How to Write an Informative Welcome Text Message for Hotel Guests
When you’re running a hotel, making sure your guests feel welcome is the top priority. That’s why many hotels leave welcome letters in each guest’s room, both as a friendly greeting and as a way to provide helpful information. These days, you can take your welcome letter to the next level by sending guests an SMS (text) message on the morning of their arrival to welcome them and preemptively address any questions or issues ahead of time.
The best welcome text message will be friendly and personalized but also informative. You can use the information you collect from guests during the booking process to customize your welcome messages with their names, arrival and departure dates, and other details. You can also use the booking form to get guests’ consent to receive SMS communications from you.
Creating a welcome message for a hotel guest doesn’t need to be complicated, but there are some guidelines you should follow to ensure the best results. Here are some tips for how to write, schedule, and send informative welcome text messages.
Your welcome message is an opportunity to open a line of communication between you and your guests so you can get ahead of any last-minute requests and provide great customer service.
How to Write a Welcome Text Message for Hotel Guests
The way you greet your guests can set the tone for their entire stay at your hotel. That’s why your welcome text message should both provide a warm welcome and anticipate any questions they may have. This will allow your guests to relax from the moment they walk into your hotel.
Tone and Language
Even though you’ll likely use a template for your welcome message, you don’t want it to sound robotic or overly formal. You should customize your template to use warm, friendly language, and write with an active voice. For example, instead of saying, “Your stay at our hotel is appreciated. Enjoy your visit,” you could say, “We appreciate your stay at Hotel Name, and hope you have a pleasant visit.” One tip for writing friendly text messages is to read them out loud and make sure they sound like something you would say if you were talking to your guest face-to-face.
Information
Your welcome text message should also be informative by providing your guests with all the information they need to check in and enjoy their stay.
- Address and/or directions to the hotel
- Check-in times
- Parking availability
- Shuttle information
- Contact information for the front desk
- WiFi information
- Hotel map for amenities (pool/restaurants)
You can also use your welcome text message to ask about any special preferences or requirements and let your guests know how to contact the front desk if they have any questions. If you’re worried about squeezing all of that information into a single SMS message, you could link to a FAQ page on your website for this information.
Creating an Automated Welcome Text Message
Unless you’re running a very small operation – with only one or two rooms – you probably won’t have time to manually write and send each welcome text message. Luckily, there are affordable SMS message marketing and delivery platforms that allow you to create templates and schedule messages to go out at certain times automatically.
Each SMS delivery platform will be slightly different, but generally, you’ll be able to upload guests’ check-in information through a spreadsheet or via direct API integration with your hotel booking and property management system. This will allow you to customize your welcome message template with your guest’s name and use their check-in date to schedule your welcome text message.
You should also be able to segment guests into different contact lists based on customizable criteria and then send different messages to different contact lists. For example, you could have separate lists for wedding guests, professional conferences, and family vacations, and send personalized welcome text messages to each list.
Send Welcome Text Messages with an SMS Delivery Platform
The process of writing, scheduling, and sending welcome messages for hotel guests will be much easier if you have the right tools for the job. You should choose an SMS delivery platform that offers all the features you need for your text message campaigns including API integration, SMS autoresponders, and unlimited keywords. With the right SMS delivery platform, you can increase your customer outreach and make all your guests feel welcome.
Want to write a welcome message for a hotel guest with the industry’s most innovative SMS messaging platform? Contact NorthText online today or call or text us anytime at (312) 869-9070.
