Standing out from the crowd has always been a difficult and ongoing task, demanding the full attention of every hotelier and their Sales and Marketing team, but now it has become even more complicated than ever, in the Hospitality after Covid 19 era.
The sales, marketing, and operating tools available in the market have enabled hoteliers to make quick profits in the past, however hasty planning, mindless aggressive discount strategies, and pie chart review meetings will no longer be enough.
Well then, the questions of every hotelier in these times arise: what are the correct hotel actions and strategies for my property? What actions should we take to really differentiate ourselves from the rest of the market? How will we succeed in thriving in the post-Covid-19 era?
Dear reader, do not despair, Golden Collection Boutique Hotels is here with the best tips for you to make your Hotel stand out in a super competitive world, the world of "The Hospitality After Covid 19".
Clear objectives
First of all, we must have a clear mind and make sure we have key objectives that help us reach the goal.
Gather the necessary data before making any decision, action or implement anything, and do not worry, you can also take information about the proposals that we will provide in this article.
Remember it well “Knowledge is Power”, and we emphasize to our clients and partners that no decision is the right decision without proper research, data analysis and a consistent plan to support it.
1. Tailored Experiences
It sounds simple, and it is a topic of conversation in all the operations meetings of every Hotel "We must make sure we offer a Personalized Service", however now more than ever it’s no wise decision to take the risk of not having personalized offers for our guests at this time, it will have a negative impact on the performance of our Hotel.
Without personalized service, your hotel guests are likely to experience another generic and uninspiring stay, one that will likely be buried deep in the trunk of forgotten memories.
This is not the time to hold back and seek to reduce operating expenses, at least not in guest experiences, as many hotels within your market are attentive to guest needs and are looking for ways to innovate and transform their experiences, providing personalized services and generating customer loyalty.
How to Personalize the Guest Experience?
Although personalization can mean different things to each guest, it is important to understand the two fundamentals that will allow us to provide a tailored service: technology and the human element.
Speaking of technology, we refer mainly to any system, digital service or application that allows us to establish links quickly and efficiently with our guests, the main ones (and which cannot be missing in a 4 and 5-star hotel) are: CRM, CRS and PMS, without these basic systems your success rate is likely to suffer as your team can only achieve certain goals and to a certain extent at the same time.
Fortunately, Golden Collection Boutique Hotels has made alliances with the main hotel technology companies in the industry, so if you need help to obtain any of these systems or would like to know which are the best alternatives for your property, do not hesitate to contact us, we are sure that we have the ideal option for your Hotel.
So what about the Human Element?
Very well, now that we have covered the essentials of technology, it is important to understand the importance of the human touch, which is just as or even more important for personalization in hotels.
Offering a good experience to guests is something that we all have clear, and we know is one of the main selling points of your hotel. Moreover, something that the times we live taught us, is that we were amazingly comfortable in the way we made contact with our guests.
One of my favorite ways for hotels to embrace personalization revolves around being able to adapt as much as possible to guest preferences from before they arrive, during their stay, and always.
However, the key to achieving guest-centric service can only be achieved if it is carried out by all the hotel's teams.
Have you ever had one of these experiences? On a business or leisure trip to that magical hotel, you can recall the feeling that you had after receiving that personal advice from the concierge about that intimate little restaurant that served you the best local food you have ever tasted. That is an experience that will last a lifetime.
Focus on escalating this with the help of the entire staff, allowing them to become the go-to person for anything like a butler or concierge. Training is a must, coach your staff to offer that additional level of service in all areas from the chambermaid to the bellman. In this way, any guest can experience the same thing (and on multiple occasions) during their stay.
However, many COOs and CEOs wonder about the financial viability of this initiative, but it is important now more than ever, to think outside the box. If you are on a budget, think of creative ways to surprise the guest with personalized details.
An example could be a personalized itinerary, with the names of the guests and signed by the Hotel Manager, recommendations based on the preferences of the guests, which can be quickly built from a template and can be easily modified after interacting with the guest.
2. Marketing? Yes, Marketing!
In this new stage, where all the Hotels in your city carry out exactly the same strategies and the same practices, how do we manage to make your hotel stand out from the crowd? The answer is Marketing! especially with some of the new tools that should not be left out of the sight of today's hoteliers strategies.
We call it SEO, and it stands for Search Engine Optimization
There is no doubt that people will continue to travel and make plans for their next vacations, regardless of any crisis, and it is up to us to channel as much traffic as possible to our websites and sales channels by optimizing our online content, for that we use Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
There are many ways to keep our SEO strategies up and running, but new updates, parameters and tools appear every day that, although they are all for the benefit of a better way of integrating search engines, they give us more and more tasks to complete. But do not worry, we can start by keeping up with the basic elements, such as targeting the appropriate Keywords (search words). Keeping track of the correct keywords, constantly evaluating which ones are the most popular and therefore most profitable to attract as many "viewers" to your website as possible.
Don't forget to look beyond the obvious, such as the keywords that identify your Hotel and your destination, but really consider the search intent of potential customers, review the search history, and above all check that your keywords make sense.
Another practical tip is to have subpages within your website, dedicated to updates, articles and news about your destination and your Hotel, where visitors are inspired to visit your property and its surroundings. Not only will you drive more traffic to your website and book more rooms, but at the same time it will inspire them with activities and other possible services that can generate additional income.
Keep in mind that if you have a few successful articles this will maintain a constant traffic to your webpage, this will help you gain authority on Google, which will subsequently help drive your main product pages.
But don't forget your Website
Still unfamiliar with updating Google´s page experience update?
Don't make the mistake and you risk losing your ranking. Google is striving to improve more and more the experience of the page, which is essentially a good thing, since it is based on improving the search experience and reducing the probability of losing conversions, however these are increasingly strict criteria, and we must focus on complying with them so as not to be out of competition.
In addition to this, now more than ever we must make sure that our site is optimized for mobile phones, since the trends of users buying on their mobile phones during 2020 have grown exponentially, so we must act according to demand, and it is surprisingly here that many hotels have areas for improvement, so acting quickly can bring us good rewards.
Two Words, Social Media!
What other lessons have we learned through these difficult times? Perhaps one of the most relevant ones is that people will look for ways to stay connected to the people and things that matter to them, even when they cannot be there physically.
Social media, now more than ever, represents a window of opportunity for many Hotels, to keep in touch with guests and inspire future visitors, however it is necessary that we do it in a planned way and that is congruent with our brand. Do not forget to have a well-organized posting calendar and to keep your followers interested in your property's news.
Surely you will remember a message in the Messenger of your Facebook page that says: "Hello, I am an Influencer, and I would like to make content for your Hotel in exchange for a courtesy stay." Does it sound familiar? Influencers can generate a positive impact on the visits of your networks and even in some cases help you generate more bookings, but be aware, this doesn’t mean that all of them would work for you in this way, and in some cases it can harm the image of your brand, rather than benefit it. Do not fall into the trap of influencers, check that their content is appropriate to convey the message that your Hotel wants to share.
If you need help to create a suitable Marketing strategy for your Hotel, contact us, Golden Collection Boutique Hotels has Marketing experts who can help you from creating a personalized website, managing social networks and helping you with your SEO management.
3. Loyalty, from the Brand to its Guests
Dear readers and hoteliers, this is it, you have a gold mine in your hands!
Be sure to stay one step ahead when it comes to past hotel guests. Make sure you cover all areas, from effectively collecting email addresses, recording guest preferences, to creating well-developed retargeting campaigns, all while delivering value through personalized offers to engage your audience.
If we have been diligent in stocking our guest bases, and we have provided an exceptional experience, it is more than certain that we could generate repeat customers and be loyal to our brand, we just need to act.
Generate exclusive benefits for repeat customers, inviting them to return to your hotel, be creative in finding ways to reward their loyalty, since it is most likely that the guest would like to return to your property, but many times it is up to us to remind them why they should.
Final thoughts
Let us be creative, let's try to keep up with trends and explore new sales channels, there are still many opportunities for hotels to stand out, but it is up to us to make the right decisions, stay informed and plan the right strategies to keep achieving our goals and succeed in a world that continues to evolve until now, the world of Hospitality after the Covid.
