How to create the best experience for Chinese customers in hospitality?
In today's globalized hospitality industry, catering to the specific needs and preferences of diverse customer segments is crucial for creating a remarkable guest experience.
When it comes to Chinese customers, one aspect that can significantly impact their satisfaction is the welcomeness. And customizing their payment journey plays a crucial role in making this clientele feel welcome in the destination country. Hotels can foster a deeper connection with their Chinese guests and elevate their overall stay through payment.
In this article, we will explore practical strategies and considerations to create a tailored payment experience that meets the unique requirements of Chinese customers.
Why is it important to create a personalized payment journey?
Meeting specific payment preferences of your chinese customers
Chinese customers have specific payment preferences and habits, with mobile payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay being widely used. By offering these preferred payment options, hotels align with customer expectations, making the payment process familiar, convenient, and seamless.
Differentiating from Competitors
In a competitive market, providing a personalized payment journey gives hotels a competitive edge. By understanding and adapting to the specific needs of Chinese customers, hotels can differentiate themselves and attract a larger share of the Chinese tourism market.
Building trust and reputation
Providing a personalized payment journey demonstrates the hotel's commitment to understanding and meeting the specific needs of Chinese customers. It helps build trust and strengthens the hotel's reputation as a welcoming and inclusive destination for Chinese travelers.
Chinese customers place significant reliance on word of mouth and recommendations on social media such as RED, Dianping and Weibo when making purchase decisions. Recommendations from family, friends, and online communities hold substantial influence over their choices. Chinese customers like to check the recommendations and rankings from different booking platforms and social media before booking a hotel.
Additionally, Chinese consumers prioritize trust as one of the most critical factors in their decision-making process. Building trust is important for businesses aiming to establish long-term relationships with Chinese customers. By understanding and leveraging the power of word of mouth, social media, and trust-building strategies, hotels can effectively tap into the Chinese market and cater to the preferences and needs of these discerning consumers.
Silkpay offers personalised marketing services for your hotel, especially targeting Chinese customers. Our team is dedicated to assisting you with your social media strategy and establishing your brand reputation on Chinese most popular platforms. We specialize in WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book, Alipay, and Dianping. With our expertise, we will create and manage engaging content, interact with your target audience, and help you build a strong presence on these influential platforms, increase brand visibility, attract Chinese consumers, and ultimately drive business growth.
How to create a personalized payment experience?
Offer multiple payment options
Chinese travelers have distinct payment preferences, with digital payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay being widely popular.
To accommodate these preferences, ensure that your hotel accepts these mobile payment methods. Integrating QR code-based payment systems allows guests to seamlessly pay for accommodations, services, and amenities, thus providing convenience and familiarity.
Silkpay offers a wide range of payment options to merchants looking to accept payments from Chinese customers. With Silkpay's integrated solutions, businesses can seamlessly process transactions through popular Chinese payment methods such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay.
By accepting these widely-used digital wallets and card networks, merchants can tap into the vast Chinese consumer market and provide a convenient and familiar payment experience to their customers. Silkpay's secure and reliable payment gateway ensures efficient transactions while bridging the gap between businesses and Chinese consumers, enabling merchants to expand their reach and grow their customer base effectively.
Provide payment instructions in Chinese
Language barriers can cause confusion and inconvenience during the payment process. To overcome this, ensure that payment instructions and guidelines are available in Chinese.
This may include translating payment-related signage, and your hotel's website into Chinese. By offering information in their native language, you make the payment process more accessible and facilitate a smoother experience.
Simplify currency exchange
Chinese travelers often face challenges related to currency exchange, as their native currency is the renminbi (RMB). To enhance convenience, consider providing currency exchange services directly at the hotel.
Additionally, displaying real-time exchange rates for RMB and offering guidance on local currency usage can help Chinese guests understand the cost implications of their stay and make informed decisions.
Alipay and WeChat Pay offer seamless and convenient currency exchange options for users. With their integrated features, customers can effortlessly convert their local currency into the desired foreign currency within the mobile payment apps themselves when they are paying.
Exchange rate conversion payments via Alipay in real time
Whether it's for international travel, online shopping, or cross-border transactions, Alipay and WeChat Pay simplify the currency exchange process, eliminating the need for additional third-party services or complicated procedures. By providing easy access to currency exchange, these popular payment platforms enhance the convenience and accessibility of global transactions in hotels.
Prepare a wireless POS terminal
A wireless POS terminal allows hotel staff to accept payments from guests anywhere within the hotel premises. Whether at the front desk, in a restaurant, by the poolside, or in a meeting room, staff can bring the payment terminal directly to the guest, providing a convenient and efficient payment experience.
With a wireless POS terminal, hotels can reduce queues and waiting times during check-in and check-out. Guests no longer need to wait in a centralized location to complete their payments. Instead, staff can process payments on the spot, allowing guests to proceed with their day or departure without unnecessary delays.
Wireless POS terminals utilize advanced security features, such as encryption and tokenization, to protect sensitive payment information. This provides guests with peace of mind, knowing that their payment details are being handled securely. It also helps hotels comply with industry regulations and maintain customer trust.
Silkpay, offers wireless POS terminals that cater to the evolving needs of hotels. With Silkpay's wireless POS terminals, hotels and customers can enjoy the convenience of payments securely and efficiently.
The POS terminals in Silkpay provide seamless connectivity, allowing hotels to accept various payment methods, including popular digital wallets like Alipay and WeChat Pay. So hotels can enhance the customer experience by offering flexibility and convenience while ensuring the security of transactions.
Discover how the wireless POS works? Click this link to watch a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TbwjF5lmH8
Understand Chinese payment culture
Chinese consumers have a unique payment culture that revolves around various social and digital aspects.
For example, "hongbao" or red envelopes are traditionally given during special occasions. Hotels can leverage this cultural practice by offering customized digital hongbao vouchers or discounts to Chinese guests as a gesture of goodwill.
Such initiatives not only resonate with their cultural background but also create a positive and memorable experience.
Tailor loyalty programs and benefits
Many hotels have loyalty programs that offer exclusive benefits to their guests.To attract and retain Chinese customers, consider customizing your loyalty program to align with their preferences. This may include tailored perks such as access to Chinese-language concierge services, complimentary access to popular Chinese apps or websites, or partnerships with local businesses that resonate with Chinese travelers.
Loyalty programs of hotels hold significant importance for Chinese customers as they greatly influence their spending behavior. Chinese customers prefer brands that offer loyalty programs, as they perceive them as a symbol of recognition and appreciation.
The availability of a loyalty program fosters a sense of trust and loyalty, leading Chinese customers to not only choose a particular hotel brand repeatedly but also spend more during their stays.
By offering exclusive benefits, rewards, and personalized experiences through loyalty programs, hotels can tap into the Chinese market's potential and cultivate long-lasting relationships with their customers. Also, it encourages recurrent purchases and motivates Chinese customers to increase their spending.
Train and empower staff
Ensuring that your hotel staff are well-trained and knowledgeable about Chinese payment preferences is crucial.
Provide training sessions that focus on understanding Chinese payment methods, cultural nuances, and customer service best practices.
Empower your staff to assist guests with digital payment apps, QR codes, and other payment-related queries. This personal touch can enhance the overall experience and leave a lasting impression on Chinese customers.
Conclusion:
In an increasingly globalized world, catering to the unique needs and preferences of Chinese customers is essential for hoteliers. By customizing the payment experience, hotels can demonstrate their commitment to providing exceptional service and build stronger relationships with their Chinese guests.
By implementing strategies such as accepting popular digital payment platforms, offering instructions in Chinese, simplifying currency exchange, leveraging cultural practices, tailoring loyalty programs, and empowering staff, hotels can create a truly personalized and memorable payment journey. Embracing these strategies will not only contribute to guest satisfaction but also position your hotel as a preferred destination for Chinese travelers seeking a seamless and enjoyable stay.
About the author: Silkpay
Based in Paris, Silkpay provides omnichannel and secure payment solutions to help physical stores and e-commerce in Europe accept more than 30 of the world's most popular payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, CB, UnionPay, Alipay+, WeChat Pay as well as Asia-Pacific’s major e-wallets.
Silkpay is a winner of the LVMH Innovation Award. The company was also selected as a finalist for the "Money 20/20" Best Startup and in the "MPE Berlin” Startup Awards. Silkpay also won the "Best Fintech" awards from Capgemini and BPCE.
Silkpay helps merchants deliver the smoothest payment experience to their customers. We are a talented and international team driven by a single goal: to improve the customer experience and make payments simple and secure.