Discover Smartconnect, the new platform that automates guest communication (and helps you reduce reliance on OTAs)
Send personalized messages, newsletters and upsell offers to each guest at every stage of their stay.
How much time do you spend communicating with guests in your property?
Do you know how to build a relationship with them from the moment they book? Do you have the time to write personalized messages and newsletters? Can you suggest the right extra service or the perfect experience to enhance each guest's stay?
Answering these questions today is critical to maximizing your property's bottom line. In fact, according to a recent McKinsey report:
- 71 percent of customers expect companies to deliver personalized experiences,
- while 76 percent are frustrated when that expectation is not met.
And it's not just about expectations; personalizing the experience also has a direct impact on business and reputation:
- 76% of customers say they are more likely to buy from a company that personalizes,
- while 78 percent are more likely to become repeat customers and recommend the purchase to others.
But, specifically, how do you ensure that guests have a personalized experience while simultaneously driving revenue and future direct bookings?
Simple: with Smartconnect!
What is Smartconnect and how does it work?
When we created Smartpaying, we wanted to help hoteliers sell ancillary services and experiences to their guests in the easiest and most effective way possible. We succeeded, but we knew that was just the beginning.
That's why Smartpaying found its natural evolution in Smartconnect, an even more powerful tool designed not only to effectively sell ancillary services, but also to manage the relationship with guests in a truly personalized and ongoing way, from the moment of booking until after check-out.
A tool that can open a direct channel of communication with each of your guests, helping you to not only increase satisfaction and revenue in the short term, but also to create a connection in the long term and incentivize direct bookings.
To do all this, Smartconnect includes three fully automated features − meaning that while you always have full control over the messaging and offers, the software handles everything.
Here are Smartconnect's features in detail:
1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Smartconnect integrates with your management software to import data about your guests and their booking habits.
Through in-depth analysis of this data, the software divides your audience into groups and automatically identifies the right segments to target your communications.
With this feature, you can:
- Centralize all information about your guests and automate the analysis, saving hours of manual segmentation.
- Anticipate guest needs by providing timely information and offers that meet the specific needs of each customer group.
- Personalize each stay and ensure a unique experience for each guest, naturally and without additional effort on your part.
2. Email marketing automation
Unlike other hotel software, Smartconnect automatically creates personalized communications, newsletters and sales offers for each guest, suggesting the right time to send them at each stage of the stay, from booking to check-out.
This means that the software writes each communication, while you can review it, edit it if necessary, and schedule it to be sent.
Thanks to this feature, you will be able to:
- Maintain contact at every stage of the stay, even when you are not at the property or if you are a property manager managing multiple properties.
- Incentivize loyalty with relevant guest messages that increase perceived value and improve the overall stay experience.
- Reduce OTA commissions by up to 20 percent through email marketing campaigns that engage guests long after they return home and drive future direct bookings.
3. Upselling and cross-selling
With Smartconnect, you get a personalized web page dedicated to your ancillary services to share your offer with guests before their arrival and during their stay, sending them targeted communications via email and WhatsApp.
Smartconnect also helps you to create an offer adapted to the characteristics of your accommodation, allowing you to sell not only additional services internal to your establishment, but also experiences and services offered by external providers, without the need to make agreements with them.
Thanks to this feature, you will be able to:
- Propose the right services at the right time, sending only offers that match the guest's interests and preferences.
- Automate the sale of ancillary services, simplifying the entire process and freeing up valuable time for you and your staff.
- Increase revenue more easily with a sales process that is smoother, more personalized, and less intrusive to guests.
Why use Smartconnect?
At a time when the search for unique travel experiences and the desire for personalization are driving most consumer choices, Smartconnect gives you the ability to identify and respond to your guests' needs in a timely manner.
In addition, according to a study published by Harvard Business School, you only need to increase your customer retention rate by 5 percent to increase your profits by over 25 percent, and with Smartconnect, you can do it without changing your daily operations or increasing your workload.
Want to move from theory to practice and see firsthand how Smartconnect works? Contact us for more information!