SAN FRANCISCO – 14 May 2024 – Sojern, the leading digital marketing platform built for travel, today announces its suite of Guest Experience Solutions are now available in Europe. The launch will kick off in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Ireland, with France and Portugal to follow. In 2023, Sojern acquired VenueLytics, hospitality’s most integrated guest experience platform, and incorporated VenueLytics’ capabilities as an extension of the Sojern Travel Marketing Platform, known as Guest Experience Solutions (GES).
In North America, Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) spoke highly of the increased guest satisfaction and new restaurant revenue since incorporating GES. “Sojern has significantly boosted guest satisfaction at our property. Our team gains access to real-time data that assists in delivering a seamless customer experience. Additionally, the platform acts as an added revenue stream for our restaurant,” said Dhiren Masters, North Texas Regional Director, AAHOA.
Building off the initial launch, Sojern is also expanding its Guest Experience Solutions in Europe including working with GetYourGuide, a leading platform for travelers to discover and book experiences such as walking tours, local cooking classes, skip-the-line tickets and more across 10,000 cities. GetYourGuide Chief Marketing Officer Emil Martinsek said, “At GetYourGuide, our data shows a clear mindset shift. Not only are consumers finding and booking tours and activities earlier in their travel planning, they’re doing this increasingly digitally. We are focused on developing and leveraging technologies that help travelers easily discover and book experiences worth traveling for.”
Guests Want Personalized Experiences—and Hoteliers Must Deliver
Today’s guests are seeking personalized experiences, and they’re drawn to brands that deliver exactly that. According to a recent survey, only 65% of guests believe that a hotel “knew” them and 62% believe that a hotel truly heard them. What’s more, only 60% of guests were satisfied with a hotel’s proactive communication, and just 65% were content with its ability to provide personalized experiences. Guest Experience Solutions automate guest communications while giving hoteliers a pulse on customer sentiment, freeing up staff to deliver the special touches that make a hotel stand out from the crowd.
Elevating the Traveler Experience
Since 2007, Sojern has given hoteliers the tools to drive direct bookings, build loyal relationships with guests, and maximize revenue. With the addition of GES, hotel marketers can now engage with travelers before, during and after their stay to optimize net revenue per room (RevPAR). Sojern’s Guest Experience Solutions gives hoteliers access to automated tools in a flexible model that fits their business needs.
Sojern’s Guest Experience Solutions include:
- AI Smart Concierge: AI Smart Concierge automates more than 500 responses to common guest questions via SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Website Chatbot, enabling staff to prioritize face-to-face interactions while gathering valuable data on guest wants and needs. AI Smart Concierge has driven up to a 600% increase in guest engagement, a 65% decrease in front desk calls, and a 56% reduction in brand quality audits.
- Reputation Manager: Sojern’s data shows that every negative review can cost a hotel anywhere from $1,000-5,000 in revenue and loss in the lifetime value of the customer. Reputation Manager empowers hoteliers to efficiently gather and manage feedback. Generative AI instantly drafts responses for both in-stay and online customer reviews and streamlines the escalation of real-time issues to the relevant staff members or managers. With Reputation Manager, Sojern customers have increased their Net Promoter Scores by 35% on average over three months.
- Guest Marketing Suite: Hoteliers can cultivate genuine guest relationships by effectively using email, SMS, WhatsApp and chat features to engage with guests throughout the entire customer journey. Through consistent and tailored communication, they can boost direct bookings, ancillary revenue, and foster long-term loyalty. Some Sojern customers have generated more than $5,000 per day from email marketing campaigns using the Guest Marketing Suite.
“In a short-staffed market, the increasing expectation for customized experiences throughout the entire customer journey is placing unprecedented pressure on hotels. We are excited to introduce our Guest Experience Solutions in Europe to empower hoteliers beyond the booking, expanding our offerings to be an end-to-end marketing platform. Sojern’s cutting-edge Travel Marketing Platform enables consistent engagement throughout the guest journey thanks to state-of-the-art technology,” said Celine Chaussegros, Vice President of Property at Sojern. “We are dedicated to delivering innovative solutions for the travel sector by harnessing data, AI, and technology to achieve impactful outcomes. Through our Guest Experience Solutions, we analyze, unify, and act on data from diverse hotel management and marketing systems, enabling Sojern to strengthen our connections within the hospitality industry.”
Sojern’s Guest Experience Solutions equip hotel marketers with the tools to enhance their entire marketing funnel. Recently, Sojern introduced The Hotel Marketer’s Playbook: A Guide to Navigating the Marketing Funnel to help hotel marketers leverage a full-funnel marketing approach and create a unified strategy. To download a copy click here.
For more information about Sojern’s Guest Experience Solutions, click here.
