What To Do When Things Go Wrong With a Guest’s Experience

You do everything in your power to ensure that your guests have a comfortable and satisfying stay every time. However, mistakes happen. Sometimes things may go wrong and you’ll have no control over it. You can control how you react when mistakes happen though and be prepared for when they inevitably do.

How do you bounce back after a mistake? As a property manager or owner, knowing what to do when problems arise can not only bring a customer back but form a loyal, long-lasting relationship. When things don’t go quite according to plan, remember these five tips from BookingTeam.com.

1. Focus on prevention.
Do everything that you can to ensure that you deliver consistent guest experiences. Automate or offload routine tasks, so that you can focus on the guest experience. Consider the entire booking journey, from when a person browses accommodations online to when they begin booking a room, all the way to check-in and even after check-out. Follow up with them to build a relationship that extends after their stay. This not only shows that guests that you care about their experience but gives you valuable feedback as to how to further improve your business.

2. Be an active listener.
When confronted with an unhappy guest, listen. As long as they are still being respectful when communicating their frustration, let them vent. Don’t interrupt but show them that you are listening and understanding with nonverbal cues like nodding your head and making eye contact. When people are upset, often just getting it all out makes them feel better, and calmer to consider a possible resolution.

3. Acknowledge your error.
Dissatisfied guests will only get more irritated if you try to deny or defend that a mistake was made. It could escalate a minor issue into a much bigger one. If a mistake was made, then be accountable. Sincerely apologize and express your empathy.

4. Correct mistakes.
Take measures to correct the error. In some cases, compensation may be needed to rectify the situation and show you're trying to rectify it. You could give guests a discount on their bill, a free night, complimentary breakfast or another service to help repair the damage that has been done. Remember, the compensation should differ based on the severity of the mistake. The more severe, the greater the compensation will need to be to improve a bad impression once it has formed.

5. Investigate and take action to prevent them from happening again.
If things go wrong, take the time to understand why. A one-time mistake may be overlooked. However, if the same issue continually arises, it is going to have a negative impact on your business.

The best way to deal with angry customers is to craft consistently excellent guest experiences so there is nothing to be angry about. Although we all know that isn’t always possible, learning from your mistakes can cause fewer from happening in the future.

Even the most diligent property managers and owners are susceptible to Murphy’s Law, “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” The key is to be prepared and react quickly when they do. With BookingTeam.com, property managers can rest easy. Our platform includes a whole team of experienced booking professionals and tools to stop preventable mistakes from happening and easily recover when things do go wrong.