:

  • Some guest experiences are expected, while others can form USPs.
  • Non-negotiable experiences include cleanliness and efficient check-in/check-out.
  • Value adding experiences include personalisation and actioning special requests.

How can small hotel owners improve their hospitality experience? 

The importance of continually improving your hospitality experience is obvious when you consider that:

  • A superior guest experience allows you to increase rates by 11.2% while maintaining occupancy.
  • Engaged guests spend on average $185 more per stay than disengaged guests.
  • Hotels that personalise guest experiences generate 40% more revenue than those that don’t.

As a small, independent hotelier with total control over your internal processes, you have a wealth of ways in which you can enhance the hospitality experience that you offer your guests. Let’s look at your options by breaking the guest journey down into key stages, and what high-end experiences might look like at each point.

1. Pre-booking

The quality of the pre-booking experience you offer potential customers will determine how many become paying guests. You need to ensure your marketing materials are accurate and enticing, your website is mobile friendly, and your booking process is simple and intuitive.

2. Pre-arrival

Once the guest makes a booking, you should get things off on the right foot with a friendly booking confirmation, easy to follow check-in details, and an invitation for the guest to state any special requests.

3. Check-in

You should offer every guest a warm and friendly welcome when they arrive at your property. Greet them with a smile, ask them about what they hope to get from their stay, and help them in any way you can. Consider offering them a complimentary drink and leaving a personalised thank you note on their pillow.

4. Room experience

The guest’s in-room experience can be enhanced in any number of ways. Consider implementing smart tech that lets them control appliances from a tablet or their own smartphone. Encourage them to take advantage of value-adding services, from room service to in-room massages.

5. Check-out & post-stay

Check-out should be made as smooth as possible: ideally a simple key drop (or not even that if you choose to go keyless). As mentioned above, you should consider offering guests an online portal that allows them to fix up their bill before check-out.

Key takeaways:

  • First impressions count: focus on enhancing pre-booking, pre-arrival and check-in experiences.
  • Offer add-on services to enhance guest stays (and make more money)
  • Automated and self-service technologies are convenient for guests and reduce your workload.

What tools can enhance the hospitality experience? 

The most effective way to enhance your hospitality experience is through the use of smart technologies. Case in point: Little Hotelier.

An all-in-one solution designed specifically for small, independent hoteliers, Little Hotelier can help you deliver the enhanced hospitality experiences that guests are increasingly looking for.

The tool can assist in the pre-booking process, by helping you to create a mobile-friendly direct booking website. It can help during pre-arrival, by automatically sending out booking confirmations and other guest comms. It can more efficiently manage check-ins and check-outs, and follow up with guests to encourage loyalty.

Instead of dozens of different solutions, it places all the functionality that an independent hotel could need, in a single, easy-to-use and ultra-effective package.

FAQs about hospitality experience

What is considered a hospitality experience?

A hospitality experience is any interaction or service encounter a guest has with a hotel. These experiences aren’t limited to the stay: they can encompass the pre-booking, pre-arrival, check-in, check-out and post-stay stages of the guest journey too.

Why is experience important in the hospitality industry?

Hotels and other hospitality industry businesses are service-focused. The experiences you offer your customers define the quality of your business, your reputation in the market, and your ability to secure bookings into the future. Offer incredible experiences, and you’ll reap incredible rewards.

What is guest experience in hospitality?

‘Guest experience’ is another term used to describe the customer experience offered by hotels and other hospitality businesses.

Turn every guest stay into a memorable hospitality experience with Little Hotelier

By far the most efficient and effective way to craft unbeatable hospitality experiences is with the help of dedicated hotel guest experience software.

An all-in-one platform, Little Hotelier gives you total control over the hospitality experience you offer your guests, which in turn grants you the opportunity to secure more bookings, increase room rates by driving demand, and ultimately generate far more revenue.

  • A seamless direct booking experience: Little Hotelier’s booking engine allows a guest to book direct with you in a handful of clicks. Enjoy full control over the booking process, and earn 15%-25% more per booking by avoiding OTA commission fees.
  • Save your time and theirs: Little Hotelier’s property management system uses automation to seriously streamline your booking and check-in processes, saving you (and your guests) up to 35 minutes on every reservation!
  • Unmatched guest engagement: Get to know your guests and be there if or when they need you with Little Hotelier’s guest engagement feature, which is designed to foster meaningful long-term relationships.
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By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).