Hotel owners of 2 and 3 star hotels find standing out may be a challenge. Many consumers believe that there is not much of a difference in the economy to mid tier segments because they are considered “cookie cutter” hotels. The truth, is that hotels in their respective tiers have many ways to differentiate themselves. I will mention 3 ways to make your hotel standout thus presenting you with the advantage when competing for bookings increasing Average Daily Rates (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar).
1. Consistent Online Presence, you hear about this all the time from your brand about updating your photos, videos and descriptions online. Why do they put so much importance on this? Well imagine you pay for a traditional billboard alongside of the freeway. What if after a storm there is a big rip down the side and mud is covering your message. How effective would that billboard be? What would a potential customer think? In the same way your online billboard can have a so-called storm which means images are outdated, descriptions are incorrect. Developing and most important maintaining a consistent online presence will make your hotel stand out above the rest. You can ensure this content by dedicating a trusted employee or hiring a monthly service company.
2. Curb Appeal, this may be a given for some hoteliers or you may say it comes from an old school of thought to put more than the usual emphasis on your hotels appearance. Typically your hotels curb appeal is not a large expense especially when you are in the maintaining phase. Ask yourself how often have you driven by a hotel and you see the following; lights out, paint peeling, garbage outside, lawn needs mowed, employees outside smoking, parking lot cracks etc., Most of these fixes are relatively inexpensive and can be managed through your hotels GM and maintenance crew. Not only will have a “sexy” curb appeal increase walk in traffic, but it will also allow your front desk to capture those most important higher rates.
3. Consistent Staff, impossible you may say. No it’s not! Why should your guests who book or check out with the 7-3, 3-11 or night auditor have a different experience then with your other clerks. Consistency is key to capture repeat customers. A great rule of thumb is that when a guest leaves the hotel they remember usually three things the arrival, any problems/perks experienced and checked out. If your guest had a great arrival, good stay but, upon check out the front desk clerk was rude you may have just lost a customer and potential customers because of a bad review. You can avoid this my implementing common procedures and structure with your staff. Checklists and a strong managers presence followed by and this is most important front desk meetings at least once a month the more you invest into your staff the more you will receive with employee moral, increased phone and walk in conversions and increased overall guest satisfaction.
There are many more practical ways to get Heads in Beds, do not get overwhelmed, take each point once mastered move on to the next one. This is not an overnight project, but more of a plan. You can have a lot of fun, especially when you realize the rewards of your efforts!
