Guest experience strategy is a guiding framework to ensure a positive guest experience at every touchpoint throughout the customer journey. However, that is not just about impressions and experience. So let’s get down to business.

Businesses that pay attention to strategy have service costs that are 15 to 20% lower than their competitors and revenue potential that is 15 to 20% higher.

Great strategy increases customer loyalty, reduces customer acquisition costs, and brings higher revenue growth.
These statistics sound convincing enough to improve your guest experience strategy. The positive and memorable guest experience is based on three main components: customer service, technology, and design.

That may sound a little bit controversial in connection with the previous part. However, adopting modern technologies is required because we live in an age where advances in technology open up new markets every year. Digital advancements became a big and fast-developing trend in 2023.
It means that in the hospitality industry:

What’s the future of hospitality tech trends? We guess that AR- and VR-realities.

The process of developing a virtual map of a customer’s interactions with a business at each point is known as customer experience design; it is not necessary to state that these interactions must be pleasant. Thus, it addresses sales, marketing, customer service, and the customer journey.

By using customer experience design you increase customer loyalty which is highly connected with their spend and reduce negative feedback.
The procedure of customer experience design looks this way:

Customer experience design works for guest experience strategy, so implement and update it regularly. Such reviews of what and why have worked before are one way to create new positive experiences. Others are experiments.

If you already have a question about where to start and how not to waste money on changing strategy, let’s introduce our unique approach.

Let’s agree that this kind of approach goes beyond simply setting prices for peak and off-peak periods, and it does more than simply increase bookings by using standard tools like crisp, high-quality images, thorough descriptions, and positive customer feedback.

Every expert in guest experiences should be aware that benefits lie in your unique selling points. This entails getting to know your audience, collaborating directly with them, and regularly running trials to further optimize your listings. Being a little bit different is essential for fiercely competitive OTAs like Booking.com and Airbnb to survive.

Returning to the point of modern technologies —allows us not to waste time and money but to do everything digitally.

We have an eye for detail and through practical experiments, we concluded that such things as color, light, plants, works of art, cleanliness information, and many others may influence the first impression. And the first emotional impression in the hospitality industry is highly connected with booking intentions.

Step 1. Choose a parameter that you would like to check. We suggest starting with an artwork.
Step 2. Digitally include the chosen subject in the average photo of your apartments. Use neural networks if you are familiar with them.

Please, note: Change just one parameter at a time to receive the best result.

Step 3. Create a small variety of photos.

Step 4. Now show images to several groups of people.

The first group receives just a standard photo of apartments without any changes.
The second group might observe the photo with some abstract painting. Ask what people feel and whether they would like to come and review the artwork in detail.
Show apartments with a picture of the mountains on the wall for the third group and ask whether they would like to spend a weekend there.

Step 5. Collect the results of the survey and analyze them. For example, through research, mountain dwellers might prefer images of mountains over beaches — because that reminds them of home. And highly educated and affluent guests might choose abstract art. Understanding your audience is the clue to boosting bookings and increasing your revenue.

Step 6. Make a list of necessary changes. Now you know for sure what to start with.

The best part of such an experiment is that it is customized and tailored specifically for your property.

In this material, we have covered such important topics as guest experience strategy for Booking.com and Airbnb and its key elements. Strategy is based on guest experience analytics and regular well-tailored digital experiments that allow you to reveal the potential of your specific property.

In our Hospitality Knowledge Base you will find more useful tips, guest experience ideas, and insights to improve your strategy and to differ positively. Remember, being in the right place at the right time means receiving knowledge that allows you to win even in a highly competitive environment.