Ideas to Improve Guest Experience in Hospitality

Guest experience in hospitality refers to the entire journey a guest takes with a hotel and the cumulative, emotional effects of every interaction along the way:

• Pre-arrival web-browsing, reading reviews, and clicking through to book;
• Check-in upon arrival, the stay, and check-out;
• Post-stay follow-ups and loyalty programs. 

Unlike basic guest service, which primarily concerns the immediate fulfillment of guest needs (e.g. efficient check-in, prompt room service, or clean rooms), guest experience encompasses the broader hospitality experience and concerns how the guest feels throughout the journey. The guest’s overall impression and emotional connection to the brand are the metrics of success. From search to departure – and afterward – the guest’s time at your hotel should amount to more than just an overnight stay; it should become an experience. Even seemingly small details, when applied strategically, can make an outsized impact on a guest’s perception of the hotel.

Modern travelers – whether on business trips, family vacations, or romantic getaways – share several core expectations, and hotels that meet or exceed these fundamentals gain a competitive advantage.

• Cleanliness, Safety, and Comfort
  Cleanliness is non-negotiable and consistently ranks as the top driver of guest satisfaction. J.D. Power research indicates that hotel cleanliness is fundamental to the guest experience: travelers have consistently cited cleanliness as the biggest driver of their satisfaction with the stay.
  Spotless rooms, fresh linens, and well-maintained bathrooms are essential, objective basics, but to elevate the guest experience, hotels can consider setting the mood with scented bathroom amenity lines.

• Professional, Warm Service
  Guests expect efficient yet genuine hospitality at every interaction. The 2023 J.D. Power Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study found that staff service garnered the highest levels of guest satisfaction, even more than the guest room or facility. A warm welcome, quick problem resolution, and consistent professionalism from all departments create trust and loyalty across market segments.

• Quality Amenities and Products
  Bedding, towels, and toiletries are “table stakes” whose quality signals the hotel’s standards. Premium, eco-friendly options such as ADA Cosmetics’ SmartCare refillable dispensers and locally sourced amenities such as Naturals reinforce professionalism and sustainability. Even budget travelers expect solid basics; luxury guests expect spa-grade products and thoughtful extras.

• Convenience and Reliability
  A seamless experience – easy booking, fast check-in, reliable Wi-Fi, functional in-room equipment – is expected but only noticed when it fails. Both business and leisure guests value consistency, efficiency, and fulfillment of special requests.

• A Home-Away-from-Home Experience
  Finally, guests seek a personalized, memorable environment that meets or surpasses their everyday comforts. Families will insist on kid-safe and kid-friendly environments; couples will choose by ambience and special extras; wellness travelers expect calming spaces and spa options. Small gestures – welcome notes, birthday treats, staff members that remember a guest’s name – deliver the “pleasant surprises” that differentiate guest experience.

Core expectations such as cleanliness, courteous service, quality amenities, seamless operations, and a tailored environment, are universal across market segments. Meeting these basics forms the foundation of guest satisfaction; exceeding them creates the true differentiation that drives loyalty, positive reviews, and repeat bookings. In the next section, we’ll review some examples.

To better grasp how hotels can elevate the hospitality guest experience, let’s look at some concrete examples. These market leaders illustrate how focusing on senses, ambiance, and special amenities – especially cosmetics and scents or Actimood® fragrances – can activate certain moods in guests and create memorable impressions. 

1. Smart Technology Enhancements: Eccleston Square Hotel, London

Eccleston Square Hotel in London delivers a technology-rich guest experience by integrating advanced amenities: smart beds (Swedish Hästens) with massage and electronic adjustment, under-floor heating, smart-glass bathroom walls that toggle between transparent and opaque, powered curtains, and high-speed internet throughout the hotel. These features demonstrate how cutting-edge in-room controls and guest-embedded technology can elevate guest satisfaction and set a property apart.

2. Signature Scent / Olfactory Branding: Langham Hospitality Group

Many luxury and boutique hotels adopt signature scents to strongly influence guest perception and mood. Hotels like Langham Hospitality Group, with its Ginger Flower fragrance, or Mandarin Oriental properties, use bespoke scents in lobbies, corridors, and wellness areas to evoke feelings of relaxation or elegance. Studies show that pleasant ambient scents can reduce guest anxiety, enhance the perception of cleanliness, and contribute to brand identity – resulting in higher guest satisfaction and often longer stays.

3. Aesthetic Immersion & Facilities Design: Green Solution House, Bornholm, Denmark

Green Solution House on Bornholm Island exemplifies aesthetic and ecological design merged. The property uses vertical gardens, recycled materials, photovoltaic panels, and air-purifying carpets and wall panels. Guests can control lighting and air quality in “smart rooms” via an app, monitoring energy and environmental settings. The design has visual and tactile appeal – all-natural materials and greenery – that aligns with guests’ eco-living, wellness values and then reinforces them with an immersive hospitality experience.

4. Personalization, Human Service & Warm Reception: Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt has consistently invested in personalization as the heart of its guest experience strategy. Through data-driven insights, guest history, and feedback platforms, Hyatt properties tailor room preferences, anticipate needs (e.g., dietary, sleep, amenity preferences), and personalize staff interactions. Hyatt’s case study proves that guests respond strongly when staff recall names, accommodate special requests proactively, and provide local knowledge or surprise touches. These warm, human elements complement physical amenities to create loyalty and strong guest satisfaction.

Industry leaders in customer experience can expect to enjoy 5.7 times the revenue of their worst competitor. Meeting and exceeding customers’ expectations of how their guest experience will go is critical to a hotel’s success. 

Meeting vs. Exceeding Expectations 

Guests come in with basic expectations that the room be clean, the service be adequate, and the night be uneventful. Fulfilling these core expectations reliably is essential, but it is not enough. True loyalty and positive word-of-mouth are earned when you exceed expectations – when you surprise guests with quality or service that goes beyond the ordinary. Delight and surprise translate into stronger emotional connections with your hotel. Studies have found that 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience. 

Impact on Revenue and Loyalty

A great guest experience has tangible business benefits. Satisfied guests become repeat guests, and they tend to spend more on subsequent visits. Industry data shows that positive guest experiences drive higher spending and loyalty. For example, one analysis by Deloitte indicated that customers spend up to 140% more after a positive experience than after a negative one. Hotels known for providing an exceptional guest experience can charge higher rates because guests will gladly pay a 13% price premium for luxury hospitality purchases when paired with a positive experience. 

Negative Experiences Are Costly

Perhaps the most compelling reason to invest in guest experience is to avoid the heavy cost of guest dissatisfaction. Poor experiences damage your reputation and drive customers away – often silently. Studies have found that 96% of unhappy customers do not lodge a complaint with the business; they just simply never return. This is a sobering statistic: for every guest who does complain about an issue, there could be dozens who say nothing to management but decide internally, “That’s the last time I stay at this hotel.” Worse, a guest who does not complain to you may very well complain to other potential customers. Some 13% of unhappy guests will tell 20 or more people about their dissatisfaction. 

The Difference Between Adequate and Outstanding

Let’s also distinguish guest service from guest experience in terms of importance. Good guest service (efficiently doing the basics) yields satisfied customers, but an outstanding guest experience yields enthusiastic customers who are more likely to become repeat patrons and brand ambassadors. In practical terms, if your hotel’s goal is merely to avoid complaints, you might focus on service recovery and problem resolution. But if your goal is to cultivate fans, you focus on creating moments that guests love to talk about – such as that amazing scent in your lobby, or how housekeeping left a cute towel animal on the bed for a child’s stay, or the concierge who went the extra mile to secure last-minute show tickets. 

Positive Experiences Drive Advocacy

When guests have a truly enjoyable stay, they often become free ambassadors for your hotel. They’ll leave positive reviews, recommend the place to friends, and might enroll in your loyalty program. The well-known maxim “Make a customer happy and they’ll tell 1-2 people; make them unhappy and they’ll tell 10” is borne out by research. One study noted that 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.

Every guest’s journey with a hotel can be viewed as a cycle of stages – often called the hotel guest experience journey. Creating a rewarding emotional journey from stage to stage is key to guest satisfaction. Below, we break down the cycle into its major phases and what each entails:

1. Pre-Arrival (Research & Booking)

Guests form their first impressions online. Accurate photos, clear information, easy reservation tools, and quick replies build guest confidence. Early personalization, such as asking for preferences, special requests, or offering online check-in, sets expectations and makes guests feel valued before they arrive.

2. Arrival & Check-In

The arrival moment is make-or-break. A warm welcome, efficient registration, and honoring promised room types or loyalty benefits establish guest trust. Sensory touches – lighting, scent and music – create the ambience that sets the emotional stage for the guest’s experience at your hotel. Clear signage and procedures signal professionalism and avoid evoking feelings of confusion or chaos in the guest.

3. In-Stay Experience

This is the heart of the guest journey. Clean rooms, reliable amenities, and consistent service from hotel housekeeping, dining, and maintenance all play a role in shaping guest satisfaction. Quick problem resolution and small, personalized gestures – like turndown service or remembering a favorite drink – transform routine stays into memorable experiences.

4. Departure & Check-Out

The final on-site interaction leaves a lasting impression. Streamlined check-out, accurate billing, and friendly farewells show respect for guests’ time. Asking for feedback, offering small, but meaningful gestures at departure, and enrolling guests in loyalty programs reinforce positive feelings as they leave.

5. Post-Stay (Feedback & Loyalty)

Engagement continues after departure. Prompt surveys and thoughtful responses to reviews demonstrate genuine care and help improve services. Personalized offers, thank-you notes, and loyalty rewards encourage repeat visits and word-of-mouth advocacy, completing the guest experience cycle.

Delivering consistently excellent guest experiences requires careful attention to the guest experience. Devising a strategy, sketching out your processes, and crafting the tools to design, deliver, and improve on all aspects of the guest journey are essential. Below are 6 steps you can take:

1. Cultivate a Guest-Centric Culture and Train Your Team

The first step is, as a hotel, to prioritize not only meeting your guests’ needs, but delighting them. Training should include both operational and soft skills. Teach staff how to show empathy, employ problem-solving skills, be consistent, and practice proactivity. Hotel managers should refrain from micromanagement. Empower employees at all levels to make timely decisions (such as offering an umbrella on a rainy day) without waiting for managerial approval. 

2. Map and Design the Guest Journey

Outline each guest touchpoint, starting from the time the customer first stumbles onto your hotel’s website or social media account to the day you send a follow-up e-mail after his departure. Identify where you can elevate the experience. Ask at each stage: What is the guest feeling or needing? 

Engage all 5 senses to create a rich environment: 

• décor and lighting (sight),
• background music or quiet (sound),
• signature scent (smell),
• quality linens (touch),
• and local treats or premium food and beverages (taste).

Align these sensory elements with your hotel’s theme, for instance, by using local art, textiles, and flavors to reinforce your brand story. Pre-plan special occasions (like birthdays) so that delights are systematic and not ad hoc. Include digital touchpoints, ensuring mobile apps, emails, and in-room technology are intuitive and on-brand.

3. Personalize and Differentiate

Use guest data to personalize their experience whenever possible. Small gestures, such as pre-placing extra pillows, assigning a preferred floor, leaving a toy for a child, or complimentary champagne for honeymooners, make guests feel seen and valued.

PMS and CRM systems help track preferences, but simple interdepartmental notes can work too. Differentiation is equally important: Offer experiences unavailable elsewhere, such as a guided morning run, a rooftop herb garden, or an exclusive artisanal toiletries line. Ask, “What can we do uniquely at this property to enhance our guests’ stay?” and ensure consistent execution.

4. Implement Feedback Loops and Measure Satisfaction

Build systems to capture guest feedback during and after the stay. Mid-stay check-ins (“Text us if you need anything”) help resolve issues in real time. Post-stay surveys and review monitoring reveal trends. 

Track metrics like guest satisfaction score, Net Promoter Score, and online ratings. Analyze patterns: If several surveys mention dim lighting, improve it; if guests praise breakfast but criticize the gym, adjust resources accordingly. Communicate changes back to guests (“We’ve heard you: Now offering more meat options at breakfast”) to reinforce that feedback drives action.

5. Leverage Technology Thoughtfully

Integrate technology to streamline processes and personalize interactions, from mobile check-in/out and digital keys to CRM-powered pre-arrival e-mails or post-stay thank-you notes. Guests increasingly appreciate app-based check-in and messaging for instant service. Technology should enhance – not replace – face to face interaction with other people. Ensure reliability and user-friendliness. Use analytics to interpret large volumes of guest reviews and detect trends in sentiment. In-room innovations such as smart TVs, customizable lighting, and voice assistants can further improve comfort if executed well.

6. Ensure Service Recovery and Surprise Opportunities

Even the best-run hotels occasionally encounter service failures. Train staff to apologize sincerely and resolve problems quickly. Offering complimentary fixes or upgrades on the spot can cover over a multitude of sins. 

Research shows that excellent complaint handling can leave guests as satisfied – or more so – than if no problem had occurred in the first place. Keep a record of prior issues so returning guests receive proactive care (“We’ve placed you on a quieter floor this time”). Also, build systems for surprise-and-delight gestures, such as a complimentary upgrade for a loyal guest or a marathon snack pack for a runner, to create memorable emotional high points.

Developing hospitality guest experience management is about embedding continuous, guest-focused improvement into your operations. Align your people (hiring, training, empowerment), processes (journey mapping, SOPs), and tools (feedback systems, technology) toward one goal: guest satisfaction and delight.

Improving the guest service experience is a continuous process. These 3 actionable ideas focus on sensory design, personalized service, and feedback-driven improvement to elevate your hotel’s hospitality guest experience.

1. Engage the Senses with Signature Scents and Atmosphere

Develop a signature ambiance that guests instantly associate with your brand. Scent marketing research shows fragrances activate emotional centers in the brain and influence moods from excitement to tranquility. Choose scents that align with your goals: citrus for an energizing feel, lavender for calm and luxury. 

Complement scent with lighting and music: warm lighting and tranquil music in lounges, bright lighting in work areas, and tailored playlists matching the time of day. This multi-sensory approach differentiates your property and embeds a positive memory point in the hotel guest experience journey.

2. Personalize Service to Create “Wow” Moments

Use guest data and staff observation to tailor stays. Capture preferences pre-arrival or at check-in and act on them: extra pillows, vegan meals, or high-floor rooms. Empower your team to deliver spontaneous delights, like a complimentary dessert for an anniversary, a plush toy for a child, or a handwritten local itinerary. 

One study indicates memorable, personalized moments significantly boost guest satisfaction and loyalty. Implementation tips include staff training, interdepartmental notes, and a small budget for surprise amenities.

3. Build a Feedback-Driven Improvement Loop (and Show Guests)

Solicit guest feedback actively – digital surveys, mid-stay check-ins, lobby tablets – and review it systematically. Create a “guest experience committee” to identify trends and take action. Communicate changes to guests (“We’ve heard you: We’re bringing back Family Movie Night!”). 

This loop builds trust, encourages further feedback, and demonstrates that guest voices shape the guest experience cycle. Respond promptly to reviews, track satisfaction metrics, and publicize success stories (“Noise complaints down 30% after quiet-hours policy”).

By combining sensory ambiance, personalized wow moments, and feedback-driven improvements, hotels address both emotional and practical aspects of hospitality guest experience. The result is higher guest satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, and each delighted guest becomes a powerful brand ambassador.