Dear WuBookers, today we’re talking about call centers for hotels, i.e., companies that manage communications on behalf of hotels, vacation rentals, B&Bs, and other properties. We’re talking about them not only to better understand how they work and what they do in detail, but also to assess whether they are really cost-effective and in what circumstances: let’s get started!

What are call centers for hotels and properties?

Call centers are centers specializing in telephone communications (and more) between a property and its customers. We know that call management in hotels is a fundamental activity, capable of increasing direct reservations and improving customer service. Call centers deal with precisely these aspects: teams specializing in the hotel sector interact with guests and travelers at any time and, often, on more than one channel. In fact, in addition to phone calls, those who work in this field can also handle real-time messaging on the website and communications via email, social media, and apps.

The service can be outsourced in whole or in part: it is not uncommon for hotels to use this type of solution during high season or on weekends, when internal staff would not be able to provide adequate customer service.

So what exactly does a call center do and why is it useful?

What does a hotel call center do?

Call centers are an extension of the hotel that, throughout the year or only at certain times, support staff in managing customers remotely. Although they are not physically on the property, they are very familiar with the inventory, rates, and offers and can therefore provide valuable assistance when it comes to:

• receiving requests for new reservations, changes or updates to existing ones, as well as complaints and other needs, in accordance with property policy;
• upselling and cross-selling activities. In these cases, the people in charge have all the personal and commercial skills necessary to contact customers and offer upgrades, packages, or alternative solutions that are suitable for them and more profitable for the hotel;
• verify and update loyalty programs and other forms of rewards for loyal guests;
• answering general questions about the property and its services, with detailed and comprehensive information;
• receiving and coordinating group reservations and rooming lists, either directly or from intermediary agencies.

All this while ensuring compliance with the property’s quality standards and 24/7 coverage in multiple languages.

Is it really worth it? The advantages of call centers

As is logical, call centers have a cost, which must be evaluated based on the property’s finances and the sustainability of the service. We will not go into the merits of prices here—which are variable and depend on the type of assistance required—but we can hypothesize a series of scenarios in which relying on one of these centers is worthwhile from an operational and functional point of view.

Staff too busy to respond to customers

Even the most impeccable organization can fail when stress levels rise or customer requests are more numerous than expected. There are many activities in a hotel, and in high season the pace can become truly frenetic, with the risk that no one will be able to really take care of customers who call or write. In such cases, it is advisable to consider activating a call center to relieve the reception desk of these tasks, while preserving the hotel’s image and guest satisfaction. Providing excellent service and “sliding” on a missed call would be a real shame!

The first advantage is therefore linked to improving brand reputation and consistency between promise and expectation, which is essential to avoid negative reviews.

Insufficient coverage or limited to a few time slots

A similar situation also occurs when staff can only provide a few hours of customer service, perhaps because there are not enough people to cover the entire day, every day. In this situation, too, the call center can help hoteliers and property managers by ensuring a constant presence, even during the night and on multiple channels at once. The digitization of communications has made it necessary to provide comprehensive coverage not only of the telephone line, but also of online chats and social media. Furthermore, let’s not forget that foreign customers may be in a different time zone from ours and may be active outside of normal working hours.

Thanks to the call center, you won’t have to chase after customer communications, but you’ll always have your finger on the pulse.

Missed opportunities or minimal upselling

Another sign that you may need external support is related to upselling: how often is it done? With what results? And how many missed opportunities have you recorded in the last period? The answers to these questions are an important indicator of whether investing in a call center can have positive implications for the hotel’s profits. As mentioned above, those who manage customer relations do not only have a passive role: they respond to requests, of course, but they also take the initiative to contact guests and offer them special deals and extra services, with the aim of increasing the property’s revenue.

Call center or AI?

We know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly present and pervasive, even in the hotel industry. Today, there are various solutions that integrate AI into travel planning and customer service. We are talking, for example, about virtual agents or so-called IVRs (Interactive Voice Response), automatic voice systems that interact with the customer and perform various actions, such as checking room availability and modifying reservations. But also chatbots for hotels and automated messaging installed directly on the hotel’s website to assist travelers in real time throughout the booking process.

These tools do not necessarily replace the call center, but they can complement it, leaving the team to handle only the most sensitive issues and relieving them of everything else.

The PMS: the essential operational link between the property and the call center

At this point, a question may arise: how does the call center operate remotely, accepting and modifying reservations without interfering with the property’s activities? The answer is simple: thanks to the PMS by WuBook. For example, Zak (the hotel management software by WuBook) allows you to create different accounts with limited viewing and action permissions. This way, you can share access keys to the system with the call center and allow the team working there to perform only the operations for which they are authorized, inhibiting the areas you do not want to show.

This way, you will still have full operational autonomy, but information reserved for hotel staff only will remain so.

PMS is essential both when it comes to internal staff and if you decide to outsource certain activities, because it facilitates, streamlines, and speeds up everyone’s work.

In addition, thanks to the Website Creation module, you can create a complete website and easily install ChatBots to further enhance customer service. Whether managed by staff or a specialized center (with or without AI support), guest relations are too important to be neglected: equipping yourself with the right technological solutions is therefore increasingly a must.