Hotel PBX Phone System

For hotels, a PBX phone system is a key element in customer relations. In this article, we'll look at the benefits that it offers and how you can make the most of it for your hospitality business.

Customer relations are extremely important in the hospitality sector. In order to keep guests happy, you need to offer effective and efficient communications ahead of their stay, during it, and even after they've checked out. In a context where customers can often be demanding, a cloud PBX phone system is a must-have for hotels.

In this article, we'll go through the basic advantages of using a virtual switchboard and how you can optimise yours to unlock the power of cloud-based telephony in the hospitality sector.

So, what is a PBX phone system for hotels?

For hotels, a virtual switchboard is a communication management system that is developed to meet the specific and complex needs of the hospitality industry (customised greetings with venue identification, call routing, emergency call management, etc.).

We've well and truly moved on from the era of traditional telephone systems, where manual switchboards and landlines reigned. Now, VoIP switchboards have opened up doors to countless features that are now seen to be the essentials for any smooth-running company. We'll get back to this a little later on in our article.

The advantages of a PBX in hospitality

Having a phone switchboard offers some key advantages in hospitality:

A huge range of features 🟩

With the arrival of technologies such as the cloud and artificial intelligence on the market, businesses in the hospitality sector now get access to a vast and well-rounded range of features when they set up virtual switchboards:

• A high degree of customization for their greetings, with the option of creating voice messages in multiple languages, all aligning with their brand identity.
• Incoming calls can be routed according to the caller's selection, made using an interactive voice menu or based on the time of the call.
• VoIP numbers

Flexibility and mobility 🟩

Virtual phone switchboards are hosted in the cloud. This means that your team members can access them remotely, meaning that they don't need to be in a specific location to respond to customer requests. Virtual switchboards can also be used for setting up an on-call contact point or an emergency phone line. When set up effectively, they allow you to redirect incoming calls to internal or external numbers for your company from a certain time or over a certain period.

Improving customer services 🟩

All of these advantages will help you to improve the service that you deliver to your customers. Virtual switchboards are rarely offered as a standalone solution for businesses.In most cases, they come as part of an advanced business telephony system. This type of platform enables omnichannel communications, taking into account customer needs and offering them a seamless experience during interactions with the hotel. This way, they can smoothly switch between communication channels without interruption.

Cloud telephony: the key to digitalization for hotels

Cloud-based telephony is an essential pillar for hotels' digital transformations. When incorporated into the technology system, it reduces a huge number of administrative tasks, so employees can save time that can then be focused on tasks with higher added value. This positive impact doesn't just affect the business end: Customers will also get the benefit with an ultra-personalised greeting.

• Each client can be greeted in a way that is adapted according to their interactions with the hotel, or more generally with the brand. They can be automatically redirected to the right point of contact based on their previous interactions.
• The agent receiving the call will instantly access key customer information, such as name, contact details, and purchase history, which saves precious time for both parties.

Cloud-based telephony also has the advantage of simple integration into business tools. For example, you can use it to expand your client knowledge by combining it with conversational analysis solutions that will record calls, automatically transcribe them, and then analyse conversation content using artificial intelligence. With Cloud-based telephony, the possibilities offered to hotel businesses are practically endless.

The advantages of cloud telephony for hotels

Other than the benefits we've just covered, Cloud-based telephony also offers the following advantages:

1. Reduced costs
2. Simple integration into existing systems
3. Detailed statistics and reports
4. Centralised communication

1. Reduced costs

Cloud-based telephony doesn't require any physical infrastructures, which can quickly eat into office space and budgets. The additional expenses that come with hardware are pretty much eliminated, as you can use other compatible equipment that your teams already use (IP phones, computers, professional smartphones, etc.). The other general advantage of Cloud-based telephony and VoIP telephony is that they bring down communication costs.For example, with Ringover, you can make unlimited calls to more than 110 countries without any nasty surprises on your monthly bill. This is a great solution for businesses that have teams based in multiple countries and that want to centralise their communications.

2. Simple integration into existing systems

Cloud-based telephony can easily be integrated into various types of software packages. For example, you can integrate it into your online booking system, your CRM, your billing tool, or even your support solution. All of these possibilities are made possible by API and the native integrations provided by solution developers.Here at Ringover, the API is included in all our packages. This means that technical teams can then pair and configure the solution themselves, adapting to the specifics of each venue. Native integrations are also provided for integrating your business telephony into your business software without needing to do any crazy or complex technical procedures. Native integrations also generally include the following features:

• Click-to-call
• Contact syncing between tools
• Access to call recordings created through Ringover via the business tool
• Automatic data updates between two software programs
• Client file pop-ups
• Integrated Ringover Dialer

Discover the Ringover x HubSpot integration

Check out this example of telephony integration into a world-class CRM such as HubSpot.

3. Detailed statistics and reports

The top cloud-based telephony solutions will generally feature a dashboard that allows you to track your telephone activity in real time. The reporting features are also simplified, as these platforms give you access to detailed statistics that can be exported and filtered, so you have the exact information that you need. 

With these features, telephony goes from being a simple communication channel to an effective tool that supports the decision-making process.

4. Centralised communication

Cloud-based telephony grants access to advanced features, like we explained in Point 1. Some Cloud-based telephony solutions even go one step further than integration into other platforms by offering the option of direct communication with other channels, such as messenger applications, SMS messaging, emails, or livechat.

Which is the best PBX phone system for a hotel?

Choosing a virtual PBX for your hotel should be based on your business' specific needs. Here are some criteria that should be considered when choosing the right solution for your venue:

How to select your service provider

1. Assess your needs

First things first: You need to make a list of what your hotel needs in terms of communications. For this, we recommend having a chat with the staff actually handling communications, so that you can get a clear idea of what they need in terms of features for their daily tasks.

2. Check for compatibility with current systems

Make sure that the solution you choose integrates into your system properly, or that it offers you future integration options with software that you may use further down the line. It may be a customer relations software, a livechat tool, or a call-bot, etc.

3. Scalability

Check that the virtual switchboard selected offers a degree of scalability that suits your needs. The provider should be able to give you guarantees on the options of adding or removing lines, for example, or options to add new integrations as your business’ needs evolve.

4. Security

The security of your customers’ information is crucial, and so we highly recommend selecting a provider who will give you all of the guarantees possible regarding this aspect. Look into what measures are taken by the supplier:

• Where are their datacentres based?
• Which security protocols are used?
• Are communications protected? How?
• Does the software provided comply with the applicable legislation?

5. Reliability

Ask your provider whether service continuity is guaranteed in the event of a technical issue or failure.

6. Customer service quality

Here are a few questions to ask to check that this service quality criterion is satisfied:

• If you have any questions, is it easy to get in touch with customer services?
• Is there a user community?
• Are help resources available on the provider's website?
• Are requests handled by the same person?

The example of Best Western, as they enhance their customer relations thanks to Ringover

Since 2018, huge hotel chain Best Western has been using cloud-based telephony for its customer relations and has chosen Ringover to support it with its transition from landline IP telephony to 100% digital telephony:

The bottom line

Virtual telephone switchboards are a key example of how Cloud-based telephony is revolutionising the hotel industry. With all of the possibilities that it offers, particularly in terms of customer relations, it has become an essential for brands and establishments looking to offer their clientèle a 5* service.

Start reaping the benefits of a fully-customizable virtual telephone switchboard and cloud-based telephony now by trying Ringover for free for your hospitality business.