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One of the busiest times of year in the hospitality industry is just around the corner, but is your team prepared to consistently deliver a quality service, even when things get hectic? With over half (53%) of guests choosing to book their work Christmas party three months in advance, there's no time like the present to prepare for the holiday season. Our research into 1300 guests' views on making Christmas bookings might just help get your team ready and secure those all-important bookings...
Menus matter. When choosing a venue, we found that 50% of guests rate the choice of dishes on the menu as the deciding factor, with restaurants emerging ahead of pubs, hotels and bars as the preferred venue for a Christmas meal. The quality of your Christmas products could sway those bookings, so pay extra attention to ensuring your offering is up to scratch.
Work on that telephone manner. Ensure members of staff are prepared for the Christmas booking phone call. We found that a lack of knowledge and an unfriendly tone were rated as the most off-putting team behaviours, which could result in a lost opportunity to secure a booking. Guests also expect an efficient booking process, with 68% anticipating the call to take less than five minutes; ensure your team is prepared with the relevant information for a seamless process.
Boost your team's knowledge. The quality of staff training will be reflected in the quality of their service. While 86% of guests expect to be asked about a deposit as standard, make your business stand out by focusing on detailed and engaging information about your offering during the phone call rather than making it all about the money.
This Christmas, we're offering recorded Christmas calls to help operators ensure their team are ready to handle bookings effectively. Our calls provide valuable insight into how team members perform when taking bookings and actionable data to improve your service and focus your team's training. Last year's programme saw leading hotel brands Malmaison and Hotel du Vin improve their average call score by almost 20% in the lead-up to Christmas.
The bottom line is that well-trained staff will ensure a consistently high quality booking process. To ensure every telephone enquiry is being handled professionally and that your team have the skills to convert enquiries into bookings, contact us today.
