Over the last ten years mobile technology has taken the consumer world by storm and continues to be the way of the future. Although superior guest service will always involve attentive face-to-face interactions, holiday parks who evolve with this shift towards mobile can truly excel at providing instant access to information and self-service options that guests now crave. Mobile apps are playing a key role in helping holiday parks increase their brand awareness, market to their customers and define the guest experience.
Meeting your park guests’ digital demands
The hospitality sector is always looking at new ways to deliver the best guest experience and mobile apps provide the opportunity for holiday parks to engage with guests throughout the whole customer journey.
Guest expectations and demands have undergone radical change over the last few years. Customers today expect personalisation, on tap WiFi, speedy check-in and more. It’s not just a matter of meeting expectations. You now need to exceed those expectations. The bar has been raised thanks to technology, experience sharing on social media and familiarity with streamlined services throughout all areas of an individual’s life.
Communication between staff and customers has also never been so important and should be a key part in a holiday park’s strategy to improve guest satisfaction. Parks can engage with guests in different ways like face-to-face interactions, well-designed responsive websites or on-park digital signage.
But the advantage of having a digital app in comparison to a website is that parks can establish a direct connection with guests by literally having their brand in their pocket.
Engage with your guests throughout the customer journey
Mobile apps have become an integral part of daily life and fundamentally transformed the way people travel. The global app downloads are projected to reach 352.9 billion by 2021 and hospitality brands should quickly get their branded app on their guests’ phone to future-proof their business.
Today’s travellers anticipate immediate access to information and staff to quickly respond to requests on a 24/7 basis. A guest app can provide personalised, real-time content and increase customer satisfaction, build a stronger bond and cultivate loyal customers.
Holiday parks can now engage with their guests on many levels throughout the customer journey – before, during and after their stay.
Pre-stay
- Encourage your guests to download the app a few days before they travel so that they can start planning their stay on your holiday park. With PMS integration, they will be able to check their booking and pay their balance, access all of your latest park health and safety information, check events that are coming up and know what to expect when they arrive.
- Welcome guests prior to their arrival and send them useful information about how to get to your park and make their journey easier.
- Share your local knowledge via the app and to let guests create their own personal itineraries from your things to do, events and activities and build anticipation for their stay with you.
- Speed up your guest check-in process by keeping your guest’s informed with all of the information they are going to need and streamline your guest journey.
In-stay
- Communicate easily with via in-app notifications. Guests can contact your staff directly, share concerns or even compliments. Reduce calls to your reception team for frequently-asked questions with simple how-to-guides and instant messaging.
- Make sure your guests can orientate themselves with your park layout and check where the all-important facilities are with an interactive map.
- Promote special offers and upsell services by sending push notifications. It’s a smooth and simple way to inform guests about last minutes slots and cancellation in your restaurant or for on-park events.
- Reward customer loyalty by building an even stronger bond with your park, as you influence your guests when they are on-site with you.
- Promote holiday home sales while your guests are still on-site.
Post-stay
- Encourage guests to leave a review on social media by linking your review profiles to the app. It’s more personal than an anonymous follow-up email and ensures more reviews. Let them fill in feedback forms and voice any concerns before they get published.
- Gain valuable insights about guest behaviour, which can be utilised and leveraged to create personalised offerings and services.
- Reward your guest for their booking and give them an incentive to book again to drive loyalty. Encourage your guests to book direct and save on commission and increase profit.
Guest engagement apps for holiday parks
Many of the larger hospitality providers have already adopted mobile apps, but this technology is no longer just restricted to them. Maintaining a park app is no longer complex, because no technical knowledge is required. Making updates and amendments by park owners is easy.
Apps like Holidaymaker opens a whole new playing field for touring caravan sites and holiday parks. They can engage with their guests on a personal level and enrich and personalise their holiday experience.
