Ms. Roberts

Sales & Marketing

How to Successfully Market Your Pantry or Gift Shop

By Janine Roberts, Director of Sales and Marketing, Tradavo

To say the recession has been tough on the hotel industry does not begin to capture the downturn that many hotels have experienced in the past couple of years. And while it has been a difficult period of cutbacks and downsizing, it has also been a lesson in frugality and creativity that has taught brands, management companies and General Managers that every dollar counts... and when it comes to Sales Per Occupied Room - every cent counts.

Take the hotel pantry, for example. It was once little more than a guest convenience - a smattering of snacks and sundries. Too often an under-stocked, unkempt retail offering that barely covered the cost of the inventory required. But as the economy began to tumble, and everyone began to look for new ways to increase the sales per occupied room numbers to hold up under the increasing number of UN-occupied rooms, many turned to the hotel pantry as a new and important source of revenue. And with that came a new approach to hotel retail and the need to market this lobby asset to guests.

There are several ways to successfully market your hotel pantry offering, but before you begin any effort, you need to evaluate the message that will most effectively resonate with your guests. For example, if your core guest profile is a business traveler on an expense account (that has surely been reduced in per diem reimbursements since the recession began), then you want to target your message towards the 2 things that matter the most to them: cost and convenience.

This would look something like: “Looking for a quick, affordable meal or snack but don’t have time to go out for a bite to eat? Be sure to visit our 24 hour hotel pantry conveniently located in the lobby for a wide variety of meals, snacks, and treats!” How about those hotels catering to family vacation travel? What’s on the minds of your guests? Getting quality family time without breaking the bank. The hotel pantry offers them the best of both and you can let them know that by focusing on messaging that appeals to both goals: “Stay in this evening and enjoy dinner and a movie with your family. Visit the pantry and select from a wide variety of quick meals and dinners that are sure to please even the most finicky eaters!” ` So how does a retail-minded General Manager go about communicating these messages to increase awareness and boost revenue? Marketing efforts can start before your guest even walked in the door! Your hotel’s website is your greatest marketing piece. Depending on the investment made in your web presence, the site can provide virtual tours, guest reviews, and online reservation capabilities. But too often, despite all the effort to provide a gripping write up of the hotel offerings, the convenience of the onsite hotel pantry is overlooked.

Begin by including a paragraph on the lobby shop in your hotel’s description including the convenience, quality, and overall guest satisfaction that the hotel pantry offers. Use messages like the ones above to target the core guests you serve and to make them aware of the benefits a hotel pantry can offer.

Once the guest makes it in the door, make sure they are informed of the offering and location of the hotel pantry. A well trained front desk representative should never turn over a key card without taking the opportunity to market the pantry to a newly arrived guest: “Be sure to stop by our hotel pantry if you prefer to eat in or just need a quick snack. We also have a wide variety of travel size amenities if you discover you have forgotten something you need.”

Many hotels also use the hotel pantry to provide a free gift to platinum, VIP or reward members. These programs are a great opportunity to up sell a guest. Offer a free beverage at check in to your reward members and chances are good that they will make a purchase to accompany their gift such as a bag of chips that can easily carry a 300% mark up in the hotel pantry thus covering the cost of the giveaway.

Be sure that your retail operation is in plain sight so that it is easy to direct guests to and someone on staff can monitor against shrink due to theft and provide signage whenever possible. Programs like Marriott’s The Market and Hilton Garden Inn’s Pantry Pavilion are recognizable because they have branded their offering nationwide. Believe it or not, making the investment into signage for your pantry gives it more legitimacy that encourages a sale and performs better than it would if it was simply snack items and beverages tucked neatly on shelves in the corner of your lobby.

Once your guest makes it into the room, where are your opportunities to remind them of your retail effort? The in room directory is an obvious choice, and yet many hotels use this resource to advertise guests right out of the hotel! Coupons for Pizza Hut and local Chinese take-out are obviously popular choices for the traveling guest, but why not put in a full page ad for your hotel pantry that encourages guests to stay in... or at least drop by for that late night pint of ice cream that goes so perfectly with The Tonight Show or an in room movie.

Putting together a one pager can be done nicely in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Publisher. Keep it clean and simple with standard fonts, headers and a few images. And utilize the messaging discussed earlier that will catch a guests’ attention because it directly fits their circumstance.

Another in room opportunity is on a small bi-fold or other small card in the bathroom. Many hotels leave eco-friendly towel requests and other messaging in the bathroom for their guests. Why not take this opportunity to remind guests that, if they left something behind or ran out of their favorite mouthwash, they can find all that and more in the convenience of the downstairs lobby shop. It’s a convenience to them to not have to go offsite in search of a local grocery or convenience store and a great opportunity to push a sale that would otherwise go to an off-site retailer. But above and beyond all the great marketing messages and in room reminders is the most important marketing effort of all: the flawlessly, enticing appearance of your retail operation. Offering a clean, organized, retail shop that is inviting and appealing to guests is essential. No amount of marketing can combat a poorly planned, poorly stocked market. Retail is a psychology and a half empty market instantly sends the message to guests that it isn’t well cared for and the product is more than likely old. An instant turn off that will lose the sale every time.

Take a look at the Market below. At first glance, which one would you prefer to buy from?

A well planned, well stocked market can literally add thousands of dollars to your revenue numbers each month and with responsibly assigned Suggested Retail Prices, revenue becomes profit for the hotel to enjoy! With a little bit of planning and a dedicated approach to offering the best possible retail option to your guests, managers will quickly begin to experience the financial gains and increased guest satisfaction that accompany a professionally maintained and marketed retail effort. Have questions on how to design or improve your hotel pantry program, what to offer, or how to increase revenue and profitability, contact me for more information specific to your retail program.

Janine Roberts, Director of Sales and Marketing for Tradavo, a retail services company specializing in design, optimization and supply needs of the industry. She works to improve retail profits and the automate management of hotel lobby shops. Janine developed and implemented the Retail Services element of Tradavo to provide hotels assistance in selecting, merchandising and effectively pricing inventory. She also created the highly successful Grand Opening Program to help general managers preparing for a grand opening and to launch their retail operation. Ms. Roberts can be contacted at 303-883-2335 or jroberts@tradavo.com Extended Bio...

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