| 'Intelligence Gathering' may give off a military vibe and | | | | You need to first figure out what are the answers you |
| give you visions of men in black, skulking in the | | | | seeks before developing the questions. Here are some |
| shadows but it is an activity that every hotelier should | | | | answers that a good feedback form should reveal: |
| undertake. No, I am not telling you that you should | | | | 1.Why the guest did selected your hotel over |
| dress in black, skulk around your competitor's hotels in | | | | competitors. You can use this information to your |
| order to figure out their secrets to lure in guests. The | | | | customer future marketing campaigns to gain |
| intelligence gathering I am suggesting is internal and the | | | | maximum outputs. |
| targets are your own 'guests'. | | | | 2.Where is the guest from i.e. country or state? This |
| Every guest that is staying and will stay at your hotel | | | | information will help you classify guests based on origin. |
| property is a valuable fount of information that can | | | | 3.How did he make his reservations - travel agent, |
| help you refine your marketing strategies and tailor | | | | hotel website, 3rd party website etc.? By compiling this |
| your marketing campaigns to yield better results. | | | | information, you can learn which medium is the most |
| Knowing how a guest located your hotel, where he is | | | | effective and you can adjust the budget for your |
| from, why he selected your hotel over your | | | | marketing campaigns accordingly. |
| competitors etc. will help you understand guests, | | | | A good feedback form is short, simple and uses a |
| behavioral patterns, motivations and trends. You can | | | | multiple-choice format. Do not develop a 5 page long |
| use the data collected to target guests with greater | | | | feedback form and expect a guest to fill it, he won't. |
| accuracy. | | | | By keeping majority of the questions multiple choice, |
| For example, if you know that majority of guests from | | | | you ensure that it is fast to fill and does not annoy the |
| Russia choose your hotel because your hotel is | | | | guest. Use a combination of multiple choice and straight |
| located close to the beach, you can capitalize on this | | | | questions to ensure that your form is concise without |
| knowledge by highlighting your proximity to beaches in | | | | being too generic. |
| your marketing campaigns for Russia. Similarly, if | | | | For example |
| majority of guests from India said that selected your | | | | How did you book accommodation at our hotel? |
| hotel because it is centrally located and close to tourist | | | | * Travel Agent * Travel Website * Hotel Website |
| attractions, you can use develop your marketing | | | | * Telephonic |
| campaign based on these two points. In short, you can | | | | Please list the name of the travel agent or travel |
| use the information collected to increase your hotel's | | | | website. |
| conversion rate and occupancy levels. | | | | _ |
| Knowing that you need to gather intelligence is not | | | | Keep in mind that a poorly designed feedback form |
| enough, you also need to know how to gather. In real | | | | will extract skewed responses from customers. |
| life unlike a 'Men in Black' or 'James Bond' movie, you | | | | A good feedback form is balanced. Ask guests for |
| can't go up to a guest, grab him by his shirt and | | | | suggestions how to improve your hotel. You can also |
| demand answers. Nor do you have the time to sit | | | | prevent future loss of business by learning about |
| down with each guest individually and engage him in a | | | | problems faced by guests and rectifying them as soon |
| lengthy conversation to understand how he arrived | | | | as possible. You can use this information to address |
| and/or selected your hotel (neither does the guest). | | | | guest-related grievances more competently and |
| The most effective and convenient way to gather | | | | resolve queries and complaints more quickly. |
| intelligence in the hospitality industry is with the aid of a | | | | To summarize, by gathering intelligence, you gain critical |
| feedback form. It can help you gain insights into guests' | | | | inputs and answers that you can use to develop more |
| motivations and reservation patterns without disrupting | | | | effective and accurate marketing campaigns. Thus, |
| his trip. | | | | increasing occupancy levels at your hotel. |
| Developing a feedback form is an intricate process. | | | | |