Taking Guest Satisfaction into the 21st Century

Getting feedback from guests is widely recognised as being one of the most valuable tools in helping to maintain service standards in the hospitality industry. Accommodation providers at all levels need to know how customers rate their service, the quality of their rooms and whether expectations are being met, and thanks to the advent of the digital revolution the methods used to accurately canvass guests has gotten much easier.

Gone are the days of printed customer survey forms and blunt pencils in every room – the 21st Century way of asking for feedback is instant and integrated, thanks to Diversified Technologies (DivTech) and its eGuestSurv Guest Satisfaction Managment System (eGuestSurv).

“Diversified Technologies is a Johannesburg-based information and communication technologies company which specialises in the provision of innovative and pioneering business solutions to the hospitality industry,” explains DivTech’s Eddie Scheun. “In developing eGuestSurv the company has found a way to fully automate the process of gathering guest feedback data while offering accommodation providers the chance to view results in real time, with system administrators receiving instant alerts and notifications of any low ratings or guest comments.”

Scheun says the process starts when eGuestSurv sends guests with email contact details an invitation to participate in an online survey. “Completed surveys are stored in the system where low rating alert and guest comment notification checks are performed before being sent via email to key staff members and administrators,” he says, adding that system updates happen instantaneously, and users and administrators are able to respond to guests immediately using a two-way messaging system, with all messages logged and viewable in the guest’s profile.

eGuestSurv’s real-time dynamics have helped it to rapidly become the guest satisfaction management system of choice for some of South and southern Africa’s top tourism brands, including Southern Sun, Fair City, Three Cities, An African Anthology, Maropeng, Lonrho Hotels and Signature Life Hotels. Renowned safari company Islands in Africa and Peermont Hotels, Casinos and Resorts have also recently taken the eGuestSurv option, as have Rani Resorts and Orion Hotels.

“We’ve been avid eGuestSurv supporters since December 2010,” says Michelle Abraham, head of marketing at Rani Resorts. “The system is very user friendly, and because our hotels are remotely located, it makes it so much easier for us to be able to obtain our guests’ feedback in a proactive and efficient manner.”

Jegie Padmanathan, Peermont Chief Operations Officer – Hotels, says that guest comments and feedback, including complaints, are of primary importance when trying to streamline and improve service delivery products.

“We had been looking for a service provider that could give us an all-in-one product with easy, instant, real time access to ratings, guest comments and reports, as well the ability to react, respond and give feedback to guests immediately and when Diversified Technologies offered eGuestSurv we jumped at the opportunity..

Since the roll out of eGuestSurv throughout our organization, our response time and ability to identify trends have increased exponentially, offering us the opportunity to develop and evolve the product to our unique, company requirements and possible future projects.” says Padmanathan.

With its unlimited access to survey results from an equally unlimited number of respondents, eGuestSurv is slowly revolutionising service standards reporting in the hospitality industry.

“It’s such a simple process to manage,” explains Scheun. “Both the problematic and poorly performing service areas and those which are exceeding expectations are quickly identified, and because you are able to incorporate eGuestSurv’s survey results into staff performance management programmes it assists greatly with skills development and training.”

Finally, eGuestSurv’s list of benefits is rounded off nicely by the fact that the system is completely paperless, with no need for printed guest feedback forms or lengthy print runs, making it environmentally friendly to boot!

For more information contact:

Claudia Sinclair

011 792 7488

claudia@divtech.co.za

www.divtech.co.za