Post-stay guest follow-up is essential for long-term customer loyalty and lucrative repeat visits, along with improving service and offerings. In fact, the importance of asking for guest feedback cannot be overstated, hoteliers say.
“The post-stay [feedback] is the most underutilized communication in 2025,” said Brandon McConnell, chief commercial officer at Delavan Lake Management Resort in Delavan, Wis., which operates two properties.
The importance of building a relationship with guests is “as important, if not more important, than the way we as an industry have looked at capturing … new guests,” McConnell said. “This is the future of building true promoters of your brand, your destination and your staff. If we aren’t building the relationship to bring them back, we are failing on that.”
“It is very important for us to find out what their experience was. Getting feedback helps us to know what they went through ... and get people back into the hotel,“ Orlando, Fla.-based Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Manager of Food and Beverage Operations Frances Santiago said.
Post-stay feedback is critical for operators to truly understand what is happening inside their hotels and how services and products are perceived by guests, according to Dan Paola, senior vice president of operations at Florence, S.C.-based Raines, a property management firm with brands such as Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Choice and IHG.
“Feedback can help drive service training and focus, as well as where to prioritize capital improvements,” Paola said.
Follow-up Should Be Personalized
Post-stay guest follow-up should be personalized—not only with the basics such as the guest’s name but also by including their experience with specific services or amenities.
For instance, Delavan Lake management sometimes sends post-stay emails to guests that include a photo of a dish the guest ordered or something they requested for the room with a message assuring the guest that item will be in the room next time they stay. “We can take the photo and connect the memory to future conversations. That personalization is huge,” McConnell said.
When guests use the resort’s spa, they receive a follow-up templated email directly from their spa therapist and not a generic email from the spa or the resort. “Whether its 72 hours post stay or 45 days, you may get what looks to be a very personalized email from your spa therapist,” McConnell said.
Likewise, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress sends guests personalized emails—“not generic”—about their stay, restaurant visit, spa visit, golf experience and more, Santiago said. “We show empathy and we really want to hear their feedback,” she said.
Responding to guest feedback should also be very personalized, according to Paola. ”Take the time to acknowledge the survey response in a personal manner. This is another opportunity to build guest loyalty and make your guest feel heard,” he said.
When Should You Send Post-stay Follow-up?
For many operators, the first touch point with guests after the stay is an email immediately after the stay.
The feedback should occur as soon as possible, Paola said. “There’s no better time to generate a useful response than when the interaction or experience is still fresh in the mind. That helps with the detail and accuracy of the stay.”
McConnell suggests not sending the email immediately after checkout. Delavan Lake sends the first email four to six hours after checkout in the form of a simple personalized thank you from the general manager.
Then, 36 hours after the stay, Delavan emails the post-stay survey with specific questions about their stay. Within 72 hours, the company sends an email with links to future reservation discounts and personalized offers. 72 hours is the sweet spot for the resort, with 27 percent of guests booking for a future stay directly from that email, according to McConnell.
“The post-stay followup is so critical toward future revenue. That’s why we pace it at 72 hours,” McConnell said. “Everything has sunk in: you have paid and are determining, was there value to that stay? Did you have an emotional connection during your visit? And do you want to go back?”
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress sends the post-stay survey roughly 48 hours after checkout and aims to find out whether the guestroom was clean and working properly and whether or not guests would recommend the resort to others. Additionally, the survey systems randomly send alternate questions about their stay related to food and beverage and other experiences at the property, according to Director of Rooms Philip Dollens.
Next Steps After Survey Feedback
It is not just about collecting all the guest feedback; it is about what hotel operators do with the post-stay survey that is important, experts say.
“A good operator reviews these surveys daily and identifies trends and areas of opportunity,” Paola said. McConnell agreed, noting that the resort’s operations director, himself, general managers and department heads review guest feedback weekly.
“It provides an opportunity for your guests to feel heard. Like most things, the more opportunities you have to engage with guests and take action on items, the more positive the overall experience becomes,” Paola said. Operators should use the feedback to build profiles on frequent guests, noting certain rooms they like or dislike, food offerings and favorite things about the hotel or its F&B program.
“Savvy operators use this to their advantage to really drive home guest loyalty,” Paola said. Similarly, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress invites guests to return after they provide feedback and sometimes gives them points as an incentive. “At the end of the day, we earn their business and their trust,” Santiago said.
The biggest failure Paola notices is when hotels don’t act appropriately to guest feedback. “They should review service opportunities with the appropriate team members, F&B quality with that team, maintenance trends with engineering, etc.,” he said.
Guest feedback has led to many of the technology upgrades Delavan Lake has implemented, McConnell noted, such as adding additional USB ports next to the bed instead of halfway across the guest room.
Hotel executives should also respond to all feedback—especially negative reviews, according to Paola. “Let your guests know you hear them and will work hard to improve. Success is never final.”
Guest feedback is also a prime opportunity to celebrate successes with teams, according to Paola. “Incentivizing and praising team members for positive reviews and name mentions is a great way to foster a service culture in your hotels. Read these reviews in your daily stand-ups and create an atmosphere of positive reinforcement,” he said.
This article was originally published in the June edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.