Your guests are looking for unique experiences and their satisfaction criteria are evolving. If this topic interests you, you have probably already read articles about it that say that to satisfy a guest you must meet their expectations, and that a satisfied guest can, over time, become a loyal guest. That’s fine, but concretely, what impacts your guests’ satisfaction? We invite you to discover the Llosa Matrix to explain it all!
What Elements Impact Guest Satisfaction?
The Llosa Matrix (Tetraclass Model by Sylvie Llosa — 1997) is a benchmark in guest satisfaction research. This matrix provides insight into the elements that have a positive and/or negative impact on guest satisfaction.
It includes the concept of satisfaction, with a high contribution line and a low contribution line. It also includes the concept of dissatisfaction, with a low contribution column and a high contribution column. This gives us 4 quadrants, each representing an element that impacts guest satisfaction.
Let’s take the example of the hospitality industry (since that’s what we’re interested in):
Secondary Elements
They have a low impact on guest satisfaction and on dissatisfaction. These are elements that are not essential and do not have a strong impact — for example: changing a painting in a room.
Plus Elements
They have a high impact on guest satisfaction but low on dissatisfaction. They are not part of the expectations expressed by your guests but are present as “extras” and play a role in the guest experience — for example: access to various TV channels, soap and shampoo bottles in the rooms, tea and coffee available…
Key Elements
They are at the heart of a manager’s concerns. They have a high impact on guest satisfaction and on dissatisfaction, and are at the core of your guests’ expectations. This includes, for example, the quality of services offered, the consideration of feedback and comments, the availability of your teams…
Basic Elements
They have a low impact on guest satisfaction but a high impact on dissatisfaction. These elements can be considered self-evident — the guest does not explicitly express their expectations regarding these elements because they seem perfectly normal, such as room and common area cleanliness, staff politeness, WiFi access…
The Guest Experience as a Source of Satisfaction
The guest experience plays a very important role in guest satisfaction, and consequently on the perceived value of your establishment.
Perceived value is the value that the guest projects onto an offer, product, or brand, and the value it represents to them.
The higher the perceived value, the more the guest appreciates or approves of what you offer.
The lower the perceived value, the less your offerings are valued. Perceived value plays a role in loyalty and how guests take ownership of the place.
How to Measure Guest Satisfaction?
Guest satisfaction and dissatisfaction play a role in your reputation and guest loyalty.
With the rise of social media, information circulates very quickly, and communication is instantaneous.
Moreover, your establishment is constantly being rated, and hotel guests pay increasing attention to these ratings when making reservations.
If you add word-of-mouth to that, once again your reputation is at stake — it can bring you new guests just as easily as it can communicate a poor image of you to a wide audience.
So you must not miss the mark!
You can measure guest satisfaction in different ways to anticipate changes:
- Google reviews
- Forms, surveys, questionnaires, satisfaction surveys
- On social media, through comments and likes
- The Net Promoter Score
The various feedback should be taken into consideration to improve your services and meet guest expectations.
- If the feedback is positive, it is a guarantee of quality, reassures you, and confirms your implementations.
- If the feedback is negative, you will need to be collaborative and avoid being reactive.
All feedback is worth taking into account!
Don’t forget that your guests want to be treated with personalized offers, to feel unique! It is important to nurture your guest relations to establish a relationship of trust and a certain closeness with them, so you can know their needs and respond to them appropriately.
The goal is for them to be satisfied with their experience at your hotel!
