What Hospitals Can Learn from the Hospitality Industry About Customer Retention
Introduction: The Hospitality of Healthcare
Lines between industries are blurring, and none more so than the space where healthcare and hospitality collide. Although the two industries address completely different needs, hospitality is a treasure trove of lessons for hospitals, especially around customer retention. Experience and loyalty are two areas where hospitality shines—and those are becoming even more important in today’s healthcare landscape. This piece will explore how hospitality principles could potentially be implemented to create renewed relationships with patients in healthcare that may be more long-lasting.
Patients Are Guests, Too: Why You Should Embrace This Comparison
In hospitality, guests are the stars of the show. Every aspect, from check-in to check-out, is designed with guest satisfaction in mind. In the same vein, patients are the centerpiece of the healthcare system. Yet, often hospitals fail to deliver a smooth and gratifying experience. Here’s how these parallels can inform a healthcare transformation:
Personalized Experiences
Personalization is the name of the game in hospitality. From personalized room preferences to customized meal choices, guests feel valued when their unique needs are accommodated. This can be adopted in hospitals, for example, by personalizing patient care (customizing treatment plans) or recognizing patient preferences for communication and detailed follow-ups.
Emphasize Emotional Bonds
The most effective hospitality brands create emotional connections that make transactions more meaningful than just meeting a need. Likewise, hospitals can build trust and loyalty through empathetic communication, acknowledgment of milestones in recovery, and engagement after discharge.
Attention to Environment
Ambience is important in hospitality. Cleanliness, aesthetics, and comfort are non-negotiables. Hospitals also have to ensure that patient rooms are welcoming, waiting areas are soothing, and staff are trained to create a pleasant environment that calms anxiety.
Hospitals Can Learn Lessons from Hospitality
1. Simplified Processes for Smooth Experiences
In hospitality, queues gone wrong or delays in service can significantly impact a guest’s experience. The same is true in hospitals, where inefficient scheduling for appointments, admissions, or discharges can be frustrating for patients.
What Hospitals Can Do:
Self-Service Terminals: These terminals not only improve administrative workflows but also allow patients to manage appointments via online portals.
Predictive Analytics: Use analytics to anticipate and reduce wait times.
2. Empowering Staff to Create Exceptional Experiences
Hospitality brands spend millions every year training their staff to deliver flawless service. Every employee, from the concierge team to housekeepers, is taught to prioritize guest satisfaction. Hospitals can emulate this approach to empower their staff to serve as patient advocates.
What Hospitals Can Do:
Train frontline staff in soft skills like empathy and effective communication.
Recognize and reward staff who take extra steps to ensure safe and satisfying patient outcomes.
3. Using Technology to Support Better Engagement
Apps and digital platforms are common in hospitality, often enhancing the guest experience. From mobile check-ins to personalized travel recommendations, technology is an integral part of forming customer loyalty.
What Hospitals Can Do:
Patient Portals: Develop portals for access to medical records, appointment scheduling, and telehealth options.
AI-Based Chatbots: Use chatbots to provide 24/7 assistance, answering routine patient queries efficiently.
Simple Math: What Healthcare Needs to Know About Retention
In hospitality, retention is typically measured by repeat bookings or positive reviews. In a hospital setting, retention can be tracked through metrics such as repeat visits, satisfaction surveys, and referrals.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Similar to how hotels employ NPS to track guest satisfaction, hospitals can use it to measure both patient loyalty and satisfaction.
Post-Care Engagement Metrics
Hospitals should monitor how well they engage patients after discharge. Retention can be enhanced through follow-up appointments, health reminders, and educational content.
Referral and Advocacy Rates
Both industries rely heavily on word-of-mouth. Patients who feel cared for are more likely to recommend the hospital to friends and family.
Hospitality Practices Hospitals Can Borrow From: Case Studies
Marriott International: Commitment to Personalization
Marriott collects data about guest preferences through its loyalty program to curate more precise experiences. Hospitals could do this by maintaining detailed patient profiles that are regularly updated to improve care delivery.
Four Seasons: Anticipating the Needs of Guests
Four Seasons employees are trained to anticipate guest needs before they are voiced. Hospitals can adopt this approach by using predictive analytics to understand patient concerns and address them proactively.
Airbnb: Building Communities
Airbnb fosters a sense of belonging by connecting travelers with local experiences. Hospitals can build communities around their patients (e.g., pain and injury support groups or health seminars/workshops) to encourage loyalty and engagement.
Makeover Hospitals into Patient-Centric Institutions
1. Beautiful Design for Comfort and Healing
If hotels have mastered the art of creating an inviting environment, hospitals can focus on design elements that support healing. Patient well-being is greatly affected by natural lighting, noise-reduction measures, and comfortable furnishings.
2. Loyalty Programs in Healthcare
While loyalty programs are commonplace in hospitality, they are rare in healthcare. Hospitals can establish loyalty programs to incentivize follow-up visits, routine screenings, and referrals.
3. Feedback Loops for Continuous Improvement
Everyone knows that hotels love to collect guest reviews to improve services. Hospitals can do the same, using patient feedback to refine processes, enhance quality of care, and address pain points.
Walking the Line Between Efficiency and Empathy
One of the most common criticisms of hospitals is that they prioritize efficiency over empathy. Hospitality reminds us that these two elements can coexist. By optimizing operations and humanizing interactions, hospitals can achieve both operational excellence and patient satisfaction.
What This Looks Like in Practice:
Leveraging technology to alleviate administrative tasks, enabling staff to focus on patient care.
Training personnel to deliver compassionate communication in stressful situations.
Financial Consequences of Retention
Retaining patients goes beyond satisfaction—it has significant financial implications. Keeping patients is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, streamlines operations, and enhances reputation through word-of-mouth. Hospitals that implement retention strategies influenced by hospitality will gain financial and operational advantages in the long run.
Conclusion: Borrow the Hospitality Model
The hospitality industry offers valuable lessons that hospitals can apply to improve patient retention. From personalized care to streamlined processes, the principles of hospitality have the potential to make healthcare a more patient-centric experience.
Retention not only enhances patient satisfaction but also lays the foundation for a sustainable model of growth and excellence for hospitals. It’s time for healthcare to borrow a page from the hospitality playbook and treat every patient like a valued guest.