Improving Guest Welcome in Hospitality: A Profitable Investment

In a market where supply is exploding and online reviews drive bookings, guest welcome is no longer just a matter of image: it is a revenue lever. The latest studies 2024 show that the first moments inside the hotel – from check-in to arrival in the lobby – directly influence satisfaction, loyalty and average spend.

For hotels and hospitality suppliers alike, the challenge is clear: build a premium welcome, supported by the right technology partners and services.

Streamlining check-in through digital tools
Guests no longer accept queues at the front desk. A recent study on mobile check-in in upscale hospitality shows a significant correlation between ease of use, satisfaction and intention to revisit.

Meanwhile, Amadeus's Travel Technology Investment Trends report 2024 indicates that hoteliers expect an average increase of +16% in their technology investments, and that 43% of them prioritize improving operational efficiency through these tools.

In practical terms, this means suppliers able to offer:
- A cloud PMS connected to pre-check-in and digital key solutions

- Self-service kiosks or tablets to speed up registration

- Robust integrations with the channel manager and payment tools

The result: less waiting, fewer data entry errors, and teams freed up to provide a truly personal welcome.

Personalizing the first moments: a direct boost to revenue
According to a Medallia study (February 2024), 61% of consumers are willing to spend more when the experience is personalized, based on a panel including nearly 1 800 hotel customers.

The same trend emerges among decision-makers: the Amadeus report 2024 shows that 85% of hoteliers consider personalization a key driver of commercial value, capable of generating more than 5% in additional revenue.

For the welcome, this translates into:

- Automatic guest recognition (new, repeat, corporate…) thanks to a CRM or CDP specialized in hospitality

- Integrated preferences (room type, pillows, welcome drink, language) fed through in real time to the front desk

- Pre-stay email and SMS scenarios provided by hotel marketing experts, to prepare a 'tailor-made' welcome

Suppliers who master data, CRM and messaging thus become strategic partners in turning a simple check-in into a premium experience.

Lobby, signage, atmosphere: the welcome also depends on your design choices
The Guest Experience Benchmark reports 2024–2025 from Shiji ReviewPro show that the topics most often cited in reviews (both positive and negative) remain cleanliness, staff welcome and the atmosphere of common areas, including the lobby.

A modern, bright, legible lobby consistent with the hotel's positioning contributes directly to satisfaction scores and to the perception of ?premium?.

On the supplier side, this means working with:

- Design and interior architecture agencies specialized in hospitality

- Suppliers of high-end, modular and durable furniture

- Signage, lighting and even scent signature solutions adapted to the guest journey

- Audio/video providers able to create a warm atmosphere without disrupting the calm of the place

The goal: for guests to understand within seconds where to go, feel expected and immediately perceive the value of their stay.

Training teams and steering the welcome through online reputation
TrustYou data for the first half of 2024 shows an overall improvement in satisfaction, but also strong guest sensitivity to the quality of interaction with staff and to the hotel's responsiveness to online reviews.

For their part, Shiji ReviewPro analyses relayed by Hotel Online confirm that the arrival experience and service quality are among the main factors explaining variations in review scores.

For hotels, this reinforces the need for:

- Ongoing training programs (welcome, handling delicate situations, cross-selling) provided by organizations specialized in hospitality

- Online reputation management tools to aggregate reviews, identify welcome-related pain points and track progress over time

- Solutions to close the loop: post-stay feedback, NPS surveys integrated into the CRM, and action plans shared with the suppliers concerned

Relying on the right suppliers to build a truly premium welcome
Recent studies converge: a smooth, personalized welcome consistent with the hotel's positioning generates more satisfaction, more loyalty and more revenue. In practice, this welcome does not rest solely on in-house teams: it depends directly on the ecosystem of suppliers – technology, design, training, marketing – with which the hotel chooses to work.