Perfect Reception offers an overflow service for calls, reservations, bookings and outbound sales campaigns.
Perfect Reception is a hospitality-focused call centre based in Cork that supports hotels by answering their missed calls and helping to drive revenue via outbound marketing.
Padraig Lynch, Perfect Reception Group Sales Director, asks all potential clients one key question:
“Do you really want to lose business for something as simple as a customer not being looked after on a phone call?”
Addressing a Critical Gap in Hospitality Communication
Perfect Reception supports hundreds of properties around Ireland as a hospitality communications specialist, offering an overflow service for calls, reservations and bookings for all sections of a property, as well as outbound sales campaigns.
These services, Padraig tells us, increase business revenue, improve customer experience and service, and bolster a property’s reputation. “We are a safety net for hotels, and the figures show that net is crucial,” says Padraig.
“Perfect Reception picks up around a million missed calls each year, and through those calls we are doing millions of euros in bookings for hotels across Ireland.”
Research undertaken by the business found many properties’ phones were ringing out, sending customers to voicemail, or bouncing calls from one department to another.
Perfect Reception, established in 2017, was set up to fill a need in the hospitality industry. Research undertaken by the business found many properties’ phones were ringing out, sending customers to voicemail, or bouncing calls from one department to another.
Seamless Integration with Hotel Operations
“A customer may not call back, or bother with voicemail, and if they’re sitting on a phone for a few minutes, they may give up and call somewhere else,” says Padraig. “Back to that idea of a safety net: if a phone line goes down, if receptionists call in sick, if a property changes a phone system and the phones aren’t working temporarily, we pick up those calls so the hotel misses nothing.”
The way Perfect Reception’s system works is simple, Padraig tells us. He explains:
“We set up a number that’s connected to the number of the property. If the property doesn’t answer in twenty seconds the call bounces to us. We answer the call as the hotel, so as far as the customer knows they’re dealing with that hotel. From there we deal with all queries, for example, ‘Do you have a spa? What time does the restaurant open?’ Operationally, our agents have two screens which show all information on the property, so the customer’s query is answered immediately.
Every eventuality is covered in the form to equip agents to answer all customer queries confidently and meaningfully.
Rigorous Training and Quality Assurance
Padraig says Perfect Reception’s agents have all the information on a property “down to the nitty gritty.” The information is gathered via an onboarding form, completed by a property upon joining.
Every eventuality is covered in the form to equip agents to answer all customer queries confidently and meaningfully. When a new property joins, agents also get one-to-one training on the property, followed by a workshop. If they don’t get a certain score in that workshop, they must redo it.
Quality analysts also constantly check the quality of calls, which are recorded for monitoring and training. “For example, a call was pulled yesterday at 2pm and it was a booking call,” says Padraig. “We assessed it by asking, was the agent friendly and professional; did he answer what the customer required; did he make any attempt to upsell?”
Perfect Reception offers flexibility, so properties can get in touch to easily add new information, for example if a leisure centre is undergoing renovation, or if there are new special offers.
Perfect Reception offers flexibility, so properties can get in touch to easily add new information, for example if a leisure centre is undergoing renovation, or if there are new special offers. The service is open seven days a week 7am-10pm, but Padraig says properties in need of phone cover outside of these hours can be accommodated.
Driving Revenue Through Bookings and Upselling
As well as answering queries and providing top-tier customer service, Perfect Reception, crucially, takes reservations and bookings. Most bookings go through a property’s website or PMS system, with all staff trained with any PMS system at the request of the property. For some properties, Perfect Reception is the sole reservations line. Padraig tells us this option is game-changing for a property that does not have the capacity to employ a reservations team.
“While the core ethos of Perfect Reception is all about great customer service, the reservations, bookings and upselling aspect is a huge part of what we do, and it can really drive a property’s revenue,” says Padraig. “How many missed calls we answer weekly does depend on the property – for bigger properties it could be thousands a week – but the average number is between 100 and 150. Out of those calls, around 10-15 per cent are missed reservations.
Our agents also don’t just take bookings, they strive to upsell on a reservations call, and they do it successfully. For example, they’ll tell the customer about the spa’s treatments, or any special packages available, and by the end of the call, they could have done hundreds or thousands or euros more on bookings. It is significant.”
Advanced Support Systems That Empower Your Team
Perfect Reception is equipped to answer queries and make bookings, but what about a phone call that’s off-script, for example a concern or complaint? Padraig tells us this is handled cleverly, via a unique in- house ticketing system. “It’s truly seamless,” he says. “We still respond as the hotel and reassure callers that someone will get back to them straight away to deal with their issue. All hotels that work with us are on our ticketing system, so we raise a ticket, and send an email to the appropriate person with all the details.”
Perfect Reception provides each property with a weekly detailed report that offers valuable insights that can drive improvements, such as how many calls were missed and which department they came from. “This can give insights into how a property is working” says Padraig. “For example, if 100 calls are missed from the spa, does this mean cover is needed?”
Outbound marketing is also a key function of Perfect Reception. “We do this in several ways,” says Padraig. “Our outbound team members, who are fully trained salespeople, reach out to businesses at the request of our clients, for example, if they want to attract certain companies for Christmas parties, or we can generate leads.
Some properties don’t have automated reservations and cancellations, so on a Wednesday or Thursday we also call customers to confirm their booking. Often, we’ll have people saying, ‘I forgot to cancel the reservation,’ so we cancel the booking and straight away that property has another room to sell. It’s proactive, not reactive approach.”
So, perhaps the key question for potential clients, how much does the service cost? According to Padraig, given the value offered to hotels, it’s relatively inexpensive. “You only pay for what we do,” he explains. “It’s all results led. No contract, no subscription model, no monthly fee. We have a charge per call, that’s it. If there’s a booking, we charge a percentage of the fixed rate per booking. Really, it’s a no- brainer.
To any potential clients I say pick up the phone and give us a call. Let us enhance your team and help take the pressure off. Let us support your business, because we can grow your business.”
