The Callback Standard
Five steps for missed calls, voicemails and unfinished enquiries. A call that ends without a name, a phone number or an email cannot be followed up.
- Who
- Reservations agents; night audit for after-hours calls
- When
- Every call that ends without a booking, and at 09:00 and 14:00
- You need
- Call log, voicemail box, the switchboard’s missed-call list
- Measured by
- Contact details taken on every call
- After-hours messages returned by 10:00
- Open enquiries followed up within 24 h
5 steps
01
Capture early
Within the first minute of every call, take the caller’s name and a phone number or email, before you check availability. Say why: if the line drops, you will call them straight back.
Say this
“In case we get cut off, may I take a number to call you back on, Ms Haddad?”
Common mistake Waiting until the end to ask. The line drops at minute six, or the caller says “I’ll think about it” and is gone.
02
Sweep the line
At 09:00 and 14:00, one named agent clears the voicemail box and the missed-call list. Every message goes into the call log with the time it came in, the caller, and what they asked for.
Say this
Call log: “Voicemail 23:14, Ms Lindqvist, 3 nights mid-July, sea view. Call back by 10:00. Marco”
Common mistake Playing the voicemails and deleting them “to deal with later”. Later is the next shift, and they never heard them.
03
Call back by ten
Return every message left after hours by 10:00 the next morning, and every missed daytime call within one hour. Say who you are, why you are calling and what you already know from the message.
Say this
“Good morning, Ms Lindqvist, this is Marco from Grand Hotel Reservations, returning your call about July.”
Common mistake Calling back with “How can I help you?” The guest already told the voicemail, and now has to say it all again.
04
Try twice
If nobody answers, leave a short message with your name and direct line, then send an email or text within the same hour. Try once more by phone that afternoon. Three contacts in all, then stop.
Say this
“Ms Lindqvist, it’s Marco at Grand Hotel. I’m holding a sea-view room for 14 July until 18:00. My direct line follows.”
Common mistake Ringing six times in a day. The guest asked for help, not to be chased.
05
Follow up once
Every phone enquiry that ended without a booking gets one follow-up within 24 hours: an email with the room you discussed, the rate, one photo and a link or a hold. Then mark it closed in the log.
Say this
“Dear Mr Al-Harbi, as promised, here is the family suite we discussed, with the rate for 2 to 9 August and photos.”
Common mistake Following up with the general brochure. The guest wanted the room you described on the phone, not the whole hotel.
The Missed-Call Sweep
The routine that turns last night’s messages into today’s bookings. One agent, fifteen minutes, at 09:00 and again at 14:00.
- Voicemail box opened, every message played
- Switchboard missed-call list opened
- Web chat and text messages checked
- Each contact written in the call log, with time
- Caller’s name, number and request noted
- Owner and callback time next to each line
- Messages deleted only once they are logged
- After-hours callbacks all made by 10:00
- No answer: message left, email sent same hour
- Yesterday’s open enquiries followed up by email
- Callers matched to any existing booking
- Log signed by the agent and the manager
Name one agent per day for the sweep at the morning briefing and write it on the rota. The reservations manager checks the log at 10:15 and asks about every line without a callback time.
The Standards Library.
No. 12 · Reservations
The Rate Quote Standard
Five steps for quoting a room rate so the guest understands it the first time. Many disputes at checkout began as one unclear sentence on the phone.
No. 13 · Reservations
The Group Enquiry Standard
Five steps for enquiries of five rooms or more: weddings, families, teams. A group held without an option date is a block of rooms nobody can sell.