Are you tired of empty rooms and low occupancy rates at your hotel? According to one study of the hospitality businesses that use CRMs, 76% say a great CRM helps them analyze guests and their needs. 28% said CRM data is helpful when improving targeting and crafting more relevant offers for guests.
Those are impressive statistics you don’t want to miss out on, but we know you’re likely wondering, “With so many software options out there, what’s the best CRM software for hotels? That’s what we’re here to help you decipher!
Keep scrolling through this handy guide to explore the benefits of the best CRM software for hotels and how it can boost your bookings, increase guest satisfaction, and improve the overall guest experience. From streamlining your marketing campaigns to automating your booking process, the right CRM software can transform your business and set you ahead of your competition.
The Importance of Client Relationship Management
Client relationship management, or CRM for short, refers to the strategies, tools, and technologies businesses use to manage their interactions with clients and potential customers. Effective CRM software is essential for hotels to create positive experiences for their guests and build long-term relationships with them, ultimately boosting hotel bookings and revenue.
With the right CRM software, hotels can gather and analyze valuable data about their guests, including their preferences, booking history, and feedback. This enables them to tailor their services to suit each customer, making their stay more personalized and memorable.
Moreover, CRM software streamlines communication between staff and guests, allowing for seamless interaction and quick resolution of any issues that may arise during the guest’s stay. This helps improve guest satisfaction and encourages repeat bookings.
So, really, having a great CRM system isn’t just a luxury but a necessity for any hotel that wants to stay competitive in today’s market. By using the right software, hotels can lean into the needs and preferences of their guests to ensure a more satisfying experience and growth in bookings.
And that’s what you’re really after, isn’t it?
The Benefits of CRM Software for Hotels
From the moment guests arrive to the time they check out, you want to ensure they have the best possible experience. But as a hotel owner or manager, it can be difficult to manage your guests’ needs while keeping your business running smoothly.
That’s exactly what CRM software is for. It’s designed to help businesses like hotels manage customer interactions and data. But what are the specific benefits for hotels? Let’s take a closer look.
Improved Customer Service
Collecting and analyzing customer data makes tailoring your services to meet their specific needs easier. With CRM software, you can track guest preferences, requests, and feedback to create a personalized experience for each guest. This can help increase customer satisfaction and result in positive reviews and repeat bookings.
Better Marketing Strategies
You can target guests with personalized marketing messages by segmenting them based on their preferences and behavior. For example, if a guest frequently books spa treatments, you can send them promotions for your spa services. This increases the likelihood of bookings and makes your guests feel valued and understood.
Increased Efficiency
Hotels deal with a lot of data, from reservations to guest preferences to employee schedules. CRM software can help hotels manage this data more efficiently. CRM software can free up staff time, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency by automating tasks like email marketing and data entry.
Enhanced Staff Training
In addition to being a useful tool for guest management, CRM software can also benefit staff training. You can identify areas where staff members may need additional training by tracking guest interactions and feedback. You can also use CRM software to create training materials and track employee progress.
Improved Revenue Management
Finally, CRM software can help hotels improve their revenue management strategies. By analyzing guest data, you can identify patterns and trends in booking behavior and adjust prices accordingly. This can help maximize revenue and reduce the risk of low occupancy rates.
Features in Good CRM Software for Hotels
Sold on the necessity of a great CRM software for your hotel? Great! Now, what are you looking for when comparing the best CRM software for hotels?
Here are the features that any great CRM software for hotels should have.
Contact Management
Contact management features allow you to keep track of your guests’ details, preferences, and interactions with your hotel. With this information at your fingertips, as mentioned above, you can personalize your marketing, improve your service, and offer your guests a better experience.
Booking Management
A good CRM software should also include booking management features to manage reservations, track inventory, and generate reports. These features allow you to streamline your booking process, reduce errors, and improve your occupancy rates.
Marketing Automation
Marketing is essential for any hotel to boost its bookings, and good CRM software should include marketing automation features to help you create targeted campaigns that reach the right guests at the right time. This could include features like email marketing, social media integration, lead management, or tools that help you automate sales processes.
Analytics and Reporting
You can’t improve what you can’t measure. That’s why a good CRM software should have analytics and reporting features. This will allow you to track your performance, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions. Look for software with a dashboard that can provide key metrics like occupancy rates, ADR, and RevPAR.
Mobile Accessibility
In today’s world, working from anywhere at any time is essential. Software with mobile capabilities allows staff to manage customer interactions on the go, whether they’re checking in guests at reception or responding to customer inquiries via chat. This allows them to provide a seamless customer experience from anywhere.
Integration With Other Software
Finally (and most importantly, depending on your current hotel marketing strategy), good CRM software should be able to integrate with your other software applications. This could include your PMS, POS, and accounting software. By integrating your applications, you can streamline your processes, reduce errors, and improve your efficiency.
The Best CRM Software for Hotels
While general CRM software can help improve customer relationship management for various types of businesses, there are also software options made specifically for the hotel industry, with features that cater to the hospitality field. To help you make the right choice, we’ve compiled a list of the best CRM software for hotels, including general and industry-specific options.
Alkries CRM
Alkries CRM is a powerful customer relationship management solution specifically designed for small businesses. With Alkries CRM, you can manage all your customer data through a single platform, streamlining your operations and improving efficiency.
Key features include the following.
- Consolidated Customer Data: Alkries CRM allows you to gather and organize all your customer information in one place. This makes it easy to track interactions, preferences, and purchase history, enabling you to provide personalized experiences.
- Reviews, Payments, and Feedback: Alkries CRM facilitates the collection of reviews, processing of payments, and gathering of feedback. This all-in-one functionality saves you time and effort by eliminating the need for multiple systems or tools.
- Landing Pages and Funnels: Alkries CRM empowers you to create compelling landing pages and effective sales funnels. These features help optimize your lead generation and conversion processes, allowing you to capture more leads and drive sales.
- SMART Automation Campaigns: Alkries CRM offers SMART automation campaigns that engage with your leads and customers across multiple channels. This automated approach increases your response rates, allowing you to connect with your audience and nurture leads efficiently.
- Calendar Management: With Alkries CRM, you can instantly fill and manage your calendar. Never miss an important appointment or meeting again, as the software keeps you organized and on top of your schedule.
- Call Routing and Lead Conversion: Alkries CRM automatically routes calls and converts inbound leads into valuable sales opportunities. By connecting directly with leads who are ready to engage, you can accelerate your sales process and increase revenue.
To increase your return on investment by 30% and lower business costs in less than 30 days, learn more about Alkries CRM here.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM offers a comprehensive suite of tools, including lead management, contact management, email marketing, and social media integration. It also provides analytics and reporting capabilities.
- Pricing: Zoho CRM offers flexible pricing plans starting at $14 per user per month (when billed annually), with a free CRM option, too, making it suitable for small and large hotels.
- Pros: Zoho CRM is user-friendly, customizable, and integrates seamlessly with other Zoho applications.
- Cons: Some users have reported that the user interface can be overwhelming, and customer support could be more responsive.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a robust CRM solution that offers extensive customization options, sales forecasting, lead management, and advanced analytics. It also provides integrations with various third-party applications.
- Pricing: Salesforce offers different monthly plans ranging from $25 to $330 per user, making it more suitable for larger hotels that might get more from the features to justify the higher price.
- Pros: Salesforce provides a highly scalable and customizable solution with excellent mobile support. It also offers a vast ecosystem of integrations.
- Cons: The learning curve for Salesforce can be steep, and it may require dedicated resources for implementation and maintenance.
Hubspot
Hubspot CRM offers a user-friendly interface, contact and lead management, email tracking, and automation capabilities. It also includes marketing and sales tools for a complete CRM experience.
- Pricing: Hubspot CRM is free to use, making it an attractive option for small hotels. However, additional features are available with paid plans starting at $50 per month (or $30 per month if you pay annually).
- Pros: Hubspot CRM is easy to use, integrates well with other Hubspot tools, and provides robust marketing automation features.
- Cons: The free plan limits certain features, and the reporting capabilities can be limited for larger hotels.
Revinate
Revinate focuses on the hospitality industry, offering guest profile management, reputation management, email marketing, and analytics. It aims to enhance guest experiences and drive direct bookings.
- Pricing: Revinate offers customized pricing based on hotel size and requirements, making it suitable for hotels of all sizes.
- Pros: Revinate provides industry-specific features and deep integrations with property management systems. It offers personalized guest communication and advanced analytics, making it ideal for hotels prioritizing personalized guest experiences.
- Cons: The (reported) pricing can be higher than generic CRM solutions, and some users have reported occasional issues with email deliverability.
Thryv
Thryv CRM offers contact management, appointment scheduling, reputation management, and marketing automation features tailored for small businesses, including hotels.
- Pricing: Thryv offers customized pricing based on specific business needs, making it suitable for small to medium-sized hotels. However, they do offer a free plan if all you need is a “command center.” Their paid plans start at $199/month per location for hotel CRM features like payment processing and online listings.
- Pros: Thryv provides an all-in-one solution with a user-friendly interface, online booking capabilities, and customer communication tools.
- Cons: Some users have mentioned that certain features can be limited, and customer support could be more responsive. However, these comments seem to be few and far between.
Freshsales
Freshsales offers contact management, lead scoring, email tracking, and sales pipeline management. It also provides AI-based lead enrichment and advanced reporting capabilities.
- Pricing: Freshsales offers a free plan for small teams, while paid plans start at $15 per user per month, making it accessible for hotels of all sizes.
- Pros: Freshsales provides a user-friendly interface with robust automation capabilities. The AI-based lead enrichment feature helps streamline lead management processes. The advanced reporting and analytics features provide valuable insights.
- Cons: Some users have reported occasional issues with system performance, and customization options can be limited compared to other CRM solutions.
Book a Demo of the Best CRM for Hotels
While it might not seem like a big deal, choosing the right CRM software for your hotel is essential for optimizing bookings and enhancing guest experiences.
Each of the CRM software options mentioned above offers unique features and pricing plans to cater to the specific needs of hotels of various sizes. However, few offer the complete suite of features that Alkries CRM does.
To experience the Alkries difference, book a free demo of the best CRM software for hotels today.
