Travel has not been a luxury that many can afford over recent years due to a number of different factors. During the pandemic, travel was legally restricted, which put a stop to that altogether. We all remember the days of walks within a 5-mile radius of our home, dreaming about the holiday that was cancelled, and planning travel plans vicariously through Pinterest and Google Maps.
The truth is that a lot of people felt the same, and once travel restrictions were finally lifted, people began travelling once again which was good news for hotel owners. However, in the aftermath of the pandemic came the economic downturn and the cost of living crisis. Inflation drove the prices of everyday items through the roof, so trips away and stays in a hotel dropped to the bottom of the priority list.
Nevertheless, with the stress of life weighing everyone down, and as inflation begins to stabilize and the future looks more hopeful, you’ll likely experience an encouraging increase in your bookings in your hotel business.
There Are Still Many Things You Can Implement to Make Your Hotel Business a Success
Regardless of the circumstances and global scene, there are things within your control, elements within your grasp and things you can implement to make your hotel business a success.
With a few of these insider tips, you can take your hotel to the next level, exceed the expectations of your guests, and create a relaxing environment for all visitors to your establishment. Furthermore, if you are responsible for the financial side of the hotel running, there are various trends and movements that you need to keep up with.
There are particular insights that you need to know as you venture into the New Year. Keep reading the tips below to learn more and see what you can apply in your hotel.
Insider Tips to Make Your Hotel a Success
1. Learn from reviews
Feedback is essential to the future of all businesses, whether that’s positive or negative. You need to do more than simply relying on checkout forms as guests leave the building because. They will no doubt, head straight to the internet and go on to share their negative experience on social media or other review sites.
Keep an eye on these review platforms, read the reviews that are circulating, respond to them when you need to and remember that word of mouth is one of the best marketing tools you can use. You can learn even more by keeping an eye on competitors’ reviews, too in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses. With this information, you can make an effort to thrive in areas where your competition is falling short.
2. Find new leads
Make yourself discoverable and focus on making event planners aware of your hotel and facilities. Event planners have many contacts with far-reaching effects and powerful networks. Meet with planners, putting in the effort to seek out potential clients and distribute your content in areas and using channels where your target audience are more likely to be found. Don’t just fall back on customer referrals; take the initiative to generate more leads.
3. Create an attractive environment that feels safe too
The modern hotel industry is a competitive market, and in order to be a strong contender, you need to do more than just offer nice accommodation and room service. The entire experience that you create needs to be innovative and adaptive, anticipating the needs of your guests and using what you learn to create the best experience.
If you want to attract young travellers, put some effort into the other activities that you offer. Events such as live concerts and special culinary experiences, as well as facilities such as fitness classes and spas, will be attractive to younger travellers who usually want to spend less time inside the hotel.
In addition to an entertaining and innovative experience, you want to create a safe and comfortable environment. Ensure that all smoke detectors and sprinklers are in working order. Especially since the pandemic, hygiene is a priority, so make sure that cleanliness is a priority in your facility. The whole hotel needs to be kept up to a high standard of cleanliness, from bedrooms to swimming pools, to make sure guests feel safe.
4. Keep up with the communication
Make sure that all your staff are well trained and continue to develop their skills of communication. This is one of the most fundamental skills any hotel team can foster. The better your team communication skills, the more your guests will feel listened to, valued and understood. This is an excellent way for you to impress guests and turn them into loyal customers.
However, communication with guests is only half of the challenge. You must encourage and nurture communication between staff members and the different teams at your hotel. Do not underestimate the value of your own example in this regard, and strive to have great communication with both your staff and guests.
5. Use your finances wisely
Consider dynamic pricing, an increasingly common business strategy in the hospitality sector. This works by tracking current market demand for a service and adapting prices accordingly. You may already be familiar with this strategy, as when your customers go to book a room; they’ll notice a difference in price between peak and off-peak seasons.
However, where dynamic pricing really makes a difference is tracking market demand in real-time and adjusting prices to maximize profits. Of course, this is something that cannot be done without automation, but it is a common feature of hotel revenue management systems.
Use the various software tools available on the market that specialize in hotel revenue management to really take control of your finances.
Final Note
As you can see, with just a few simple steps and perhaps some modernization through the use of hotel revenue management systems, success in your hotel is within your reach!
So remember to:
- Learn from your reviews
- Find new leads
- Create an attractive and safe environment
- Communicate
- Use your finances wisely.
