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During check-out guests normally say good-bye and leave their key at the reception. If they have not paid, this is the moment for settling their bills. This bill might include also the cost for the replacement of damaged or missing items or furniture (if any).
Check-out time should be known to your clients in advance so that there is no unpleasant surprises or hurry resulting in the spoilt final impression about the whole vacation. Always keep in mind that you need some time for cleaning in between the departure of one guest and the check-in of another. The standard check-out time in most accommodations is noon, though it can be coordinated with public transport in remote destinations (e.g., arrival of train or bus). For groups check-out might be earlier (e.g., 10.30 a.m.) so that there be enough time for making order in a number of rooms. You might also think of leaving rooms at your guests’ disposal for a longer part of the day if they depart in late afternoon (then an extra fee should be established, e.g., ½ of the rate). Otherwise, you can suggest storing their luggage at the reception or in a separate locked room - either free of charge or for additional fee.
You should ask whenever it is possible, if people enjoyed their stay with you. The best opportunity of getting a nice feedback is to start a Guest Book that should be available on a visible spot at the reception. Guest Books usually contain positive informal opinions of the guests. You can put some of these comments on your website to attract more clients, as nothing is more valuable for potential guests than an opinion or recommendation of those who haveseen the place and experienced the service.
Although it may be more pleasing for you to receive only compliments about the service, it might be useful to get real impressions and find out weak points. This will enable you to provide a better service in the future. When askedface to face,people might not easily come up with criticism, so, it can be worth asking them to complete a short questionnaire before departure. This will only work out when the questionnaire is properly designed, takes your guest a little time, and the comments given are followed by some action from your side for improvement. You can see an example of such a questionnaire on the next page as well asattached in the Word format in a separate file.
Another way of getting feed-back of your guests after they left your accommodation is to give them free post cards with your address and a special stamp on it. If you’ve provided a great experience they write back to you. If people send you a postcard or letter, scan it and upload it to your website. It is a good advertisement to have authentic hand written (positive) reviews of guests.
However also digital written feed-back is perfect to publish on your web-site. For such reviews see www.booking.com for examples.Make sure there is no reason for someone to doubt the authenticity of your reviews.Most people will trust the testimonials that you posted to your website.
After some month you can ask your guests, as follow up fill feed-back, to answer three closed simple questions and one open question about what things have to be improved. Most of them will answer the questions.
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This departure questionnaire is provided separately in a Word file as an attachment to this Module.
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4.2.3. Provision of Information | 4.3. Interaction with Guests, Service and Attention |
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