Call Recording for Hotels — What You Should Know
Phone call recording addresses a wide range of business needs, including cost-effective resolution of customer disputes, sales verification, quality assurance, and more. Many modern phone systems allow call recording on a per extension basis as a standard feature or option.
For your hotel, recording calls placed to or from administrative extensions (not guest calls) is a viable option. Call recordings are generally stored in a digital format allowing for them to be brought up at any time by administrators to review and may be stored or emailed as required. With modern transcription software, you can even automatically generate searchable transcripts and add them to your CRM so you know what was said on every call.
Why Record Calls
One of the most common reasons that hoteliers might want to record calls is for educational purposes. By using real call recordings, managers can show new and existing staff the best way to interact with guests. This instruction can be extremely useful in handling guests with specific needs, learning the protocols of a new job, and finding room for improvement in customer service.
Another excellent application for call recording is to confirm information that was given over the phone, avoiding repeat calls to guests that might annoy them. After a call is completed, your staff can go through the recording and add useful information like room preferences, languages, locations, and so on to your CRM for later use.
If credit card information is included in the call, strict controls must be observed to ensure that calls don’t end up in the wrong hands. Most systems allow for call logs to be automatically erased after a certain period of time to reduce the likelihood of fraud. With Voiceware by PhoneSuite, the flexibility of the system allows you to make changes to policy as your business situation dictates it.
Is It Legal For Hotels to Record Calls?
Whether or not call recording is legal and under what conditions varies from state to state, with some states requiring “single-party consent” and others requiring “two-party consent.”
- Single-party consent is the federal standard and means that at least one party of the phone call must be aware of and consenting to the recording of the call. If you’re the one recording, you’re automatically complying with single-party consent laws.
- Two-party consent is a stricter standard and means that both parties must be made aware of the fact that the call is being recorded. There are 11 states with such a standard: California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.
If you’re calling a two-party consent state from a one-party consent state, the law indicates that you only need to follow the requirements of the state in which the recording device is located, but it’s a good idea to follow the strictest standards just in case.
If your hotel handles a lot of international calling, you’ll need to comply with the regulations of the country in which your guests currently reside. While some regulations do not specifically require that phone calls be recorded, a recorded call may be used to settle a legal action against a company, saving tremendous wasted time and resources.
Recording phone calls can be extremely useful to your hotel, but it’s important to ensure that it’s done safely and legally. To learn more about call recording and other features available for hotel phone systems, contact PhoneSuite today.
