Between conventions, tourists, and busiest of all, college football season Hilton Columbus Downtown is always bustling. How do they manage it all? With hospitality guest messaging, of course!

From conventions to football

During the week, Hilton Columbus Downtown is “heavily populated with guests from conventions and groups, and leisurely guests on the weekends”, stated Kim Johnson, Director of Front Office Operations.

While she’s only been at Hilton Columbus Downtown for a few months, Johnson has worked in hospitality for eight years. Originally from England, she fell in love with the industry while working at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando, Florida.

Now in Columbus, at a property that is soon to become the largest hotel in Ohio, she’s helping her team handle guest requests during busy times like college football season with hotel texting. 

Connecting with both guests and teams

Johnson and her team try to use hotel messaging for every single guest that visits them.

“We try to capture as many we can, and make their stay as smooth as possible,” Johnson said. “It improves our efficiency as well.”

They’re utilizing the full scope of features that come with a hotel text messaging system, too—from the tag feature that allows teams to message all guests in a particular group, to the OnQ connector that streamlines the welcome message process, it’s part of just about every process.

“It’s so ingrained, all of our guests know about it as well,” Johnson said. “It’s a great platform.” 

Her team also uses hotel texting internally for team communication and back-of-house conversations, which helps with coordination and new hires.

“Guests love it. I’d say about 9 out of 10 guests love the feature,” she said. “Usually people text us and say they love it, plus it’s helpful for the team.” 

A completely digital stay 

Using hospitality messaging every day, the team has found that people prefer to text as opposed to calling or visiting the front desk. 

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“Guests can have a completely digital experience—they can check in on their phones, then text us, then depart,” Johnson said, mentioning that this route is common with travelers that are often on the road.

With limited staffing in the industry, hotel guest messaging is also a way to provide personalized service with less people. Lean teams can handle multiple requests simultaneously, and employees who are more comfortable over texting rather than face to face can be at ease.

Hilton Columbus Downtown is just one of thousands of properties using a hotel texting service to increase efficiency and elevate the guest experience! Learn more about texting for hotels or schedule a conversation with our team today.