What happens when guests leave? 5 post-stay strategies to build loyalty

Many hotels focus on communicating with guests before they arrive on their property, and what happens after they leave is often overlooked. 

But the experience is not over once they leave your property. On the contrary, you have the opportunity to build a deeper relationship with your guests and ultimately grow your guest loyalty. 

Today, we are moving away from seeing guests in a purely transactional way to see them as your long-term partners. To help you achieve this goal, here are five post-stay strategies you can implement in your hotel. 

How to reach guests after they leave? 5 post-stay strategies

There are many strategies to communicate with guests after their booking is over, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are the right choice for your brand. Pay attention to these ideas and select the ones that match your property. 

1. Communication: Create a post-stay value sequence

Saying ‘thank you for staying with us’ is not enough anymore. Everyone does it. So, how can you stand out? Choose to create a full post-stay sequence.

This still conveys the gratitude from the hotel but with a modern twist and showing you take into account their preferences. 

For example: 

- Touch 1 (Day 1): Send a personalised thank you and share their digital memories (photo from check-in, digital guestbook entry, or curated local guide based on what they did).

- Touch 2 (Day 3-5): Feedback request plus exclusive "insider" content (recipe from restaurant, playlist from lobby, local tip they didn't discover).

- Touch 3 (Day 30): "We've been thinking about your stay..." with personalised recommendations for their next visit based on preferences.

Remember that it’s all about personalisation. To learn more about the “HOW” behind, read this: Personalisation Revolution: How to use a hotel CRM

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2. Reviews: Use WhatsApp to request a review

Reviews are the bread and butter of hospitality, and there is no better time to request one than as soon as the stay is over. But instead of only sending email survey links that get ignored, meet guests where they already communicate. 

A great example of this is WhatsApp. 

According to Anne Williams from The Usual Hotels, sending a WhatsApp message asking for a review while guests are on their way to the airport is a great way to increase the likelihood of success. 

WhatsApp gives you higher open rates, less friction and faster responses. 

Discover more about how WhatsApp can transform your guest communication

3. Content: Create a "Local Insider" post-stay series

Don't disappear after checkout. Instead, keep your hotel top-of-mind without being salesy, and position yourself as a destination expert, not just as a place to sleep. 

In addition, you increase the likelihood that your guests will share these with their friends, boosting organic reach. You can complement it by doing the same series on social media. In this way, you invite your guests to keep reading or get more information on your socials. 

A few things you can talk about: 

• Seasonal guides: "What's happening in [destination] this month"
• Hidden gems: Spots only locals know
• Updates: "Our new rooftop bar just opened" or "We're hosting X event"

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4. Feedback: Close the feedback loop publicly

Feedback is valuable for you but also for the guest, because it gives them the chance to share their opinion. However, you can leverage this as an opportunity to build a relationship and your brand… even with negative feedback.

You’re probably already doing this: 

Send a post-stay survey asking about their experience during their stay, and gather suggestions for enhancement. Make sure that the survey is user-friendly and not very time-consuming.

What comes next is what elevates it: 

When guests give feedback (especially negative), make sure to comply with these 3 principles:

• Respond personally within 48 hours
• Show what changed: "Thanks to your feedback, we've upgraded our breakfast buffet with..."
• Invite them back: "We'd love to show you the improvements. Here's 20% off your next stay."

Why? Because It shows you actually listen and act, it transforms complainers into advocates and other potential guests see you care.

5. Promos: Re-engage at 6-month or 12-month intervals

But do it correctly! Don’t waste the opportunity by sending general and irrelevant promotional campaigns. 

Your past guests are a great source for new bookings, but you will spoil it if you don’t send something attractive to them, and the only thing you’ll get is an unsubscribe button. 

A good way to do a re-engagement campaign is to do it based on their past behaviour:

- Life events: Stayed for an anniversary? Reach out 11 months later.

- Similar events: Stayed for a concert? Notify when similar artists are nearby.

- Search behaviour: If they viewed your website again, send a booking incentive.

A complete guest profile, your CRM and AI can help you draft these campaigns and even automate them so you don’t have to set reminders for every guest.

For more ideas on how to re-engage with past guests, read our article: 5 marketing campaigns to reengage your past guests

Choose wisely and don’t spoil the relationship

There are several strategies you can try to implement to reach out to your guests after their booking has finished. The important thing to remember is that not all of them need to happen at once and that not all of your guests will be the right fit. 

It is important to pay attention to your data to understand which guests might resonate better with certain strategies. Take a look at the guest preferences, your successful marketing campaigns, and their feedback, to get more insights into how to continue the relationship with them. 

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