VivoAquatics Updates

Learn actionable tips to improve patron satisfaction at your commercial pool and spa facilities – and learn how aquatic operations software can help.

Tips for Improving Patron Satisfaction at Your Commercial Pool and Spa Facilities

It’s important to remember that without satisfied patrons, you cannot grow your commercial pool or spa business. It just won’t happen without happy customers. It’s critical to do everything you can to improve customer satisfaction so your swimmers keep coming back again and again.

Happy customers are more likely to stick around, which provides recurring revenue, but also to recommend your commercial pool and spa to friends, family, and even internet strangers!

This guide will provide you with everything you need to know about improving patron satisfaction at your commercial pool and spa facilities.

Why Patron Satisfaction Should Be a Priority

If you own or operate a commercial pool or spa, then you know that customer satisfaction is a top priority.

Happy customers are more likely to return and recommend your business to others. Repeat customers and patrons are an important part of your business. It costs much more to attract new customers than it does to keep existing ones. In fact, it is estimated that it costs six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.

If patrons aren't satisfied, they are more likely to spread negative word of mouth or post negative online reviews. This is problematic, as potential customers are increasingly likely to research a business online before patronizing it. In fact, nearly 90% of consumers say that online reviews influence their buying decisions.

Set a Vision and Objectives for Patron Satisfaction at Your Commercial Pool and Spa

It's important to set a vision and objectives for patron satisfaction at your commercial pool and spa. By doing so, you can ensure that your facility is providing the best possible experience for your guests.

Some things to consider when setting a vision and objectives for patron satisfaction include:

• What are your goals for your pool and spa?
• What kind of experience do you want your guests to have?
• What are some ways you can improve the guest experience?

By taking the time to set a vision and objectives for patron satisfaction, you can help ensure that your commercial pool and spa is providing the best possible experience for your guests.

Actionable Tips To Improve Patron Satisfaction

It's important to make sure that your commercial pool or spa is up to par and providing a satisfying experience for patrons. Here are a few ways to do so:

1. Know Your Guests

You’ll always want to put yourself in the shoes of your guests. They want to focus on fun and relaxation, and you want bigger profits. Consider what drives your guests and why they have picked your facility over the competition.

Ask yourself the following questions.

• What types of services do your guests expect?
• What tempts them to swim in the pool.

Once you know what your guests want then you can strive to meet their needs, so they continue to come back and also market your establishment via word of mouth or social media to their family and friends.

2. Keep Your Commercial Pool or Spa Open

Very few things upset swimmers to the extent of finding a ‘pool closed’ sign at a hotel, resort, or other facility. Whether vacationing, spending the day at a private club, or taking a refreshing dip at a condo pool, a sign stating that the pool is out of commission quickly brings about feelings of frustration and also damages the establishment’s reputation.

A ‘pool closed’ sign occurs when a mechanical system fails, the structure suffers some problem, or the water has a chemical imbalance such as the chlorine or pH levels become off-balance.

Pool compliance can run the gamut from proper main drain covers to technical chemical measurements. A commercial pool requires constant monitoring to maintain its delicate ecosystem. The pH level of a commercial pool requires intricate management. One of the best ways to ensure compliance is to use aquatics operation software. VivoAquatics helps commercial pool and spa owners and/or operators stay on top of pool compliance.

3. Easily Monitor Your Sanitation

Pool compliance remains a cornerstone to any commercial aquatics facility. Patrons expect an odorless, fresh-smelling pool.

Relying on pool sanitation solutions effectively cuts chlorine use while improving water quality. An over-chlorinated pool causes an unpleasant chemical odor, skin irritation, and ongoing respiratory conditions.

A pool monitoring system helps ensure consistent chemical balance. Lowering the use of chlorine creates greater sustainability, improved water softness, and happier guests, residents, gym members, etc.

One of the top rated systems is VivoPoint and VivoPoint Pro. Our systems help you easily monitor chemical amounts, pH levels, temperature and more. This helps you stay open, safe, and compliant. This allows you to focus on running your pool and improving patron satisfaction rather than the details that VivoAquatics handles.

4. Ensure Regular Monitoring

Make sure your employees regularly monitor and clean the pools. Clear away all floating objects such as fallen leaves, insects or other debris that can mar the pool’s beauty. You’ll want to make sure that the aquatic features always look visually pristine and inviting.

The easiest way to do this is to use aquatics operation software. Software systems like VivoPoint or VivoPoint Pro allow you to easily monitor a variety of factors, including pool safety, filter information, and more.

5. Provide adequate staff to provide a good customer experience.

This means having lifeguards on duty if you have a swimming pool, as well as trained professionals to provide other essential services. The staffing crisis is very real right now, and many commercial pool and/or spa operators and owners are having a difficult time hiring experienced professionals.

The good news is that the right aquatics operations software actually makes it really easy to hire entry level talent to help meet your goals and ensure the pool is staffed well enough to maintain patron satisfaction. The VivoPoint ecosystem provides all the training your employees need to effectively manage pool safety and maintenance.

Notifications can come right to your employees phone when something needs to be adjusted or handled to keep pools compliant. This means your employees can spend less time doing tedious tasks and more time attending to patrons, which is a win-win for everyone.

6. Make Patron Satisfaction a High Priority for Employees

Ensure that employees are readily available to meet the needs of the guests. They should make eye contact, smile, and offer friendly body language. All employees should be involved in the overall aquatic experience by providing superior customer service.

One way to make sure employees focus on the customer experience is to free them up from menial tasks. When you can remotely monitor your pool maintenance and systems, employees have more time to make sure that patrons are happy and having a great time.

7. Offer a Variety of Amenities

When it comes to commercial pools and spas, there's no such thing as one size fits all. Different patrons will have different preferences, so it's important to offer a variety of amenities to cater to as many people as possible.

For example, some patrons might prefer a pool with a lap lane for swimming laps, while others might prefer a leisure pool with plenty of toys and games. By offering a variety of options, you can ensure that there's something for everyone - and that everyone is happy.

8. Carry Out Regular Assessments

You might be surprised to learn that your customers aren’t as happy as you think. Sometimes, if customers are moderately satisfied, they will not complain unless there is a blatant problem. Silence and lack of complaints is not always an indication that things are running smoothly. You’ll want to regularly measure customer satisfaction to assess their experience and the performance of your team.

• Carry out customer surveys to see if they are truly happy.
• Send out an email survey or even offer paper survey cards that encourage guests to leave feedback.
• dopt a firm rating system so you can actually assess your customers overall aquatic experience and satisfaction levels.

9. Focus on Communications

Patrons of a business or service are more likely to be satisfied if they feel that their concerns are being heard and addressed. Good communication is essential to maintaining happy customers. All sales and customer service activities depend on optimum communications. Without good guest and employee communications, your business might suffer.

Here are some great ways to focus on communications:

• Promptly respond to any concerns by staff, guests, or residents.
• Be consistent. Your customer service and communications efforts should be on-brand, across channels and employees.
• Use a variety of communication channels to regularly reach out to customers.
• Welcome feedback - both positive and negative so you can strive to improve the situation.

10. Harness the Power of Online Reviews

Customer satisfaction is more important than ever. In the world we live in today, customers have more choices than ever before, and they're not afraid to use them. A business that doesn't deliver on its promises will soon find itself out of business. Online reviews aren’t just a way to increase sales and membership signups. They can also help improve patron satisfaction at your comercial pool and spa.

Online reviews are an important way for businesses to build trust with potential customers. Research shows that almost 90% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase, and that positive reviews can lead to an increase in sales of up to 22%.

The good news is that there are ways to track customer satisfaction and ensure that your business is always delivering the best possible experience. One of those ways is through online reviews.

Online reviews are a powerful tool because they provide an honest look at how customers feel about your business. And since they're publicly available, they can help you attract new customers and build trust with potential customers.

However, online reviews can also be a double-edged sword. If you don't regularly monitor and respond to them, they can do more harm than good.

Here are a few tips on how to maken online reviews work for your commercial pool or spa:

• Monitor them regularly. The first step is to simply be aware of what's being said about your business online. You can do this by setting up Google Alerts or using a tool like Mention.
• Respond to both positive and negative reviews. Don't ignore the bad reviews – they're an opportunity to show potential customers that you're committed to customer satisfaction. But don't overlook the good reviews, either. A quick thank-you note can go a long way in building customer loyalty and improving patron satisfaction in your commercial pool or spa.
• Use them to improve your business. Take a close look at the feedback you're getting from customers, both good and bad. Use it to make necessary changes in your business so you can deliver an even better experience for your customers.

Online reviews are an important part of doing business in the digital age. By monitoring and responding to them, you can use them to attract new customers and build trust with existing patrons. That's powerful- it can help your commercial pool or spa succeed for years to come.

11. Reassure Customers that Pools are Safe, Healthy, and Clean

COVID-19 has affected the world and the travel industry in many unforeseen ways. Guests need reassurance about safety more than ever before. You’ll need to reinforce that your establishment is focused on aquatic safety.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there is no evidence that COVID-19 spreads via aquatic facilities such as swimming pools, spas, or splash pads.

With proper maintenance that includes disinfection using chlorine or bromine and ongoing maintenance, the facility can effectively inactivate viruses within the water.

You’ll want to assure your guests that your aquatic facility focuses on safety (especially with COVID-19).

• Encourage your staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
• Ensure all lifeguards are up to date on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) rescue, first aid and more.
• Educate staff on disease spread.
• Encourage staff to stay home if they are sick or not feeling well.
• Discourage guests and employees from sharing items such as nose clips, snorkels, or goggles.
• Require staff and guests to wear a mask when out of the water if there is a COVID-19 resurgence wave.
• Provide disposable masks for guests and staff.

Aquatics Operations Software Helps Improve Your Patron Satisfaction

When it comes to improving the satisfaction of your tenants, guests, members, etc, aquatic operation software, like VivoPoint, has become a must-have for any commercial pool or spa. It not only helps you seamlessly oversee your facility’s spa and pool areas, but allows you to allocate resources, like time, energy and money, to improve the overall experience.

Increase Your Productivity

The use of aquatics operation software lets aquatic facility owners effectively manage their business operations. Everything takes on a more streamlined appearance so you can manage an often-intricate pool schedule to effectively track customer transactions. Automating a majority of tasks lets you better focus your resources to other areas of your business.

Focus on Sustainability

Aquatic software offers sustainability which is something many organizations are focusing on in an effort to become more eco-conscious. With the software, you’ll have data tracking coupled with analysis so you can accurately identify various areas of your operation. Using the software programs, you’ll effectively lower your energy consumption by implementing automatic temperature controls.

To achieve greater efficiency and sustainability, you should also focus on automated heating and cooling systems to regulate the pool's temperature and lower your monthly energy costs.Implementing automatic temperature controls helps you deliver quality service to your guests and improve their overall experience.

You can even automate your pool and outdoor lighting systems. Never worry about an employee or guest forgetting to turn off the lights when the pool or spa is not in use or at the end of the day. Instead, automate all lighting for greater energy efficiency.

With environmental compliance becoming more stringent, you can spring ahead of the game by focusing on increasing your aquatic system’s sustainability to avoid any regulatory penalties.

Increase Aquatic Safety

When running a commercial pool and spa, you need to always ensure user safety. Commercial pool automation and water management software keeps your pool water safe, healthy, and clean by regulating the water’s temperature and pH levels.

Water safety helps maintain the health of not only your facility’s guests but also your staff. You’ll save a wonderful amount of money because you can distribute priorities and resources to other areas.

Fortunately, safety is something you can improve without breaking the bank – and when you do, you’ll start to see immediate results through better ratings, and longer-term results through increased bookings.

Keep Up with Regular Maintenance

The old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” fits well when it comes to pool maintenance. With an automation process, you can automate your aquatic preventive maintenance.

Maintaining the facility helps increase the longevity of the equipment and prevent future mechanical problems. You’ll save time and can pay attention to other areas of the organization by not wasting time worrying about downtime caused by poorly maintained equipment. .

Elevate the Experience

The goal of any aquatic facility manager or owner is to ensure a relaxing pool experience. Relying on an automated chemical management system helps maintain your aquatic system’s appearance, safety, and health. You can quickly improve the guest experience to ensure return customers or long-term residents.

Choosing the Right Aquatics Management Software

The reasons to implement aquatics management software are extensive. You can definitely take the guest experience to the next level when managing any commercial spa, pool, or water features by using innovative technologies.

When picking the right software, make a list of your facility’s particular needs and the features that matter the most to your business.

Consider the following:

• Types of water features, spas and pool
• Size of the aquatic facility
• Automation needs
• Personal or financial management options
• Scalability

Here are some additional factors to look out for when shopping around:

User Friendly

When picking aquatics software, you’ll want to make sure that the program is user friendly. It should have all of the features needed to help you and your staff perform tasks quickly and easily. The software should help ensure swimming pool compliance and even help with hotel compliance if needed. With software, all of the tasks become easier and less complicated.

Greater Efficiency

Creating greater efficiency is the goal of any organization. When things run smoothly, guests experience greater satisfaction. You’ll want to invest in software that meets your needs to help improve guest relations and take your employees' efficiency to the next level. Ideally, the software should save time while assisting with creating a safer aquatic environment by aiding with pool compliance.

Greater Flexibility

Flexibility provides greater freedom and gives you the time you need to focus on other aspects of guest relations. Whichever aquatic software you pick should adapt to your specific needs and requirements so that you can function in all areas of guest relations to ensure customer satisfaction.

Whichever pool software you choose should have the features and functions you need to focus on various aspects of your aquatic system. Take the time to research the software and customize it to meet your specific needs.

Added Security

Security and protection of all data is a mandatory function because any breach of security can adversely impact your business. Pick software that effectively protects your data from malicious attacks by hackers. Take the time to discuss security features with the vendor prior to making a decision.

Affordability

Of course, the price tag of the software is always a consideration because you are probably balancing a budget. Ideally the best aquatics operation software should provide affordability and provide a good return on investment. You might save a few dollars picking cheap software, but eventually you’ll sacrifice some degree of efficiency.

When shopping for software, consider the functions. Ideally, the software should manage reserves, maintenance, cleaning and even scheduling. You want all of the bells and whistles at an affordable price.

Depending on the program, it might prove expensive to purchase outright but have very little or no ongoing fees for support updates. However, other programs might seem affordable but then have costly continuous fees. Take the time to read the fine print to decide which one provides the most for the cost.

Ongoing Support

VivoAquatics is a software option that takes care of everything, so you don’t have to worry about it. Your guests or tenants will have the opportunity to access all amenities. Offer customer service seven days a week via phone, chat or email. Our system will benefit 24-hour chemical readings so you can quickly catch any problems before they become big issues.

With VivoAquatics, you’ll have full control of your automated pool system. Also, you’ll enjoy complete documentation and training every step of the way. You can even onboard new employees. We help you set your aquatics operation software up so you have complete commercial pool automation.

Pool Compliance

Ensuring guest satisfaction while juggling a sustainable pool creates a set of challenges. You'll have to stay on your toes about safety and health. Also, regulations notoriously change on short notice, so you’ll need to always focus on staying compliant per all state and federal guidelines.

In some areas, even the local health department has requirements that you cannot overlook. Part of creating a stellar guest experience is also always considering both the safety and wellbeing of your guests.

A simple routine inspection can instantly close down a pool or spa if a health hazard is found which causes disgruntled guests or residents. Your staff will scramble to bring everything up to code quickly but even a short-term closure during the heat of summer can cause significant customer service damage. If such an incident occurs, your entire business can take a hit and you’ll face negative reviews and other complaints.

VivoAquatics offers both VivoPoint and VivoPoint Pro aquatic operation software options to help safeguard pool compliance and keep things running without any roadblocks or issues. Track water chemistry, stay current with disinfection, and monitor circulation using the software.

With VivoPoint Pro, you’ll also have the option of generating reports that clearly depict the parameters that you are following so you can demonstrate that you are compliant if you need to answer to any health inspectors.

Patron Satisfaction Starts with the Right Aquatics Operations Software

Improving guest relations is a necessity for the success of any aquatic business. This resource was developed to assist you in providing the highest level of satisfaction for your customers, members and guests at your commercial pool and spa facilities. By incorporating some or all of these suggestions, you will create a more enjoyable experience for everyone, which can lead to increased revenue.

One of the best ways to increase your patron satisfaction at your commercial pool or spa is to provide them with a clean and well-maintained facility. Keep your pool and spa safe, compliant or healthy with aquatics operation software.

VivoAquatics offers two solutions for commercial pool and spa aquatics operation software. VivoPoint and VivoPoint Pro help increase the safety and compliance of your pools, spas, or water features- all while saving you time and money.