The Room directory or welcome booklet is available in each hotel room. It is a way of informing customers and presenting them with the services offered.
Most often, it takes the form of a binder or a paper booklet.
It includes:
- Of important information for the customer's stay : arrival and departure times, access times to infrastructures, establishment rules...
- The additional services offered by the hotel and associated rates : breakfast, room service, spa, romantic package..
- Of Suggestions for discovering the surroundings : activities, restaurants, walks...
- Of useful information : wifi code, emergency numbers, television channels, itineraries...
The purpose of the room directory is to support the customer once they arrive at the hotel and throughout the duration of their stay.
Room directory, hotel ranking and Atout France
Contrary to popular belief, the room directory is not mandatory for hotels provided that they do not offer additional services (breakfast, parking space, spa, etc.).
Beyond its usefulness for the customer, its presence in the room earns points during the audit. Since 2022, Atout France, the French tourism development agency in charge of hotel classification, has considered that a digital version of the room directory can replace the paper version.
The checkpoints concerning the room directory published by Atout France in January 2022.
- 102- Presence of a service guide presenting all the services and rates of the hotel. The medium can be paper or digital (QR code, sending by email...)
- 103. Presence of a service guide presenting all the services and rates of the hotel in 1 foreign language. The medium can be paper or digital (QR code, sending by email...)
The validation of these 2 criteria earns 5 points to the audited institution.
“In the room, the hotelier is no longer required to display the price per night. He must only inform the customer of all the prices and services provided incidental to the nights. He must be informed of how to consult this information in a clear, legible and visible manner. Concretely, this information is provided by means of the guide presenting all the hotel services and rates (room directory) present in the room.”
The room directory is important
The first mistake to make is to minimize its importance and see it as an “obligation.” Whether it's called room directory, welcome booklet or guest book, it has an essential role for you and for your customers.
If its content is up to date, The room directory an operational ally :
- It is the bible of information for your establishment. If you forgot important information during check-in, your customer can find it independently in the welcome booklet.
- It is a gateway for your additional sales. It is a simple way to offer your customers your services and make them want to.
- If it is digitized, it allows the automation of certain tasks: sending emails, managing customer requests...
The room directory is an integral part of the customer experience.
- It is one of the first interactions that your customers have once they get to their room. This is an opportunity to address you directly to them: welcome note or personalization..
- It is a way to easily find your way around the hotel and its environment.
- If it is digitized, it allows you to easily prepare for your stay.
The digital room directory for hotels and their customers
What is a digital room directory?
The Digital room directory is an internet platform accessible before and during your customers' stay to allow them to easily get information, book your services and discover activities around the hotel.
The customer accesses it by email before her stay or from her room via QR code.
The room directory is personalized At the neck
The benefits of Digital room directory For the hotel
Setting up a digital welcome booklet has multiple advantages for your customers but also for you and your teams.
For your customers
- They can access the interface before their stay to prepare it
- They discover your services and book them easily
- The translation is automatic
- They can access it outside the hotel
- Learn more
For you and your teams
- Information can be updated quickly via a back office, No need to reprint all of them.
- You add a additional channel for your additional sales.
- You benefit from a content enriched and updated automatically, effortless: activity around the hotel, offers and benefits for your customers.
- Learn more
The journey of hotel customers offering a digitized Room Directory
The establishment of a connected digital room directory offers flexibility to your customers.
Before the stay, they have the opportunity to access useful information (arrival time, equipment, etc.) and to book additional services. Guests can also find out about activities to do around the hotel.
Once you arrive at the hotel, The room directory is transformed into a practical guide to support the customer in and outside the establishment.
The implementation of a digitized room directory does not replace the human
If you are afraid that the establishment of a digital room directory will replace or deteriorate the relationships and exchanges you have with your customers: YOU ARE WRONG!
The digital room directory is ideal for supporting your customer when they are in a situation of autonomy. If it allows him to access information continuously, it will not replace an exchange and advice from his host.
Digitizing your room directory means adding an additional gateway to start a conversation, request a service or find an activity to do.
Whether you choose a paper version or a Digital version, the room directory is an important part of the customer experience not to be overlooked.
