Most hotels and motels hold years of guest records and do nothing with them. The guests stayed, paid and left. Some would return if asked. A reactivation programme asks them, by phone, in a way that gives the guest a reason to stay on the line.
The method is well established in the hotel industry at large scale, where loyalty programmes use post-stay surveys as the opening to a further offer. The same mechanic works for an owner with a handful of properties. The scale and the offer are smaller, and the call flow is the same.
The call, step by step
- 1
Opening
The agent introduces the property, says the call is about a recent stay, discloses that the call is recorded, and asks whether the guest has two minutes.
- 2
Survey
A few short questions about the last stay: the room, the check-in, what could have been better. The answers go back to the property.
- 3
Thank-you
The guest is told they can earn loyalty points for hearing about a return-stay offer. The points are for listening, whatever they decide.
- 4
Offer
A specific offer: a seasonal rate, a package or a midweek deal, with clear dates and terms.
- 5
Booking
If the guest is interested, the stay is booked on the call and tagged with the campaign code.
- 6
Close
The guest is thanked either way. Feedback is logged. A request not to be called again is honoured immediately.
Why the survey comes first
A call that opens with an offer is a sales call, and most people end sales calls quickly. A call that opens with a question about the guest's own experience is a service call. It also produces something useful whether or not a booking follows: direct feedback from people who stayed, which owners rarely hear.
Designing the reward
The reward has to be worth a few minutes of the guest's time and simple to explain in one sentence. Points that can be redeemed for a breakfast, a dinner or a free night work well because the guest redeems them at the property. Decide the schedule with the owner before the first call, since every redemption is something the property will provide. Agents need to describe it identically every time.
The list decides the outcome
Three things about a guest list matter more than anything in the script. The first is age: recent guests answer and remember the stay, and older records reach fewer people. The second is the type of number, since mobile numbers are reached far more often than landlines. The third is consent: whether guests agreed to be contacted, and how that was recorded. Consent affects both who may be called and how.
Before dialing, the list is checked against do-not-call registries and calls are limited to permitted hours in the guest's own time zone. The legal position on calling past customers varies by country and state and should be confirmed with counsel.
What agents need
Reactivation agents need the same knowledge as reservations agents, because the call ends in a booking: room types, rates, policies and the booking system. They also need to be comfortable asking questions and making an offer without pressure. Training covers both call flows, and a supervisor listens to live calls before an agent works alone.
Start with what you can measure
The first month of a programme is a measurement exercise. It shows how many guests are reached, how many agree to hear the offer and how many book. Those rates are specific to each property and each list, and no outside benchmark replaces them. A pilot should be set up to measure them cleanly, which is why attribution is designed before go-live.