Is Your Business Ready To Ride The Staycation Wave?

With more Brits holidaying near home, pressure heaps on the hospitality industry to keep customers connected.

The British hospitality sector is all over the news right now, and it’s hardly any wonder why.

With a fresh £5k fine for trips abroad without a valid reason and a possible extension to foreign travel now that a third wave’s kicking in on the continent, Brits are no longer looking beyond the border for their next getaway.

The staycation is back.

And UK booking searches really have soared during March. The Rest Easy Group (Late Rooms’ and Snaptrips’ umbrella company) alone reported a 45% increase in staycation searches in the 24 hours that followed the news of the £5k ban.

So what does this mean for hotels and short-term rentals?

Aside from the obvious routine deep cleaning and disinfecting between stays, there are plenty of other ways that hoteliers and landlords can prepare for the wave.

• Enabling check-in via mobile device
• Encouraging in-app room service ordering
• Pushing table service through in-app or online ordering
• Making use of loyalty schemes
• Running social media competitions

As you’d probably expect, there’s going to be a bit of theme going on here – and that’s how providing a safer, contactless experience can play into your hands.

So let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Enabling check-in via mobile device

A comprehensive app that allows guests to check into their room or the rental home is super handy from the user’s point of view.

Not only does it show how slick your hospitality company is, but it’s a safer way to kick off the stay during times like these.

It also gives you an opportunity to push profits.

By offering an upsell via the app upon check-in, you’ve got more chance of making a higher return from this guest. A simple “order breakfast now” function that’s triggered by check-in could lead to great upturn in restaurant visits straight away.

Encouraging in-app room service ordering

Timely app notifications are another great opportunity to push the upsell, while reducing risk to your staff and guests at the same time.

There’s already tonnes of research to back up the benefits of offering room service via mobile too. Hotelexecutive.com found an 18% increase in room service orders made via an app, which means you could increase profits and boost your hotel’s “with it” reputation in one fell swoop.

Pushing table service through in-app or online ordering

This one’s good news for profits too.

Recent studies by Business Insider found a 20% increase to orders made via mobile rather than with waiting staff. And thousands of the transactions they recorded led to a 50-73% increase in spend per head too.

Pretty good news for the hospitality industry that, as long as you’ve got the infrastructure to make it happen.

Making use of loyalty schemes

More hoteliers are creating loyalty schemes via their apps, with vouchers and discounts that can be used during the stay, and in the follow-up process to push re-booking.

According to recent studies, 51% of people who download these sorts of apps do actually use them on site, guaranteeing you another opportunity to build that relationship with your customer.

Running social media competitions

The more shares, the better your reputation, and the average consumer checks their social media accounts 20 times a day.

Which means you’ve got 20 shots at getting your brand’s voice heard per customer, every day.

A social media function within your app means you can push competitions to get guests shouting about you more, sharing photos, or entering their details for the chance of a free stay.

Word of mouth is still a hugely powerful marketing tool, and by facilitating your customers to spread the word, you’ll do yourself a huge favour.

But what are you going to do about the perennial problem for hotels? If you haven’t got great mobile signal, something needs to change.

They’re all great ideas, there’s no doubting that – but if you haven’t got the infrastructure or mobile connection in place, they’re never going to happen.

Poor mobile signal’s a common problem for hospitality businesses.

The reason? They typically reside within old, thick-walled buildings, or suffer from all the issues that go hand in hand with your average modern building materials – impenetrable glass and metal, signal-stopping plasterboard and the like.

The good news is that there’s a quick, easy way to solve your mobile signal problem, without any effort on your part, and without any disruption to your schedule.

And if you’re committed to providing your customers with the very best experience and increasing the likelihood of future bookings, then it’s a solution you’re going to like very much.

The hotelier’s solution: Signal Solutions mobile signal boosters

Our mobile signal boosters are nifty little devices that fit into your hospitality building, guaranteeing you great signal in every nook and cranny of your building.

They’re unconditionally safe, secure and 100% legal – unlike many of the options currently on the market, which don’t comply with current Ofcom licensing laws.

We use Nextivity Cel-Fi technology to make it all work too, which is produced by the only licence-exempt and legal-to-use manufacturer for the UK.

And what does this all mean for you?

• Your guests get constant high quality signal, even in areas where coverage should be rubbish or non-existent
• It doesn’t matter what network your guests are with – they’ll stay connected as our boosters are compatible with every UK mobile network
• You can reap the full benefits of in-app ordering, which simply wouldn’t work without good signal
• And you’ll boost the reputation of your brand as you ride the next staycation wave

If you’re worried about how a lack of stellar mobile signal could affect your hotel and your guests during 2021, give us a call and find out more about our boosters. The number’s 020 3823 7365 or you can send an email to info@signalsolutions.co.uk