by Jana Johnson | Mar 9, 2023 | Sales
Every hotel is unique along with the strategies that work to fill the hotel. When considering the options that will drive the most revenue, group bookings should play a significant role in your revenue management strategy.
What is Group Business?
Simply put, group business is a signed contract selling rooms and meeting space to corporate or leisure groups. Group rates are typically discounted since the group is purchasing the rooms in bulk guaranteeing X number of rooms or more per night for an agreed date. Targeting group business is the best way to maximize your occupancy with one low negotiated rate.
Why is group business beneficial for your hotel?
Group bookings are about offering the best package rates to your potential guests. This is advantageous to your hotel specifically for the following 4 reasons:
Reduce Operational Costs
When you are running a hotel, every dollar matters—especially when operating with a lean staff or no on-site sales manager. Increasing group revenue for the hotel means that you can spend less time sourcing your hotel and save money on negotiated room rates. By developing a plan to book and rebook group business, your staff will not have to focus much-needed time and effort on marketing and sales for single room transactions.
Predictable Revenue
If the experience was a success, the group or business travelers often return to the same location. Meeting planners and travel managers appreciate consistency and the advantage of having negotiated rates and discounts with hotels. Discounted rates allow travel managers budgets to stretch farther and affords them the ability to rebook with ease the following year and avoid the hassle of shopping for new hotel rates. Also, group business typically books far in advance, bringing you less stress and revenue planning for the coming months.
Trip Add-Ons
Unless the group is traveling just for one day, they may be thinking of extending their trip into a mini vacation. Often travelers extend their trip or come a day early. With the flight paid for by their employer, it’s a great opportunity for the business traveler to invite family and extend the trip to make the most out of their travel experiences without incurring a lot of extra travel costs. This also gives you the ability to upsell additional services that your hotel may offer.
Lower Cancelation Rate
Individual travelers may often cancel travel plans last minute due to illness or change in plans, but it is less likely that a sporting event or business meeting will be canceled. By including group business in your hotel’s revenue management strategy, you can more accurately forecast room bookings.
Considering group business for your hotel will require you to do a deep dive into the data to consider future demand projections along with room inventory. You are going to want to ensure that you book the right piece of business for the right guest at the right time and for the right price. The goal is to make sure that group bookings don’t jeopardize revenue growth but boost revenue and add the potential for future business.
by Jana Johnson | Feb 8, 2023 | Marketing, Sales
We’ve all had that “aha” moment. You know this is the time when something seems so obvious after the fact. In sales, it’s often said, if only I knew that before, I could have landed that deal!
The question is, would we really change the way we do business if we experienced that “aha” moment? I’m sure the answer would be yes if it led to making more money and bringing in more business.
But how can we make these “aha” moments more of a reality and less of a dream? The way to do this is by understanding when to make the most important sales calls and what to get out of these calls.
Follow up on Business You Didn’t Land
Once you have been turned down, it’s easy to give up on that potential customer. But this is the time you need to build a trace system and follow up with these potential customers. It really is the best time to learn and can help you tailor your future approach to talking to potential clients.
Technology has made it simple to organize client information and remind you when it is time to place a call. Consider using one of the best free CRM software programs as reported by Business News Daily, like Hubspot CRM, Zoho CRM, Insightly, or Salesforce.
These programs will help you organize your lead data for your follow-up calls.
Ask Your Potential Guests for Feedback
There could be many reasons your hotel did not align with group needs for a particular event and so you lost the business. If this happens you need to ask your customers for feedback. This is probably one of the hardest things to do in your business, but you will be glad you did.
Was it your pricing? Was it due to lack of meeting space? Maybe your hotel is not close enough to restaurants or entertainment. There may even be something you could change next time. For example, if your hotel was lacking shuttle service, maybe you could price out transportation and offer it as a one-time service.
The potential customer has nothing to lose by providing constructive criticism and you have everything to gain. Especially if “no” is a common word you are hearing from potential group bookings.
Re-Engage with Lost Leads
Leads go dark for many reasons. Your contact may be overwhelmed at work but remain interested in your hotel. Chances are, they will still remember you and you don’t want these leads falling off the grid after all.
The follow-up call shows you are interested in their future business. If you know they selected to go with another hotel, maybe the hotel they selected missed an important detail or they didn’t enjoy their stay.
Your follow-up will make an impression. If their event at the chosen locale wasn’t successful, then this could set you up for possibilities in the future. You may not get a commitment during this phone call, but nurturing that lead over time can turn a “no” into a future booking.
Turn Rejection into Opportunity
Create an action plan for future follow-ups. Your goal here is to stay at the forefront of their mind when a potential client is considering where to hold their next meeting.
Trace out another call in a few months. Maybe you have completed a renovation at your hotel. Or, maybe you just hosted a group meeting and you have a success story to share that is a potential idea for your lead.
You want them to remember you and your hotel so that your hotel is at the front of their mind the next time they are planning the next group event.
Communicate with Multiple Mediums
The bottom line is potential business doesn’t come knocking. You must work for it. Your business is the business of sales and while we can consider a small percentage of our business to come from direct phone calls, most of the time you are going to get your business by the effort you put into your follow-up.
Lead nurturing is all about following up. Sometimes it may take multiple calls to make contact, but the point is to keep trying. And, if your phone calls aren’t working, consider email.
Find other ways to keep your hotel in the running for future events. Connect on social media with popular apps for business such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Continue to promote your unique competitive advantage to stay at the forefront of their mind.
by Jana Johnson | Jan 18, 2023 | Sales
Providing superior accommodations is what hoteliers strive for when opening a hotel. But at the end of the day, running and filling a hotel is a business, and that means you need to sell the most rooms you can to be successful.
As you implement sales strategies to increase the profitability of your hotel, you may be exploring new methods to bring in guests and increase occupancy. There is no magic bullet to optimizing hotel revenue, but you may want to consider increasing your base business as the number one sales strategy on your list.
Your hotel needs base business to survive the ups and downs of the ever-fluctuating economy and to continue to rise above the competition. Here are a few of the benefits you will realize when you emphasize sales strategies designed to increase base business at your hotel.
Income You Can Count On.
Repeat business means money you can count on weekly, monthly, and yearly. Maybe your hotel has those perks every business traveler likes, such as outlets in multiple locations in the room or charging stations and luxurious bath amenities. Whatever the reason, customers return if they like what you have to offer. Monthly bookings by loyal customers allow you to plan on sales revenue coming in the door, which has a positive effect on your entire business.
Combat a Fluctuating Economy.
Your repeat customers will pay you regularly allowing your business improved cash flow. Also, repeat customers care about their reputation. Remember, you’ve already built the relationship. They care enough to make sure you are paid and paid on time. These are the customers you can count on.
Spend Less Time on Guest Administration.
Just like an old married couple, you begin to know how a repeat customer thinks, and what makes them happy. If this customer stays often and is part of the rewards program, you don’t have to spend time on the amenities that make them happy. The system data should already be in place so when this customer makes their reservation, it will trigger staff to do something to make their stay more enjoyable, like having bottled water delivered to their room. These systems are already in place, which means a time-saver for management.
Word-of-Mouth Referrals.
Consumer research shows that 89% of consumers are likely to use a business based on its online reviews. Build the ultimate experience for your customers and they will tell all their friends, colleagues, business partners, Facebook followers, and… you get the picture. If they like your hotel, they will refer everyone they know, and that is the easiest way to get new business.
Improved Insight into Guests’ Needs.
It always comes back to one keyword: communication. Train your team to communicate with guests to reduce errors and learn more about their travel needs. Learn to bond with your guests and strive to make sure each stay meets and exceeds their expectations. Gathering feedback shows that you listen to your guests and value their input. This leaves a positive impression which keeps them coming back to stay time and time again.
Overall, revenue can be increased by building your base business. It’s great to have your hotel full during the summer months, but you can’t make money booking four months out of the year. Building on your base business is what feeds the hotel and makes it profitable for the rest of the year.
by Jana Johnson | Nov 30, 2022 | Sales
Every hotel is interested in learning the same information about their guests: how they came to book your hotel, how long they are staying, are they traveling for leisure or business, and if business travel, how many other company employees are part of the same group.
In a perfect world, you would know all the details about your guests checking in.
Knowing this information can help personalize the hotel stay for your guest and in turn, help generate repeat business.
Some of the tracking mechanisms you have in place at your hotel may even be providing you with some of the key data. Successful collection of guest data depends on implementing a few standards across your hotel team. It’s important to put these standards in place to ensure you are capitalizing on your hotel’s success.
Gathering Client Information During Booking
So many components of a hotel are important but keeping your team consistent with the data it collects, is number one. Utilizing a checklist can help keep the team on track and ensure that you capture the most important details such as:
- Company name
- Company profile – is there a contact name and email address?
- Rewards / loyalty programs – If there is a rewards number, look up their rewards number in the property management system to see if you can learn more information on the customer. You can also learn about guests’ travel habits and preferences
- Special requests
Review of the Arrivals List
Are you prospecting your arrivals list? If not, you could be missing the single most important thing that could help you drive business to your hotel. A quick review of the arrivals list every morning, can ensure you are not missing any key guest data. If data is missing, take it as an opportunity to ask the guest for more information. This will also affirm that you value their stay and want to perfect their stay.
Review How Your Reservations Are Coming In
Let’s start at the beginning by meeting directly with your reservations team. Some of your tracking mechanisms in place may be successful in giving you intelligent data but the team that takes the calls should be your number one resource. How are the reservations coming in? Are they going through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia or Booking.com? Are they going through a local travel agency or a large Travel Management Company (TMC) or Consortia?
If so, you’ll want to jump in quickly to compete for guest loyalty by tailoring your future marketing using guest data to encourage them to book directly through the website instead of going through a middleman.
Go Straight to the Booking Source
If your guests are booking through a third party, such as a travel agency, contact that source to learn more information. Call and speak to the source and introduce yourself and thank them for the business. Explain you want to know who their contact is at the company so that you may find out more about their travel patterns.
Track Data and Plan
Guest data is critical in understanding travel patterns, but it won’t be very useful without a way to refer to it. Plugging the data into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database or an Excel database for easy reference will help you organize and sort the information so that it’s useful. Using this information will not only help you learn about the guests that stay at your hotel, but also how you can customize personal marketing messages that will speak their language.
Get Your Hotel in the Running for RFP Season
If you notice a significant number of room night bookings from one company, then you could be a preferred hotel on their list. Over 100 rooms in a year should also get you a seat at the RFP table that happens annually with the corporate travel team.
Data collection is one of the crucial tasks of a hotel. Gathering guest information and using it wisely can help you understand where your leads are coming from and how to best approach and go after new business. Track this information and consistently review it for booking patterns to help you take your bookings to a new level.
GRANT Hospitality offers a customized sales plan to help hotels reach their full sales potential. If you’re ready to learn how we can help you reach your goals, contact our team for a free consultation.
by Jana Johnson | Oct 27, 2022 | Sales, Travel
You work hard to promote your hotel and more than likely you spend a lot of time and money on advertising each year. Advertising your hotel is a big part of the business, but so are referrals.
Managing your referrals is a great way to gain new business and is also a great reason to communicate with the clients that provided the referrals.
Take advantage of the times when things go really well for a meeting or group stay. Your clients receive great value from the services your hotel provides, and you want other people to know about it. Read on to learn the five ways to fuel your business growth with referrals.
- Capitalize on the good experiences. Send follow-up email after group stays or meetings. Check in to see how their stay was. Did they have a mind-blowing experience? Did they enjoy the breakfast or the bath amenities provided? Thank them for their business and ask if there is anything you can do to improve. Not only does that make them feel special, but it’s also a great tool for gathering information and building your relationship and client database.
- Review Social Media. People love to talk these days about all of their experiences—both the good and the bad—and, they love to share it with the world via social media. Make sure your hotel is tapped into the social media apps for business such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Yelp. This is a great way to see what people are saying and for staying stay in touch with your customers on another level.
- Right the wrongs. Unfortunately, things happen and sometimes customers may have an unfavorable experience. Whether it’s a situation that is beyond your control or something you can make better, apologizing, offering a complementary or discounted stay, can turn a negative experience into something positive and keep your clients’ business.
- Face-to-face communication with your customers. Take advantage of the face-to-face contact with a customer. Plan to be available upon arrival to thank them for their stay. Find out estimated time for departure and find out for yourself how they enjoyed their stay. And if a face-to-face won’t work, deliver them cookies, or a coffee card to a favorite café in town along with a personal note.
- Thank them for their feedback and referrals. When a referral comes through, find out the source and give credit where credit is due. A simple gesture like a handwritten note, or quick email of appreciation acknowledging the referral will keep the referrals coming in time and time again.
Those are just a few ways to make your clients’ experiences more memorable and ensure the possibility for future bookings.
Do you have unique ways you’ve shown your clients that you appreciate their business? Reach out and share some of your own experiences with client referrals and gestures of appreciation.
by Jana Johnson | Aug 25, 2022 | Marketing, Sales, Travel
If you manage a hotel or are new to owning a property, it doesn’t take long to recognize that the hotel sales position is one of the most integral parts of a hotel’s success.
The sales manager is responsible for generating room nights and increasing revenue during peak times plus building demand during the slow seasons.
This can be a challenge for even the most seasoned sales managers. The process takes a considerable amount of strategic planning, creativity, and forward-thinking to balance meeting sales goals while skillfully representing the hotel.
In this fluctuating environment, it is important to keep in mind that sales is a learned skill. An effective sales manager should be able to produce results despite hotel challenges and market conditions. This is accomplished by practicing a few habits for sales success.
Know Your Hotel and Your Competition
For sales efforts to be effective, you need to know the features, benefits, and weaknesses of your hotel as well as those of your competitors. For example, can you offer concessions like free breakfast, airport transportation, or a one-bedroom suite to give you that competitive edge? Superior sales managers understand the hotel at all levels and how to get creative and outshine the competition.
Be Open to New Technology
There are many ways to reach your end goal of driving occupancy. Successful sales managers try new strategies and the latest technology for reaching their target audience. Test drive new forms of social media to help reach your potential guests. Consider trying sales engagement platforms to help you create email templates and email blasts to reach multiple people at once. It’s also key to consistently review your strategies and question the best ways to spend your time.
Have Integrity and Authenticity
What separates the average hotel sales manager from a successful one? Integrity. Clients respond to genuine people with a core attitude of wanting to help, whether they get the sale or not. Be sure to always do what you say you will. You’ll want to develop a style of authenticity that builds trust, so your clients know you have done your best for them. It also assures them if any problems arise with the booking, you will be there to return their calls promptly.
Listen For Details
You may have heard the phrase, “Be interested, not interesting.” An enthusiastic attitude about your hotel is key, but before jumping in right away with all the features and benefits of your hotel, listen to what your clients’ needs are. Knowing how you can accommodate your clients’ needs will help you gain the edge over the competition. It’s important to ask probing questions and gather information to confirm if you are the right fit. You can never ask enough questions. This is vital in anticipating future needs—something all clients appreciate!
If you are looking to find wins in the competitive market of hotel sales, adopt these habits daily. Committing to a new behavior takes time and practice. Start by initiating one new strategy at a time and celebrate your small successes.
