Increase customer engagement and spend by improving the hospitality customer experience

3. AI tech enhancement

Guests are aware of increasing technology use in the hospitality industry, and many expect it to improve their experience, helping to deliver the convenience and personalisation that they desire.

 
The AI in Hospitality Report shows that 32 percent of consumers believe AI will enhance service quality, 37 percent believe it will improve personalisation, and over half of consumers think that it will improve their experience by (conveniently) providing faster customer service.  

Martin Verdon-Roe, GM Front of House at Access, adds: 

“AI can work seamlessly in the background to make the guest experience slick and personalised while predicting issues and capacity. This means teams can focus on delivering the experience rather than firefighting problems.” 

The first touchpoint of your customer journey happens long before a guest walks through your door. First, they must discover your venue somewhere, be it word-of-mouth, online, or on a hospitality discovery platform. Then, they need to navigate to making a reservation with you. If this step feels too complicated – jumping between websites, ringing up and getting no answer, being unable to find a booking option – they are likely to abandon the process completely. Customers want convenience, remember? 

That’s why seamless discovery and booking is essential.  

Integrating tools like Reserve with Google or DesignMyNight with your reservation system allows guests to book in a single tap, directly from their Google Search and Maps results, or within your DMN venue listing. Real-time availability is shown on the booking widget and options for deposits can be set for peak times, making bookings not only simple and trustworthy for the customer, but reliable and accurate for you. 

However your customer makes their reservation with you, ensure you follow up with a clear confirmation email to acknowledge the booking and reiterate the details, setting the tone for the stress-free experience to continue.

Keep guests informed on arrival and when queuing

Uncertainty at the door is a sure-fire way to ruin a customer’s experience with you. 

Whether their allocated table isn’t quite ready for their booked slot or they’re a walk-in and need to be added to a queue, lack of information can lead to frustration and walk-outs.

• Step one: Greet guests quickly and direct them to the appropriate waiting area to avoid congestion around the doorway and awkwardness for waiting guests who don’t know your typical procedure. 
• Step two: For those with a booking, ensure that they are seated or updated about seating timelines promptly. If their allocated table won’t be ready soon enough (regardless of how well you plan things, sometimes the unexpected does unfortunately happen), you can move them to the top of your waitlist, so they get priority access to the next available. For those who don’t have a booking, ensure that they are added to your waitlist and receive timely updates as their table becomes available. 
• Step three: Communicate proactively with your guests throughout their wait and turn waiting into anticipation, not irritation. A well-trained front-of-house team, who can continue to deliver thoughtful service with a smile during stressful peak periods, has a hugely positive impact on customer experience, counteracting minor frictions. 

Having a digital waitlist within your booking and table management system is a guaranteed way to streamline customer experience and alleviate friction. It allows staff to see capacity at a glance, ensuring seating flows smoothly and guests feel cared for, even before they sit down. No more scribbled lists or messages lost between team members – it's clear, concise and consistent.

Personalise the service you provide

Once guests are seated, the opportunity to really delight them begins.

You got into the hospitality business to curate memorable moments and this stage of the customer experience is where you can showcase this passion. Exceptional service, delicious food, speciality drinks. Now’s your time to shine and demonstrate what your venue is all about.  

The way to go the extra mile at this part of the customer journey is to sprinkle in some personalisation. This is impossible to do when your data lives in silos, but by connecting your bookings, Wi-Fi and CRM together, you can create a single customer view that becomes your instruction manual for how to deliver the best service for that particular guest. You can capture visit frequency, seating preferences, order history and even dwell time to offer the most appropriate assistance and tailored upsells.  

A free appetiser for a loyal guest on their fifth visit, a bounce-back voucher for a first timer when they ask for the bill – these gestures build emotional connection. 

Service becomes thoughtful, not generic. 

Ensure payment is easy and flexible

Aside from service with a smile, the in-venue experience of your customers depends on how frictionless ordering and paying is.  

No one wants to wait around too long for a drinks order or sit there waiting at the end of their meal to ask for the bill. When servers are preoccupied, it’s a great option to have online ordering and payment capabilities so that guests can self-serve if they’re in a rush. Not everyone will take up this option, but some will and it’ll make it their visit with you even more convenient for them.   

With an Order and Pay at Table option, your guests can scan a QR code at their table to place orders, open a drinks tab, and pay - including bill splitting and tipping - all on their own device.  

For customers who come in as a big group, this makes paying the bill stress-and-calculator-free. For customers who come in with limited time on their lunch hour, this makes service speedier. For customers who prefer human interaction, this doesn’t impact them at all as your servers are still readily available as the default option. 

Make the next visit inevitable with post-visit follow-up

The customer experience doesn’t end when the bill is paid. Guests should leave your venue with a reason to return and that starts with smart follow-up. 

This can be started in person, with a return incentive printed on their physical receipt or an invitation to a future event from a server. Then, it can be continued with an automated email nuture, starting with a ‘Thank you for your visit!’ email containing personalised offers.  

You’ve likely got their data via your booking system, via their guest Wi-Fi sign-up or via their Pay at Table payment – so use it. Segment your audience and tailor rewards and messaging that align with their habits: first time visitors, returning regulars, birthday bookers and more.  

When the next dining decision comes around, your brand will be the obvious choice.