Writings on the Business of Hospitality

Part of my job as Manager of Client Services for ResortsandLodges.com is to periodically review phone calls to a client’s property. In reviewing these phone calls, I have found a few simple things that you can do to drastically improve the performance of your property and bring in more reservations.

I was recently listening to several properties’ phone calls out of California and I noticed a consistent issue. In this instance, two properties of similar size, received a similar number of phone calls. One property had over 35% of their phone calls dropped. The other property had only 7% of their calls dropped. When I listened to the calls it was easy to see why. The second property was answering their phone in one or two rings whereas the first property let most of their calls go to voicemail (after six rings).

You definitely don’t want to give a potential client the impression that your staff is too busy to handle their phone call. If the phone rings four or five times, it is likely that the caller will hang up after this time. If the call goes to voicemail, the caller often hangs up without leaving a message. In some cases this can be as many as 40% of the total number of calls. Talk about leaving a lot of revenue on the table!

It is also important to note that the majority of callers are going to call more than one property when looking to book in an area. By not answering a call you are decreasing the chance of getting a potential booking if your competitor answers their phone. By logging into the marketing center on ResortsandLodges.com you can start to get a better feel for your high volume call periods during the day. You can also look for missed phone calls. If you notice a pattern of missed calls during a certain time of the day, then you can address it as needed.

In today’s technology-driven world, one of the easiest ways to set yourself apart from your competitors is through human interaction. A lack of communication, when it comes to client services or customer support, often translates into lost revenue for your property. The calls I listen to show that people respond positively to a person on the phone, and negatively to a computer operator. If you have an informative reservationist answering calls to your property, you will book more reservations.

If you have a reservationist answering multiple calls and placing people on hold, it should be noted that people will stay on hold for an average of three minutes longer when music is playing. So, if you must place a client on hold, keep this in mind in order to increase the chance of closing these potential reservations.

By reviewing your calls in the marketing center you can begin to understand the call metrics that have an impact on your bottom line. I have found that the properties that have a reservationists answering the phone within two or three rings experience far fewer lost calls (about 40% to 65% fewer) than their competitors who rely on voicemail or computer operators. When a potential client takes the time to call your property, make sure you answer their call.