Greeting your guests

Do you give your guests a warm welcome? Do you make them feel at home after a journey that more than likely was tiring? This is most important. It seems like common sense to say you should do this first off but we get reports of establishments that greet their guests first thing with matters of payment.

People like to be acknowledged, you will make a really good impression on your guests if the owner or a member of management is there to greet them. And why make them wait in reception? Why not show them to the room and do the check-in the room. Travellers will really appreciate not being made to stand around while formalities are sorted out when they are tired. At least in the room they can be seated, and the other member of the family / group who do not have to complete formalities can explore the space, use the bathroom or lie down.

If a senior member of the establishment is unable to be present on site at times when guests are likely to arrive then it is important that those who will be there are trained to handle the check-in professionally. If you are in a remote location, have no staff and need to go out, it is important to try and call your guests to find out when they are likely to arrive so that there is someone on site to let them in.

The best time to make a good first impression is when your guests arrive. Needless to say one of the booking procedures should be to get a contact number and estimated time of arrival. The contact number should be a cellular phone number so that you can try and reach the guests while they are travelling, whether it is before the time you expect them and especially if it is after their scheduled arrival time. We know how disheartening it is to wait around for guests who either arrive late or not at all but keep in mind that it is just as awful, if not more so, if a guest arrives and there is no one home.

This information will be useful for people who own their own bed and breakfast (B&B) / guest house and would like to improve on general service as well as helping to make your establishment stand out amongst the rest. Thank you for reading this article.

published 2 years ago

Elouise

373 points