Through Live Chat service, hotels benefit from real-time customer engagement without the headache and expense of managing Live Chat internally.
Here are the top 5 reasons why todays hotels must have a human Live Chat service on their websites:
Live Chat Reason Number 1: Time is Money
Time is something we, as consumers, have very little of these days. Any business that can provide additional time to its customers is going to win in the loyalty game. And loyalty is what creates business opportunities. For hotels, this means booked rooms.
When potential guests are visiting your website, and have questions about your property or destination, they traditionally must either call or send an email and then wait for a reply. We have all had this experience as consumers but it is not the best way to provide immediate customer service to potential customers. Live Chat addresses this service gap for hoteliers.
Our CoMMingle Live Chat service on your website is an enabler that connects your potential guests with business opportunities for your hotel via Live Chat operators who are always standing by ready to support your website visitors needs. And because our CoMMingle Live Chat service is completely mobile enabled, potential guests can request immediate service and assistance from anywhere. Our hotel Live Chat live service agents will always be there ready to assist them.
Live Chat Reason Number 2: Humanizes Your Brand
Real-time Live Chat service enables your hotel to connect with its guests in a human manner. No robots allowed. Today’s consumers want to feel connected to a brand or company on a human level. With all the automated messaging, artificial intelligence and chat bots available today, your hotel can really standout by providing a human connection with your guests. Use Live Chat to engage with them as you would on a telephone call. And because Live Chat is a human interaction, your emotion and empathy will clearly come through to win the customer.
Live Chat Reason Number 3: Offer FAQs in Real Time
Hotel websites that offer FAQs are in the minority. It is a shame that most hotel websites do not offer frequently asked questions pages. As consumers, we have come to expect FAQ pages on every e-commerce website we visit. Yet for whatever reason the hospitality industry has not adopted such a practice. With the competitive nature of direct online hotel bookings, maintaining an FAQs page on your website should be as ubiquitous as your booking engine.
Live Chat can take the FAQs page to and even higher level by providing a real-time human engagement experience with your customers. Providing a Live Chat service on your website increases the likelihood potential customers will begin to engage with your Live Chat agents as they are clicking through your website; side by side and even when the customer transitions from your website into your booking engine.
Live Chat Reason Number 4: Increase Group RFP’s
Through the use of Live Chat, agents are able to share group related documents in real-time with potential customers while they’re on your website. For example, via Live Chat, agents can immediately share floor plans, catering menus and even available event booking specials. This form of “assisted sales” has resulted in an uplift of group RFP’s submitted on a month-over-month basis.
Live Chat Reason Number 5: Immediate Crisis Management
When a potential crisis situation begins to flare up, Live Chat agents can be the first line of defense for your hotel. Live Chat agents can engage with customers immediately and potentially defuse the situation and potential stop negative guest reviews on TripAdvisor.
BONUS: Competitive Advantages / Marketplace Differentiation
And, as an added bonus, a Live Chat service on your hotel’s website is a competitive advantage and a true differentiator. When you consider that Live Chat is only available on a handful of hotel websites across the country, there is no doubt that your hotel can clearly differentiate itself from its competitive set within the marketplace.
Research continues to support that consumers would rather do business through websites that have Live Chat verses those that do not. In fact, 63% of consumers are more likely to return to a website that had Live Chat verses one that did not.
For more information on how to add CoMMingle Live Chat to your website, please visit: www.LiveChatForHotels.com or contact Lodging Interactive at 877-291-4411 extension 701.
About Lodging Interactive
Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, Lodging Interactive is a full-service digital marketing and social media engagement agency exclusively servicing the hospitality industry. Through its web design and search optimization division as well as its CoMMingle Social Media Division, Lodging Interactive provides effective Internet marketing services to hundreds of branded and independent properties as well as management companies, restaurants and spas. CoMMingle has established itself as the largest provider of reputation management services for the hospitality industry, handling over 200,000 guest review responses. The company also offers fully managed Live Chat agents for hotel websites through its LiveChatForHotels.com division.
Lodging Interactive is an HSMAI Adrian Award winner, and has won awards from the International Academy of Visual Arts, Interactive Media Awards, Horizon Interactive Awards, Web Marketing Association, Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, and Travel Weekly’s Magellan Awards have recognized Lodging Interactive as an industry leader.
Lodging Interactive is a proud supporter of the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and the company’s president, DJ Vallauri, currently serves on the Board of Directors of HSMAI’s New York Chapter and is a Forbes.com Agency Council contributor. For more information, please contact sales@lodginginteractive.com, 877-291-4411 or visit the company’s website.
