Give people a reason to talk about you
How do you encourage loyal customers to become ambassadors for your business? For one thing, they won’t rave about your service and hotel to their friends and family unless you meet and exceed their expectations. So first, do something exceptional. Identify things that are of high value to your guests, but low cost to you so you can give added value. For example, it could be remembering that it's their birthday or wedding anniversary and you gave them a box of chocolates or flowers upon arrival. It could be staff providing above and beyond customer service.

If you don’t ask you don’t get
Don’t be afraid to ask your customers directly who else they know who might be interested in the services you offer. Don't forget about asking people you know for referrals, including colleagues, suppliers, local businesses, business partners etc or even people in your own network.

Make the referral process easy
The sooner you do this after they have stayed, the better as this is the time where they are the most positive and will remember.

The way you ask for referrals is key. If you ask: “Do you know anyone who might be interested in receiving details of our promotions?” you are likely to get “No” or at best “I’ll think about it”.
But if you ask a specific question, for example:

“Who else do you know who is celebrating [their birthday, wedding anniversary, retirement …] in the next few months and may be interested in our [all-inclusive weekend breaks, wine promotion…]”?

Creating a simple referral form that you include with the bill can encourage existing guests to make referrals. Make this prominent and offer incentives for them to give you names.

Most importantly, maintain relationships with your guests. They are more likely to refer you to their friends, colleagues and family members if they have had recent contact from you as you are at the top of their mind.

Reward referrals
As an absolute minimum, ensure that you thank your client for their referral. Don’t wait to do this only after the referral leads to business, as it will only look like you are insincere. You are rewarding the referral process, not whether it leads to business.

You can also consider a tangible incentive for referrals. But bear in mind that what you give as a thank you should be considered of high value to the person making the referral, but doesn't cost you the earth. For example, a gift, discount voucher of their next stay, a restaurant voucher, room upgrade, invite to an exclusive event.

Once you have a referral system in place, keep track of where and how you’re getting successful referrals. This will enable you to find out what works and what doesn’t, so you can continue to refine the process.