HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
SEPTEMBER FOCUS: Hotel Group Business

Group Business for 2014: Old Tricks in a New Environment

By Brenda Fields Founder, Fields & Company | September 2013

The latest technology has afforded meeting planners greater efficiency when researching venues, making a booking, and when communicating with attendees. Technology has also enhanced the actual meeting experience for both attendees on property as well as off site with live feeds and video streaming, and real time social media feedback. Meeting attendees take notes on tablets and take photographs and videos of presentations with their smart phones, almost eliminating the need for paper and pencils! To stay competitive and current with the changing trends, hoteliers are adding technological enhancements to the entire booking and meeting experience, but does the job end there for hoteliers? This article will address some “old tricks” in a new environment to help hoteliers get a greater share of the group business and ensure satisfaction for repeat business. **Be Your Personal Best** Experienced athletics use the term “Personal Best” to measure and monitor their progress against their own performances. It keeps them motivated and focused on continuing to improve and to be their best, regardless of the competition. This item has been placed at the top of the list, as many times, there can be an attitude of complacency within operations and sales. Budgets are tight so there is a lack of commitment to ensure that meeting rooms and guest rooms are in excellent repair. Or if there is difficulty in attracting staff or if there is staff cutback, then customer service standards are sometimes not maintained to the highest degree of excellence and consistency. Every property has its market regardless of its position in the marketplace. It is still important when catering to the group market, to have rooms that are clean and in excellent repair and excellent service provided by the staff. That is the most basic and fundamental requirement. An iPad or free Wi-Fi will not compensate for a substandard guest/meeting experience. What better competitive advantage is there than friendly and responsive staff and a clean and well-maintained property? A budget property can still maintain high standards in its operations and quality of service with limited budgets and limited staff. Excellent management will produce the Personal Best, regardless of obstacles. **Take Stock** Unfortunately, it is far too common that a hotelier has never been to a competitive property. What are the standards in the marketplace? Within your property’s category, how do you stack up against the competition? What do you do better than your competitors and what do you need to improve? Without that first hand knowledge, it is impossible to sell effectively if a customer is shopping your property as well as your competition. Information gained by a personal visit cannot be duplicated by a visit to a web site or an internet search. A thorough understanding of the competitors’ property, as well as your property, creates a position of strength in establishing services, amenities, rates or conditions of booking. A personal visit will reveal all the soft elements in a property. How were you greeted? Were the public spaces clean? Did the staff appear professional and well groomed? Were the meeting rooms in good repair or in need of painting? Were the chairs or carpets stained? That level of detail, combined with an honest assessment of your own property and good sales skills, will place the hotelier in a better position to book the best business at the best rate. **Get Personal** Most meeting planners and clients will still want to “see it, feel it, and touch it”, regardless of how well organized the website is or how user-friendly it. Personal interaction is key to the entire process and is the primary component to make the sell. Not every need or every concern can be listed by a client in an RFP. And not every question or issue is best handled via email. A phone call is actually a very personal touch and much more effective and efficient in dealing with complex issues, when personal meetings cannot take place. It is the skillful approach by the sales person that will uncover those issues and resolve any concerns, before and after the meeting takes place. And it is the smile of the housekeeper who passes the client in the hallway and the compassionate front desk clerk that will generate customer loyalty even when things go wrong. Those personal touches create a bond that is far greater than the texts, emails, and standard RFP could ever generate. **Be Proactive** Why wait for a client to post feedback on a social media site or your own site after an event or a meeting in your property to learn if the client had a positive or negative experience? It is important to meet the client before he or see leaves the property. A conversation over a cup of coffee can elicit feedback and simultaneously allow the property to make amends or corrections on the spot. A genuine desire to correct a negative experience will go a long way to leave a positive impression. Most people understand that things can go wrong i.e. the air conditioning breaks down on the hottest day, the company’s Chairman is placed in the wrong guest room, and the coffee break is late. But the genuine desire to get it right and to communicate that in a timely way is many times, all it takes to leave a positive impression and ensure client loyalty. **Train the Sales Staff** Lastly, although the sales and marketing landscape has changed over the years, sales expertise is still critical for success. Owners and managers may be frustrated when the sales staff books business at rates that are below the budget; or books business that unduly burdens operations and at high costs; or loses business to a less desirable competitor. But have steps been taken to arm the sales department with skills that will allow them to deal in a competitive booking environment? The skilled and professional sales person that will develop loyalty and inspire confidence with clients, despite product deficiencies or outside factors over which the property has no control. Skills to do the job are required in every area of the hotel. And the sales department is no different. The skilled sales person will develop new business, convert leads to actual business, and produce the highest revenues, regardless of market conditions. How much revenues are left on the table just because the sales person does not possess the product knowledge or great sales skills to sell at a higher rate? It is the most successful sales person who has a good understanding of the hotel as a business. What does a 6:00pm group check out mean to the over-all business? It typically means that expenses are significantly increased to cover the additional labor costs required to clean those rooms due to overtime. Armed with those sets of skills, the sales person is fully prepared to negotiate in the best interest of the hotel while simultaneously ensuring that the client’s needs are fully met. That winning formula will help foster client loyalty and will help minimize any issues that may have come up during the client’s stay. A few simple steps, combined with a commitment to be your Personal Best are “old tricks “ that have withstood the test of time. They work in any market and with any type of property, and only require the expertise of great management and expert sales and marketing. It’s never too late to start the process to ensure success for 2014.

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GRWM: Applying Tiktok Trends to Hotel Social Media

By Carrie Trimble, Associate Professor of Marketing, Millikin University

Nails tap rhythmically on a skin care product, and the text on screen reads "GRWM for school". Or work. A wedding. To spill the tea. In a fit of stops and starts across six or seven minutes, bedhead is transformed into bouncy curls, a naked face is contoured and highlighted, and the #OOTD is assembled and accessorized. All the while, the viewer is entertained, informed, and attentive. This is the most common formula for a GRWM (Get Ready With Me) video; the content creator records themselves dressed and styled for the day with the intent of displaying their OOTD...

The Importance of Meaningful Travel

By Troy Dixon, General Manager, The Central Station

In the spring of 2022, the travel industry experienced a remarkable resurgence. It reemerged seemingly overnight after the prolonged hiatus caused by the pandemic. It was as though a switch had been flipped: travelers from around the world hurriedly packed their bags, secured their passports and set off to explore the world. After two years of quarantine and social distancing, which kept people separated from friends and family, there was a widespread eagerness to resume adventures and start exploring again. This phenomenon was aptly termed “revenge travel” by the media, capturing the pent-up demand for travel that saw...

How AI Will Transform Your Hotel Guest Experience in 2024 and Beyond

By Frank Vertolli, Co-Founder, Net Conversion

In today’s evolving marketing landscape, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) will impact customer engagement and is poised to change the travel industry significantly. Armed with unprecedented opportunities, marketers can leverage AI technologies throughout the customer journey to deliver personalized experiences and optimize interactions at every touchpoint. As we explore how AI will reshape consumer experiences in 2024, its impact on the travel industry becomes evident. Whether through generative AI or other established forms, AI streamlines travel discovery by simplifying itinerary planning. For travel suppliers, encompassing airlines, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and rideshare providers, the promise of AI lies in...

Hotel Investment: Resilience Despite Significant Shifts and Challenges

By Sanat Patel, Chief Lending Officer, AVANA Companies

U.S. hoteliers have worked hard to come to terms with the new normal in a post-pandemic world. Lenders and hoteliers have adapted to the post-pandemic environment, adjusting to 11 rate hikes in the span of 22 months, fluctuations in the capital markets, and labor market challenges - all of which are a byproduct of the Feds unrelenting war against inflation. All of this is further underpinned by global geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and escalating conflict in the Middle East and the US entering what is sure to be a contentious US presidential election. In the micro chasm of...

Group Business Has Recovered from the Pandemic, But is Your Hotel Group Sales Agreement Still Suffering?

By Robert Schnitz, Head of Hospitality Practice & Partner, Kabat Chapman & Ozmer LLP

Does hearing the term “force majeure” still cause you a bit of panic? If so, you are not alone. The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented chaos, stress and upheaval in the hotel industry for nearly three years: empty hotels, travel restrictions, meeting size restrictions, safety guidance, masking and social distancing protocols, angry guests, staffing shortages, and the ongoing uncertainty that cast a shadow over daily events and decisions. On top of that, many lost family and friends during the crisis, putting these nonlethal concerns in perspective but also reminding us of the heightened anxiety we faced at the time. The...

How to Deliver a Frictionless Experience at Six Key Stages of the Guest Journey

By Don DeMarinis, Senior Vice President - Sales, Americas and EMEA, Agilysys

Elevating the Guest Experience The hospitality industry has witnessed an explosion in technology that has transformed the way properties engage with guests. From a proliferation of mobile apps and chatbots to self-service options for everything from check-in to food ordering, change is the order of the day. Every touchpoint in the guest journey is an opportunity to provide a hospitality moment, which ensures a frictionless experience but also improves guest interactions. The name of the game is to create memorable experiences, beginning well before the guest’s arrival date and extending beyond check-out. Yet challenges are present at...

HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW SEPTEMBER FOCUS: Hotel Group Business

Group Business for 2014: Old Tricks in a New Environment

By Brenda Fields Founder, Fields & Company | September 2013

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SEPTEMBER FOCUS: Hotel Group Business