Guest Experience Journey - Part1

Guest experience is a derived term for customer experience for the hospitality industry. Guest experience is the same thing as customer experience, only it applies to any entity that refers to their customers as guests. It is the experience the guest has with your brand.
The guest experience starts from when the guest first checks-in or walks through the door, or that it doesn’t include any experience outside the physical boundaries of the hotel.

Guest experience journey has been defined in 3 types :

1. Before Travel
2. During Stay
3. After Travel

For now, we will be concentrating on steps Before Travel:

Step 1: Decide Where You Want To Go

Defining where you want to go sets a goal to work toward. A lot of people talk that they are not clear about travel. They never say where they are going, just that they are going. Picking a destination is very much important, as it gives you a definite goal.
The time you can spend traveling will also help you figure out how far away your destinations can be. For example, if you only have a week to travel, you probably do not want to go anywhere too far. The further away you go, the more time you’ll need to get there and adjust to a different time zone. On the other hand, if you have over two weeks to travel, a trip to a distant destination can be life-changing.

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Step 2: Decide the Length of Your Trip

Are you going away for a week? A month? A year? The length of your trip is a huge factor in determining how much money you need. Spend some time to think about the place deeply until you have your answer.
A key aspect of a good trip planner is to correctly estimate the number of days required to visit a destination.
A road trip planner would elongate the duration of a trip whereas, a trip planned with flight tickets could be a little shorter.
Trips, where the destination is within 8 hours, can also be done on a weekend provided that the nighttime is utilized for traveling.
A trip with a lot of urban destinations will need more time in the sightseeing, and therefore a longer trip duration. Whereas a trip to a tropical beach town would not involve much sightseeing and hence, the duration can be shorter.

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Step 3: Will you Travel Solo?

Traveling solo will give you the freedom to go anywhere you want. No compromise. You just go wherever the wind takes you! However, it means you have to do all the planning yourself — which can seem daunting if you’re new to trip planning.
Solo travel at its best is deliciously self-indulgent: eat whatever and whenever you want, spend as long or as little as you like in a place, skip famous sights, sign up for the super cheesy. It’s a time where the only compromises you have to make are with yourself. People traveling by themselves will find they are, in some cases, pushing themselves a little harder, in others, giving themselves a little more slack.

Here are some of the best apps and websites for solo travelers : -

• Backpackr : Whether you’re travelling solo or in a group, Backpackr is a great way to meet nearby travelers. Browse through numerous profiles and message the people you want to meet.
• EatWith: The largest community for food experiences with locals, EatWith is available in over 130 countries.
• RedZone : RedZone is official government sources to track incidents and high-crime zones, and geo-tags them in real time. Using this information with the user’s location and destination, RedZone suggests safe routes and the best time to travel, updating along the way if necessary.

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Step 4: Check for Last-Minute Deals

Before you go buy that flight or book that hotel, check for deals you might have missed. Fortunately, there are still many ways to avoid being the person on the flight who paid the most for their ticket.
The key to getting the cheapest last-minute holiday deals is flexibility. If you can travel mid-week, on early morning or late-night flights or outside of peak periods, you’re likely to find much cheaper prices.

For example you can refer last minute deals website Lastminute.com
The relevant and most inspiring travel company committed to enriching the life of travelers.
We are a publicly traded multinational Group, among the worldwide leaders in the online travel industry, and we operate a portfolio of well-known brands such as lastminute.com, Volagratis, Rumbo, Weg.de, Bravofly, Jetcost and Hotelscan.

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Step 5: Book Your Flight

For the best deals, book your flight about two-three months in advance.

Fortunately, there are still many ways to avoid being the person on the flight who paid the most for their ticket.

My favorite sites for finding cheap airfare are:

• One Travel: OneTravel borrows its interface from Google Flights’ calendar search feature.
• MakeMyTrip : Book flights for all destinations across India or world at the lowest airfares from MakeMyTrip
• Google Flights : Google Flights is great for open searches to multiple destinations.
• TripAdvisor Flights : TripAdvisor’s flight search tool is unique from others in that it offers review-based Fly Scores of airlines alongside their fares, so you’re less likely to book with an obscure, poorly rated airline without realizing.

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Step 6: Book Your Accommodation

Accommodation is all about making room — it can mean a room or place where you will stay or an agreement about sharing something. When you are accommodating someone, you are making room for them or special circumstances for them.
If you’re traveling for under two weeks and have a set schedule, feel free to book accommodation for the duration of your trip if it will give you peace of mind.
For trips, longer than two weeks (or if you are going to be traveling long-term) just book your first few days. That will ensure you have a place to go on arrival. Once there, you can get insider advice from your hotel/hostel staff as well as other traveler.
Here are my go-to sites when it comes to finding the best deals on accommodation:

• MakeMyTrip : MakeMyTrip provides plenty of offers and deals while booking cheap hotels in the cities.
• Agoda : Agoda has the best results if you’re heading to Asia and the widest selection of properties in the region.
• Booking.com : Booking.com is the best overall platform for finding budget hotels and guesthouses. They have the biggest inventory and best deals.
• Airbnb : Airbnb go-to site for private rooms and apartments owned by locals.

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Step 7: Plan Your Activities

For shorter trips, you can also book your activities in advance to ensure you get tickets. For longer trips, book as you go. Make any last-minute adjustments to your savings so you can ensure you have enough money.
This will also help you figure out if you need any reservations for your chosen tours or activities.
Additionally, before you leave home, you should have a rough idea of what activities are on high priorities for you. If you run out of time or money, you can focus on your top activities so you don’t miss out.

Step 8: Enjoy Your Trip:

Have a great time on your trip!

And now, everything comes together. It’s time to go on your trip and have fun! Head to the airport, board your plane and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You’ve earned this!

Conclusion

Each of these guest experiences is suggestive of changes in the industry, some of which may turn out to be more impactful and long-lasting than others. But some things, it stands to reason, will remain constant.

And good hospitality never goes out of style.

Let’s discuss what travelers can experience During Stay in the next blog