A comprehensive guest journey audit allows you to see the entire customer experience as one system: what guests expect before booking, what they actually receive, where gaps arise, which needs remain unmet, which opportunities the hotel is not using, and how all of this affects profitability.
A hotel promises a certain level of service, care or personalization, shaping the guest’s expectations even before arrival. But when the actual experience is completely different, the result is not simply dissatisfaction with one service; it is frustration and a sense of having been misled.
Result: a disappointed guest, a high likelihood of a negative online review, and a decision not to choose the hotel again. The problem is not always located within a single department — most often, it arises between different stages of the guest journey.
The hotel promises a comfortable family holiday, but in reality there is no children’s menu or entertainment, and children are not allowed in the SPA. As a result, parents face a simple question: where can they leave their child in order to use the SPA?
The promise does not match the experience: a dissatisfied guest, the risk of a negative review and no repeat stay.
A SPA hotel operates with thermal waters, but its website offers no wellness packages by treatment or health focus.
One of the property’s key opportunities has not been turned into a clear product for the guest — and generates no revenue.
The hotel has premium room categories, but their value is communicated mainly through the price difference.
Guests do not understand exactly what they are being asked to pay more for and choose a standard room instead — the average spend stays low.
Excellent location and infrastructure for corporate clients: conference room, transformable restaurant, equipment, parking. But there is no structured commercial offer for this audience.
An opportunity to generate additional occupancy, especially during weaker periods, remains unused.
Housekeeping is carried out at times convenient for staff; information about special requests is lost between departments; sun loungers have to be claimed at 7 a.m.; the buffet is fully stocked only at the beginning of breakfast.
Small daily disappointments that add up in the overall stay rating and in online reviews.
Opportunities for additional sales exist, but they are not embedded in operating standards: a large family is not offered a more spacious room, a guest is not offered late check-out or a transfer, and a couple is not offered special SPA arrangements.
Revenue per guest remains below the property’s potential.
STEP-BY-STEP AUDIT PROCESS
We discuss the hotel’s objectives, internal processes, target audiences, sales channels and current positioning: whom the hotel wants to attract, what it promises, and how well the chosen model reflects its real potential.
How a potential guest sees the hotel before arrival — from first discovery and comparison with competitors to selection, booking and communication.
How the hotel’s promises and quality standards are delivered in the real guest experience — from booking through departure. With reference to the Hotelstars Union standards and the hotel’s own standards.
An in-depth analysis of feedback from different sources: what guests value, what frustrates them, which situations recur, and which needs remain unmet.
The team’s perspective, the digital journey, the real guest experience and the voice of the customer — in one coherent picture: key gaps, untapped opportunities and priority areas for change.
The diagnostic report provides a solid basis for management decision-making.
A BASIS FOR MANAGEMENT DECISIONS
1. Team vision and objectives
2. Digital guest journey
3. Mystery Guest — real experience
4. Voice of the customer
5. Gaps and untapped opportunities
6. Priorities and recommendations
Full Guest Journey Audit compares the team’s goals and perspective with what the guest sees, expects and actually receives. The client receives not a list of shortcomings, but priorities — including whether an expensive renovation is really necessary or whether the issue can be resolved by changing standards, processes and staff training. That is a very different level of expenditure.
Olga Soloviova has 20+ years of experience in the hotel industry as a CEO, GM and consultant. Her proprietary audit methodology is based on international Hotelstars Union standards and a deep understanding of hotel operating economics.
TRANSPARENCY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
No. The initial conversation is intended to introduce the property and understand the task. The list of information required for the audit is determined after the scope of work has been agreed and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) has been signed.
No. The comprehensive audit looks at the guest journey as a system and identifies gaps between customer expectations, the actual guest experience and the hotel’s operations.
No. The format of individual research stages is agreed with the client in advance.
A separate format — Digital Guest Journey Audit — is available for remote research. Full Guest Journey Audit provides a broader analysis, including on-site assessment of the actual guest experience.
Yes. The scope and format of the research are determined according to the characteristics of the individual property and the task at hand.
The timeframe depends on the size and complexity of the property and the agreed scope of the research, and is determined before the project begins.
The client receives the analysis results and recommendations. If required, a separate strategic session can be held with the team to support implementation of the changes.
START WITH A SHORT CONVERSATION
You do not need to provide a full package of internal or financial information for the first conversation. We can start with a brief introduction to the property and a discussion of your task.
Answer a few questions — I will get in touch and recommend the appropriate scope for the audit.
Briefly describe your hotel and your question — I will reply personally.