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.
by Jana Johnson | Jun 9, 2022 | Sales
The success of your hotel depends on many factors including a unique guest experience, location, customer service, guest feedback, and a social media presence.
A successful hotel also understands the importance of sales efforts and dedicating time each day to capture your fair share of the market.
With today’s workforce challenges, hiring a dedicated salesperson may not be an option for many hotels. This often leaves putting your sales efforts to the front desk staff, or the general manager, who most likely doesn’t have the time or resources to be consistent or proactive with sales efforts.
This is where hiring a remote hotel sales service team can be a powerful resource and elevate sales presence in your market.
Increased Efficiency
Allowing an experienced sales team such as our team at Grant Hospitality to focus on prospecting, networking, building relationships, and gaining market share, decreases the administrative strain on your front desk staff, general managers, and team. The sales team works with existing customers, potential prospects, and key internal teams, like revenue managers. Working with revenue managers is extremely important for setting rates to meet the hotel’s strategic goals and maximize profitability. This allows your team more time to focus on customer service. It also provides hotel owners and operators peace of mind and the time to focus on operations and day-to-day activities.
A remote team can streamline sales processes while understanding the needs and issues of meeting planners, group business, the RFP process, and complex intricacies involving corporate accounts and travel.
Meeting regularly with your remote sales team helps a “green salesperson” or newly hired Director of Sales gain training and a better understanding of the big picture of hotel sales. Utilizing regularly scheduled sales meetings with hotel management staff, reviewing long-term strategies as well as guiding the hotel on how to make the most of their backyard potential can be key in training and strengthening existing staff’s knowledge and skills in selling your hotel.
Seasoned hotel sales professionals also add value by utilizing established key industry relationships and techniques for quickly finding and uncovering key decision makers and potential business in your area.
Cutting-edge Technology
Technology is key in keeping your hotel fully booked. Unfortunately, many hotels do not have the time and infrastructure in place to learn the latest hotel sales tools, train staff, and manage software updates. A remote sales team uses today’s current technology to connect with corporate and group business leads to take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace.
Remote teams have access to multiple channels such as Lanyon, Cvent, LeadGibbon, and Construction Journal, that help surface potential leads and contacts for those companies.
Lower Overhead
The most obvious benefit of a remote sales team is it can be an extension of your team without the overhead. Also, most hotel sales efforts can be done through outbound calls, online research, and email, which means sales meetings can also be held virtually.
Whether you are opening a new hotel, an independent boutique hotel, or managing a branded property with limited staff, sales efforts are important to the overall success of your hotel.
Don’t let leads slip away! Great salespeople will be your hotel ambassadors, community builders, marketers, and analysts always utilizing cutting-edge resources to land business for your hotel.
Utilizing a dedicated remote hotel sales team that possess the expertise and proven ability to get results, can ease the stress of filling your hotel and increase your bottom line.
