local experience
Vacation Rentals vs. Hotels: What Amenities Do Consumers Really Want?
Kacey Bradley | November 5, 2018
By Kacey Bradley There was once a time when travelers had only a handful of places to choose from when traveling, and all of them were hotels. Nowadays, though, there's almost no limit to where they can stay, and that's all thanks to the vacation rental industry, which has opened up locals' homes and apartments to short-term tenants, too. Of course, that's not to say hotels are out of the game. Both are viable options that suit a specific type of traveler. As such, those who choose to rent a personal property search for particular amenities, separate from the ones that draw in hotel aficionados. Here's what each type of customer really ...
How 5 Hotels Compete With OTAs by Showcasing Unique Local Experiences
Nancy Huang | October 25, 2018
By Nancy Huang Today's travelers are no longer content with merely visiting a destination and have the same experience as everyone else. They increasingly yearn for something unique and want to explore the places they visit through a local perspective. This emerging need represents a huge opportunity for hotels. By creating in-depth destination guides, or by hosting their own locally-led tours, hotels can make their properties more desirable to drive more direct bookings. The following post highlights five hotels that are promoting their destinations with engaging neighborhood guides and authentic local experiences. But before diving...
Going Local – How to Attract Locals to Your Hotel’s Restaurant & Why It’s Key in Today’s Hospitality Landscape
Diego Lowenstein | February 26, 2018
By Diego Lowenstein 1. As a hotel owner/developer, why is it important to engage locals as well as travelers? When you own and develop hotels, you're always looking for the "next big thing" that will separate your property from your competitors' properties and bring excitement to the community. This often manifests itself in new restaurant outlets, a singular lobby, and pieces of technology or design updates that 'wow' potential customers. However, updates like this typically only cater to those who stay at the hotel, segmenting off a huge potential market a property can tap in to: locals. When a property engages locals at a high level...
Do You Train Your Team To Be Locally Authentic?
Larry Mogelonsky | November 8, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) By now, the phrase 'local authentic experience' has been tattooed on every hotelier's back ever since it started to trend some five to ten years ago. And yet, even to this day many properties have some serious shortcomings in this area, either through a lack of attention to detail when it comes to soft goods and decor items with local flair, or associates' lack of knowledge regarding the immediate neighborhood. True, we have brand standards to abide by, but that shouldn't stop you from engaging in small acts of regional expressionism, especially when you already know that it is such...
