Best questions for hotel guest survey about check in experience

Here are some of the best questions for a Hotel Guest survey about check in experience, plus tips on crafting insightful surveys. If you want to build a hotel guest survey quickly, you can generate one in seconds with Specific, our conversational AI survey builder.

The best open-ended questions for hotel guest surveys

Open-ended questions are your secret weapon when you want deep, honest feedback. They let hotel guests share details in their own words—uncovering insights you might never expect. In reality, with 69% of U.S. travelers rating guest reviews as “very important” in their booking decisions, these questions help you tap into what really matters to future guests. [1]

Here are ten of the best open-ended questions for a Hotel Guest survey about check in experience:

1. What was your first impression as you arrived at the hotel?

2. Can you describe how the check in process made you feel?

3. Were there any aspects of check in that surprised you?

4. Is there anything about our check in experience you would change?

5. How did the staff handle your check in?

6. Did you encounter any challenges or delays during check in? Please explain.

7. How clear and helpful were the instructions or signs during check in?

8. What, if anything, exceeded your expectations during arrival?

9. If you used self-service or digital check in, how was your experience?

10. Do you have any tips for us to make check in easier or more welcoming?

Open questions often reveal small details that structured surveys miss—and these details can directly impact your online ratings and future bookings.

The best single-select multiple-choice questions

Single-select multiple-choice questions are invaluable when you want a snapshot of overall guest sentiment—especially if you need quick stats or want to spot patterns. They’re also a great way to ease guests into conversation, making it simple to answer without overthinking. After all, 58% of travelers say mobile check-in improves their overall experience, so surfacing those preferences is easier with ready-made choices. [2]

Question: How would you rate the overall speed of your check in?

• Very fast

• Fast

• Average

• Slow

• Very slow

Question: Which check in method did you use?

• Front desk with staff

• Self-service kiosk

• Mobile app

• Other

Question: How satisfied were you with the friendliness of the check in staff?

• Very satisfied

• Satisfied

• Neutral

• Dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

When to follow up with "why?" When a hotel guest chooses a negative, neutral, or surprising answer, asking “why?” in a follow-up can uncover issues or unexpected delights. For instance, if someone answers “Dissatisfied” with staff friendliness, follow with “Can you tell us what happened during your check in that left you dissatisfied?”—this is where deeper, actionable insights emerge.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Sometimes a guest’s check in method or situation doesn’t fit your set options. By adding “Other” (with a follow-up asking for details), you uncover unique experiences that could signal broader trends you’re not tracking yet.

The case for an NPS survey about check in experience

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a gold standard for measuring loyalty and overall satisfaction—not just in tech or retail, but in hospitality too. For hotel guests, a simple NPS question like “How likely are you to recommend our hotel based on your check in experience?” moves beyond satisfaction to signal if check in is creating promoters or detractors. Since even a one-point gain in guest satisfaction can drive $10 million in extra revenue annually, understanding your NPS by touchpoint is a powerful way to focus improvements and track results. [3]

If you’re ready to launch or test an NPS survey focused on hotel check in, try this NPS survey generator designed for hotel stays.

The power of follow-up questions

Open-ended responses are only as valuable as the context they contain. That’s why follow-up questions—especially automated ones—are crucial for real insight. With Specific, you can enable AI-powered follow-ups that dig deeper instantly, just like an expert researcher would. This is a game changer: no more chasing guests for clarification over email, and no more ambiguous survey data.

• Hotel Guest: “The check in was okay.”

• AI follow-up: “Could you tell us what made the check in just ‘okay’? Was there anything missing or that could be improved?”

How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2-3 follow-up questions are usually enough to uncover details without causing survey fatigue. Of course, it’s smart to let guests skip to the next question if they’re not comfortable—a setting you can easily adjust in Specific.

This makes it a conversational survey: Each back-and-forth feels more like chatting with a helpful concierge (not answering an impersonal form), boosting both engagement and depth of feedback.

Easy survey response analysis: With rich, unstructured text pouring in, Specific’s AI survey response analysis makes sorting, summarizing, and distilling key findings a breeze—even at scale. Don’t let the volume of feedback stop you from getting the insights you need.

Automated AI follow-up questions are still a fresh approach—if you want to see the difference for yourself, try generating a survey and see how these AI-powered conversations feel in action.

Prompting ChatGPT to generate great survey questions

If you want to use tools like ChatGPT or other GPT chatbots to generate questions for a hotel guest survey on check in experience, start with a direct prompt:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Hotel Guest survey about Check In Experience.

But you’ll always get better results if you give more background context. For example:

We run a boutique hotel focused on business travelers. Our goal is to make check in as quick and seamless as possible, and we’re considering more digital solutions. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for a Hotel Guest survey about Check In Experience, aiming to discover pain points with self-check in and gather ideas for improvements.

Once you’ve got a list, it helps to organize:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Finally, you can dive deeper by asking:

Generate 10 questions for categories such as 'digital check in' and 'staff hospitality'.

This focused approach lets you zero in on the areas most important to your guests and your business priorities.

What makes a survey "conversational"?

A conversational survey lives up to its name by flowing like a natural chat, with real-time follow-ups and context-aware probing. Unlike traditional forms, these surveys adapt—so if a hotel guest brings up a new issue or idea, the AI interviewer can dig in instantly. That’s why platforms like Specific have seen such a lift in engagement and data quality: guests enjoy the conversation, and you get richer, more actionable insights.

Here’s a quick comparison:

Why use AI for hotel guest surveys? AI survey examples show just how much easier and faster it is to gather meaningful guest feedback. You can cover more ground, in less time, and with higher quality results—especially when targeting improve-the-moment touchpoints like check in. With Specific, the experience is seamless (for you and your respondents) and much more flexible. Learn more about how to create a hotel guest survey step-by-step, or try building from scratch with our AI survey maker.

Bottom line: Specific delivers a leading conversational survey experience, making feedback smoother and more rewarding for everyone—from design, to guest interaction, to final insight summaries.

See this check in experience survey example now

Ready to unlock richer guest insights with less effort? See how conversational surveys on check in experience uncover hidden details and drive hotel growth—start building your own engaging survey with Specific today.