Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Guest Room Speed Dials?

Taking full advantage of your guest room speed dials can not only increase guest satisfaction but also contribute to hotel revenue. Travelers these days are looking for an “experience”, not just a place to stay. Many guests still prefer the simplicity of one-touch speed dials quickly connecting them to hotel and emergency services if needed. This could be the difference in them using the hotel Spa versus the other 10 spas right down the street. Even hotels that do not provide premium services have been able to generate recurring revenue by leasing speed dial keys to local companies.

Room Service – Two words that Make your Phone Generate Revenue

By providing your guests convenient one-button access to food and drink, hotels gain thousands of dollars in premium-priced sales.     Those with iPads and laptop computers can even bypass the phone and order online. But searching the Web does take more time than pushing a single button. Frankly, the convenience and simplicity of picking up the hotel guest phone, pushing just one clearly-marked button, and getting food and drink ordered from a handy menu that is already available in the hotel room is just perfect. Think of it this way: If customers have to use their mobile phones to call for room service – with the hassle of having to find and then punch in a complete phone number– what’s to stop them from calling out for delivery? After all, it’s no more work to punch in one full phone number than it is to type in another.   But what does Room Service actually contribute to a hotel’s bottom line? Quite simply, a single push of a button equates to about $30 high margin incremental revenue.

Hotel Phones = Happy Guests

If hotel guests need a wake-up call, advice on getting clothes cleaned, or fresh towels, they pick up the hotel guestroom phone, push a single button and get what they want. This is a guest convenience that is simple, fast, and — most of all – expected.  In an age where consumers are already cranky about service cutbacks in airlines and other travel-related products, taking away this expected convenience would be commercial suicide.

Lawsuit, Anybody?

Imagine that your hotel has a fire or other calamity. Now imagine that the hotel guestroom phones have been removed. Can you imagine what a field day some enterprising class action lawyer can have at your Hotel’s expense You got it: By removing hotel guestroom phones, a hotel is exposing itself to millions’ of dollars in potential liability suits.  Even if disaster doesn’t strike? Have fun convincing your insurance company that removing guestroom phones doesn’t open your hotel up to such lawsuits. Unfortunately, your insurance company knows better. Chances are the increase in insurance premiums will eat up any perceived savings realised by removing guestroom phones – and then some.

The Bad News AND The Good News

The bad news; removing hotel guestroom phones is an effective way to slash revenue, alienate customers, and open yourself up to lawsuits and increased insurance premiums, The Good News; Preserving and growing your Room Service, and delighting your customers with hotel guest room phones helps ensure that these revenue centres remain alive and contributing to your hotel’s bottom line.