Our members, pse Event Housing, take care of all the housing details for their clients. From contract & staff room negotiation, real-time room tracking & reporting, to commission & rebate processing, they do it all! Whether you’re looking to start your very first tournament or event, or you’ve been in the game for years, check out these 4 essential questions you should be asking your event housing provider:

1. Is your booking system optimized for mobile users?

In 2018, 57% of all Internet traffic came from mobile users, and that number is only expected to keep growing. With this number on the rise and customers increasingly using their mobile devices to get things done online, offering a mobile-friendly experience is no longer just a nice-to-have feature – it’s a necessity.

What to look for:

Responsive Design:

Most sites are now viewable on mobile devices, but there’s a big difference between just being viewable on mobile and actually being optimized for the experience. If you visit the site on your phone or tablet, all text and images should be easily resize to fit whatever screen you’re using and you shouldn’t have to pinch or zoom in on your screen in order to view the details.

Working links & forms:

In addition to having a mobile-optimized or responsive design on the site, all links and forms should work on mobile just as well as they do on desktop.

2. How do you handle customer service support?

The experience your attendees have with your housing provider is an extension of their overall impression of your event, so it’s so crucial to ensure they have a good experience from start to finish.

What to look for:

Dedicated customer support staff with a quick response time:

In addition to having a dedicated account manager to assist with any questions our tournament / event directors may have, your housing provider should have customer service staff whose sole responsibility it is to assist guests with questions about their booking. Additionally, there should be enough staff on board to handle all customer requests as soon as possible, and definitely within 24 hours.

Multiple options for customer support (Email, Phone, Online Chat, Self-Service):

While older generations prefer to make a phone call and speak directly to a customer service agent to get an answer to their question, younger generations are increasingly looking for options that will allow them to solve their issue on their own via online FAQs or help sections. In order to provide the best experience to all of your guests, your housing provider should be able to deliver customer service in many different ways to ensure people can get the information they need in the way that works best for them.

Integrated CRM System:

Ideally, all customer requests are able to be fully handled within one call, email, or chat, but if multiple touchpoints are required to assist a customer with their booking questions, it’s essential that they don’t have to repeat themselves every time they reach out. Your housing provider should have a system in place to ensure that all details of each customer’s interactions with their staff are recorded in one place – saving your customers’ time and patience while getting them exactly what they need.

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