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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 »

Getting More Business from Top 20% of Your Customers

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Historically most companies get 80% of their business from 20% of their customers.

Each of us knows who our top customers are. Majority of a full service hotel’s profits come from rooms and banquets/catering.

What Are You Doing to Optimize Business from these 2 Segments?

Clients are telling us they are getting more meeting business the first half of 2010 from smaller companies.

We asked them what they were doing to increase the spend. Here are few of their comments:

Encouraging breakfast meetings. Very small groups can use the restaurant. Larger groups use meeting rooms. Some groups just want light breakfast, others want full breakfast buffet so they can start their meeting while the group is eating. A few groups broke up before noon, so providing breakfast ensured the hotel maximized F&B revenue from the group.
Another hotel found groups had lunch at the hotel, but let their groups go elsewhere for dinner. Hotel started selling evening cocktail reception from 4-6 PM for these groups. They got additional revenue from the cocktail reception with pool table, foosball, and poker for matchsticks including lessons. They found 25% of the group ordered dinner in the hotel so they could continue the games, which typically evolved into business discussions. The clients felt they got additional mileage from their meetings, and the hotel got additional dollars from their groups.
Another hotel surveyed the Top 20% to ask what additional amenities or activities they would like to offer their groups. One company wanted to offer something for their Secretaries who always arranged groups, but didn’t get to attend. They asked for a floral workshop. The hotel contacted a local florist who offered to do it for only the cost of the materials. No room nights, but a fun afternoon for Secretaries who also were given a tour of the hotel, including various room configurations.

What has your hotel offered groups that was unique and increased revenues from your Top 20%?

Tags: amenities, breakfast meetings, increasing hotel business
Posted in Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Best Places for Business Meetings

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Robert Half Management Resources recently ran on survey on “the best places to hold a business meeting” outside the company’s four walls.

Following are the results and few ideas on how hotels can drive revenues.

The recent survey by Robert Half Management Resources.

When asked, “Other than in the office, what was the location of your most successful business meeting ever?,” here’s what 1,400 finance execs replied:

restaurant (36%)
trade show or conference (25%)
sporting event (4%)
golf course (3%)
in a car (1%)
on a trip/plane (1%)
nowhere else (24%), and
other/don’t know/refused (4%).

To increase your revenues:

-Call local businesses and offer your restaurant for business meetings between meal periods. Let them know that 1400 financial executives surveyed indicated this is the number one source of business meetings outside of their own offices. If they need larger area, sell them meeting space. Long term benefit: Local businesses will become aware of services you offer and will tell vendors that visit them. As employees of these companies become aware of your hotel they can refer visiting friends or social business to you. Collect business cards to establish communication paths.

-Trade show or conference. When there is trade show for any industry in your town or city, do you attend? This is one of the best opportunities to discover all the vendors that come to your town/city. You have a captive audience. Ask them where they are staying. If not at your hotel, exchange business cards so you can cultivate them.

-Sporting Event. Check with local golf courses, country clubs, and casinos to see when they have events/tournaments scheduled. Visit them to collect business cards from people that can use your hotel and facilities the next time. A half day at these functions can generate 50 or more leads for future business. Tournaments attract vendors, spectators and participants. All can be your customers.

We all talk about people who “think outside the box.” Any of your employees who are doing the above are demonstrating these abilities. Take care of these employees. Need more employees like this? That requires you to think “outside the box.” We can help. There are inexpensive ways to recruit, call Securemploy at 800-935-5280. We’ll be glad to share what we hear from successful companies.

Posted in Finance, Industry News, Leadership, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | 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 »

Tom’s Take: Profiting from Multi-Family Ind. Problems

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

There is a lot of doom and gloom talk in the media, and in our industry on what lies ahead for 2010. I try to follow it all. WHY? To identify where the hidden opportunities are.

None of us can afford to waste time waiting for the government to bail us out. It’s never happened yet. The business world is always responsible for our own “bail outs.

I just read an article on the bleak outlook for multi-family sector of our industry. Their problems open opportunities for Extended Stay hotels in our industry to take some of the multi-family business. Is it great business? Maybe, maybe not. But it can provide a base of business. It can also be an option for some older hotels that are struggling and can’t afford a renovation.

Luxury Extended Stay Opportunity: Many major corporations maintain corporate apartments their employees use when coming to corporate or regional offices. High-end extended stay properties can compete very effectively for this business. Whether it’s business related travel, or temporary housing for relocating employees.

Mid-market Extended Stay Opportunity: Seek out mid-market companies. Ask if they have corporate apartments for transferring or traveling employees. Perhaps you can provide the services less expensively. Mid-market full service hotels can also provide a service to these companies by offering use of F&B outlets. Include the price of 1-3 meals a day into the price of the suite. This can benefit your F&B facilities as well as benefit the customer, especially those with children.

Basic Extended Stay Opportunity: There can be opportunities to make multi-month rentals/leases to people displaced from their apartments. You can determine the types of long-term rental customers that best meet the needs of your property. Long-term rentals to guests with pets might be excellent market for ground level units that have patios/exterior entrances. Or for rentals to guests with special needs.

Resort Opportunity: Resorts close to headquarters for companies may be able to pick up relocation stays. Many companies would rather put their employees up at nice resort than some apartment/hotel in town. Should resort be lucky enough to attract several stays from a corporation at once, offer to provide basic transportation back and forth.

Opportunity for Hotels in need of restoration or who are being pressured by franchisors or financial institutions: Evaluate your physical plant to identify opportunities to convert rooms to studio or one bedroom apartments. Then identify if the revenues you can generate can provide a better ROI than the current use. At very least it might provide a base of business to cover the basics.

There are always opportunities. Watch and listen for them. Then encourage your employees to contribute their ideas.

Have a profitable week.

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

10 Online Marketing Tips for 2010

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

I’m just getting caught up. Tail end of December Ryan Bifulco had following excellent article on HotelInteractive.com. If you don’t subscribe to HotelInteractive.com, give it serious consideration.

There are countless studies and reports touting how critical it is for hotels to be active with blogs, search engines, e-mail and social networks. Yet many hoteliers are still very skeptical about new media and Internet advertising. With empty rooms to fill in 2010, perhaps more hotels will warm up to these online hotel marketing programs:

Rethink your Distribution. Partner with people that produce results. Grow your bookings through a combination of targeted banners, text links and e-mails. Distribution does not just mean listing on Expedia anymore. Look at meta search players and travel sites to fish in new ponds.
Stop Ignoring the Power of Viral Marketing. This year it’s about engaging potential customers using online videos, podcasts, blogs, games and social networks. All of these areas allow users to spread the word about your hotel as they share it with their friends.
Participate in Social Networks. This doesn’t mean slapping up a Facebook page without also having a fan page and group as well as the right audience as friends. Having a Twitter page with 50 followers won’t do the trick, so be an active part of the conversations to boost your following (audience) and make sure you know the Twitter lingo such as “#traveltuesday.”
Fuse in Digital PR. It used to be important to just have your hotel featured in the Sunday section of The New York Times. Today it’s also vital to have your hotel show up on popular online sites like About.com, which coincidentally is owned by The New York Times and draws in 60 million unique users a month.
Retarget Travelers. 98 percent of the users that visit a Web site leave without buying anything. But hotels can use retargeting to have a second shot at advertising to that same potential visitor even after he has left your site.
Revisit your SEO plan. SEO has changed more in the last year than in the last five years. SEO does not mean buying your way into Google (we call that SEM, folks). It means making your site as friendly as possible to the search engines. It also means doing more with blogs, bookmarks, social media, video SEO and audio SEO.
Shoot an HD video. Time to upgrade those hotel photos from five years ago!
Package your Hotel. You need to offer more than the traditional “breakfast package.” Get creative and sell the experience. Why not put together a “Thrill Seeker Package” which includes the room and a day of skydiving. And don’t be stingy on your room rate, as you can mask it within the total price of the package.
Publish your own E-mail Newsletter. When guests register online or at the hotel, ask them for their e-mail address and see if they might be interested in receiving a monthly newsletter filled with interesting information about the hotel, specials, packages, seasonal menus, etc. Building this internal database of travelers interested in your hotel brand is priceless and an excellent way to market your hotel throughout the year.
Develop a Digital Strategy. Brainstorm with your team and work with experts to understand how to tie all these things together in a way that fits your brand. The items listed above are all related and must be harnessed together to really get ahead.

Posted in Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing | No Comments »

Nagib’s Corner: Ways to Beat the Slow Recovery

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Happy 2010,

Firstly, hope you all had a wonderful time with your families over the holidays.

Secondly – wish you have a successful year ahead, both with your business and family.

The basics determine how to develop more business in 2010.

· Leisure Travel Outlook - Value Is King: no secret on this reality. Focus on building value into your packages.

· Look for deals on the Internet : watch your website and analyze the stats very closely. This still remains your most effective growth medium if you use it - well. Imagine the sheer numbers of people who could be selecting you!

· Both components of demand for business travel services (individual and group) will recover as the economy improves; yet demand from individual business travelers is likely to rebound first: corporate transient traffic and negotiated corporate traffic. This area will grow ahead of convention and meeting markets.

o In house data mining for leads. Use your employees PLUS all your normal sources.

o Identify originating source of the traffic and make a sales visit to them – it’s inexpensive and highly effective in building relations and loyalty.

o Be strategic in where you anticipate traffic to come from, not just chase what may have been there earlier. Markets evolve.

o Review your approved RFP solicitations – approval is only step one: converting that into sales is where the rubber meets the road.

o Channel management: CRO, GDS, etc. Good time to check visibility and update to highlight value propositions.

No, they won’t come just because you built: however, those who are coming to your neck of the woods will come to you if you give them reason to! And that will likely provide you what you’re looking for.

Good luck and all the very best for the year ahead!

Nagib.

Nagib Lakhani
RevMax Hospitality Consulting Services
O: (425)677-7866 C: (425)445-7750 F: (866)508-7866

nagib@RevenueMaxConsulting.com

Posted in Nagib's Corner, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing | No Comments »

5 Questions Every Revenue Manager Should Be Asking

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Following is one of the most helpful articles I’ve seen for Revenue Enhancement for 2010. Patrick did excellent job. Here’s the link if you have not subscribed to this excellent publication.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/UserRegistration.aspx

04 January 2010 9:03 AM
By Patrick Mayock
Associate News Editor
patrick@hotelnewsnow.com

REPORT FROM THE U.S.—While presenting at the Hospitality Leadership Forum in early November, Mark Lomanno, president of research firm Smith Travel Research, made a statement ominous enough to send chills up the spines of revenue managers everywhere.

“On an inflation-adjusted basis,” he began, “ … it’s going to probably take eight to 10 years to get room rates back to where they were in 2007.”

This assessment was more severe than the reality faced in the aftermath of 9/11, when it took rates six years to recover on an inflation-adjusted basis, according to STR. But then again, this downturn also has seen historic extremes in industry performance declines.

Still, not everyone agreed with Lomanno’s projection. Jim Rozell, senior director of revenue optimization at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, said that 2007 was an inflated benchmark to begin with.

“In 2008, portions of 2007, rates were not where they should have been,” he said. “They were well above where they should have been,” adding rates are now where they should have been.

For the industry to think it will recover to 2007 levels is probably unrealistic, he said.

Yet others, such as Bonnie Buckhiester of Buckhiester Management, a Seattle-based yield management consulting firm, concurred with Lomanno.

And whether you agree with the claim or not, it’s important to start thinking about recovering rates at the onset of the economic upturn. Here are five questions every good revenue manager should ask himself or herself to get started:

1. Have you forgotten your price point?

There’s a difference between slashing prices and making discounts look like promotions, Rozell said. The former implies cutting rates to establish the lowest competitive price point among your peers, assuming that guests’ booking decisions are based solely on price.

Promotional discounts, however, offer cost-conscious consumers a value-oriented deal that maintains a reference to the original price point. For example, if a guest buys two nights and gets one night free, they still know how much that third night is worth.

“The key thing is to keep that higher reference price out there, so that people being driven by value still realize this is a (US)$299 product,” said Chris Anderson, assistant professor for the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.

2. Are you using the right comp set?

Bonnie Buckhiester

“Revenue mangers have to go back and revisit their comp sets and determine if they’ve got the right comp sets,” Buckhiester said. This is especially important as revenue managers learn to navigate the new normal, in which five-star hotels are charging four-star rates, four-star hotels are charging three-star rates, and so on.

Read “It’s all about who is in your comp set.”

3. How often do you update your forecasts?

Monthly forecasts are great for C-level boardroom meetings, but they don’t provide the type of up-to-date information needed to make accurate, day-to-day decisions from the revenue management perspective, according to Buckhiester.

So how often is often enough? Track accuracy by the day, Buckhiester advised. This is especially important for hotels at which revenue management is not outsourced or automatic.

4. What’s your most profitable business mix?

It’s not enough to determine your most profitable business mix in general, Buckhiester said. You must determine the most profitable business mix for today’s market conditions, and then adjust it accordingly as the economic climate changes.

To do so, look at all revenue streams, all income, all internal and external costs, and really drill down into them to determine what mix of guests will generate the highest total revenue—not just the highest initial room rate.

5. Does the product match the price?

Price points shouldn’t be arbitrary; they should accurately reflect the product and demand, Buckhiester said. While this might sound obvious, far too many hoteliers aren’t analyzing where the demand for certain guestrooms and packages actually lie.

Buckhiester advised taking a month or two to track upgrades to see what guests want and are willing to pay for. Then, build in up-sell opportunities to capture that demand.

Kimpton Hotels, for example, offers guests upgrade opportunities in their confirmation e-mails. “This is what you bought … you can get this upgrade for (US)$10 right now instead of (US)$20,” Buckhiester said. “It may or may not be available when checking in, and you can change your mind.”

Posted in Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing | No Comments »

Travel gurus predict trends for 2010

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Variety of posts have talked about where travel business is headed. As it impacts hotel demand:

-Resorts popularity among traveling public is rebounding. Corporate meetings may be another story.

-Budget travelers like all-inclusive resorts. Good opportunity for traditional resorts to offer few all-inclusive programs.

-Prognosis on airline travel is whatever you want it to be. Resorts can minimize impact of airlines by concentrating on customers within easy drive.

-Luxury properties continue to drop price, but find that they don’t get “spend” from other outlets. We talked with one luxury resort that dropped rates to drive occupancy. Many locals booked resort to see what it was like, but they ate in coffee shop, skipped spa, skipped golf, and spent next to nothing in the shops. Hope had been guests would come and “splurge.” Didn’t happen.

-People will “splurge,” but they will splurge on things that interest them, and those things may not follow traditional offerings of resorts.

-Traveling public will continue to travel. Trend toward more frequent, shorter vacations will continue. Easier to plan for vacation that is short and only requires saving few hundred dollars than vacation involving several thousand dollars. People can save for shorter vacations in less time…quicker gratification.

Commercial hotels can benefit from these trends as well.

Posted in Sales & Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Nagib’s Corner: Social Media Evolving Into Social Marketing

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen

Once you have your internet strategy for your website being well managed, and are using the tools for maximum utility, these additional media are the next horizon of opportunity. They need constant and consistent time and resources dedicated to manage and maintain. If you are ready and can support that investment, then and only then, does it make sense to move with these emerging opportunities. We are close to the point where these will become the standard in your marketing mix, just as websites were several years ago. Websites are now indispensible in your current distribution strategy – so will social media marketing become a part of the staple.

Below are some interesting examples of how you can promote your hotel – can you see hotel openings, corporate parties, etc., being promoted in this manner? Lots of fun!!

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

‘Twend’: Social Media Evolving Into Social Marketing

– Hotels, 12/1/2009

In 2009, social media Web sites completed the transition from being a source of procrastination for young adults to a mainstream cultural phenomenon. With Twitter—and to a slightly lesser extent, Facebook—leading the way, 2010 will see social media become firmly entrenched as a powerhouse marketing platform. At both the brand and property levels, even the most conservative of hotel companies are dipping their proverbial toes into the social media waters.

As social media becomes more and more commonplace, expect companies and consumers alike to continue exploring interactivity in greater depth. Social media gives hoteliers an incredibly inexpensive way to build brand awareness, while doing it in a way that makes the brands seem simultaneously hip, down-to-earth and fun.

A great example is Caesars Palace Las Vegas’ Trick or Tweet promotion in October. Using its @CaesarsPalace Twitter account, Caesars Palace tweeted locations on property for followers to visit within a certain time frame. For guests who played along with the real-time, real-life social media scavenger hunt, the hotel gave away prizes.

Savvy hoteliers are increasingly using social media to let guests sell the hotel to other guests, which is authentic marketing at its best. For instance, Dolce Hotels and Resorts held a Facebook contest in November that invited fans to propose dream vacations at its Dolce Hayes Mansion, California. The best of the submissions were then posted on Dolce’s Facebook page for fans to vote on a winner. The prize: the very dream vacation proposed by the winner.

In a slightly edgier version of the same coin, MGM Grand Las Vegas in November asked followers of its @mgmgrand Twitter account to tweet their “sins,” using the #mgmsin hashtag, with one participant selected at random each day of the month to win a free room night.

What a brilliant promotional premise: Get the public thinking and talking about your brand, your destination and all the fun (and scandalous) things they could do while there, then just sit back and watch the conversation mushroom organically.

Nagib Lakhani

RevMax Hospitality Consulting Services
O: (425)677-7866 C: (425)445-7750 F: (866)508-7866
nagib@RevenueMaxConsulting.com
4313 245th Avenue SE, Issaquah, WA 98029

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