A complete guide for implementing a CRM in your hotel for the first time

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system designed specifically for hospitality is a great addition to your hotel tech stack. Why? Because it is designed specifically for the hospitality industry to manage and nurture relationships with guests. 

However, a hotel CRM is not just about managing data but a solution that will empower your marketing team, operations team and overall, contribute to better results.

In this way, it allows hospitality providers to effectively collect, store, and analyse guest information and preferences, enabling them to personalise experiences, improve guest satisfaction, and drive customer loyalty.

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What can you do with a CRM in your hotel?

Having a hospitality CRM allows you to centralise guest data, including contact information, preferences, previous bookings, and feedback, in one platform. This provides a holistic view of each guest, allowing for personalised interactions and tailored services. 

Secondly, a CRM enables targeted marketing campaigns, helping hospitality providers reach the right audience with relevant offers, promotions, and recommendations. This not only improves conversion rates but also strengthens guest relationships. 

Lastly, a CRM fosters customer loyalty and retention by identifying patterns, predicting guest needs, and proactively addressing any issues or concerns.

Implementing a successful hospitality CRM involves careful planning and consideration. In the hospitality industry, it is becoming increasingly crucial in today's digital age. 

With the ever-increasing demand for seamless guest experiences and personalised services, a well-executed CRM strategy can help hotels enhance customer satisfaction, increase revenue, and foster long-lasting relationships. 

In this article, we will explore the dos and don'ts of implementing a CRM in your hotel for the first time, inspired by best practices from various industries, with a focus on hospitality.

1. Take the time to do some research

Before embarking on the CRM implementation journey, it’s crucial to take the time to understand your specific needs and goals. This involves conducting in-depth research on your current processes, identifying gaps, and understanding the importance of multi-channel communication.

It’s also beneficial to talk to peers about how they use their CRM and review cases in the industry. For instance, Gambino Hotels and RoomRepublic have seen significant improvements after implementing Bookboost’s CRM.

Gambino Hotels has experienced increased employee satisfaction and guest happiness, while RoomRepublic has successfully converted OTA bookers and consistently communicated throughout the guest journey. These are just two examples of the positive outcomes of choosing the right CRM platform.

Remember, thorough research and understanding of your own needs are key to successful CRM implementation.

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2. Establish goals for the CRM project

Establishing clear and measurable goals is indeed a critical part of any CRM project. These goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

A specific goal could be to increase guest engagement by 20% over the next quarter. This goal is not only specific but also measurable, achievable, relevant to your hotel’s success, and time-bound.

Creating a comprehensive CRM strategy is another crucial step. This strategy should outline how you plan to achieve your goals using your CRM system. It should detail the processes, people, and technology involved, and how they will interact to improve guest relationships and drive business growth. 

For more insights on creating an effective CRM strategy, you can read this article.

Setting clear, SMART objectives for your CRM use is key to achieving your desired outcomes. By doing so, you can ensure that your CRM implementation is not just about the technology, it’s about how well it aligns with your hotel’s specific needs and goals.

3. Don’t focus on replacing existing processes

When implementing a new CRM system, it is important to focus on onboarding and ensuring a common understanding among team members. Provide training and empower your organisation to see how they can benefit from the CRM system, rather than replacing existing processes entirely. 

Remember, the aim is to free up resources and streamline operations to enhance the guest experience. 

Here, choosing the right CRM plays a key role. You don’t want a tool that is complicated to understand and to use. This will scare your team and they will be less willing to try it out. They need to be able to understand how to use it to achieve their department goals. 

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4. Incorporate a data-driven approach

Almost, 74% of businesses say that CRM solutions give them better access to customer data. Without data, your CRM system is rendered ineffective. But if you have the data and don’t look at it, it will still be useless. Once the guest data is flowing into your CRM, dive into the reports to gain insights from it. The preferences of your guests, their profiles, where they come from, what is the most common type of guest, and more. 

Make the most of the data available to you to gain insights, understand your guests better, and improve your services. In addition, ensure that you adhere to data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to maintain the trust of your guests.

If you want to know more on how to use your hotel guest data, read “Hospitality data: 4 game-changing ways to use it to increase revenue”.

5. Think about Data Migration and Cleansing 

The data stored in your existing systems will have to move into your CRM. This is an important part of having one source of truth. Map out all your data sources and plan how you will migrate the existing customer data. 

Ensure everyone is updated about the data migration and make sure data is accurate and up-to-date through a data cleansing process to avoid errors and improve usability.

Data quality is just as important as quantity. Dedicate time to data cleansing. This involves identifying and correcting any errors or inconsistencies within your guest data. Remember that accurate and up-to-date information is vital for generating reliable reports and insights.

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6. Don’t skip the training phase 

A powerful CRM is only as effective as the people who use it. Investing in comprehensive training for all relevant staff is crucial. 

This ensures everyone understands the system's functionalities, its role in guest interactions, and how it contributes to overall goals.  Training should be tailored to different departments, highlighting how the CRM empowers them to perform their roles more efficiently and effectively. 

According to studies, employees who receive proper training are 17% more productive. Well-trained staff are more likely to embrace the CRM and utilise its full potential, leading to improved guest satisfaction and loyalty.

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7. Establish a feedback process 

Consistent and effective communication is essential throughout the CRM implementation process. Keep all stakeholders informed about progress, challenges, and milestones. 

Take the first steps to creating a feedback culture. Encourage all stakeholders, including team members and guests, to provide feedback about the use and implementation of the new CRM system. This can be done through regular meetings, surveys, or suggestion boxes.

Make sure everyone knows their opinions are valued and will be acted upon.Make sure the feedback is stored and that you act on it. It’s not enough to just collect feedback; you need to act on it. Analyse the feedback you receive, identify trends and issues, and use this information to improve your CRM strategy and processes.

For example, if the team mentions they still don’t grasp some of the features, it shows that more training is needed. 

Finally, treat feedback as an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Regularly review and update your feedback processes to ensure they’re effective and meeting your needs.

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Setup for success

It’s not just about the tool, but how it’s integrated into your processes and used to meet your needs. A well-implemented CRM can help you achieve your goals, empower your team, and utilise data effectively, providing a practical assessment of the tool’s capabilities.

However, don’t forget that choosing the right CRM is key for success. If you work in hospitality, you need a CRM designed for hospitality, like Bookboost. This means all features and parts of the software make sense for hoteliers and you can leverage them as much as possible. 

Do you want to discover more about Bookboost CRM? Book a demo today.