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Anticipate Guest Needs, Then Personalize

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Do you remember the last time your hotel anticipated a guest need? Which employee did the anticipating?

Does your blog feature the guest experience when a need was anticipated? Does your blog include guest comments, attributed to the specific guest? When the comments are negative do you identify how you have solved the issue for future guests?

Does your staff talk about ways guest and employee needs were anticipated every week? How much staff meeting time is spent talking about anticipating guest and employee needs?

Does your hotel track when guest needs have converted into additional revenue? How profitable those incremental revenues were?

Hotels that provide great guest service are more profitable. They also anticipate guest needs to minimize “surprises.”

Have a success you would like to share?

Tags: accountability, commitment, communicate successes, Guest Service, increasing hotel business, know your customers., Personalize service, Satisfy employee needs
Posted in Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing | No Comments »

“Success Isn’t Permanent, and Failure Isn’t Fatal

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

The above comes from Mike Ditka, legendary Chicago Bears football coach and current sports commentator.

“Do something” seems to be the cry of politicians, governments, the stock market, and everyone who is getting something for nothing from someone. Sometimes “doing something” is the wrong thing.

Recently I was forced to re-evaluate our business model. The good news is that those of us in business have ability to see the results of our actions quickly. (Sometimes a lot quicker than we like!)

Have you looked at your own business/job to evaluate:
- What areas of your success may be “running their course?”
- Which are on the rise?
- Which are getting in the way?
- What should we be doing that will contribute more?

Securemploy has had a wonderfully successful program for 23 years, Securemploy Pinpoint Ads. As we asked above questions it was apparent this program had “run it’s course.” Technology had passed it by. That evaluation was hard. It had been the second most successful revenue generator in the company.

We evaluated the last option next: What were we doing that was getting in the way of our success? We were doing a lot of things that I really believe in and liked. Whoops! Believing in things is fine, but it’s no excuse for continuing programs that are marginal contributors. We could, and did, revamp some of the programs to “salvage them” until we can replace them. Others needed to get dropped.

Identifying existing programs that are on the rise was easy when we got the marginal stuff out of the way. Getting rid of marginal revenue streams gave us the time to concentrate on projects “on the rise” without adding staff.

Last question, What should we be doing that will contribute more? is always the most fun. Opening to new vistas gets the creative juices going. It’s fun and wonderful way to give morale a shot in the arm. We limited that to two meetings. Yea, I was accused of being an “old fuddy duddy.” (I’m sure that was cleaned up since I was in the room.)

This step was far and away the hardest given how fast technology is changing. We looked at things we had never considered before.

We fell back on some suggestions we have offered management companies.

All of us in hospitality industry know that buying the assets that would benefit our businesses is very difficult. We have also found that obtaining profitable management contracts is still difficult. Most management companies are left looking internally to see what they do better than competitors. Then identify how to monetize those services.

The good news? Those services already exist. That means a high profit margin on any of those services we can market.

Securemploy applied that rationale internally. It has identified some programs that appear to have good profit margins, can run for several years, and can be modified/tweaked as technology continues to advance, hopefully without major capital expenditures.

Yes, it was hard to drop a program that 23 year successful program. Mike is right, “success isn’t permanent.” The goal is to avoid failure. It may not be fatal, but it’s sure not fun!

Tags: assess business, Failure, Success
Posted in Economic Analysis: Tom's Take, Finance, Leadership, Operations | No Comments »

Economic Analysis: Weathering the Storm: Tom’s Take

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Was just reading that 61% of US Government expenses are covered by the taxes the government collects. Other 39% has to be borrowed.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has already forecast a 4.5% deficit to GDP for the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, the government continues to spend money we don’t have on programs that will never increase real tax revenues or the size of the taxpayer base. In the last 50 years the federal government has made no real attempt to solve the above deficit problems long term.

So what does it mean for hotel business as we look “down the road?”

One persons problem is another persons opportunity.

As the government gets bigger and bigger obviously there will be more business from governmental agencies. Equally important will be all the companies calling on various government agencies either to sell to, or get something from the government. Then there will be all the companies who call on the government who are just trying to get a piece of the action.

Historically, “insiders” have gained the most from swings in governmental spending. That’s why there are so many lobbyists trying to influence governmental agencies. Yes, they are trying to influence policy, but more important is having advanced information that can benefit them.

How do you become a government insider?

Knowledge is power.

Who in your community will benefit from the government taking a more active role in our economy? How much do you know about those entities? How can you learn more?

Even if your business is in a small town there are businesses and organizations that work closely with various business organizations. Be sure you know who they are and have a plan on how to increase your business from those organizations. They are going to have needs for hotel rooms, create group business, and have a need for recreational programs. They can benefit hotels that specialize in transient business or group business, and they can benefit resorts.

What’s the best way to tap into this buisness?

Use the Internet.

Create a social media campaign using email to reach out to organizations for each market segment you are interested in.

When thinking social media we immediately think of Twitter and Facebook. Instead, create your own social media network and let it expand based on people who are interested in what you are offering.

Have a monthly email that appeals to a highly targeted group of your customers. Ask them to subscribe and to share your emails with others they know who would be interested. By appealing to a highly specific group of customers it becomes very easy to write to them. It’s much easier to write for a narrow market. As soon as we try to write information that will appeal to a mass market we have to spend a long time carefully thinking about the market we are trying to appeal to.

This blog is written first for the hotel industry and secondly has some applications to the overall hospitality industry. Were I to write this for a much broader audience I would have to write much longer blog articles and use lot more examples, and I could not be as specific. I have a great deal of admiration for people who have the ability to cogently write for large mass audiences.

Break your marketing emails down to as small a market segment as you can. This will enable you to exchange information and feedback that is highly targeted to the needs of the specific segment. Your goal is to increase your business from that segment by 10% each year. Will you always hit the goal? Probably not, but having an aggressive revenue goal will keep your monthly emails highly targeted.

Share what’s working for your hotel. We are all peers, very, very few of us are really competitors.

Tags: Goals, market segments, Marketing, revenue, social media campaigns, targeted marketing
Posted in Economic Analysis: Tom's Take, Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Economic Analysis: Uncertainty Can Be Good News: Tom’s Take

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Robert Frost said, “In 3 words I can sum up everything I have learned about life. It goes on.”

Friday I was reading that crisis in Greece continues to worry investors. RE market seems to have turned the corner in the US. Next article said RE market remains weak. Meantime, volcanic eruption in Iceland has royally screwed up airline flights. To point UK has sent ships to pick up stranded citizens in the Baltic. Stock market rallied. Wait a minute, it dropped Friday on news of yet another scandal.

What the heck (alright I tamed that down) does all of this mean? How do we make it work for our businesses?

The more I read the less I know. If I don’t like one analysis I can read a little more and get the opposite analysis. Economics has always been more art than science. Yet, people, or at least the media seem to be dwelling on economic predictions more than ever.

“At first I was uncertain, now I’m not so sure.” Anonymous

Those of us in business need to be aware of what’s going on in the world. But then move forward without relying too much on what’s going on. Another quote I like, “There’s nothing wrong with looking back, just don’t stare.”

There are certain things we know.

The world knows that natural resources are depleting and the population is exploding. Likewise, each of us should know what is going on in each of the communities we do business in. Which businesses are growing and which are contracting. But do we?

I was recently talking to a VP Operations who has been asking their hotel management teams:

When was the last time the GM’s asked their teams, specifically, which local businesses were growing or poised for growth? When was the last time the sales team visited those businesses to learn what their needs were?
When was the last time they attended Chamber of Commerce Meeting? Met with the local CVB? Had lunch with their peers from other hotels? Attended a Rotary or Kiwanis meeting? Were involved in another civic activity?

This VP was worried that the teams were concentrating on today’s business to the exclusion of future business. The VP was right. The GM’s had not been asking the first question. Attending a staff meeting it was quickly apparent Department heads were not getting into the community to learn what was coming. Most of the Department heads belonged to one or more organizations, but they rarely attended meetings.

Action Plan

Hotels had their sales teams calling on known accounts and local businesses. Department heads had to attend at least one civic function a month. By dividing up civic organizations, each hotel assured attendance at majority of meetings and functions. Things that should have been happening all along, but in the effort to get immediate business, things that were not being done systematically.

Results

First month hotel picked up 4 additional catering functions. Booked 3 small meetings for the next month. All a result of sales team calling on businesses they added to their list of prospects. Attendance at civic functions and meetings resulted in booking 3 wedding receptions, an anniversary party, role out party for expansion at local business, and events for 3 new businesses that were opening within 3 months. Plus over 20 leads for other business functions with potential for over 300 room nights.

VP’s prodding reminded Department heads they were all responsible for sales for their hotel.

Tags: business uncertainty, civic organizations, economic analysis, sales leads, Tom's Take
Posted in Economic Analysis: Tom's Take, Industry News, Leadership, Nagib's Corner, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Innovations for Second Quarter

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Yesterday in Business is Better, Closing In On Good, But Not Great “http://www.securemploy.com/blog/2010/04/07/business-is-better-closing-in-on-good-but-not-great/” I indicated that most companies we have talked to did slightly better than planned for the first quarter. Some felt they were overly conservative in their projections. Others felt they didn’t get as big a “share” as they wanted. Etc. Bottom line: many companies are not as happy about first quarter as they should be. Congratulate yourself if you achieved NOP!

Innovative Thinking for Second Quarter.

Had a delightful conversation with a progressive thinking VP Sales & Marketing early this week. He really got me thinking. I asked if I could share his ideas. He agreed.

He introduced me to:

Zero Based Marketing & Sales Projections Increase Revenues 11%

All of us are familiar with Zero Based budgeting that was all the rage a few years ago. (Incidentally, a number of progressive management companies are still using the concept and seem to be beating the industry profit averages by 5-7% every year.)

This VP sits down with sales teams at each hotel, every quarter. They analyze all the booked business. What has been booked. At what rate. What additional services/products were added to the sale. What F&B is included. Then they go through a check list of 97 things they can offer to any group or guest to identify what they did not sell. Now they re-analyze each piece of business to identify how to get additional revenue from the group.

They have been doing this for 9 months. On average they have increased revenue from existing bookings by 11%.

The VP takes this a step farther. Before each sales call the sales person studies the list of 97 items that can be sold and charged. Which will benefit this group or corporate account the most. They look at what will provide the most benefit to the customer. Not what will give the hotel the greatest profit margin. This VP understands the key to sustained long-term profits is to keep all the accounts. VP knows that only happens if you meet the clients needs first.

Can It Really Be This Simple?

VP Sales and Marketing said they learned early that they always left money on the table. Sales people are trained to close the sale. It’s tough to be in the middle of that process and remember everything you can sell. By analyzing what was missed, from the customers perspective, they can go back to the customer and help the customer better meet their needs.

I asked if the customer always “traded up.” The answer? “Almost always, but typically at a fraction of what we suggest.” It’s easy to identify ways a customer can significantly increase their results by spending 20% more. That’s rarely in the budget. “Customers always appreciate our suggestions, even when they don’t use them. They appreciate our thinking about their business. By concentrating on how our suggestions will benefit them, they “get” that we are not just trying to re-negotiate the deal.

Sweetening the deal.

Once in a while, the customer just can’t add anything. Before we make our suggestions the sales team at the property has identified 1-2 things they would be willing to “throw into the existing deal” to improve things for the customer. These customers are blown away by our offer. It stops them cold if they were thinking we were just trying to renegotiate after the deal was signed.

The Best Part-90% Re-bookings.

That’s right. This company has re-booked 90% of the business that has been exposed to the above. “Customer loyalty is the name of the game for any business. I always remind our teams that it’s easier to get additional dollars from existing customers than to find new customers. We all know it. In our zeal for additional business, I found we were pushing our sales teams so hard they were not giving our existing customers the attention they deserved.”

Tags: customer care, marketing innovations, more business from existing customers, sales innovations, sweetening the deal
Posted in Industry News, Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Reaching Your Goals…Everyday

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

John Giusti, VP Small Business Marketing for Staples recently stated “You’re 80% more likely to reach a goal if there’s a commitment with some level of incentive and accountability.”

John’s quote got me thinking on what each of us can do to be more effective. Following are things we have started.

Each of us has more to do in a day, than there is day. Give yourself incentives to complete items on your “To Do” list. Give yourself larger incentives for the strategic tasks on your daily list.

Hold yourself accountable to the critical items on the “to do” list. Carefully evaluate which tasks will impact your business and career the most.

Now pass along the above tips to your employees and then have some fun comparing results and offering a prize to the team member that does the best job staying on task for the week.

It’s not easy. Our business world has lots of interruptions we can’t control. We each need assistance in “staying on task.

Share what works for you.

Tags: accountability, commitment, daily tasks, Goals, Incentives, to-do lists
Posted in Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Support, Tom's Take, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: What Do Transient Guests Want?

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

We all assume we know what our guests desire when they stay with us. Do you really know or are you assuming you know?

Do you need more or less amenities?

Some hotels and companies do an excellent job surveying their guests. These hotels have advance knowledge on their customers changing tastes.

When was the last time you surveyed your guests when they checked in or out?

Start by giving guests a 4″ x 6″ card at check in that asks: Please indicate the 3 things we can do to make your stay enjoyable. Then have 3 lines. At bottom ask them if they would like you to remember these for their next visit. If so please enter their name and email address.

At check out give them a second 4″ x 6″ card asking them to list the 5 most important amenities you can offer. At bottom ask them if they would like you to remember these for their next visit. If so please enter their name and email address.

Giving guests blank cards enables them to tell you exactly what is most important to them. After the guest has left have your front desk staff indicate on the card whether the guest is traveling on business or pleasure. If possible identify the business the guest is in.

Several hotels are starting to survey their customers each time they check in. The hotels have developed follow-up mini-surveys for repeat customers. Better service starts by understanding each of our guests. The above program cost is typically less than $25 per month. If you don’t have the ability to print on 4″ x 6″ card stock, then use 8 1/2″ x 11″ 28 pound paper stock. Run it through your photocopier and cut it into quarters.

To run efficiently, we each need to apply “zero based” practices whenever possible. This means starting without preconceptions. Several hotels that have done this have found they could eliminate some of the room amenities they provide “as a matter of course.” Of course these hotels have to meet brand standards. They have also been able to suggest to brands that some amenities need to be available. That doesn’t mean they need to be in the room.

Tags: customer surveys, guest surveys, know your customers., Transient guests
Posted in Industry News, Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Attracting Millennials to your Hotel

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Millennials are more social than Baby Boomers. Staying in their room working all evening, or watching a movie doesn’t hold a lot of appeal. They would rather work in the lobby or an open business center, even if they are not conversing with others. A key is a roomy business center. They are not interested in seeing how many people can be crammed into a 10′ x 10′ “business center.” They’ll work in the lobby first.

What can you do to encourage them out of their rooms?

One hotel started offering popcorn from 4:30-7 PM weekdays. Guests checking in came back downstairs. Business travelers enjoyed the popcorn. The popcorn encouraged conversation. So this select service hotel got a permit to sell beer and wine. First month on the program beer and wine sales topped $10,000. Now they are looking to add simple sandwiches. Word is spreading, and the hotel picked up additional 221 room nights in Feb. They now lead their market segment by 20 points. (They were third in the segment.)
Another hotel had a very small lobby. They moved their fitness room which had been just off the lobby and next to the pool. They converted that room to a “great room” with a big screen TV, 3 computer work stations, 3 game tables, complete with decks of cards, backgammon, cribbage, etc. They also added 3 vending machines. First month, vending machine sales topped $1100. Now there are typically 5-10 people in the room from about 5-10 PM weekdays. Families use the room on weekends when kids games replace the cards, etc. No increase in repeat bookings yet, but no attrition either
Another hotel knew a retiree who loved to make homemade donuts. They convinced her to make her donuts in the hotel from 5-6:30 PM weekdays. She always baked up few so the smell greeted guests checking in. Then she would fry up donuts and dip them in the frosting of the guests choice. The program was so successful it quickly attracted local business people. She now has taken over two rooms and the donut operation is available from 6 AM to 6 PM. Occupancy in Feb. was up 11 points over 2009 and ADR was up $3.

Share your success stories with us.

Tags: hotel revenue generation, hotel sales, millennials
Posted in Food & Beverage, Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Hiring the Top 40%

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Employers are telling us they will need ‘better’ employees in 2010.

Their definition of better? Employees who are:

Highly motivated,
Already cross-trained, or demonstrate the ability to be cross-trained
Have accomplishments they can quantify
Team players
In all probability, currently employed.

The above definition applies to 40% of employees at most. The rest may be good employees, but don’t have the same degree of promotability.

2010 employers all need to do more with fewer or the same number of employees. That means that all employers will be chasing the same 40% of the work-force.

How to Attract Candidates in the Top 40%.

Offer highly competitive compensation packages and don’t be afraid to quote real salaries. Especially when advertising sales positions.
Tell them about your standards of performance for their position.
Describe your management team and how they work together.
Indicate how they can make a positive impact on your company.
Tell them about people who have been promoted.

To hire candidates rated among the Top 40% you need to give people a reason to apply for your jobs. These candidates are currently working. They are willing to listen to new career opportunities. When you first reach out to them they are not highly motivated to change jobs. Your employment advertising needs to be create a reason for them to start thinking about changing jobs now.

Willing to share? What recruiting techniques are working best for you?

Posted in Leadership, Operations, Recruiting & Training, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

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