Successful hotels know that guest satisfaction is the key to getting both new and repeat customers. Safety has a huge impact on guest satisfaction and is the most basic and essential expectation hotel guests have during their stay. That’s why it’s crucial to keep guests safe with critical alerts, and the hotel industry is turning to texting to do this.
It’s impossible to predict when a disaster will strike, but when one does you need to alert those affected within seconds. When it comes to having a quick and surefire way of getting important messages heard, texting is the best way since 90% of all messages read within 3 minutes.
Don’t leave the safety of your guests to chance! Here are 5 ways that hotels can use SMS to improve the safety and security of their guests.
Send Critical Alerts and Get Instant Responses
Access to a computer is never guaranteed during a critical situation, but nearly everyone has instant access to a phone. A shocking 91% of all U.S. citizens have their mobile device within reach 24/7, which is something hotels should take advantage of when trying to keep their guests safe. Using text messages for hotel safety alerts will ensure that your on-the-go travelers are informed and able to respond to any of your critical alerts.
Confirming the safety of guests and staff is a huge concern after a disaster strikes. It’s impossible to call every guest at once, but you can reach all your guests simultaneously through texting. With two-way texting, not only can you blast alerts, but you can also enable guests to respond to confirm their safety. As a result, you will free up your phone lines while quickly getting a headcount of who is safe and who needs help.
Address Hotel Security Issues and Concerns
A disaster can leave guests and staff full of questions and concerns about their current safety, evacuation procedures, and well-being. Being able to address these concerns as soon as possible will allow your guests to go back to feeling safe. Time is of the essence during a disaster, so the quicker you get responses the better you can provide assistance.
A bottleneck that occurs when addressing critical concerns is that phone lines are flooded with incoming calls, which puts your guests on hold and can foster panic. With the average person taking 90 minutes to respond to email, but only 90 seconds to respond to a text message, text reminders provides a safe solution to addressing issues during an influx of calls.
Sensitive critical situations, such as an active shooter on the premises, rely on stealthy communication that can’t be done over a noisy phone call. Two-way texting creates a personal conversation without any verbal back and forth. For example, a guests can text hotel staff to contact the police about their location. SMS messaging also improves employee communications during critical situations so that you can easily ensure the safety of your staff members
Provide Hotel Security and Safety Tips On the Go
When traveling, most people don’t have access to a computer, but practically everyone has a cellphone. In fact, 85% of travelers use their phones while traveling. So why not allow guests to use what’s at their fingertips to report issues and request hotel security? Instead of waiting at a computer or landline for a response, they can move to safety while their security concerns are addressed.
Utilizing marketing automation, you can send safety tips whenever a new guest opts into your hotel’s safety program. And with this large distribution list of guests at your disposal, you can schedule daily safety updates, inform them of safety procedures, or even allow guests to request additional information at anytime. You will create a safety net of security by having educated guests and staff that are prepared for any critical situation.
Take Extra Steps for Security by Scheduling Emergency Protocol
Effectively dealing with critical situations boils down to preparing for anything that comes your way. Utilizing the automation capabilities of some SMS software, you can automate disaster protocols to minimize your manual tasks. If you have a fire in your hotel, automatically send out your fire evacuation procedures to all of your current guests.
Guiding your guests through your evacuation procedures will create the best results. Automate your responses and allow your guests to be assisted in every step of the way. For example, during an earthquake ask if they’re still in the building. If they reply no, tell them to stay away from the building. If they reply yes, ask them which floor they're on and then provide them with a specific evacuation procedure or send a rescue team to their location.
Don't Leave Anyone Behind
While texting is the fastest form of communication, you can’t rely on a single channel to alert your guests. Some guests may not be opted-in to your messaging campaigns, but will still need to be notified during critical situations. Effective SMS softwares are cross-channel solutions that allow you to blast your critical alerts across SMS, email, Facebook, Twitter, and voice to ensure that all guests see your message and hotel safety is maximized.
And with a Yes/No feature, you can streamline simple questions to free up phone lines. Leaving phone lines free and giving reliable answers in a timely manner will make sure that you’re accessible to your guests during any critical situation.
In a life or death situation, it’s best to play it safe and give your guests what they need by using texting to maximize hotel security and safety. To learn more about hotel safety, click here!
