Your guests have been looking forward to their stay in your wonderful hotel since months. Naturally, they would prefer being on vacation. In these times, it’s important to have an open ear for their concerns and offer them information about the current state of things.
Why should you as a hotelier communicate proactively?
Many tourists already booked flights and accommodation but the Coronavirus put a spoke in everyone’s wheel. Hotels are shut down, borders are closed and flights are canceled – the situation differs from country to country. To go on vacation or not to go is the question.
As a hotelier, it’s time to get in touch with your guests and clear up the situation to avoid guests in front of your closed hotel.
How to communicate with guests
- Use official communication channels to spread your news! Don’t text guests via messengers like WhatsApp because those channels aren’t the most trustworthy ones.
- Don’t wait for the guests to contact you, get in touch with them proactively to avoid uncertainty. Then you have time to prepare answers to their questions.
- Avoid individual phone calls to save time and avoid contradictory statements. The best way to get in touch with your guest is in a standardized way, e.g. via e-mail.
- Nobody expects you to have all the answers. Don’t invent things you don’t know like the end of the measures.
Examples to inform your guests
What should be included in an Email to your guests:
- Explanation why your hotel is closed
- Information regarding the refund of deposit or any cancellation fees
- Future outlook
- Links to the websites of authorities for further information
This is an example of how your email can look like if you have to close your hotel:
Dear guest,
We were really looking forward to your stay at our hotel and we are sure: So were you. Nevertheless, your safety is more important to us. We are sorry to inform you that our hotel is currently closed. The Austrian authorities decided to shut down all hotels in Austria (attached a link to the official statement) at least until the xx April to slow down the spread of the Coronavirus. We fully support the necessary precautions taken by our authorities to guarantee your safety.
Regarding your stay, please find all information such as refund of deposit and cancellation fees on the following website: abc.xy/corona
However, postponed is not abandoned. We would love to contact you with special offers when we are allowed to open again. So stay healthy in the meantime!
We hope to see you soon!
Kind regards,
Hotel XY
