SUBSCRIBER CONTENT PREVIEW
FOR FULL SITE ACCESS SUBSCRIBE NOW or PURCHASE PDF ARTICLE
  • Sales & Marketing

  • Niche Your Wagon to a Star

  • By Bonnie Knutson, Professor, The School of Hospitality Business/MSU

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of America's most famous writers. We all studied his works in school ( ...and yes, sometimes we wondered why). Over 150 years ago, he wrote an article that appeared in The Atlantic Monthly. In it, he told readers to hitch their wagon to a star. In his way, he was saying: Go with the flow. Follow the rising tide. Seize the Day. Jump on the bandwagon. That is not only good advice for life, but for your hotel business as well. It is easier to be successful if you are on-trend with what guests are looking for. But in today's highly competitive, mega-merger, boutique, private equity, and over-communicated lodging environment, hitching your wagon to that star is not enough. You have to niche your wagon to a star.

    In business jargon, a niche is simply "a special area of demand for product or service" because it offers consumers "a situation or activity specially suited to a person's interests, ability or nature." In other words, a niche simply matches what I need or want in a lodging experience to what your hotel can offer me. The key is in the matching. So how do you effectively make ...

  • TO CONTINUE READING SUBSCRIBE NOW or PURCHASE PDF ARTICLE

Already a Subscriber?

Login
Email:
Password: Forgot password?
Remember me on this computer

Who Subscribes?

"The Hotel Business Review articles are a terrific source for current hotel industry information and trends".


Donald Trump Jr., Executive VP of Development
Trump Hotel Collection

Hotel Business Review Sales & Marketing

Naseem Javed
Michael J. Cheatham
Roger G. Hill
Venkat Rajagopal
Kristie Willmott
Edward Donaldson
Bonnie Knutson
Coming Up In The March Online Hotel Business Review

"Hotel Business Review offers weekly articles for hotel management and operation and discussion on emerging growth markets."
Feature Focus
Hotel Human Resources: The Biggest Challenges
The economic challenges of the past four years have led many hotel companies to re-examine the ways in which they do business and how they deploy talent. In many cases, the work did not go away and fewer people were left to carry on the tasks that had previously been shared among many. As we work our way out of the recession and look forward to a healthier economic environment, there is an understanding that despite recovering business levels, we may never see the return of former staffing levels. This "new norm" of operating with leaner teams has led Human Resources professionals and people managers to look at career development and growth opportunities in a new light. The March Hotel Business Review will take a look at some of the strategies being used by successful hotel brands, and techniques human resource directors are currently exploring.
INSIGHTS FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
"The Four Habits of Highly Effective Human Resources"
By James Bermingham, Vice President, Montage Hotels
"Embassy Suites 'The Circle of Leadership"
By Darci Riesenhuber, Director of Brand Culture, Embassy Suites Hotels
"Applying Consumer Marketing Best Practices to Employee Loyalty"
By Fred Bendana, Executive Director Client Services, Maritz Loyalty & Motivation
"How Incentives are Changing to Keep Existing Staff Motivated?"
By Jim Houran, Partner, HVS Executive Search
PLUS: Mobile Technology - Attracting & Retaining Top Talent - Education - Employee Engagement - Employment Claims & Litigation - Employment Contracts - HR Management.