SEATTLE, WA – The Expedia Group has begun its rollout of Expedia PartnerCentral (EPC) Conversations. This new feature, which lives in Expedia PartnerCentral, encourages direct dialogue and engagement between hoteliers and booked guests, providing a more personalized experience for guests and enabling them to reach out directly to hotels to inquire about additional amenities and services.
Expedia PartnerCentral Conversations is designed to be an easy to use platform that opens the lines of communication between booked guests and hoteliers via a message center. Guests can start a conversation by asking a question or submitting a special request at time of booking. Alternatively, the hotelier can reach out directly to the guest. The tool empowers hoteliers to:
Create first impressions and set guest expectations with a custom welcome message
Build meaningful relations and enhance the guest experience by sharing check-in details or alerting guests when their rooms are ready
Acknowledge, confirm and manage special requests
Provide information about the property’s services (spa, concierge, restaurant, etc.)
“Hoteliers have requested the ability to communicate directly with guests having made a booking across Expedia Group websites. EPC Conversations was developed to answer this need, allowing both the guest and the hotelier to interact with each other, to engage from the moment the reservation is made and create memorable stay experiences” said Benoit Jolin, VP Global Product. ““According to a recent study by Gallup, on average, guests spend $457 per stay at their most frequently visited hotel over the course of 12 months, while engaged guests spend $588 per stay. Alternatively, actively disengaged guests spend $403 per stay. Gallup's analysis correlates a strong relationship between guests’ engagement with the hotel, and the amount of money they spend. EPC Conversations was designed to maximize guest engagement, creating opportunities for Expedia Hotel Partners to increase top line revenues.”
The initial rollout of Expedia PartnerCentral Conversations started in January to a select number of hotels. The tool is expected to go live for all North America hotels by the end of February.
EPC Conversations makes it really easy to engage with our guests. It’s an especially great tool to communicate with booked guests who have already made a special request and are looking for an acknowledgement, said Emily Bertran, Customer Experience and Social Coordinator for Chicago Westin North. “This past week I had a guest message us with a simple request. She noted that it was for a special occasion. We were able to quickly respond, accommodate the request, and go above and beyond to make her stay really special. After she returned home, she used EPC Conversations to send a note praising the service and letting us know she would be returning. That’s exactly the type of guest engagement we want and EPC Conversations provides a straightforward platform to do it from.”
EPC Conversations is just one of the ways Expedia PartnerCentral enables hoteliers to connect with guests. Real-time Feedback provides hoteliers immediate visibility into guest sentiment by soliciting real-time feedback after check-in by answering three quick questions so hoteliers can address concerns while the guest is still on the property. Expedia PartnerCentral also provides easy access to reviews from across all Expedia sites, allowing hoteliers to identify guest feedback that requires attention and thank guests for staying with them.
