How to help your guests survive ‘Airmageddon’
Five ways to help ease travel stress for your guests in an era of lost luggage, cancellations and delays
It’s been called ‘the season of lost luggage’, with daily news articles about missing suitcases causing havoc for holidaymakers.
‘Airmageddon’
Last month, Emirates Airline said the industry was facing “airmageddon” and took aim at an “incompetent” London Heathrow Airport.
The airport later hit back, blaming the mayhem on the global lack airline staff.
Germany’s largest airport, Frankfurt Airport, has also been struggling to cope with the sharp rebound in international travel.
Just last week, the airport announced that it intended to reduce the number of take-offs and landings to 88 per hour to cope with demand.
Closer to home, Australia’s leading airline, Qantas, is reportedly losing one in 10 bags at Sydney Airport.
Staff shortages throughout the industry are a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, after tens of thousands of pilots, cabin crew, and airport staff were made redundant.
With airlines struggling to rehire staff, travel is set to be additionally stressful for the foreseeable future.
To help your guests get back into the holiday mood, AccomNews has curated a list of:
Five ways to help ease travel stress for guests.
1. Consider alternate check-in options
Give your guests one less thing to worry about. With delayed flights and long waits for luggage, allowing guests to self check-in means they won’t be stuck worrying about accessing their accommodation.
Recent research from Skift and Oracle Hospitality shows that travellers expect a radically different experience than the one they had before the pandemic.
Likely as a result of COVID-19 social distancing protocols, 71 percent of guests surveyed wanted hotels to offer tech solutions that minimises contact with both staff and other guests.
With cloud-based keyless access, accommodation providers can provide guests, suppliers, or visitors access to the property and their room with a PIN code, offering the ability to self-check-in.
Before guests arrive at your hotel, they can choose to go straight to their room and receive their PIN code on their phone.
The mobile self-check-in process, combined with keyless entry (through a keypad or digital key systems), allows guests to bypass the front desk entirely upon arrival, without compromising the level of service.
After a long and stressful day of travel, streamlining the check-in process is sure to be well-received by guests.
2. Keep some essentials on hand
With many guests being separated from their luggage, ensure you keep some additional essentials on hand for weary travellers. Think phone chargers, additional toiletries, or maybe even some complimentary pyjamas.
To further help out guests, collate a list of local pharmacies and shopping hot spots to allow them to repurchase items with ease.
3. Help out with lost luggage
Showing care and concern is what hospitality is all about. Be aware of which guests are awaiting a delivery of lost luggage from the airport, and sign for it if needed.
If a guest moves on to the next stage of their trip before their luggage arrives, make sure to get their forwarding address and best contact details.
4. Offer a warm welcome
If a guest is due to be arriving late, ensure they don’t go to bed hungry. If onsite is not an option, curate a list of local establishments that may be able to provide them with a late-night dinner or takeaway.
5. Invest in your staff
As “airmageddon” has shown us, a business is only as good as its staff. As the airline industry struggles to rehire experienced and competent people, ensure to invest in your accommodation employees.
By ensuring your accommodation offering has a positive culture and gives staff room to grow, you’re sure to retain your star employees.
AccomNews is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.
