Switching on an assistant is not the end of the work but the start of a short period of observation. In the first days, guests ask questions you have never written down, while the assistant answers only from the information you have approved. The difference between the two shows in the Inbox, where conversations are reviewed. This article describes how to use the first week without getting lost in detail.
Example scenario
Imagine a guest house with six rooms and breakfast. The owner, whom we will simply call the owner, has prepared the information for the assistant and switched it on on the website on Monday. Everything below is an illustration of how to organise the review, not a report on a real venue and not a promise of results.
The rule for the week: ten minutes, every day
The owner decides to open the Inbox every morning over coffee and spend about ten minutes on it. They are not looking for a verdict on whether the assistant is good. They are looking for the answer to one question: what did guests ask that we had not planned for?
A small but regular review beats a large, infrequent one. The topics are still fresh, the fix is made the same day, and the next guest already gets a better answer. If you cannot do it every day, pick two fixed days a week and put them in your calendar.
What to look for: three piles
As they read the conversations, the owner sorts them mentally into three piles. You can also keep them on a sheet of paper.
1. Questions without an answer
These are conversations in which the assistant had no data and directed the guest to the venue's phone. That is how it should behave when information is missing. For you this is the most valuable signal: a guest wanted something and you have not yet written it down.
For each such question there are only three possible decisions:
- you know the answer and simply have not added it: add it;
- you are not sure: decide and add it, or note who will decide;
- the question genuinely needs a person (for example, an exception to the rules): leave it for the phone.
In the example scenario, two such questions appear between Monday and Wednesday: whether luggage can be left after check-out, and whether there is a place to charge an electric car. The owner settles the first straight away. On the second they are not sure, and they call a neighbour before writing anything down.
2. Questions that repeat
When the same topic appears in several conversations, it has not been in a visible place. The assistant may have answered correctly, but the fact that guests ask shows where the website or the listings lack clarity. Breakfast times, check-in time and parking access are typical examples.
The action here is twofold: check that the answer in the assistant is clear and short, and consider whether the same thing should also be visible on the venue's page. This logic is described in detail in the guide to reducing repeated questions at reception.
3. New topics
These are questions you did not expect. One guest asks whether there is somewhere to dry wet clothing after a hike. Another asks whether they can have an early breakfast before a train. There are not many, but they show how guests see your venue. Sometimes a new topic becomes one line in the information, and sometimes it suggests a service that is worth offering.
What to fix and what to leave
Towards the end of each review, ask yourself one question about every conversation that did not go well: is the problem in the information or in the question?
- If the answer was unclear or out of date, correct the information.
- If it is missing, add it.
- If the question calls for a person's judgement, for example changing or cancelling a reservation, do not try to automate it. Leave it for the phone.
The assistant does not teach itself and does not change your rules. You improve the approved information, and it answers from that. It is therefore sensible to note what you changed and when: a date and one line are enough.
Room requests are read separately
If a guest has left a room request, it is saved as new and the team is notified, but it is confirmed by your staff member, by phone by default. Do not wait for the weekly review for these. Go through them first every morning, then move on to the questions. The assistant does not take table requests or payments, so if a guest has asked about one, direct them to the phone.
End of the week: five minutes to take stock
On Friday the owner writes three lines on a sheet: which question repeated most often, which new topic is the most interesting, and which information they changed. No complicated table is needed. The aim is not to prove that the assistant works but to see what the venue has learned. The same stock-take makes sense in the second week, and for some time afterwards, until the new topics become fewer.
If you find that you do not know how to answer many of the questions, that is also a result: it shows where your information was scattered. Preparing the information can be done in one afternoon, and reviewing the conversations keeps it accurate.
Where ISKA Assistant fits
ISKA Assistant answers in Bulgarian and English from the venue's approved information and, when data is missing, directs the guest to the venue's phone. There is no live chat with a person, and it does not replace reception. Conversations are reviewed in the Inbox, exactly as described above. If you would like to see how this would look for your venue, you can request a demo.
Assumptions
The example assumes a small guest house with breakfast, one person who reviews the conversations, and a website with the assistant switched on. The ten-minute time and the number of questions are illustrative. The scenario is an illustration and not a forecast of the number of enquiries or reservations.