Boutique hotels vs. chain hotels: redefining travel experiences

Exploring the Unique Charm of Boutique Hotels and the Consistent Reliability of Chain Hotels, and How Guest Messaging Enhances Personalized Service

When we think of travel lodging, we often separate options into a couple of main groups: hotels and short-term rentals. However, within the hotel sphere, there are many ways to classify different places to stay. For example, boutique hotels and chain hotels offer contrasting experiences for travelers. Boutique hotels, with their intimate size and local ownership, pride themselves on unique decor, personalized service, and cultural immersion.

TripAdvisor reviews show how independent hotels are making genuine connections with guests using texting.

Kipsu’s guest messaging is meeting the moment for independent brands.

For smaller, independent hotels, good TripAdvisor scores and reviews are even more meaningful. At these unique properties, guest relationships are integral to keeping loyal customers. Engaging with guests and making meaningful connections is what makes guests feel welcomed, valued, and cared for. As the world becomes increasingly digital, the need for face-to-face interactions lessens and we lose those moments to connect. So how do hotels continue to create these relationships? We gathered several TripAdvisor reviews from our partners that share the sentiment of feeling connected through Kipsu’s messaging system. Read these reviews to see how hotel texting actually makes guests feel the personalized experience they look and come back for at independent hotels.

10 Tips to Improving Hotel Customer Service

Step up your hospitality game with these easy tips

The increasing competition and guest expectations within the hospitality industry means the importance of ensuring a positive experience for guests is at the forefront of occupancy and profitability. Poor customer service costs U.S. companies more than $3.7 trillion each year. Through what we've learned with our work with top hospitality professionals, Kipsu has compiled 10 simple tips that will help boost Customer Service Scores.

The CrowdStrike outage impacts hotels and halted their operations - how does your property stay prepared for an outage in the future?

Communicate with guests independently from the internet with guest messaging.

On July 19th, a flawed update from the company CrowdStrike caused one of the largest IT outages in history that affected nearly 8.5 million Windows devices. This affected banks, airlines, hospitals, and train networks, etc. Hotels from major brands like Marriott and Hilton were greatly affected, from not being able to process credit cards to having to walk guests personally to their room. Outages like this are rare, but when they happen, it can greatly derail hotel operations and your customer service will matter more than ever before. Especially when we rely on technology so heavily in our work lives as well in our personal lives, it's crucial to have a back up plan that is easily accessible and to be prepared if a similar situation happens again down the road.

“It’s Not My Fault”: A Service Recovery Fallacy

Respond to guest complaints in a positive and impactful way (constructive)

Picture this: an upset customer or guest reaches out and proclaims a negative experience, demanding something be done. It becomes all too easy for our front-line team members to sit back and think, “This is not my fault.” Unfortunately, this does nothing to assist with the service recovery process. Instead, that team member will focus on pointing fingers and feel less motivated to actually solve the problem in front of them. In hotels that pride themselves on their service, team members should be encouraged to skip past the idea of “who is to blame?” and move directly to “what can I do to help?” In the end, it doesn’t matter who messed up.

10 Ways To Wow Newlyweds at Your Hotel

We’ve all encountered either first or second-hand the stress of a wedding. From the overbearing mother-of-the-bride to unexpected rain showers, it’s quite normal for the bride and groom to look forward to the moment after they say I do. So whether they are having the wedding at your hotel or spending their honeymoon there, there’s nothing newlyweds appreciate more than smooth sailing when it comes to hotels. Here are ten ways you’ll be sure to wow the couple and help get their marriage started on the right foot.

‘Til check-out do us part: best ways to communicate with guests during wedding season

Guest messaging features that improve the experience for newlyweds and their guests

May through October is peak wedding season, and we are currently in the thick of it. It can be a stressful time of year not only for brides and grooms, but also for the hotels involved in their special days. Thankfully, there are ways that can help your property run smoothly. By using tags and the outreach feature in your guest messaging software, your team can send targeted group messages that keep guests and staff connected and coordinated on the “day of ''.

The Online Travel Agency problem: How to get more direct bookings using guest messaging

Leverage guest messaging to minimize OTA bookings

Hotels are grappling with the challenge of losing revenue to online travel agencies (OTAs), a long-standing issue exacerbated by the hefty commissions these agencies take. Despite the perceived convenience associated with OTAs, hotels are recognizing the urgency of reclaiming direct bookings. To address this, leveraging platforms like Facebook Messenger and Apple Business Chat for seamless communication, combined with robust loyalty programs, emerges as a strategic solution.