According to a recent study, 81% of young hotel guests are interested in features like online check-in, mobile room keys, and instant messaging with hotel staff.
If you want to keep up with this changing landscape, you need to be open to new, experience-enhancing technologies—like guest experience software, for example.
And in this definitive guide, Fetch will be helping you out with that. We'll be taking you on a deep dive into the best guest experience platforms available, so you have all the information you need to make a decision.
Ready to boost customer satisfaction and revenue? Let's dive in.
What is Guest Experience Software?
Guest experience software is a cloud-based, third-party application that allows visitors to use and request hotel services via their mobile devices and in-room tablets.
Guest experience software can come with a range of features, including:
- guest engagement
- operations hub
- front office
- staff collaboration
These elements enable general managers to make their guests’ stays enjoyable and memorable.
Why Is Guest Experience Software So Important?
Identifying areas for operational and service improvement
Guest experience management software provides centralized information on guest feedback, including online reviews, guest messaging, and guest surveys. By collecting this information in one place, you can improve the guest experience by utilizing a treasure trove of data.
Real-time responses from guests can help you identify areas for operational and service improvements. Improving guest engagement and responding to their concerns more quickly can lead to increased bookings and revenue.
Tailoring your communications to customers
Researching your customers and using analytics can help you create content that really resonates with them. Customer experience software offers relevant data on your customers’ behavior and preferences, allowing you to better understand their pain points and how they view your brand.
By leveraging this data, you can tailor recommendations, special offers, advice, and content that aligns with your target market’s needs.
Streamlining and automating guest interactions
If your staff is wasting time on tedious, manual tasks, it means they aren’t investing the same energy into creating unique, personalized experiences for guests. Automated features like follow-up messages, check-in process, and mobile key help your staff streamline interactions with guests.
This also frees up their time to develop initiatives that increase customer engagement and ultimately lead to more revenue.
Criteria for Choosing the Best Guest Experience Software
- User-Friendliness: When it comes to choosing guest experience software, you want a tool that's user-friendly and makes your support team's job easy. Go for something that's easy to set up, navigate, and boosts staff productivity.
- Scalability: When you're picking customer service software, it's important to think about whether it can grow with your business. You don't want to be stuck with something that can't handle a sudden boom in guests or users. Cloud-based software is usually your best bet, since you can add or remove users as needed and tailor your pricing to your visitors.
- Business Alignment: When picking guest experience software, it's important to choose a tool that aligns with your hotel's goals. First, figure out what KPIs or metrics you want to target (e.g., response times) and then look for a tool that has features that will help you target those KPIs (e.g., Fetch’s Texting feature).
4 Best Guest Experience Software
Combing through many online reviews to select the best guest experience software for your hotel is a daunting task. That’s why we have assembled this list of the best tools on the market.
Here’s an overview of the tools we’ll be covering:
- Fetch
- ALICE
- Whistle
- Nuvola
Now, let’s dive a bit deeper into what makes these tools great!
1. Fetch
Fetch is an all-in-one team and guest engagement hub that’s trusted by hundreds of independent hotels across North America.
With features like guest texting, centralized ticketing, one-tap surveys, and deep analytics, you’re armed with all the tools you need to create meaningful (and memorable) experiences for your guest.
Plus, it's super easy to use—your staff will have it mastered it in no time. This helps cut down on platform fatigue and empowers your teams to do what they do best.
Key Features
- Guest Engagement: Delight your guests with two-way texting, one-tap surveys, online review management, and simple ticketing.
- Operations Hub: Simplify your team's workflow with Fetch's ticket management dashboard, task assignment, real-time alerts, and more.
- Analytics: Use data on guest satisfaction, staff performance, response speeds, and rooms to make top-quality decisions.
Pricing
Every hotel is unique—and our pricing reflects that. For a personalized quote designed to meet your need, fill out this form, and we’ll get back to you shortly!
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Scalable to accommodate business growth
- Easy to set up, learn, navigate, and implement
- Offers collaboration tools for teams
Cons
- Pricing is only available upon completion of a request form.
2. ALICE
ALICE is a hotel operations platform that offers an array of features designed to limit the chaos that goes hand -in-hand with hotel operations.
ALICE is built around a fairly intuitive interface with tabs for managing different aspects of your hotel—including messaging, guests, maintenance, and housekeeping. When issues arise, it’s easy to create and assign tasks so that nothing slips through the cracks.
Key Features
- Guest Messaging: Send automated and manual messages to guests based on their needs and requests.
- Intelligent Ticketing: Automate the process of creating tickets, assigning them to staff members, tracking progress, and resolving issues.
- Performance Dashboard: Track team performance, identify areas for improvement, and ensure all tasks are completed quickly and efficiently.
Pricing
If you want to learn about ALICE’s pricing, you’ll need to contact their sales team.
Pros
- Wide range of features
- Department and multi-department dashboards
Cons
- No free trial easily available
- Outdated UI
3. Whistle
Whistle is a guest messaging tool that opens up a direct line of communication between guests and hotel staff.
With this tool, you can access a range of useful features centered around Whistle’s direct messenger, including automated responses, targeted upselling, and post-stay review prompts.
Key Features
- AI-Powered Chatbot: Whistle’s AI-powered chatbot helps guests get quick answers to simple questions, and directs difficult questions to the right department.
- Keyless Entry: Guests can easily enter their rooms without having to worry about losing physical keys with Whistle’s FLEXIPASS integration.
- Integrations: Benefits from a solid range of integrations—from PMSs to reputation management tools.
Pricing
You’ll need to book a demo to learn about pricing plans.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Helps optimize hotel staff performance
- Automated notifications and task lists increase staff efficiency
Cons
- Limited features compared to some competitors
- No publicly available pricing information
4. Nuvola
Nuvola is a hotel management tool that combines hotel service optimization and guest engagement through a range of useful modules—from tickets to guest profiles to housekeeping.
The platform’s main purpose is synchronizing hotel operations and optimizing staff performance through a centralized dashboard and integrations with other hotel management tools.
Key Features
- Guest Profiles: Consolidate all relevant information about each guest into a searchable database.
- Reports & Statistics: Generate detailed reports that yield useful insights into ticket types, response times, and performance.
- Guest Chat: Clear up any pre-, mid-, or post-stay questions with direct guest messaging.
Pricing
Once again, you’ll need to request a demo if you want to learn more about Nuvola’s pricing.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Great set of hotel operations features
- Integrates with other Sabre hospitality products
Cons
- Guest messaging is basic
- Lacks powerful guest experience tools
It’s Time To Upgrade Your Guest Experience Software
If you're an independent hotel looking for an all-in-one guest experience software, Fetch might just be your best bet! With features like alerts, ticketing, messaging, and analytics, you'll be able to provide your guests with unforgettable experiences. And the best part? It's super easy to set up and use, so you can start earning revenue in no time.
Not convinced? Check out how Lodgings & Leisure benefited from Fetch's services.
Want to learn more about how Fetch can take your hotel's guest experience to the next level? Request a free meeting and see Fetch in action!
