We are proud to share the news that Safir Hotels & Resorts has responded to consumer demand for efficient, contactless guest communications by partnering with ReviewPro to launch Guest Experience Automation.
All of SHR’s properties will be adopting this new guest communication solution, delivering service excellence, reducing costs, and maximizing ROI. Read all about it in the brand’s recent press release.
Safir Hotels & Resorts (SHR) responds to consumer demand for efficient, contactless guest communications by partnering with ReviewPro to launch Guest Experience Automation™ (GEA). GEA is an AI-powered chatbot and messaging solution that automates the complete guest journey from pre-arrival to check-out. All of SHR’s properties will be adopting this new guest communication solution, delivering service excellence, reducing costs, and maximizing ROI.
The concept was first considered to meet a market need unique to frequent travelers, millennials, and generation Z travelers. SHR conducted market research (supported by market studies by third parties and other hotel brands) that revealed that these guest segments prefer to have less face-to-face contact with hotel staff and instead preferring to communicate via their devices on the messaging channel of their choice. In addition, they expect instant, efficient and accurate responses to their queries. Now, in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of minimal contact, all guests have come to share the same expectations – making the implementation of GEA even more important than before.
“Technological adoption has never been more important, and we are delighted to be supporting Safir Hotels & Resorts (SHR) to move into the recovery phase and beyond with Guest Experience Automation™(GEA),” says Michael Kessler, CEO of ReviewPro. “Brands that adopt and adapt now have an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. We believe that the combination of GEA and the processes and procedures that SHR is putting into place will facilitate this hotel brand to fast track its already successful business to new heights.”
Furthermore, internal client studies carried out by ReviewPro revealed that hotels are spending valuable resources responding to repetitive questions. In one chain of hotels, it was found that 63% of incoming messaging and emails originated from the same eight questions. In another larger chain, 91% of messages came from the same 18 questions. A third study that looked specifically at messages coming in from OTAs revealed that 50% of pre-stay and in-stay messages from OTAs go unanswered. The combined results of these studies underscore an opportunity for technology to be utilized to respond to frequently asked questions, lifting a burden off of overtaxed employees whilst simultaneously improving the guest experience.
ReviewPro will now enable SHR to deliver on these needs with its new product, Guest Experience Automation™ (GEA). GEA is an AI-powered automized guest messaging solution for hotels that seamlessly provides the correct information to improve the guest experience while reducing costs and increasing efficiency. It combines guest messaging (via the messaging service habitually used by the guest, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS, & WeChat), a pre-trained chatbot able to answer +5,000 hospitality-related questions, a pre-filled knowledge base that comes ready with the hotel’s own information, and the capacity to send automated outbound messaging. The solution will enable SHR to increase conversational commerce, provide automated case creation, and increase visibility with ROI-based analytics. These key features provide an eco-system for Safir Hotels & Resorts to successfully implement an automation strategy to meet guests’ needs while keeping costs low and maximizing ROI.
The multilingual chatbot that will be supporting SHR’s guest communications will be fully loaded with hotel-specific information and able to answer 90% of all incoming inquiries. The service will be operated around the clock to ensure guests’ needs and queries are constantly tended to, whether the staff is available or not.
Safir Hotels & Resorts
Safir Hotels & Resorts (SHR) is a hotel management company, owned by Kuwait Hotels Company (KHC), which is part of the KIPCO Group. Established in 1993, the company manages a portfolio of eight hotels in Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, and Syria. Most of its hotels are managed under the Safir brand, except for its flagship property “Marina Hotel Kuwait,” and the “Salalah Gardens Hotel” in Oman. Its portfolio strategy is aimed at growth in the MENA region in the midscale and upscale segments, managing both hotels and serviced residences. As the first Arabian hospitality management company in the region, the company has a wealth of experience in bringing value to hotel development projects and profitable hotel operations. SHR shares no connection to Oman’s Safeer Hotels, nor to Bahrain’s Al Safir Hotel.
For more information please visit: www.safirhotels.com or https://www.linkedin.com/company/safir-hotels-&-resorts/
