Posts Tagged ‘Repeat business’

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What’s so different about your hotel, then?

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Unless you have a USP or some point of differentiation, what will make your hotel stand out above all the rest in your area, or competing for the same market?

Some can rely on their location, or the building, or history. But what if your hotel has none of that?

 

One way of capturing the interests of your guest or prospects is to imagine your perfect guest sharing some of the same passions, values or interests as you. It’s a lot easier to sell something you have an interest in, you are passionate about or that’s important to you.  If you don’t love what you do, or feel it’s important, it will show. It will be very hard for you to deliver a good service if you are dealing with people with whom you share no values, interests or enthusiasm.

Anyone who knows me will know that I love my garden, and love visiting other gardens. So if it was my hotel an obvious target market would be other garden lovers. This would not only allow me to attract guests who share my interest and passions, it provides a theme, which can be built on. Such as – sharing knowledge of local historical or famous gardens, forming joint ventures with a local plant nursery, garden designer, gardening author, manufacturer of garden products, or market gardener (or all of these); designing menus planned around locally grown produce.

I could tie in with any specific gardening events happening locally, such as RHS flower shows, Gardeners’ Question Time, etc. Or host my own Gardeners’ Question Time calling upon local gardening celebrities. I might include talks from experts, transport and free entry to a number of local gardens of interest (maybe as exclusive guests of the owner). You get the idea……

 

To take another example, Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest, where Nina and Gérard Bassett used Gérard’s knowledge and passion for wine – Gérard is the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, Wine MBA and, as of April 2010, World’s Best Sommelier. (And I was pleased to have the opportunity to interview Nina and Gérard as part of my interview series  – How to Give Your Hotel a Competitive Edge.) As a result Hotel TerraVina attracts both hotel guests and restaurant diners who have an interest in wine, and Gérard is happy as he has an opportunity to cater for people who are interested in what he’s offering. By employing others who share this interest and knowledge Nina and Gérard are able to be consistent. And all this provides them with great PR opportunities.

But what if your theme is not so obvious?

Start by listing what you enjoy, what you are passionate about, and what’s important to you. Can these be incorporated into your business? Then consider your interests. What are the hobbies or pastimes you enjoy (or used to before you ran a hotel and had more free time!) What particular knowledge or expertise do you have? This could be nothing to do with the hotel industry, it might just be an interest or from a former career.

  • So it could be something you love: be that golf, shopping, dogs, cars, cooking – you’ll then know the types of things others enjoy who share  your love, so cater for these interest.
  • Something you value: such as supporting your local community, being in the countryside, or energy conservation, so give examples of the steps you’ve taken to contribute to these.
  •  Or it might be a particular hobby or expertise you can share with your guests: your knowledge of Italian cuisine and offering cookery lessons, your interest in classic cars, and attracting like minded enthusiasts and promoting classic car events in the area, or you might have a specific skill or talent to pass on to others.

Very few of us could honestly say there is nothing we can get excited or enthusiastic about, but I’d certainly recommend checking there is enough of a market there of others who share our passion before modelling our whole business around it!  Then we’ll want aim to recruit people who at least have a remote interest.

And once you have identified what it is that you have that others don’t, make sure you share this at every opportunity.

If your business reflects your interests, value or expertise the likelihood is you’ll attract other people who share them. Having a specific interest or expertise also makes it easier for you to find a forum or networking group where you can get your name known, as well as finding potential opportunities and prospective joint ventures.

Then tell and show your guests how you incorporate these into your business. Show your guests in as much detail as possible what you do that is different, so they can see all this before they choose you. It could be why they choose you.

It’s very easy to be enthusiastic and passionate about something that interests you, and this enthusiasm will translate into bookings if managed smartly. It means you are more likely to attract the type of guests with whom you can build up a good rapport and a better prospect of repeat business.

If your passion appeals to your perfect guests, it will make your job of marketing your hotel and making it unique so much easier.

Nina and Gérard Bassett were just two of my 10 guests on the interview series How to Give Your Hotel a Competitive Edge.

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A customer is the life, not just for Christmas

Monday, December 5th, 2011

You may not be dreaming of a White Christmas, but I’m sure you’d like a profitable one, so you don’t leave things to chance.

Over the Christmas period you will inevitably have a number of guests or diners who will be coming to your hotel or restaurant the first time, so ensure you create a great first impression and a reason for them to return. Equally you’ll no doubt have a number of your regulars who are coming to you because they know you, like what you offer and trust you’ll deliver what they expect. Ensure you don’t disappoint and demonstrate you appreciate their loyalty.

Maintain your standards

Just because you’re busy or you are offering some good deals, don’t let this be an excuse for poor service or poor value for money. This could be damaging for your reputation and potentially embarrassing for your existing loyal customers, particularly if they are entertaining or have referred you to others.

It will obviously also leave a poor first impression for those who are guests and potentially visiting you the first time.

Trading up

Whereas your customers might be looking for a good deal on the basic price, particularly for group bookings, this doesn’t mean to say that individuals will not be prepared to you trade up to a premium drink or additional menu items. Ensure your team are in a position to make suggestions and recommendations, and are fully aware of what is feasible, and what’s not a practical proposition. Then check that your bar and kitchen staff are prepared and can cope with the ad hoc and additional items.

According to a survey by The Mystery Dining Company many people planning to eat out over Christmas are not making advance bookings. This means hotels and restaurants offering good value and being flexible with walk-ins versus bookings could benefit from last-minute business.

Show your appreciation

Nothing should be competing with your Christmas promotions so don’t plan any other offers or accept other vouchers during this period that undermine your potential Christmas revenue.

But have everything in place for the New Year and what you’ll have on offer that’s exclusive to your Christmas guests as an incentive for them to return sooner rather than later. Even if partygoers are not in the mood to be parting with their personal details that can be added to your database, at the very least have vouchers, brochures or even a goodie bag as a taster of those special bonuses, offers or packages you’ve lined up just to them.

Of course in a perfect world you’ll also be getting their contact details so you can add them to your mailing list, but ensure you have some incentive for them to do this; maybe a prize draw in the New Year, ensuring of course it’s still relevant to non-locals if you’re attracting visitors from further afield, or maybe even for a draw on the night for each of your party nights. If your market is predominantly locals, talk to your suppliers or other local businesses who may be happy to sponsor some other prizes in return some publicity. Bearing in mind you’ll be busy, whatever you use for capturing details make it simple.

Keep in touch

Schedule some time after Christmas to follow up with your mailings. Keep your list of segmented so party organisers on one list, and guests on another so you can keep your mailings pertinent and personal.

This will enable you to follow up with all your party organisers or the person who made the booking to thank them for their booking. Show you appreciate their feedback so you can learn from them what worked well, and what they didn’t like, so you can improve on it for next year. Don’t just do this on the night or at the end of their stay, but follow up post event.  If there is anything they didn’t like they may be reluctant to tell you there and then in front of other guests.

Following up now helps to develop your relationship, and increases your chances of repeat business either during the year or next Christmas.

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How to Reward Referrals

Monday, September 5th, 2011

As an absolute minimum, ensure that you thank anyone who makes referrals to encourage them to continue to do so in future. Don’t wait to see if this actually leads to business, as what you are looking to reward is the referral process. The more referrals you have the greater the likelihood of gaining new guests.

Consider what other tangible incentives you might give that are of high value to the person making the referral, but don’t cost you the earth. Naturally you’ll want to ensure that the cost of the incentive does not outweigh the life time value of the referral.  But bear in mind what you give as a thank you may also be a way of adding to the life time value of the person making the referral too.

The nature of this incentive will obviously depend on where the referral came from.

For guests they might include such things as a gift, discount off their next meal, a room upgrade, an invitation to an exclusive event. Perhaps team up with one of your joint venture partners; this could be services or maybe branded products. A win–win–win for you, your joint venture partner and the customer.

For corporate users make the incentive something your guest can benefit from personally. It’s little incentive for them if it is something they’d normally put though business expenses. So can you offer something as a thank you which will encourage them to come back on a personal visit and maybe bring their family and friends too?

For suppliers, joint venture partners or other local businesses you may want to look at alternate ways to say thank you. This might be an opportunity to get in front of some of your other customers or guests through promotional activities or hosting joint special events. Talk to them directly to see how you can return the favour. Just by asking the question will in itself show you appreciate the referral.

Encourage your staff too to make referrals. Let them show they are proud of where they work. The reward obviously needs to reflect the value of the business; recommending your restaurant to a friend doesn’t warrant the same level of recognition as inviting a friend or relative for a wedding show round and subsequent wedding booking.

What might appeal to them may be dependent on the profile of your team. A cash bonus might work for some, but is soon forgotten whereas a couple of tickets for a show or concert, or a night in a sister hotel or meal with a JV partner will be far more memorable – and visible to other team members too to encourage the same from them.

Once you have a referral system in place, keep track of where and how you’re getting successful referrals. This will enable you to find out what works and what doesn’t, so you can continue to refine the process.

For more articles and resources http://www.zealcoaching.com/products-resources/

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Make the referral process easy

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

For guests the sooner you ask for referrals after they have stayed or visited, the better. This is the time they are likely to be most positive about what you delivered.

The way you ask for referrals is key. If you ask: “Do you know anyone who might be interested in receiving details of our promotions?” you are likely to get  “No” or at best “I’ll think about it.”

But if you ask a specific question, for example:

“Who else do you know who is celebrating [their birthday, wedding anniversary, retirement …] in the next few months and may be interested in our [all-inclusive weekend breaks, wine promotion…]?

Creating a simple referral form that you include with the bill can encourage existing guests to make referrals. Make this prominent, and offer incentives for them to give you names.

Maintain relationships with your guests, even if the likelihood of more business with them is limited. They are more likely to refer you to friends, colleagues or others if they have had recent communication from you. Even if a guest only stays with you once they have a network of friends and colleagues who may also be your ideal guests. The lifetime value of one guest can be their connections to other guests, too.

On Monday we’ll go on to look at what you can do the reward those who give you referrals to encourage them to do it again, and again.

For more articles and resources http://www.zealcoaching.com/products-resources/

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How to encourage referrals

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

Yesterday I was asked what type of incentives hotels can provide for loyal customers to encourage them to become ambassadors and drum up business for you. But before we cover that, let’s consider why and how you’d encourage this type of loyalty.

We all know of the importance of online reviews, but I’m not talking here about general comments open to anyone. And offering any incentive for positive reviews will soon get you into hot water with most of the online review sites.

I’m referring here to your regulars, those who are already loyal to you, and if given a little encouragement are happy to refer you to friends, family and colleagues.

Referrals are a great way to build your customer base – if a person comes to you as a result of a referral, you don’t need to go out and find them. This is a much easier way to market a hotel! The person who made the referral has already experienced what you offer and will do the selling for you.

Referrals build loyalty with the people who recommend you – they will want to be seen to stand by their referral by continuing to come to you themselves.

Give people a reason to talk about you

So how do you get people talking about you, and how do you get referrals? As I’ve stated before, they won’t say good things about you unless you meet and exceed their expectations. So first, do something exceptional.  Identify things that are of high value to your guests but low cost to you so you can give added value. Give people that reason to talk about you.

If you don’t ask you don’t get

But referrals won’t always happen unless you ask for them.

If you don’t ask you often don’t get. So don’t be afraid to ask people directly who else they know who may be interested in specific packages or services you offer.

The obvious people to ask for referrals are your existing guests. Focus on those guests or customers who are your ‘perfect guests’ as the people they refer will be a better match to your preferred type of guest.

Think about other people who know you well enough to recommend you. This might include colleagues, suppliers, local businesses, joint venture partners, your own team and others in your network.

This will be easier the better they know you and when they fully understand the extent of everything you offer. So let them experience this first hand. A prime example is your local tourist office – they won’t want to recommend you unless they’ve experience your hospitality first hand. The same goes for local businesses of joint venture partners, who may have customers needing a place to say. So invite them to a showcase event or to a more personalised invitation for dinner, overnight or event.

The same goes for your staff too, they need to experience what your guest experiences. When was the last time any of your team ate in your restaurant, slept in one of your beds, or was pampered in your spa?

Tomorrow we’ll look at how to make the referral process easy.

For more articles and resources http://www.zealcoaching.com/products-resources/

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Continue to build the relationship after your hotel guests have left

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Show you appreciate your hotel guests’ custom; a little thank you note of some description goes a long way, even better if it is personalised in some way; hand written better still. This is an ideal time to ask for feedback, testimonials for reviews too.

Keep in touch. Tell your customers what you are doing. What have you done as a result of customer feedback, what’s new, what awards or accolades have you received.

Promote events. Let your customers know what you’ve got coming up in the future. Even if they won’t be there to take advantage of it, it may prompt a return visit or they may pass the details on to others who might be interested in the event.

Help to build rapport by taking the opportunity to meet with your customers or prospects in other environments, too. And remember that a lot of networking is done online today, so consider how to use social media to help you build your relationship with your customers.

Reward loyalty. The very least you can do is to remember your regular customers. Capture their details and preferences – do they like a particular room, prefer a specific table or need a special pillow? Remembering these small details can make your customer feel valued.

Why not help your customers to celebrate? Note their birthdays and anniversaries on your database, and then invite them to the hotel to receive their special gift or offer, e.g. invite wedding couples back for their first (and subsequent) anniversary, invite customers to celebrate their birthday and get a cake or free bottle of bubbly, invite businesses to celebrate any awards, keep a note of special anniversaries for local businesses – their AGM, awards dinners, anniversary of their launch. People don’t normally celebrate alone, so these provide ideal opportunities to bring in new customers.

Make your offers worthwhile to encourage people to bring their friends or colleagues and make up a big party. Receiving a birthday card with a voucher – or an invitation to celebrate a forthcoming anniversary – is a pleasant surprise, and adds a very personal touch. If you can hand write these, even better (it can make a huge difference and really demonstrate your interest in your customer).

Building your customer relationship is an on going process, and there’s no denying it takes a bit of effort, but effort that will reward you with more business, and it’s still one of the simplest ways to market a hotel.

Learn the 7 fatal mistakes hoteliers make in getting more business on this complimentary tele seminar

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Are you letting new hotel business opportunities slip through your fingers?

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

Learn the 7 fatal mistakes hoteliers make in getting new business

  • Do you struggle to get new business?
  • Are you unsure what marketing you should be doing and want to know how to make your marketing budget go further?
  • Do your guests seem to have a good time, but you still don’t get much repeat business?
  • Are you forever chasing your tail and never have time to devote to growing the business?
  • Are you fed up with other hotels under cutting you and forcing you to reduce your rates?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions there’s still time ot join me on my complimentary call on Tuesday 23rd August.

On this free call you’ll discover:

  • The 4 most common mistakes hoteliers make when trying to gain new business
  • The 3 ways hoteliers let repeat business slip through their fingers
  • How to spot if you are making these mistakes and what to do to rectify them.
  • Plus I’ll be revealing my BRAND NEW programme created specifically for owners and managers of small independent hotels who want to give their hotel a competitive edge

To learn more and to register click here

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Offer your guests other products and services

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Be innovative in identifying other items to offer to your guests – before, during and after their stay, that might help make their stay more enjoyable or memorable.

What is there that makes your establishment or offer unique; what do guests ask about or compliment you on, that they might want to take home or share with others? Could you offer any of the following to add a personal touch?

  • If you often get asked about local events, or things to do, can you send through some literature with confirmation of their booking, with relevant links
  • If you are difficult to find or off the beaten track, can you email directions from Google maps or AA route finder taken from their own postcode to the hotel, (or details of how to get from airports or station if this is more relevant to your target market)
  • If they ask for recipes or comment on your menus, convert your signature dishes into a recipe book or leaflet
  • If they love your hand-made petit fours, package them up into a gift box to take home
  • If you’re a popular venue for celebrating special occasions, offer hand-tied flower bouquets and birthday or celebration cakes
  • If your guests enjoy your home made bread, marmalade or other preserves and chutneys, offer them for sale to take home at the end of their stay
  • Offer your finest ingredients as an off sale – cheese, meat, eggs, etc., if there is something special about them – locally sourced, organic, etc.
  • If your guests love your luxurious bathroom accessories, robes with your logo, and toiletries, offer them for sale (and reduce the temptation to steal them)
  • Do you get asked about your unusual crockery? Why not get in more stocks and sell that or make arrangements with your suppliers for direct home delivery?

 

All these provide that personal touch, and a great talking point from which referrals may well flow. Not to mention a potential source of additional sales.

So think ahead, listen to your customers and pre-empt or respond to their needs. Even if you and you team know it’s all part of your ‘standard’ offer, your guests will appreciate the extra lengths you go to for them to enjoy their stay.

For more articles and resources http://www.zealcoaching.com/products-resources/

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Cater for special diets and needs in your hotel or restaurant

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Catering for special diets and needs is the sort of attention to detail that builds you loyalty and referrals.

Let your guests know in advance if you can provide special diets or meals. Plan ahead for the huge numbers who have some kind of allergy or intolerance to certain foods. If you don’t cater for them, it’s not just their custom you will lose – their whole party will probably end up going somewhere else. You just have to look at any of the big supermarkets and their range of ‘free from’ products to recognise there is a huge market here.

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Overcome your guests’ challenges

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

Listen to all the reasons people give for NOT staying, or limiting their stay with you. What other services you can provide that might just tip the balance in favour of that night out, overnight stay or weekend away. Think of the challenges your guests face, and how easily you could solve their problems:

  • No baby sitter – can you offer a babysitting service
  • What to do with the dog – recommend kennels (or allow dogs)
  • Poor transport network – provide a free taxi service to and from the station or airport
  • If I stay away another night I’ll miss my gym session and end up eating more than I should – a common concern for business users, so set up temporary membership arrangements at the local gym, and provide a healthy option light or calorie counted meal
  • The kids will want their bikes, but we don’t have a bike rack – offer bike hire or team up with a local hire shop ~
  • There’s nothing to do if the weather is bad – set up a kids’ play room and indoor entertainment area, and provide games and indoor activities
  • I don’t have time to do my laundry, get my hair cut or legs waxed – provide a laundry and pressing service, or offer complimentary or discount vouchers for your own spa or a local beauty or hair salon

You could take the attitude ‘that’s not my problem’ or you can see these ‘problems’ as great opportunities for additional services. Without having to think too hard or spend too much, people can have a ready-solved problem if you’ve put together a package ‘just for them’.
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