How To Inform Your Guests About Hinfo
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7min read
Hinfo is accessible on the smartphones, tablets, laptop computers etc. that each of your guests bring to your property during their stay.
Our service represents a fundamental shift away from having a dedicated resource within each of your guest rooms, such as a printed hotel compendium, but with it comes multiple real-world benefits, including:
- Being fully contactless in this post COVID-19 world,
- Every guest receiving their own individual access to your property and local area details and
- Guests can access the Hinfo service anywhere, at any time during their stay including by the hotel pool, at reception, or even when off-site.
To make sure every guest can view your property and local area details on their own devices via either our mobile app or website, there are two critical aspects.
- Informing every guest that your property is on our Hinfo service and
- Accessing your property on their preferred device via their preferred method.
How to Inform Your Guests
Each of these steps can be achieved via one of many methods, which your property can choose to setup multiple of the following for each.
Guest Getting Started Sheet in Guest Rooms
We provided every property joining our Hinfo service, a personalized copy of our Guest Getting Started Sheet, which quickly explains to your guests how Hinfo fits into your property's operations and how to access it.
This personalized sheet is available via the Documents tab in our Hinfo CMS (Content Management System).
We can also provide an optional Guest Navigation Sheet which explains the basic navigation of our Hinfo service, to guide your guests to the right section to look up details, should they require it.
The first primary location to inform your guests that the majority of our properties use, is to swap over their existing printed hotel compendium with this sheet.
Placement anywhere within each guest room is critical for after guests have checked-in and settled into their guest room, which is the most common time guests would start to read your printed hotel compendiums, making it a natural substitute.
Guest Getting Started Sheet at Reception
The other location you may decide to place a copy of the Guest Getting Started Sheet is at reception.
When there is a queue at reception, your guests may see the sheet in a plastic stand at reception.
This is an ideal situation at check-in, as they can spend their time to quickly access to your property and local area details.
For guests that already have the Hinfo app installed on their smartphones, they will already be familiar with the process of accessing each property's details and this sign will be enough to trigger their memory, while waiting in-line.
Verbally at Reception During Check-In
You can also mention our Hinfo service, to each guest at check-in.
This will allow you to verbally communicate with your guests some of the details listed that you feel are of most use to them.
If you have a family with children checking in, you may want to highlight that your property on Hinfo includes details about the local tourist attractions the parents may want to take their kids too.
Email Booking Confirmation
A growing trend we have noticed with properties joining our service, is to mention our Hinfo service in the email confirmation sent to your guests, when the booking has been confirmed.
This is a popular method for holiday home groups, so they can guarantee every guest has been informed about Hinfo, even before they arrive.
You can include a link directly to your property on our Hinfo.com website, or links to download the Hinfo app from the Apple App Store or Google Play App Store.
Immediately After Connecting to Guest Wi-Fi
Our Direct Guest Wi-Fi Access feature will allow your guests to access your property and local area details, immediately after they connect to your Guest Wi-Fi network.
We recommend setting this up as a dedicated button on the Guest Wi-Fi confirmation screen, which will then direct guests straight to your property on our Hinfo website.
This approach will work on any internet-connected device with a web browser, including smartphones, tablets, laptop computers etc.
All Ways Guests Can Access Hinfo
After informing your guests about our Hinfo service, the next step is to allow your guests to access your property and local area details on their own device of choice.
This can be achieved via any one of the following:
App Store Search
Our own internal analytics show that this is the most popular way for guests to access our Hinfo service.
As of October 2021, our analytics showed that over 90% of all guests accessing our Hinfo service, were doing so via our mobile app. Out of those that downloaded the app alone, 96% of those guests were using their smartphone.
Coming back to search, the statistics available to us from Apple and Google directly also say the overwhelming majority of guests that view the Hinfo listing in each App Store and download the app, had found it from each App Stores search bar.
This is likely the most common method for guests use to access our Hinfo service, since mobile apps offer more benefits than a mobile website and the go to option for everyone is searching for any app by name after receiving a recommendation.
Guest Wi-Fi
As explained earlier in the "Immediately After Connecting to Guest Wi-Fi" section; allowing your guests to access your property and local area details, immediately after connecting to your guest Wi-Fi can make the transition from traditional printed hotel compendiums, to our guest digital solution much easier.
After the initial setup for your property is completed, you can access a copy of the direct URL to your property's listing on our Hinfo website, via the Account Details section in our Hinfo CMS.
You can provide this link to your property's Guest Wi-Fi provider, who can personalize the Guest Wi-Fi confirmation screen for you to include this link, which works for any device type connecting to your Guest Wi-Fi with a web browser.
Scan QR code on Guest Getting Started Sheet or Attached to Room Key
The 'Guest Getting Started Sheet' has details on how to find your property via our mobile app and website.
In addition to these steps being listed, we also provide a QR code which your guests can scan with their smartphones and tablets and it will automatically load the Hinfo listing on the correct App Store for each device's platform.
This is the QR code provided on each Guest Getting Started Sheet.
Many Android smartphones on sale today allow for scanning QR codes with the default camera app and almost every single iPhone and iPad actively used today supports QR codes in the main camera app.
Booking Email Confirmation
Every guest that books a room at your property online, receives a booking confirmation email either directly from your property's website or from one of many 3rd party websites such as Trivago, Booking.com, HotelsCombined etc.
You can provide a direct link to your property listing on our Hinfo website in this email, or links to download the Hinfo app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices.
Pre-Arrival SMS
In the immediate days before your guests arrive, you may be already sending them an SMS confirming their booking and any special requests like early check-in.
This is also a great opportunity to provide a link to download the Hinfo app before your guests arrive.
Hinfo.com/app URL
In addition to the direct link to your property on our Hinfo website, you may prefer to direct your guests to download the app since over 90% of guests are choosing to use our mobile app as of October 2021.
Instead of listing the URL for Hinfo on each App Store, you can alternative list the cleaner https://www.hinfo.com/app link.
This link also immediately loads the Search for Property screen on our Hinfo.com website, if the guest is not using an iPhone, iPad or Android device.
When your guests access this link on the Guest Wi-Fi confirmation screen, in the booking email confirmation or enter this URL manually into their preferred web browser, our website will automatically detect the type of device your guests are using and display the correct app for each device's platform.
Current Location or Search via Name
At every property that is a member of our Hinfo services, guest can access each property's details via one of the following methods.
These steps are not required if guests entered to your property directly via the URL provided in your Hinfo CMS account.
Current Location: When your guests are on-site and have given permission to use precise location services, they can tap on the Current Location button and will be prompted if Hinfo has correctly detected the property they are staying at. All property details then start downloading for use offline immediately.
Search via Name: Your guests can also search for your property via your property's name. Guests will be provided with a list of results that match the search term they provided and will start downloading details immediately after tapping on any property listed.
Your guests only need to enter 3 or more characters from your property's name, for it to appear in the search results.
With Hinfo being a mobile-based solution that is easy to access on each of your guests preferred devices, it is now much easier for your property to transition from your traditional hotel compendiums to our 21st century contactless digital solution that brings with it several additional benefits.
To get started with our easy to access Hinfo Guest Digital Compendium, please send us an enquiry below.
