4 Ways to Provide Better Service on Social

Hotels can provide super service by meeting guests where they are and offering help in the moment.

Hotels that aren’t properly engaging with guests and prospective guests via social media are missing out on a chance to provide personalized service where customers want to connect.

“Customers expect answers to their customer service questions when they ask them on social media,” according to Qualtrics, a company that provides customer experience technology. In fact, the company points out that 80 percent of millennials would rather get customer service via social media than over web, phone, or online chat. “Use among other demographics is also growing.”

Does your hotel need to up its social media customer service game? Here are four ways to serve your guests on social:

Go beyond answering questions and resolving issues

Providing customer service via social media involves quickly responding to comments, complaints and questions like, “What time is checkout?” or “Do you offer gluten-free options at your breakfast bar?” Consider allowing guests to book a room, check in, check out or even order room service on social media, Lodging Magazine recommends. The magazine points to a hotel in Spain that allows guests to use social media to order piña coladas while basking in the sun: “Using a dedicated hashtag, guests can tweet members of the hotel’s concierge staff and request room service or poolside drinks.”

Be proactive in responding to mentions of your hotel

It can be difficult to track all the mentions of your brand on different social media platforms, especially if the commenter doesn’t tag you. Consider using social media monitoring tools to alert you to chatter about your hotel so you can rapidly join the conversation and provide any needed service, Qualtrics recommends.

Get inspired by hotels that provide great social service

Hotels that are offering the best social service are going out of their way to connect with guests and provide a positive experience with the brand. You can look to other hotels and hospitality businesses for inspiration and ideas to rev up your service on social media. For example, Social Hospitality offers an example of great social media service from Delta Hotels. A guest posted the not-so-great view from his hotel room, without tagging the hotel or asking for help. The hotel’s social media team spotted the Twitter mention, proactively moved the guest to a room with a view and gave him candy. He was so happy that he later tweeted a positive comment about his new room, tagging the hotel.

Respond quickly to messages and comments

Time is of the essence when it comes to social media service. Waiting days, or even a day, to respond to a direct message or a comment isn’t going to work for many guests. About one in four customers expect a response on social media within an hour or less, according to a report from customer service provider Zendesk. “Millennials and Gen Z, in particular, express a growing preference for channels that suggest even more immediate responses — social media, in-app messaging, and social messaging apps — though survey data suggests that preference for these channels is not based on speed alone,” Zendesk states.

It’s important to remember that guests want to get customer service in the same places they interact with friends and family. That means any hotel that wants to provide amazing service will need to add top-notch social media service to its game plan.