For the fifth time today, the receptionist is answering the question of what time breakfast ends. The website says so, the sign by the lift says so, and so does the note in the room. The question comes again. The owner concludes that guests do not read. It is rarely that simple.
This text looks at where recurring questions come from, how to recognise them by moment in the stay, and which of them are truly new. I do not use frequency figures: they differ from one property to another, and the most accurate source is you.
Three reasons why the same question recurs
When a guest asks something that you have already written down, the reason is almost always one of three.
The information is hidden
The answer exists, but the guest does not find it in time. The breakfast time is in a PDF that opens slowly on a phone. The car park is described on the very last line of a long page. The guest does not read from start to finish; they search, and if they cannot find it in ten seconds, they ask.
The information is unclear
The answer is there, but it does not settle the question. “The car park is convenient” does not say whether it is free, whether there is room for everyone or whether it has to be reserved. “Check-in after lunch” means different times for different people. The guest asks in order to get specifics.
The information is missing
Nobody has written it down, because it seems obvious to the team. Whether dogs are welcome, whether there is a charging station, how to get there on foot from the railway station. It is obvious to the team and unknown to the guest.
These three reasons are worth telling apart, because the remedy is different: moving, rewriting or adding.
Map of questions by moment in the stay
I arranged the typical questions the way most small properties hear them. This is an editorial, generalised map, not a measurement. Yours will differ.
Before reserving
- How much is a room for two on my dates?
- Is breakfast included?
- Do you accept children and pets?
- Is there free cancellation, and until when?
Here the cause is most often unclear or missing information: the guest is comparing properties and does not want to risk missing a condition.
Before arrival
- How do I get to you, and where can I park?
- What time can I arrive?
- Is earlier check-in possible, or can I leave my luggage before then?
- Is there somewhere to eat nearby?
Here the information is most often hidden: it is written somewhere, but not in the email or in the place where the guest looks the evening before travelling.
At check-in
- What is the Wi-Fi password?
- What time does breakfast end, and where is it?
- How does the air conditioning work?
- Where is the key, or the entrance code, after a certain hour?
These are questions of the moment. The answer has to be at hand in the room and on a phone, not only in the receptionist’s head.
During the stay
- Where is the nearest pharmacy or shop?
- What should I visit today if it is raining?
- Is a late dinner possible, or a taxi to the centre?
- Is the pool or the kitchen open today?
These are often new questions, or ones that depend on the day. They are the hardest to write in advance.
At departure
- By what time do I have to vacate the room?
- Can I leave my luggage?
- How does payment work, and can I have an invoice?
- Where can I leave a review?
Most of them are recurring and predictable, so they are among the easiest to fix.
Which questions are truly new
Once you take out the recurring ones, the few that are genuinely new remain: an unusual dietary need, a specific route, a request for an event. They should not disappear. On the contrary: every new question that you hear for the second time is a candidate to become an answer, written down and published. That way the list of known answers grows from real life, not from assumptions.
How to make your own map in a week
- Keep a sheet of paper at reception, or a note on a phone.
- For each question, mark the moment in the stay with a tally mark: before reservation, before arrival, check-in, stay, departure.
- At the end of the week, for the most frequent ones note the cause: a hidden, unclear or missing answer.
- Fix first the ones that come up at check-in and before arrival: they most often cost the team the most time.
- Come back after a month and see which ones have stopped coming.
Also consider which channel is most suitable for each answer: the email after the reservation, a sign in the room, a page on the website or a digital handbook. You will find more about the arrangement in the guide to reducing recurring questions at reception.
Where ISKA Assistant can help
If some of these questions come in through the website or the phone and the team is not available, ISKA Assistant answers from the information about the property that you have approved. When there is no data for the question, it directs the guest to the property’s phone. There is no live chat with a person, and it does not replace reception. Conversations are reviewed in the Inbox, and the new questions there are a clear sign of what you have not yet written. The price is on the pricing page.
The best start, however, is the same even without a product: a week of notes and three corrected answers.