Virtual Assistants for Hospitality Businesses? Right On!

People invest in their travels…you should too. Hire virtual assistants for hospitality businesses and meet the rising demands of the traveling industry.

Every business owner is busy trying to outmaneuver the competition. And when we say everyone else, that includes hoteliers.

And what does it take to be an effective hotel owner? Apparently, you have to be a master juggler of the daily tasks in your operation. But, as we all know, we could only do so much on a stretch as a one-man team.

This is where the idea of outsourcing becomes super enticing. Just imagine having a reliable someone who can do the little things for you, so you can get on doing the stuff that matters.

So, please, juggle not — hire virtual assistants for hospitality businesses instead of playing circus.

In this blog post, we’ll talk about virtual assistants and how they can impact your hotel business in this day and age.

What Is a Hotel Virtual Assistant?

A hotel virtual assistant is an independent contractor who offers administrative support to business owners and entrepreneurs from a remote location.

These trained professionals are equipped with different skills to handle other areas of the business, besides the general admin work. These tasks vary from answering client calls to a more complex job of creating marketing campaigns.

The goal is to streamline business operations and improve them significantly by taking over the repetitive mundane tasks and providing quality work to clients.

With their expert hands, you are able to concentrate on the more important stuff in your business without worrying about the day-to-day activities in the office.

Ultimately, you can earn more revenue, grow the business and expand your hotel venture.

For Hoteliers; What Can a Virtual Assistant Do for a Small Business?

There’s quite a lot, actually.

In fact, there has been a demand for virtual assistants for hotels, especially with the rising business of traveling and tourism.

Right now, hospitality businesses are looking to adopt modern ways to better cater to the growing number of clients from all over the world.

One of these trendy strategies is virtual assistants for hospitality businesses. They have been the solution to management challenges and snags for quite some time.

Below are the top reasons why getting yourself a virtual assistant for your company is spot on.

Save You Money

How can you save money when you’re hiring a new employee? It doesn’t add up, right?

Let us be the ones to break it to you; virtual assistants are like a “hire now and work now” scenario.

You can onboard them without needing office space, equipment and electricity. They take care of it themselves from their home office, without bothering you.

And the money-saving agenda doesn’t stop there, they’re also not liable for compensation benefits such as health insurance or paid leaves.

Remember, VAs are contractual workers who only get paid for every hour they work.
Save You Time

It’s not smart for hotel owners to busy themselves with the mechanical tasks in the business when there are other imperative things to work on.

As the boss, you should put the weight of your time into building your company and making more revenue.

The admin tasks are the job for your virtual assistants for hospitality businesses, and not yours.
Give You Freedom

Sometimes it’s tough for entrepreneurs to hire employees because of the level of commitment that they have to invest.

Think about it: New workers need to be trained and onboard. There are associated costs for every step of the way until the time they’re ready and settled to work.

Outsourcing a virtual assistant erases all those headaches. You can choose to hire them part-time, full-time or freelance. There’s no financial pressure at all.
Bolster your Brand Reputation.

In this era where social life is mostly built around the internet, it’s easy for one bad review to spread like wildfire and go unnoticed. And before you get to throw water to the flame, that one negative mention has already escalated to a catastrophe.

Hiring a VA is like having Hawkeye and keen ears always attuned to every review being published online, and working that to your advantage.
Provide Excellent Customer Service

Travelers invest in their travels, so they expect the same energy from you. They won't wait around and waste their time.

So, if they ever have a question or issue, they would want an immediate response.

With virtual assistants for hospitality businesses, you can make sure that happens. They can provide exceptional support and communicate with guests effectively through social media, phone or email.

What are the Responsibilities of Virtual Assistant for Hospitality Businesses?

Since a VA’s main role is to reduce your workload, so you can freely manage your business and pursue other ventures, they will go above and beyond to make your work life much, much easier.

These are the following tasks that might get you to consider onboarding virtual assistants for hospitality businesses right now.

Booking and Reservation Management

Perhaps, these tasks are the most common for hoteliers and hotel workers. Regardless of the time, that ringing phone and messaging inbox are not going to stop on anyone’s account.

Are there rooms available? What is the rate per night? Can I bring a pet? What are other facilities in the hotel?

While these are necessary work, these inquiries will consume your time and your front-desk employees as well — just get a virtual assistant to attend the daily rudimentary work.

Your remote worker can handle inquiries, reservations, bookings, cancellations and modifications. They can also give smart answers to questions, be friendly on the line and represent your company, professionally.
Monitor Reviews

As long as you’ve oriented your virtual assistant regarding the hotel’s basics, they can monitor reviews and property respond to them with your approval.

Now, maintaining prompt replies to reviews (positive or negative) is highly important because 50% of travelers read through reviews before making a final hotel booking decision…and with the help of your VA, you can enjoy this benefit.
Offer Follow-Up Services

Follow-up services should be part of your marketing strategy. Why?

When you follow up with a guest who stayed at your hotel, it shows how much you care for that person and their experience. By showing your attentiveness, they feel more valued and appreciated. Therefore, customers are more inclined to recommend you to their associates.

Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to advertise your brand. You’re not just creating loyal clients but driving sales.

Of course, it’s your hotel virtual assistant who will be playing the “follow-up” angel, and build your CRM on your behalf.
Engage with Prospects via Social Media

Nowadays, everyone is using social media. In fact, there are over 4 billion people who access these platforms on a daily basis. That’s what makes these social channels perfect to engage with your target audience and find leads.

With the help of a virtual assistant, you can leverage this opportunity. VAs can keep up with your social accounts, interact and update your followers regularly with regard to new products or services.

In a nutshell, working with a VA means providing personalized customer service to your clients and that eventually leads to repeat business.
Make Travel Arrangements for Guests

It’s not surprising for guests to forget about the little things like transportation arrangements and the places they should be visiting. It happens when you’re flying elsewhere on a whim.

Hire a VA and your guests can seamlessly travel and experience the local vibe, no problem.

Your virtual assistant will organize everything from transportation to the must-do activities, so your guests can make the most of their visit and in turn, leave positive reviews for your hotel service. It’s a win-win.
Drive Traffic to your Hotel’s Blog Site

Working across time zones, your virtual assistant can bring several things to the table, thanks to their profound experience and skill.

VAs can research, create and post relevant content that can be a valuable source of information for your industry. This is really helpful in strengthening your online presence and authority.

And what makes this arrangement even better is that you can assign as much work to them depending on your needs and budget.

Our Final Point:

So, what does a virtual assistant do for a business?

As a small business owner, it’s hard for you to go head-to-head against bigger hotel chains. But with outsourcing? You’re able to even the playing field by hiring virtual assistants for hospitality businesses that are not only cost-effective but have exceptional skills to bring to the table.

So, stop playing superhuman — choose the path toward efficiency and productivity, because in the long run, it’s not smart nor it is sustainable to keep on juggling.