To be at the forefront of innovation with your property, you need to have satisfied customers. Follow these steps to engage with your guests and keep them returning to your property.

1. Technology Advancements- Showcase the property with numerous pictures or a virtual tour. Make booking a stay easier than ever through your website. Enhance the rooms technologies to have the guests feel like they are at home. WCI gives properties the ability to upgrade their technologies ahead of the curve and stay competitive in the industry. Understand when people drop off of your website to help indicate how you can better appeal to those. If there are an influx of 25-40 year olds going to the website but dropping off after looking at photos or amenities, try to understand that maybe you don’t have update technology or maybe there isn’t a gym or bar in the hotel for people to enjoy.
2. Social Media- It has come a long way. Showcasing your brand’s personality through social media enhances the guest experience, especially the millennials that are now booking hotel rooms for their travel purposes. This allows you to communicate with your guests and increase relationships that will be crucial for customer acquisition.
3. Behind the Brand- Many times people who travel to the same destinations frequently will more than like stay at the same hotel if they have had a pleasant experience. Let your guests get to know the employees. Employee advocacy is a powerful hotel marketing tool today.
   1. Hilton Alexandria Old Town is a prime example of how they have incorporated employees into understanding and communicating with guests. Upon check in, the phone number linked to the reservation will be sent a text from a real person at the front desk who replies to their needs and questions. They will introduce themselves and if you text, “Hi Joe, can I possibly get a late checkout?” Joe will then reply “Yes, we can give you until 1pm to checkout.” Normally within minutes do you not only have a reply but you are talking to a human.
4. Create An Experience- When you stay at a hotel you are either their for personal or professional reasons. Sometimes there is downtime throughout your stay. Why not create an experience for your guests to enjoy your property more. Host a happy hour, maybe it is time for bingo at the bar, maybe you enable people to also look into local experiences by inviting a tour guide to start a walking tour of the city from your hotel.
5. Have Guests Be Your Advocates- There is no other power as powerful as word of mouth. By looking at numbers one through four and making sure you are at the top of your ability, then educate your guests to let their friends and families know about the hotel. Have them post on social media and tag you. There is nothing more important than creating an incredible experience for your guests. The technology in place should support that mission. Another thing to keep in mind is user-generated content that will help you get the social proof needed for marketing success. Encourage your guests to share snippets of their stays at your hotel, and converse with them as though they are friends.