Excellent customer service is a must in the hospitality industry. The interactions between a guest and the front desk staff at a hotel, for instance, can set the tone for their entire stay. These conversations become even more important during the holidays. Consider an event planner, restaurant, or entertainer who is integral to the success of a holiday party. That’s a lot of pressure riding on a few shoulders. It’s no wonder many people in hospitality businesses feel stressed during the hustle and bustle of the season, because customers have higher expectations this time of year.
While the pressure to deliver on expectations may feel more intense in the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Years, we like to see it as our opportunity to shine. Using a hospitality answering service during the holiday season is a no brainer for busy hotels, restaurants, event venues and other hospitality providers; it frees up your staff while still maintaining the highest standards for customer care. As you finish out the calendar year, consider employing a virtual receptionist, call center or answering service to balance all the plates you’re spinning successfully.
How an Answering Service Can Help
At its core, an answering service helps support the customer service mission of an organization. Easy to set up and begin using, answering services during the holiday season become even more important. As reservations roll in, hotels and restaurants may become even busier than usual. Allow a professional answering service to cover the phones while you and your team manage the in-person experience of your guests.
Short of cloning you and your team, an answering service is the best way to preserve the integrity of your brand while handling a high volume of calls. Virtual receptionists work from a custom script to ensure your policies and procedures are met with fidelity. In many cases, callers have no idea they’re speaking with a third-party answering service. The key to a successful partnership? The seamless delivery of customer service that’s been crafted to your highest standards.
Call Center Services for Holiday Reservations
When it comes to creating holiday reservations, communication is vital. Planning for a special holiday brunch or New Year’s getaway is impossible without careful, deliberate discussion of details. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to focus on these details when your phone is ringing off the hook and you’ve got a line of guests waiting to be served. Amidst the flurry of holiday activity, turn to a hospitality call center partner to bridge the gap between the initial phone call and the moment of arrival.
24/7 call centers can work around the clock to deliver on customer expectations. When a missed call may send your guests to another property or venue, letting the phone roll to voicemail just isn’t an option. By partnering with a call center during the holiday season, you ensure your callers are greeted, served and cared for on their terms. While representatives are busy catering to callers, your team can devote their full attention to guests who have already arrived or other demanding priorities.
Receptionist Support for Event Planners
‘Tis the season to tie the knot, host a party, and ring in the New Year with style! It’s no wonder event planners are at their busiest this time of year. Thankfully, virtual receptionists can provide round-the-clock support for event professionals too busy to sit in the office and answer the phone. While you’re coordinating a rehearsal dinner, a remote receptionist can stand by awaiting and answering questions from guests and vendors.
Pulling off a successful event requires careful planning and frequent communication. With a call center at the ready, you and your team will have full administrative support in even the most chaotic moments. A hospitality receptionist service during the holiday season can provide you the space and energy required to make each one of your events easy and breezy!
Call Forwarding: The Key to Holiday Balance
Holiday stress can set in when you’re juggling too many tasks. While some calls are indeed unmissable, an all-or-nothing approach to answering your phone can prove ineffective. For every important call you take, there will be dozens of other reasons for your phone to buzz and take you out of the moment. This shift in focus is often to the detriment of your guests – after all, multi-tasking is rarely as productive as we expect. Turning off your phone altogether, though, may seem like an impossibility.
Call forwarding provided by an answering service during the holidays could be the solution to this all-too-common dilemma. Receptionists can serve as gatekeepers to your cell phone, answering quick questions and forwarding on only the most important callers to your personal line. As your first line of defense against interruptions, an answering service can prove instrumental to your overall goal this season: delighting guests with each interaction.
Your Partner in Customer Service
Satisfied customers will remember how you made them feel and return time and time again. Especially during the holidays, feelings of warmth, kindness and joy go a long way to keeping guests happy. The MAP Communications team knows how important this kind of customer satisfaction can be; it’s what has kept us at the top of our industry for three decades. If you’re looking for solutions to some of the most pressing customer service challenges this holiday season, consider partnering with MAP!
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
How to Win at Customer Service during the Holidays
Preparing Your Hospitality Business For Holiday Travel with Live Answering Services
Focus on In-Person Guests: Why an Answering Service Helps in the Hospitality Industry
