Room Directory and Customer Experience

It's a phrase you hear in almost every hotel.

The phone is ringing for Wi-Fi.
A customer comes down to ask for breakfast times.
Another is looking for a simple recommendation.

These requests are not complex or unexpected.
They are part of daily life.

The problem is their volume.

They occupy an important part of reception time. They fragment the days, cut off ongoing exchanges and prevent teams from focusing on more important situations.

And yet, in the majority of cases, the information already exists.
It is simply being misused.

Direct answer: the room directory should absorb 30 to 50% of simple requests

In an optimal way, the room directory is used for a very concrete thing:
reduce the unnecessary demands on the reception side

It allows the customer to find the basic information they need during their stay on their own.

When it fulfills this role, we quickly observe:

• fewer calls for simple questions
• fewer interruptions for teams
• more useful exchanges with customers

When he does not fill it up, the reception becomes a permanent information center.

Why does the room directory not work in the majority of hotels

On paper, everything is in place.

One Welcome booklet is available in the room.
The information is there.
The services are listed.

But in practice, it is used very little.

The reason is simple: it no longer corresponds to uses.

A customer will not spontaneously open a filing cabinet to look for information. He picked up his phone, he was looking for a quick, immediate answer.

If the information is not accessible in a few seconds, it changes channels.

He's calling.
It's coming down.
He asks.

So the problem is not the content.
It's access to content.

What does a well-used room directory really change

When the room directory is designed as an operational tool, its impact can be seen very quickly.

Simple requests are reduced without any special effort. Teams are less busy on repetitive subjects. Interruptions are becoming less frequent, which improves the quality of daily work.

On the client side, theexperience becomes smoother. He no longer depends systematically on reception to move forward with his stay. He gets his answers when he needs them, without friction.

This change is often underestimated. However, it profoundly changes the balance of operations.

Where digital technology really makes a difference

Skip to Digital room directory is not about modernizing a support. Above all, this makes it possible to align the tool with current uses.

A customer is already using their phone for everything.
Transport, restaurant, activities...

He expects the hotel to function the same way again.

When he can access his information in a few seconds, without downloading an application or looking for a long time, the use becomes natural.

This is when the room directory starts to play its role.

Direct impact on team organization

The most visible change is not on the client side, but on the team side.

In a hotel where the room directory is rarely used, the reception acts as a central point. Everything goes through her. Each request, even simple, is added to the existing flow.

In an establishment where it is well integrated, the dynamic is different. The customer becomes more autonomous on simple topics. The reception intervenes on more targeted requests.

It's changing the nature of work.

Less execution, more relationship. Less repetition, more value.

This is often where teams feel the impact most quickly.

The direct link to your income (often ignored)

The room directory is not only an information tool.

It is also a source of income, but indirect.

When customers can easily find the services offered, they are more likely to use them. Not because they are new, but because they are visible and understandable.

A service that is not very visible is a service that is not sold very often.
An accessible service becomes an opportunity.

This link is often underexploited, because the room directory is still perceived as a passive medium.

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Why do most hotels stop too early

Many establishments have already attempted an evolution.

A QR code in the room.
A PDF sent by email.
A digitized document.

But that is not enough.

If access remains complicated, if the information is not structured, or if the use is not obvious, the customer does not change his habits.

He comes back to the simplest solution: reception.

This is why some projects do not bring the expected results.

What you really need to optimize

For a room directory to become an operational tool, it must meet three simple requirements:

• be accessible immediately, effortlessly
• contain only useful and up-to-date information
• allow quick action (understand, book, ask)

Without these three elements, there is still a secondary medium.
With these three elements, it becomes a central point of the stay.

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What to remember

The room directory is not a detail of the customer experience.

It is an organizational tool.

When it is ineffective, reception compensates.
When well-structured, it absorbs a significant portion of simple requests.

This change lightens the teams, improves the fluidity of the stay and enhances existing services.

And now?

If today your teams spend a large part of their time answering the same questions, the subject does not come from the volume of customers.

It comes from access to information.

Rethinking your room directory is not modernizing a medium.
It is optimize your daily functioning.

GetWelcom makes it possible to structure this contact point to make it really useful, by centralizing information and facilitating access to services.

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