Satisfaction surveys: the best questions to ask your hotel guests

Satisfaction surveys for your hotel are much more than a mere administrative formality. They unlock the untapped potential of your establishment. The guest feedback acts as a real benchmark for your hotel, allowing you to measure customer satisfaction and continually improve your services and facilities.

The right questions, at the right time, have the power to radically transform your guests’ satisfaction, revealing their expectations and needs and paving the way for constant improvement. A well-designed satisfaction survey will also help you to better understand the market in which you are positioned, strengthen guest loyalty and stay one step ahead in an ever-changing hotel sector.

So what are these powerful questions? How can you make the most of your satisfaction survey to really understand your guests’ needs and expectations and improve their experience? Discover our useful guide with over 30 strategic questions adapted to each stage of the guest journey. 

As a bonus, at the end of this article, you’ll find FAQs such as what is the ideal frequency for sending out satisfaction questionnaires.

Ready to transform your satisfaction surveys? Let’s dive in.

How can you effectively gather feedback from your guests? 

Collecting feedback and learning from it is an essential part of the most efficient hotel marketing strategies. Before you even think about which questions to include in your satisfaction questionnaires, you need to decide how you want to collect your guests’ opinions. You have several options — face-to-face, paper questionnaire or online survey.

Online satisfaction surveys are becoming increasingly popular because they are practical and easy to complete. You can send them directly to your guests via WhatsApp, SMS and email, and even include a link on your hotel’s website. Social networks are also proving to be excellent platforms for gathering guest feedback, particularly by monitoring comments posted on TripAdvisor, Google or Yelp.

How can you take advantage of technology to get more guest reviews? 

Online satisfaction questionnaires and social networks play a vital role in gathering guests’ feedback. The fact that it’s online means you can access comments in real time, respond quickly and monitor and analyse the data more easily. 

What’s more, technology allows you to automate the sending of these questionnaires. This is one of the features in the Guest Communications Hub from HiJiffy It enables you to automate the sending of satisfaction surveys throughout the guest journey and automate the sending of guest review campaigns at the end of their stay. 

Examples of hotel survey questions for each stage of the guest journey

Once you’ve decided on the best way to send your satisfaction questionnaires, it’s time to choose the questions to include. However, as you can imagine, the choice of questions will depend on the stage a guest is at. The questions asked of a guest who has just started their stay at your hotel will certainly not be the same as those asked of a guest who is about to leave. But whatever the time you choose to send out your questionnaire, there is one golden rule, it must be concise and easy to understand to encourage your guests to fill it in.

So what questions should you be asking? Here are the essential hotel survey questions to ask at each stage of the guest journey:

Before their stay

If you thought that the phase before your guests’ stay was too early to ask for their opinion, let’s challenge that view. The pre-stay period is key to understanding your guests’ expectations and preferences. It gives you the opportunity to identify the reasons for their visit and their expectations for their stay.

So how can you make the most of it? Ask open-ended questions about your guests’ travel plans and past experiences. By collecting this information, you will be able to adjust your services and facilities to better meet the specific needs of each guest.

Here are some examples of open-ended questions to ask hotel guests before their trip:

1. What brings you to our hotel?
2. Have you stayed at our hotel before?
3. If so, how would you rate your previous stay?
4. What’s your favourite type of bedroom?
5. Are there any facilities or services you need during your stay?
6. What type of activities are you looking for during your stay?
7. Are there any special occasions or requests you’d like to make us aware of?
8. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us before your stay?

These questions will give you an in-depth insight into your guests’ expectations, preferences and the aims of their visit. The HiJiffy solution allows you to interact with them even before they arrive, so you can anticipate their needs and personalise your offers and services to create an exceptional experience from the very first contact! 

On arrival

One of the first experiences your guests have when they arrive at your establishment is checking in. Understanding in detail what they thought and how the check-in went can have a significant impact on the rest of their stay. That’s why it’s crucial to personalise the welcome and gather specific feedback.

To do this, ask targeted questions about the smoothness of check-in, the friendliness of their reception, satisfaction with the room and the cleanliness of your hotel. These details, often overlooked, are key to anticipating potential problems and ensuring that every guest has an exceptional stay.

Here are some examples of hotel survey questions to ask on arrival: 

1. How would you rate your check-in experience?
2. What was the reception like when you arrived? Was it welcoming?
3. Have you received all the information you need about our facilities and services?
4. Have your room preferences been fully satisfied?
5. How would you rate the cleanliness of our hotel?
6. Did you encounter any difficulties during check-in?
7. Would you like to share any other information about your arrival?

By asking these questions, you can quickly identify the strengths of your reception and areas for improvement. This proactive approach not only reinforces the first impression, but also allows you to adjust your services to better meet your guests’ expectations. By taking their feedback into account as soon as they arrive, you are creating an unforgettable experience that translates into increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

During their stay

During their stay, the ongoing collection of guest reviews is essential to maintain and constantly improve the quality of their experience. By asking specific questions about room service, housekeeping, restaurant services or facilities, you are already gaining a general idea of customer satisfaction. 

Most of all, gathering this information allows you to identify areas for improvement and make the necessary changes in real time to meet your guests’ needs during their stay. This will prevent you from receiving negative reviews once they leave your hotel. 

Here are some examples of hotel satisfaction survey questions to ask during the stay:

1. How would you rate the cleanliness of your room?
2. Did all the facilities and services meet your expectations?
3. Did you come across any problems during your stay? If so, please describe them.
4. How would you rate the quality of the catering service?
5. How would you rate the housekeeping service?
6. Did any of the staff provide exceptional service to make your stay more enjoyable?
7. How would you rate the overall experience of your stay so far?
8. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your experience at the hotel?

The HiJiffy solution simplifies this process by automating the sending of these questions via satisfaction survey campaigns throughout their stay. This allows you to quickly identify potential problems and remedy them in real-time, ensuring that your guests’ stay is as comfortable as possible. What’s more, by recognising staff who provide exceptional service, you can foster a positive working environment, encouraging service excellence for all guests.

After their stay

Once the stay is over, there’s still time to interact with your guests to get full feedback on their overall experience. This critical stage enables you to better understand their impressions and identify areas for improvement. 

Sending satisfaction questionnaires via HiJiffy is an excellent way of asking your guests about various aspects, such as their overall experience, the cleanliness of the hotel, satisfaction with services and facilities, and their likelihood of returning. This feedback provides you with a solid basis for making the necessary changes and improving the guest experience, which fosters guest loyalty.

Here are some examples of questions to ask after their stay:

1. How would you rate your overall experience in our hotel?
2. How would you rate the cleanliness of the hotel?
3. Did the facilities and services meet your expectations?
4. Did you come across any problems during your stay? If so, please describe them.
5. How would you rate the quality of the catering service?
6. How would you rate the housekeeping service?
7. How would you describe the reception service?
8. Would you recommend our hotel to others? Why is this?
9. Is there anything we could have done differently to make your stay more enjoyable?
10. Would you like to share any other comments about your stay?

Remember, it’s not enough just to send out satisfaction surveys. It’s essential to follow up with guests who have responded to resolve any problems and thank them for their valuable contribution. 

You can also take advantage of the end of their stay to increase the number of your hotel’s reviews on rating platforms, such as TripAdvisor or Google, by sending automated messages encouraging leaving reviews.

FAQs: Guest satisfaction surveys for hotels

How often should I send out guest satisfaction surveys? 

It is advisable to send regular satisfaction surveys to your guests to assess their level of satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. These questionnaires can be sent out after each stay, quarterly or annually, depending on your hotel’s needs and resources. Thanks to our Guest Communications Hub, you can automate the sending of these questionnaires, no matter how often you want to send them. 

Should I respond to negative comments from my guests?

Yes, it is highly recommended that you respond to negative comments from your guests quickly and professionally. This may involve getting in touch with the guest to understand their criticisms and proposing solutions to resolve the problem. Responding publicly to negative comments on review sites also demonstrates to your potential guests that you take their feedback seriously and are committed to providing a positive experience.

How can I encourage my guests to share their opinions?

A simple way of encouraging your guests to share their reviews of your hotel is to offer them rewards. This can take the form of discounts on their next stay, free facilities, or other benefits in exchange for their participation in satisfaction surveys or the publication of a comment. It’s an excellent way of fostering guest engagement and increasing the overall response rate.

How can I assess the success of my satisfaction surveys?

You can measure the success of your satisfaction surveys by tracking key indicators such as response rates and satisfaction scores and by observing any improvements arising from the feedback. By analysing these indicators over time, you can identify trends and make decisions on future improvements.

Can I use my guests’ comments for marketing purposes?

Of course! Positive reviews can be promoted on your website and social networks and can also be used in your hotel advertising and promotional material. What’s more, feedback from your guests helps you to better understand your target market and develop marketing strategies tailored to each customer segment. All you need to do is state that by participating in the survey, guests agree to their reviews being used for marketing purposes. Alternatively, you can leave an option to participate in the survey but opt out from the content being used elsewhere.

Start collecting your guests’ opinions today with our automated satisfaction questionnaires 

Satisfaction surveys not only assess your guests’ overall experience, but they also play a crucial role in gathering valuable information to improve your services and increase the number of guests in your establishment.

So why do without them? Take advantage of our solution powered by conversational AI and start automating the sending of personalised satisfaction questionnaires at every stage of the guest journey — before, during and after their stay. The result is a guaranteed exceptional guest experience!