For you, these delays aren’t mere annoyances; they pose a threat to your hotel’s hard-earned reputation. A delay that can transform a seamless guest experience into a disappointment. 

So, how do you control this and ensure everything is in the right place at the right time? Well, it all depends on your ‘hotel supply chain.’ 

I am sure some of us in the hotel biz might have heard about this but there’s a pressing question that arises these days: Is it a Massive footprint or a force of good? 

So, let’s talk everything about hotel supply chain management and figure out the answer. 

The Anatomy of the Hospitality Supply Chains

Like the veins and arteries supporting the human body, the hotel supply chain courses through the entire hospitality industry, supplying the lifeblood that keeps establishments thriving. From linens to toiletries, furniture to food, each element is a link in the hospitality supply chain, contributing to the overall guest experience. 

The hospitality supply chain is a multifaceted network that includes a wide array of products and services. It begins with the sourcing of raw materials, extends through manufacturing and distribution, and culminates in the provision of goods and services within the hotel. 

Now, that you’ve got a basic idea about the hotel supply chain, let’s take a closer look at each stage of this vital process: 

1. Sourcing and Procurement

The journey begins with sourcing and procurement, where hotels carefully select suppliers that align with their brand image and standards. Quality control is paramount, ensuring that every item, from the swankiest bathrobe to the simplest coffee cup, meets the expectations of both the hotel and its discerning guests. 

Sustainable sourcing has emerged as a pivotal consideration, with hotels increasingly leaning towards eco-friendly products to align with the growing global consciousness around environmental responsibility. This shift not only impacts the hotel’s image but also signals a broader commitment to sustainable practices. 

2. Logistics and Operations

Once sourced, the logistical work commences. Timely deliveries are critical- after all, a shortage of fresh linens or a delay in kitchen supplies can disrupt the entire guest experience. Efficient supply chain management minimizes these risks, ensuring that hotels operate like well-oiled machines. 

Effective inventory management is another crucial aspect. Hotels must strike a delicate balance, avoiding both surplus and shortage. The former ties up capital and storage space, while the latter results in operational chaos. Technology plays a pivotal role here, with advanced systems providing real-time visibility into inventory levels and consumption patterns. 

3. Guest Experience

At the final stage of the supply chain, guests encounter the fruits of this meticulous process. The comfortable bed, the exquisite meal, the ambient lighting—all are products of a supply chain that has successfully navigated the complexities of logistics. 

Efficient supply chain management doesn’t just make things run smoothly; it directly translates into happy guests. Timely deliveries mean no hiccups in services, and well-managed inventory ensures there’s always enough of everything. This reliability creates a ripple effect of positivity—guests feel the care and attention to detail, leading to a memorable and enjoyable stay. 

The Impact on Hotels 

The hotel supply chain is not just a logistical necessity; it is a key determinant of a hotel’s competitiveness and profitability. Here’s a closer look at how it influences various facets of the hospitality industry. 

Operational Efficiency 

An efficient supply chain minimises disruptions and enhances operational efficiency. Timely deliveries, streamlined processes, and optimal inventory levels translate to cost savings and a seamless guest experience. This efficiency is a competitive advantage, allowing hotels to allocate resources more strategically.

Cost Management

Costs are a perpetual concern in the hospitality industry. The supply chain, with its influence on procurement, logistics, and inventory, directly impacts a hotel’s cost structure. Strategic sourcing, bulk purchasing, and effective negotiation with suppliers can lead to significant cost savings, contributing to the bottom line. 

Guest Satisfaction

The ultimate test for any hotel is guest satisfaction. Isn’t it? A well-managed supply chain ensures that guests receive the expected level of quality and service. From fresh and crisp linens to a diverse and delectable menu, every element contributes to the overall impression guests carry with them. 

Brand Image

In an era where consumers are increasingly conscious of ethical and environmental considerations, the supply chain has become a focal point for shaping a hotel’s brand image. Sustainable sourcing and responsible practices resonate with a growing segment of socially aware consumers, enhancing a hotel’s reputation and customer loyalty. 

Massive Footprint or Force of Good?

As with any powerful force, the hotel supply chain wields both the potential for immense positive impact and the risk of creating a substantial environmental and social footprint. 

The Footprint Challenge

The sheer scale of the hospitality industry amplifies the environmental impact of its supply chain. From the carbon footprint associated with transportation to the waste generated by disposable amenities, hotels contribute significantly to environmental challenges.

Moreover, the quest for cost efficiency can sometimes lead to unethical labour practices, tarnishing the industry’s social footprint. 

A Force for Good 

Recognizing these challenges, many hotels are actively transforming their supply chains into forces for good. Sustainable sourcing, eco-friendly practices, and ethical considerations are increasingly becoming non-negotiable components of the supply chain strategy. Hotels are partnering with suppliers who share their commitment to responsible business practices, creating a ripple effect throughout the industry. 

In addition to environmental and social considerations, technology is emerging as a force multiplier for positive change. Innovations such as blockchain are enhancing transparency in the supply chain, allowing hotels and consumers alike to trace the journey of products from source to destination. This transparency not only promotes accountability but also empowers consumers to make informed choices aligned with their values. 

Role of Technology 

Technology, particularly in the form of data analytics and blockchain, is transforming the transparency of hospitality supply chains. Real-time tracking and analytics provide hotels with insights into every stage of the supply chain, enabling proactive decision-making and reducing the risk of disruptions. Blockchain, with its decentralized and tamper-resistant nature, ensures that the information about the origin and journey of products is trustworthy and traceable. 

The hotel industry is increasingly turning to technology to improve supply chain management.

According to a recent study by Oracle, 65% of hotels are using technology to track inventory levels in real-time. This technology is helping hotels to reduce waste and improve efficiency. 

The post Sustainability in Hospitality Supply Chains: A Force for Positive Change? appeared first on eZee Absolute.

However, despite the gains, inevitable challenges in the accommodation sector make running hotel businesses a little more difficult.

So, if you are frustrated and truly wondering how to overcome these hospitality challenges, then you’re at the right place.

This article talks about all the common challenges in the hotel industry and their possible solutions.

Why Should You Know About All the Challenges in the Hotel Industry?

Running a hotel business isn’t a cakewalk. The level of risk involved is immense.

Therefore, hoteliers must keep an eye on every hurdle that comes their way.

Numerous hotels around the world tend to overlook most of the challenges. As a result, they face serious repercussions.

Let me share an incident.

There’s this hotel I visited in Prague. The property was just marvelous and I was loving my stay. On day 2 of my stay, I met the hotel manager and had a colloquy. And I got to know a lot.

They had to close two of their POS outlets. Reason? The system they were using to manage the outlets was sort of old school and didn’t have the automation aspect.

Initially, it didn’t seem to be a big issue, but when they had to perform certain tasks manually, discrepancies increased, and at one point it went out of hand.

Now, if you still think that you don’t have to emphasize every challenge, then that’s not correct. To keep a hotel running; in fact, prospering, an all-around inspection of all the challenges of a hotel business.

Common Challenges in Hotel Industry and Their Solutions

You don’t need rocket science to overcome challenges. Rather, you need to have a strategic approach.

Over the years, many hoteliers shared many pain points with us. So, in this section, we address a few global issues and challenges in the hospitality industry and their solutions.

1. Hiring and retaining the staff

Challenge

Hiring and retaining staff has always been one of the most common problems in the hospitality industry.

Every hotel requires quality staff on all fronts; be it administration, maintenance, kitchen, housekeeping, or frontdesk. Lack of skill in the educated youths graduating from education houses is also proving to be a major challenge in the hotel industry.

Solution

Training the new workforce on a regular basis is the only remedy available. Retaining a qualified staff requires you to employ a few tactics. For example, cultivating a feeling of belongingness (culture) and value for the team members will make them attached to their jobs and instill a sense of responsibility in their minds.

2. Change in marketing trends and dynamics

Challenge

Marketing is one of the most common challenges faced by the hotel industry.

Changes in the advertising and marketing trend often create problems for hoteliers. Also, traditional marketing methods aren’t that effective now. So, for those who have always stuck to the old-school ways, getting the strategy right is one of the biggest challenges of the hospitality industry. 

Online marketing is a surefire method, though it would take years for hotel owners to establish their strength. Online deals are booked by genuine guests and major transactions are paid in advance. 

Solution

Engaging your guests on social media, messaging apps, and other online sources can work wonders and give you results in a few months. Implementing effective digital marketing strategies is a strong solution to such issues in the hospitality industry. Be consistent and patient with whatever tactics you apply. It is inevitable that with the right strategies.

3. Operational issues

Challenge

There are countless operational challenges in the hotel industry. Ranging from reservations management, attending to guests, performing all front office operations, maintaining cleanliness in hotel rooms and premises, and more. However, hotel departments often fail to perform all tasks in sync which leads to chaos and customer dissatisfaction.

Solution

Besides operations, front office problems and solutions are connected to an integrated hotel PMS system. The faster you adopt it, the better it is for your property. Your operations are automated and departmental functions are synced with a PMS because it simplifies communications to a large extent.

4. Rising cost of daily consumables

Challenge

Price inflation of daily use products, eatables, and other supplies has risen steeply in the last few years. While that has affected all industries, it takes a huge portion of the issues and challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality industry.

Solution

A visible solution to this would be to keep a constant check on the inventory, control stock, and reduce wastage as much as possible. Consider implementing useful cost-saving strategies at your property, which would help you manage the rising costs.

5. Housekeeping issues

Challenge

Cleanliness is a basic requirement of every guest. In fact, you’d also ask for a clean and tidy hotel room when you are traveling. A majority of hotel guests would prefer a clean room over complimentary amenities, any day. 

Also, if you think about it, an unclean and messy room is also a common guest complaint.

But there are times when it becomes a little difficult for hotels to stay true to this. After all, there are various housekeeping challenges involved and strategies are needed to be made to cope with them. 

Solution

Housekeeping challenges in hotels need to be managed well with effective strategies and thought processes. The housekeeping process needs to be aware of the clean and dirty rooms and constantly maintain common areas. Do highlight these measures on your website and social media handles to gain your guests’ trust.

For example; You can track both – arrival and departure list of guests through the hotel software and can update the housekeeper to clean the room of all the guests who will check-out from the hotel. Moreover, whenever any guest check-in and ask for a room, you can easily check whether a housekeeper has cleaned the room or not with the help of the system. 

This is the best way to manage tasks, and keep track of the arriving and departing guests, and you can prepare yourself well in advance. This way, you can easily avoid challenges in housekeeping operations.

6. Change in guest expectations

Challenge

Changes in guest expectations are one of the biggest hurdles in the hotel industry. You’ve witnessed that nowadays guests demand a lot more from a hotel. Be it free WiFi, entertainment system, unique stay experience, or swift check-in check-out services.

And lately, people have also started expecting contactless hotel services to ensure a safe stay and eliminate their dependency on hotel staff. Certainly, it’s quite difficult to abide by these demands because of resource or capital bandwidth, but it will be imperative to do it.

Solution

So, contactless hotel services can be provided with the right technology. Consider deploying a self-service guest portal that will facilitate quick check-in and check-out services, share the location of your property, and even let guests request pick-up and drop-off services. Keep yourself updated with the latest hotel industry trends. Doing that will help you meet the changing guest expectations in a better way.

Check out the video below, to get an idea of how to provide a contactless guest journey at your property.

7. Irregular cash inflows

Challenge

One of the major challenges in the hotel industry is the credit menace. Dealing with parties who pay after 30, 60, and 90 days or even later. While these types of dealings are bigger, they don’t help much during a cash crunch. On top of that, many payments are delayed or go into bad debt.

Solution

Consider changing vendors and suppliers following a long payment term. Or strike a deal with them to collect their due payments in installments rather than in one go. This will keep your boat sailing for a longer duration. On top of that, you can launch an online marketing campaign to attract bookings, since these strategies provide a quick ROI.

This way, you save on hiring extra personnel for payment collection and even get to pay your bills on time. In short, you have an ample cash reserve for working capital. And that’s the best thing you can do about dealing with such hotel industry challenges.

8. Data security challenges

Challenge

The question of security is not a new one. While our data security methods have advanced considerably, so have the possibilities of data leaks and virus attacks. Threats of digital data theft and confidential data leaks are a matter of concern for hoteliers globally.

Solution

The first step to take toward secure data is to ensure proper data storage. Stop dealing with excel sheets and registers. Incorporate a secure hotel technology that prevents your data leaks. Technology today is PCI-DSS compliant as well as HTTPS secure, leading to better data encryption. This way you build your hotel’s credibility to bring in more guests.  

9. Maintaining the online reputation

Challenge

Today, internet-savvy visitors look for the brand reputation first before booking a hotel room. But, maintaining an online reputation is another big challenge that hotels often face. However, this has not been a current issue in the hospitality industry. Reviews and reputation have been neglected across all industries since the beginning. Little do they know, that an unmanaged reputation leads to poor brand image.

Solution

According to a survey, 93% of travelers check hotel reviews before booking a room and 33% of guests do not prefer to book a hotel with no reviews. Moreover, it is always crucial to track what guests are saying about your brand and the services you provide. Review management systems help you monitor, manage and respond to your online reviews – regardless of the platform and language.

I also have something to assist you in responding to reviews.

10. Losing loyal customers

Challenge

Since various hotels are constantly pouring in attractive offers, guests tend not to be limited to a single brand. Rather, they’re open to options; especially if you fail to connect and engage with them personally, and deliver a memorable guest experience.

Solution

Running loyalty programs is the MOST practical way to increase your loyal customer base. These include offering amenities, discounts, and reward points to guests against their membership. So, even if they’ve stopped using the services, you can approach your guests and offer them deals or packages. At the same time, do not forget to consider implementing ways to increase repeat guests at your hotel.

11. Change in technology

Challenge

The advancements in technology are altering every aspect of our daily lives. Gone are the days when guests used to wait for hours or a day to receive answers to any query. Today, customers are expecting a fast response and services from hotels. Such constant changes are extremely arduous to adapt to, which poses a challenge.

Solution

Hotels have begun tailoring guest experiences with chatbots. Chatbots allow hotels to respond to visitors at once, answer every query instantly, and more. This further increases hotel bookings, and revenue.

12. Hotels are not data-driven

Challenge

You are well aware that some hotels do not rely on any surefire data for business decisions. And because of the decisions based on assumptions, many hotels are forced to close down in a short span.

For instance, business decisions to spend for promotions on OTAs, interiors, room rates, and room types aren’t decided on the basis of actual statistical reports.

Solution

In order to fight one of the prominent challenges in the hotel industry, you are required to use software that‘ll give you all the business insights. It can help you in making informed business decisions and save on extravagant spending. Using the complete data analysis tool, you can even apply proper revenue management strategies to earn higher revenue.

13. The growth of local hospitality hosts and rising competition

Challenge

These days, more and more property owners are renting out their rooms or property occasionally. Homestays and vacation rentals promise an authentic local experience besides being convenient. Owing to this, travelers prefer to choose those homestays over hotels and resorts. Other than that, new hotels are entering the market every day. This growing number of homestays and competition is one of the challenges in the hospitality industry of 2022.

Solution

First and foremost, solid competition analysis is needed. You need to know how your competitors are doing, monitor their strategies, and then devise better plans for your property. On top of that, you need to offer something significant to attract your guests. Constant innovations and personalized services are eventually the only way to beat the competition.

14. Restoring business post natural calamities and crisis

Challenge

So, I think this is a recently faced challenge (or rather, ISSUE) in the hospitality industry. The whole world shut down traveling during the COVID-19 outbreak, because of which the hotel industry also had to shut down its operations. Canceled reservations, indefinite lockdowns, and shutdown hotels; this was probably the worst hit times for the tourism and hospitality industry.

While it is a challenge to survive these times, it is an even bigger challenge to come out of these times as a winner. And the hardest to restore the business in these uncertain times.

Solution

To be honest, none of us would have imagined a situation like this, where we would be fighting for our survival. But it is entirely up to us how we see these challenges, learn from them and come out even more potent than we were.

Businesses took this opportunity to evolve and innovate. and prepare themselves for the future. While these are all-natural calamities and not in our control, we can surely work on optimizing our operations and ensuring that our business stays alive amid the chaos. In the current times, you can use and implement strategies mentioned in our COVID-19 survival kit for hotels.

The post How to Deal with Common Challenges in the Hotel Industry? appeared first on eZee Absolute.

For the year 2024, it’s important to ensure your hotel is up to standard. And if you’re wondering about the changes to make in your hotel to attract more guests and become profitable in the coming year, I have got you covered!

In this article, I will share 9 areas that you should be focusing on and improving to make your hotel more enjoyable and efficient for guests.

What’s in Store for the Hospitality Industry in 2024?

The last couple of years have been a roller coaster ride for the hotel industry worldwide. The sector has witnessed everything from a complete business halt to a spike.

This year, the travel and hospitality industry saw a great recovery, but as we move to 2024, the frequency of travel is expected to spike even higher despite the economic slowdown and rising costs.

ICRA estimates that premium hotel occupancy will reach 70-72% in 2024, with average room rates expected to be around Rs 6,000-6,200.

Furthermore, new travel trends are expected to show up in 2024. Health and wellness tourism, sustainable travel, nostalgic escapes, workation, staycation, etc. are to name a few. 

However, the trends aren’t limited to these, there is a wide array of travel trends that are expected to emerge in 2024 and beyond.

Check out our 2024 travel predictions to have a clearer picture of what to expect.

Even though people have traveled tremendously post-pandemic, the urge to step out of the home and explore is still as alive as it was back then. It’s just that the preferences of exploration have changed.

Things to Change and Improve in a Hotel in 2024

This brings us to address the elephants in the room — Are you upgrading your hotel to keep up with the trends? Have you worked on your hotel to cater to guests’ new needs and wants? 

If not, it’s time to take a different approach and look for changes to make in your hotel:

Here are all the areas of a hotel that must be improved before entering 2024:

1. Operational methods

As I said above, travelers’ preferences have changed. Today, people want everything quick and seamless. And if hotels want to cater to such travellers, operational methodologies are one of the things to change in a hotel.

For example, if your guests want to order some food, your frontdesk shouldn’t say, “sir/ma’am, please get in touch with our kitchen/restaurant staff and place your order.” Rather, every department in your hotel should be connected seamlessly to the frontdesk.  

Hotel operations are complex, with several interlocking pieces and dependencies. 

There are times when hotel staff may go from dealing with unhappy guests to welcoming new ones to the hotel, attending to their requests, and even checking on other aspects of the property.

Now, the bitter truth here is that these complexities cannot be an excuse to comprise the guest experience.

So, if you have been facing similar troubles lately, then it’s time to change your operational methodologies and turn to new ones.

2. Communication strategies

If you’re wondering what’s there to improve or change in terms of communication, then it’s the channel.

Gone are those days when you’d have an in-person conversation with your guests to update them about their booking, the services they can avail of, and upsell to them.

And by including WhatsApp in your hotel’s tech stack, you can level up your communication strategy. You can simply integrate WhatsApp into your hotel’s property management system and connect with guests the right way.  

With auto-response, FAQs, and a chatbot, guests can instantly get their queries raised and resolved even if no staff is available. 

#Fact: A majority of guests today prefer WhatsApp to communicate with a hotel. Not to mention, WhatsApp messages have a better open rate compared to traditional emails.

3. Marketing approach

The way you market your hotel also needs to be changed in 2024. People are more inclined toward hotel brands that have a much better connection with their audience.

What I mean by that you must switch from generic marketing activities to human behavior-backed marketing.

When you understand human behavior, you understand what exactly intrigues your potential and existing guests. And accordingly, you can create effective marketing materials and campaigns.

Social proof marketing is a great example of attracting more guests to your hotel. What this phenomenon means is that “people develop a notion that since others are doing it, I should be doing it too.”

Now, talking about marketing, channels are also important. It is crucial that you determine where your ideal guests are hanging out. If you can figure that out, you’ll be able to generate quality leads and convert them much more easily.

Further, if you want to know what’s more in store, you can check out our blog.

Read: Hotel Marketing Trends to Increase Bookings in 2024

4. Sales strategies

If you want to be a profitable hotel in 2024, you also need to look into your current sales strategy. To be specific, I am talking about improving your sales cycle as it directly impacts the way you turn a lead into a guest and repeat the success by acquiring repeat reservations.

And if you’re clueless about this whole concept of the hotel sales cycle, then I am afraid you have a broken strategy in place.

The first and foremost thing to understand before getting into details is that “you cannot sit idle and wait for guests to come to your hotel.”

You need to create a system through which your hotel gets discovered, intrigues people, turns them into leads, and makes them your guests.

So, if you haven’t checked on your sales strategy yet, then it’s time you do so and take the dust off it.

5. Revenue management

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of revenue management. If your hotel is not betting on it, then it is indeed lagging.

Now, I have two types of hotels to point out here:

• A hotel that doesn’t believe in revenue management.
• And one that is doing revenue management completely wrong.

For both types of hotels, the following is going to be helpful.

Revenue management is a necessity for hotels worldwide as it enables accommodation businesses to become significantly profitable. However, revenue management is much more than just increasing prices; rather, it is more about determining the right opportunity, the right target guests, and the right prices.

Here are three resources that will help you take your hotel revenue management game to the top:

• The right hotel revenue management system for your hotel
• In-house vs outsourced revenue management
• How to Do Hotel Revenue Management the Right Way?

6. Ambiance

Ambience has always been paramount for hotels to attract guests. And in 2024, it is going to be even more prominent.

If you want to offer a positive experience to your guests, consider relooking at your hotel’s ambience and finding opportunities to make improvements.

Now, changing an entire theme or design might not sound practical. But that doesn’t mean you can’t tweak around with certain elements.

After all, it will put guests in a good mood, make them comfortable and relaxed, and turn your hotel into a fast favourite.

Be it a small hotel or a massive chain of properties, the ambiance must be aligned with both the hotel brand and what guests expect. If you can pull this off successfully,  you’ll be able to enhance the overall guest experience and drive more reservations. 

7. Amenities

Guests want amenities, that too variety of them. As a hotelier, keep this in mind.

The general psychology behind this is the value mindset. When people pay for a stay in a hotel, they judge the value of it by other things that are on offer. And this has been a constant factor for years.

So, even in 2024, you’re going to have guests who would expect a lot more from your hotel than just a room to stay in.

But again, are all amenities necessary? Absolutely, no.

Then how do you pick the right ones for your hotel?

Well, I got your back again. Here’s a blog on “choosing amenities for hotels”. 

Do give it a read to understand everything that goes inside picking the right facilities to enrich the experience of your guests.

8. Guest-facing technologies

If you remember, I talked about how guests’ preferences have changed over the years and now they want everything seamlessly. And whenever I address it, guest-facing technologies always come to mind.

Now, when I say guest-facing technologies, I specifically mean three of them — mobile app, contactless hospitality, and self-service kiosks.

These technologies will help reduce your guests’ dependency on your hotel staff. Guests can avail of any services all by themselves — be it checking into the hotel, making payments or raising a query. Everything becomes guest-centric and streamlined.

If you are planning to make a great impact in 2024 and make your hotel stand out, having these technologies at your disposal will be great.

9. Hotel management system

When it comes to a hotel management system, the first and foremost thing to look at is whether the system covers everything — end-to-end.

If it misses out even on a single area of your hotel operation, then switching is the right thing to do.

Bet on a hotel PMS that not just manages bookings but also allows you to interconnect every department and lets you run your hotel with ease, and from a single dashboard.

Furthermore, a hotel management system should also be able to help you manage your point-of-sale outlets.

Not to mention, the system should also allow you to understand your hotel’s performance through essential reports. That too, whenever you need it.

Entering 2024 sans the proper hotel management is the last thing you want to do. If you haven’t audited your system yet, it’s time to do so and switch to one that makes hoteliering actually simple.

The post 9 Impactful Changes Your Hotel Needs to Make in 2024 appeared first on eZee Absolute.

While many hotels come with strong strategies for peak and off-peak seasons, they overlook shoulder season.

That shouldn’t be the case, at all.

Shoulder season in hospitality is as important as any other period of the year.

Now, for those who have never heard about it, shoulder season is real. And going forward in this blog, I will walk you through what is a shoulder period in a hotel, how can shoulder season affect hotel revenue, and all the other nitty-gritty.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the blog.

What Is Shoulder Season in Hospitality?

Shoulder season in hospitality is between the peak and off-peak season. Every part of the world has its own shoulder seasons; it varies from hotel to hotel based on the destination.

For instance, based on the location, if summer is the peak season for your hotel and winter is the low season, then spring and autumn are the shoulder seasons.

What makes shoulder season a bit complicated to deal with is that it has elements from other periods as well. During shoulder season, hotels don’t receive a lot of reservations but it still has some advantages.

How does Shoulder Season affect hotels?

Unlike off-peak season, shoulder season isn’t the time when business is low. However, being an overlooked period, hotels don’t really have a strategy to keep the business floating.

Meaning, if hoteliers fail to create a framework, their property might witness a drastic drop in demand.

Let me explain it better with a scenario.

Roshan is a hotelier based out of Coorg, India. Over the years, he has learned the skills of pricing rooms based on the season and earning better profit. However, he has always been inconsiderate about the shoulder season.  

But then his perception changed when his hotel was abysmally impacted by the shoulder season. There was hardly any booking and he witnessed severe loss. Turns out, the other hotels in the vicinity tweaked their strategy and attracted more travelers.

Being a median travel season; it’s not easy to predict how shoulder season is going to turn out for hotel businesses. For some, it may become a great deal while for others it could be another off-peak period of the year.

How Can Hotels Make the Most Out of Shoulder Season?

To cope or increase hotel occupancy during shoulder season, hoteliers must be proactive and incorporate solid strategies to consistently attract travelers.

Following are some of the points that every hotelier must keep in mind while preparing for the shoulder season:

1. Identify your shoulder seasons

Experienced hoteliers are already aware of all the seasons of a hospitality business.

However, it’s a little difficult for new or budding hoteliers to identify when exactly the shoulder season is. Why so? Because the booking flow during shoulder season is significantly unpredictable.

Now, if you want to keep your hotel profitable during this particular time of the year, the first and foremost thing to do is identify it. There are shoulder seasons for both the spring and fall; but again, it depends on the destination.

So, analyze your current and past booking flow, traveler preferences, and market behavior, and determine when exactly you witnessed shoulder season.

2. Plan everything in advance

Now that you know which time of the year is shoulder season for your hotel, it’s time to be prepared — IN ADVANCE.

What I mean by ‘in advance’ is that you cannot start strategizing a day, week, or month before. You have to start working on things during your peak or off-peak season.

Be it in terms of marketing, pricing, or operation, everything has to be rolled out.

Keep in mind, that travelers are becoming smarter. They now understand that shoulder seasons go a little lighter on their pocket, which is why it is becoming more and more attractive.

Therefore, do not procrastinate and wait for the last moment. Start planning for your hotel’s shoulder season as soon as you can.

3. Set realistic goals for shoulder season

Like I said above, shoulder seasons are unpredictable. And this is why you have to understand that the goals you set for this particular time of the year have to be realistic.

When I say realistic goals, I mean the goals you can reach based on your hotel’s abilities.

For example, at the beginning of the year, you set a goal of 10% growth in terms of revenue. Now, based on your analysis, you could divide it among all the seasons. The off-peak season could have 1-2%, peak season could make 4-5%, and shoulder season could do 3-4%.

You cannot simply set a goal that in this shoulder season your hotel is going to make 5-6% more revenue. It doesn’t work that way. You have to keep the entire year in mind.

4. Turn to seasonal pricing and packages

Seasonal pricing and packages are a great way to make the most out of the shoulder season.

For those who aren’t aware, seasonal pricing is all about pricing your hotel’s rooms and services depending on the season.

For example, during peak season, you set a higher room rate due to the rising demand. But when it’s an off-peak season, you set lower prices to acquire more reservations.

Now you must be wondering how should you price your rooms during shoulder season?

Well, I don’t like to complicate things, and that’s why keeping your room rate lower than your peak season but still higher than your low season should ideally work.

However, I suggest you do the research and math, and then come up with something that you believe is going to work.  

Not to mention, you can also create exclusive packages to attract more travelers to your hotel.

5. Deliver the right message through marketing

Marketing is supremely crucial for a hotel the entire year. However, the messaging needs to keep on changing depending on the season.

Meaning, the messaging you used for the peak season is not going to work for the shoulder season. The reason is that travelers’ and guests’ preferences keep on changing.

Those who visited your hilltop hotel during the peak period might not visit your property for the same reason during shoulder season. Therefore, it is important to understand the motivation of your guests.

I recently wrote an article on the role of psychology in hotel marketing. Do give it a read to make your hotel marketing better.

6. Leverage revenue management strategies

Revenue management is a blessing in disguise for hotels of all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is; revenue management can turn into a revenue-generating machine.

For instance, imagine a hotel without any sort of pricing strategy. Throughout the years, it has had the same room rate. However, the hotel has come across the concept of dynamic pricing and now it keeps on changing the room rates based on the market condition or demand.

But there’s still a sad story, it’s not seeing any significant result. The revenue is still the same — dull!!

What could be the reason behind this fiasco? Well, the answer is the lack of in-depth understanding.

This is where revenue management comes into the picture.

A revenue manager or a revenue management system collects and organizes data related to a hotel’s revenue, sales, and other financial aspects. Next up, based on the analysis, it comes up with pricing that is likely to attract more guests to the hotel and boost the overall revenue.

So, if you think that revenue management is amiss at your hotel then it’s time to turn to it.

The post The Secret to a Successful Shoulder Season in Hospitality appeared first on eZee Absolute.

The way people book hotel rooms, what they expect during their stay, and even how they want to be treated is evolving. So, what’s the deal, you ask? Well, by understanding and adapting to those changes you’ll not only meet but exceed your guests’ expectations.

More than that, it opens up a world of opportunities for your business to grow. Curious about how? Look no further because we’ve got you covered in this blog.

We’ll delve into how these shifts in guest behaviour can impact your hotel business and, most importantly, how you can transform these changes into opportunities that will make your hotel shine.

The Changing Consumer Behavior in Hotel Industry

Consumer behaviour in the Hospitality Industry has undergone significant transformations in recent years. These changes have been influenced by a variety of factors, including advances in technology, socio-cultural shifts, and global events like the pandemic. 

Guests no longer seek just a bed and a roof over their heads. They now expect a personalized and seamless experience from the moment they start searching for a hotel. These expectations are often shaped by their online interactions and previous hotel stays. The key to meeting these expectations lies in understanding the guest’s psychology and adapting accordingly.

Let’s explore some of the key impacts these shifts are having on hotels:

1. The Rise of Online Booking:

Remember the time when you had to call hotels to book a room? Well, with the evolution of technology, things have changed a lot. In today’s digital age, we all know that travellers are more likely to grab their smartphones and start searching for the perfect hotel online. 

In response, it’s crucial to establish a strong online presence. Invest in a user-friendly website that works seamlessly on mobile devices. Consider collaborating with online booking platforms to expand your reach and cater to the modern traveller’s needs.

According to Hotel Mize, online travel agencies (OTAs) accounted for 40% of global hotel bookings in 2023. At the same time, online reviews and ratings have become more influential in shaping travellers’ decisions and expectations, as they seek to hear from other guests about their experiences with a hotel’s service, brand, product, or value.

2. Demand for Personalization

Guests now expect a more personalized experience during their stay, from tailored room amenities to personalized recommendations for dining and activities. They crave a personalized touch that makes their stay unique and memorable. As hoteliers, it’s your job to cater to this desire. 

Getting to know your guests’ preferences can help tailor their experiences. To achieve this, what you can do is invest in data analytics to understand your guests better. Create guest profiles and utilize loyalty programs to tailor their experiences. From room amenities to local recommendations, a personalized touch can go a long way in earning guest loyalty.

3. Sustainability Matters

We all are aware of the environmental damage that has happened in the last few decades. That said, travellers are more eco-conscious than ever. Many guests actively seek eco-friendly accommodations that align with their values. So, what can you do to go green? 

Implement eco-friendly practices like reducing waste and conserving energy. Highlight your sustainability efforts to attract environmentally-conscious guests. By going green, you not only help the planet but also build a reputation as a responsible hotel.

4. Technology Integration

Technology has become an integral part of our lives. These days, guests expect technology-driven conveniences, such as preferences for contactless check-in, keyless entry, a good Wi-Fi connection and smart room controls. 

Investing in technological infrastructure to offer these services, not only enhances your guest experiences but improves operational efficiency. Keeping pace with technological advancements ensures your hotels remain competitive, attract tech-savvy travellers, and deliver the convenience and connectivity guests now demand.

5. Alternative Accommodations

Changing consumer behaviour in choosing alternative accommodations in the hospitality industry is marked by a significant shift away from traditional hotels. Travelers increasingly opt for alternative options such as vacation rentals, hostels, boutique inns, and even home-sharing platforms like Airbnb. 

To compete, hotels are diversifying their offerings, focusing on unique experiences, and digital convenience and redefining their value proposition to differentiate themselves from the competition. 

6. Social Media Influence

Social media’s importance in consumer-changing behaviour cannot be overstated. In today’s digital age, social platforms are where people share experiences, read reviews, and make decisions. Modern travellers usually expect quick responses to their inquiries, and insights into the guest experience. 

“A study by TripAdvisor found that 72% of travellers are more likely to book a hotel that has positive reviews on social media.”

Social proof in the form of positive reviews and visually appealing content plays a vital role in their hotel selection process. To align with these expectations, you can actively engage with guests on social media, encourage user-generated content, and respond to reviews. 

By embracing social media, hotels can shape perceptions, attract potential guests, and build trust in an increasingly interconnected world. In short, social media isn’t just a tool; it’s a cornerstone of modern consumer behaviour and hotel success.

7. Health and Safety Concerns

The pandemic has heightened guest concerns about health and safety, making these factors one of the top priorities when selecting accommodations. 

As a hotelier, it’s more of a responsibility to align with these expectations to maintain a healthy environment at your property. Implement cleaning protocols, promote transparency about safety measures to guests, and ensure staff are well-trained. By prioritizing health and safety, hotels can build trust with guests, reassure them and enhance the overall guest experience.

8. Blurring Lines Between Work and Leisure

Modern travellers value work-life balance and they like to embrace the concept of “bleisure” travel, a trend where work-related trips seamlessly blend with vacation experiences. 

Hotels are proactively adapting to this evolving landscape by offering flexible workspaces, high-speed internet access, and business-friendly amenities. This accommodation evolution caters to the needs of travellers who desire a harmonious balance between their professional commitments and the opportunity to unwind and explore new destinations, all within the confines of their hotel stay.

9. Rising Trend of Micro-Travel

Have you ever felt the need for a quick escape, a short trip to unwind and recharge? Many of us have, especially in the last couple of years. 

It turns out that more and more people are taking short trips, known as micro-travel, within a few hours’ drive from their homes. Instead of staying in big city hotels, many are choosing to book stays at caravan parks, holiday parks, eco-lodges, or small hotels in quieter areas. These places are becoming more popular because people want to get away from crowded places.

To attract these micro-travellers, hotels and lodges can use special advertising campaigns. They can target people who live nearby or show interest in similar places on social media. This way, they can offer them the right deals and options for their short getaways.

10. Flexible Booking Options

Travel plans can be unpredictable, and last-minute changes might happen. So, today’s travellers value the freedom to modify reservations and seek options that accommodate their uncertainties. 

This flexibility is essential not just for guests but also for hotels themselves.  It may seem like offering such flexibility could lead to losses due to empty rooms. 

To align with these expectations and avoid such losses, you can provide flexible booking policies, clear communication, refundable rates, and loyalty rewards. In this dynamic industry, flexibility is key to influencing consumer behaviour and ensuring long-term success.

Feasibility of Adapting to Changing Consumer Trends for Hotels

Adapting to changing consumer behaviour can be a challenging task for hotels, but it’s not impossible. The feasibility of aligning with these changes depends on various factors such as:

1. Resources & Financial Considerations

Adapting to evolving consumer behaviour often requires significant financial investments. Upgrading technology, implementing sustainability initiatives, and providing personalised services can be costly. Hotels must assess their budget and financial stability to determine the feasibility of these changes.

Hotels might need to allocate resources, both financial and human, to implement the necessary changes. Investing in technology upgrades, sustainability initiatives, and staff training is essential. The feasibility of these investments depends on the hotel’s financial health and long-term strategy.

2. Target Market 

Understanding the preferences of your target market is essential. If your guests prioritize eco-friendliness, investing in sustainability measures makes sense. However, if your guests seek affordability, high-tech amenities may not be a priority. Hotels should tailor their offerings to match the needs and preferences of their specific guest demographics.

3. Competition 

The competitive landscape matters. Hotels facing stiff competition are more likely to adapt to stand out, while those in less competitive markets may not feel the same pressure. In less competitive markets, hotels should focus on differentiating themselves through exceptional service, unique packages, or special promotions.

4. Guest Feedback and Monitoring 

Continuous monitoring of guest feedback and behaviour is essential. You must be prepared to adjust your strategies based on ongoing feedback and market dynamics. 

Listening to guest opinions and preferences can help hotels prioritize which changes are most important and which may not align with their target audience.

5. Return on Investment (ROI) 

Hotels should assess the potential ROI for each change. Some investments may have a more immediate impact on revenue and guest satisfaction, while others may be long-term strategies with delayed returns. Evaluating the expected ROI is essential for prioritizing initiatives.

6. Long-term Vision & Adaptability 

Hotels should adopt a flexible approach to adaptation. Consumer behaviour may continue to evolve, and hotels must be agile in responding to these changes. Regularly evaluating the feasibility and impact of new adaptations is crucial for long-term success.

The post Beyond Traditional Hospitality: The Impact of Consumer Behavior on Hotels appeared first on eZee Absolute.

While there are many options in the market, hotel tech providers like eZee stand out for their unique features and capabilities.

In this blog post, we will take a closer look at some of the key features that set eZee’s hotel management software apart, and discuss how they can benefit hotels of all sizes and types.

Here’s What Differentiates eZee from The Rest

1. All-in-one solution

Hotel operations are complex and multifaceted. Various departments and functions of a hotel must work seamlessly in order to ensure a smooth and efficient guest experience.

One way to achieve this is by utilizing an all-in-one solution that eliminates the need to use multiple systems and software to manage different aspects of the hotel’s operations.

We offer integrated solutions like a property management system (PMS), point of sale (POS), channel manager, and booking engine that not only streamline hotel operations but also allow for the seamless flow of information across all departments.

2. Cloud-based solutions

Accommodation businesses usually face the challenge of providing secure and flexible access to important data and systems for both employees and guests.

However, this problem can be resolved by the adoption of cloud-based software that allows secure access from anywhere, at any time.

And with our cloud-based hotel management system, your hotel staff can access important information and perform key tasks from any device. All you need is a reliable internet connection and a smart device.

Additionally, cloud-based solutions are typically more secure, as they are regularly updated and maintained by the software provider, ensuring that the latest security protocols are in place to protect sensitive guest data.

3. Integrated solution

When we talk about property management systems, integration is one of the key elements that cannot be overlooked.

Having a hotel management system that integrates with multiple software and hardware solutions provides a complete and cohesive experience, streamlining hotel operations and providing valuable insights and data.

And we offer integration with 150+ online travel agencies (OTA’s) and 500+ third-party software/hardware solutions, ensuring that you get the ability to seamlessly connect and communicate with a wide range of systems.

This integration allows for more efficient data sharing, reducing the risk of errors caused by manual data entry, and enables hotel staff to access and manage important information from a single platform. 

4. Unlimited user and device license

For a hotel that uses a property management system, it is important to have, manage, and track multiple user accounts and devices. The reason is that it greatly enhances the efficiency, collaboration, and flexibility of hotel operations.

However, not every hotel tech provider offers this. Further, they also charge an additional amount for multiple user accounts and devices.

Our hotel management software offers unlimited user and device licenses, allowing accommodation businesses to have as many users and devices as they need without any additional costs. Meaning, as a hotelier, you get more flexibility and scalability, making it easier for your staff to manage their operations and adapt to changing business needs.

5. Guest-facing technology

Guest-facing technology can greatly enhance the guest experience by providing a more convenient, efficient, and personalized check-in and check-out process.

A kiosk, for example, allows guests to check in and out, make room selections, and complete other transactions without the need for human interaction. Contactless services, on the other hand, allow guests to make payments, access room keys, order room service using their own devices, etc.

We offer both kiosk and contactless services as a part of our guest-facing solutions, leading to more satisfied guests, enhanced guest service, and increased revenue. Also, it reduces the workload on the front desk, allowing hotel staff to focus on providing personalized service to guests.

6. 24/7 support services 

Hotel technology is a game-changer, and support is key. Availability of support ensures constant assistance for seamless operations, minimizing downtime and resolving issues swiftly. Further, it helps with technical difficulties and reduces the risk of lost revenue and unhappy guests, offering peace of mind and reliability for all. Invest in 24/7 support for a thriving hotel.

We understand the importance of providing reliable and efficient support services for our clients. This is why our full-fledged support center goes beyond troubleshooting, training, and implementation. Our team is dedicated to providing you with the best possible experience and is ready to assist you with any client-requested enhancements and upgrades.

Not to mention, the support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year with live chat, phone, and email support. It ensures that you always have a dedicated point of contact along with the necessary tools and resources to run your hotel operations smoothly and efficiently.

7. GST, PCI DSS, and GDPR compliant

Hotels are required to comply with various laws and regulations, such as GST compliance, PCI DSS compliance, and GDPR.  If you’re unaware of them, let me explain in simple terms.

• GST compliance is essential for hotels to ensure they are correctly calculating and reporting GST on all transactions.
• PCI DSS compliance is a set of security standards created by the payment card industry to protect sensitive cardholder data.
• GDPR compliance is essential for hotels to protect the personal data of their guests.

Our hotel management solution is compliant with all of them. Meaning, the software is designed to help hotels easily calculate and report GST, provide the necessary security to protect sensitive cardholder data, meet the requirements of the regulation, and protect the personal data of guests.

With such a hotel tech solution, accommodation businesses like yours can be assured they are meeting industry standards and can operate with confidence and trust.

8. Advanced reporting and analytics

Reports and analytics are crucial for accommodation businesses as they provide valuable insights and data to drive informed decision-making. Additionally, they help hotels understand guest behavior and preferences, enabling them to offer personalized experiences and enhance guest satisfaction.

Our software offers advanced reporting and analytics capabilities with more than 200+ reports, providing detailed business insights to help you understand your performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.

Furthermore, our software allows hotels to analyze and compare data across multiple properties and locations, providing a comprehensive view of their operations, and letting hotels identify areas of opportunity.

9. Affordable pricing

Cost is a major consideration for any business, and hotels are no exception. Investing in a comprehensive hotel management software can be a significant expense, and many hotels may be hesitant to do so because of budget constraints.

Our hotel management software takes this pain out.

We offer an affordable pricing model that is designed to meet the needs of hotels of all sizes and budgets. Additionally, we offer a 14-day free trial, which allows hotels to test the software and see how it can benefit their operations before committing to a purchase, without breaking the bank.

10. For hotels of all shapes and sizes

While all the factors are imperative for hotel businesses, our hotel management software takes this to the next level.

The solution is designed to meet the needs of hotels of all shapes and sizes. Whether you run a small bed and breakfast, a large resort, or anything in between, we can help you manage your operations efficiently and effectively.

Its scalability and flexibility allow the software to adapt to the unique needs and requirements of different types of accommodation businesses.

The post How eZee Helps Hotels Continuously Elevate the Overall Experience appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Now, amid the talks around these technologies, most hoteliers feel the dilemma of getting a PMS and POS from different vendors or the same. 

Well, the answer is simple — it should always be from the same hotel tech vendor. But, why would I say so?

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the benefits of using a PMS and POS system from the same hotel tech supplier, and how it can help you succeed in the competitive world of hospitality.

Advantages of Using PMS and POS From a Single Vendor

Before you just take my word about single-vendor PMS and POS integration being the best choice, there are several advantages you should know about: 

1. Integration and data management

One of the major advantages of using a PMS and POS system from the same hotel tech supplier is improved integration and data management.

When these systems are from the same solution provider, they are designed to work seamlessly together and communicate with each other effectively. Meaning, data can be easily shared between the systems, reducing the need for manual data entry and improving the accuracy of information.

Moreover, with a single, integrated system, hospitality businesses can also benefit from having one database for all of their operations. This can improve the organization and accessibility of data, as well as reduce the risk of data loss or corruption.

2. Time and cost

The best way to understand this is by looking at a scenario of a hotel that uses a PMS and a POS from different vendors.

Now, the major challenge here is to integrate both systems. It is going to be a complex and time-consuming process. Further, for each system, you are going to require individual setup costs, which can add to the overall cost of the systems.

But on the other hand, using a PMS and POS system from the same vendor can simplify this process and reduce the time and cost associated with integration. Hotels will not have a need to invest in additional support for integration.

3. Collaboration and communication

In a fast-paced and customer-facing business like a hotel, it is important for every department to communicate seamlessly.

Now, when I say communicate, I don’t mean walking up to every person and speaking. Rather, what I mean is that every department must have access to certain information.

Let’s understand this with an example.

Zoya is vegan and she mentioned the same while making a reservation with your hotel. Now, your hotel offers complimentary breakfast, which is served at your in-house restaurant.  However, you forget to inform the restaurant about Zoya's dietary preferences and served her no-vegan food.

Oops! Sounds like a blunder, isn’t it?

Well, that’s exactly why getting a PMS and a POS system from the same vendor helps you. The solutions ensure that they are well connected with every other system and work in sync without any miscommunications.

4. Data security

Hotel businesses handle sensitive data on a day-to-day basis. Which is why it is important to have a robust data security infrastructure.

While every other data security measure is worth the effort, it is also imperative to ensure that your technologies such as the PMS and the POS are from the same provider.

The reason is, when these systems are from the same vendor, you get enhanced security features and controls, such as encrypted data storage, secure login protocols, and multi-factor authentication. 

This can help protect hotel businesses and their customers from data breaches, cyber threats, and unauthorized access.

5. Customization and scalability

Customization and scalability are also two of the major advantages that hotel tech providers offer with their systems.

For example, when you deploy a PMS and a POS from the same tech solution provider, you get a range of customization options, allowing businesses to get tailored systems for their specific needs and preferences.

Additionally, these integrated systems can make it easier for accommodation businesses to scale their operations as they grow and evolve.

For example, single-vendor PMS and POS allow flexibility, making it easier for hotels to add or remove features and users as needed.

6. Training and support

When you get a new property management system (PMS) for your hotel, it is important to train each and every employee on how to get used to it and milk its benefits. And in most scenarios, the service provider offers free training.

Now, imagine a situation where you deploy another system such as the POS, but from a different vendor. Wouldn’t this be a hassle to have two separate training sessions from two service providers? 

But if you get the PMS and the POS from the same vendor, your training will be much easier and save time.

Not to mention, the vendor would also offer you support for both the systems with utmost quality.

So, if you have been wondering whether it’s the right call to go for the same hotel tech provider, then the answer is YES.

7. Reporting and analytics

Irrespective of the shape and size, every hotelier needs to know what’s happening in each aspect of the hotel. And what could be a better way to learn about them than reports?

But then again, what’s the point of having different reports from different systems?

Integrated systems like PMS and POS, especially when they are from a single vendor, are designed to work together seamlessly. Meaning, the reports they generate are much more detailed and cover all the areas of the hotel, allowing hotels to track key metrics and performance indicators. Be it from the areas of the hotel or from a POS outlet, the reports provide precise information.

Things to Keep In Mind While Choosing the Right Hotel Tech Vendor

When it comes to choosing the right hotel technology vendor, it is essential to consider a range of factors.  

While the points mentioned above are also good to gauge whether the hotel tech vendor is suitable for your hotel, there are some more factors to consider.

Here are more considerations:

• Identify your hotel’s specific needs and ensure that the vendor you choose offers solutions that can address those areas.
• Research the vendor’s reputation in the industry to gauge the reliability and quality of their solutions.
• Review the various solutions the vendor offers and ensure they align with your business needs.
• Evaluate the pricing and ensure that it aligns with your budget and is reasonable.
• Consider the level of support and training offered by the vendor.
• Look at the vendor’s previous clientele and feedback as it can give you an insight into their capabilities and experience.

The post How PMS and POS Solutions from Single Vendor Improve Hotel Management appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Two reception counters, handling four queues of guests. Only two people at the frontdesk handling this crowd. People are waiting in the seating area beside the frontdesk. A hotel staff member is assisting them with their check-ins on a digital pad. And you are standing there, hoping you could just get a room without going through all this.

Now imagine, if this hotel had a self-check-in kiosk. You could use it to enter your booking details, verify your ID, and make the payment, and there — “this is your keycard”, and you are simply done with the check-in. Looks like a dream?

Well, let’s make that true!

The hospitality industry is now stepping up and installing hotel self-service kiosks in order to provide hassle-free check-ins and other services to its guests.

In this blog, I am going to talk exactly about how this is enhancing guest satisfaction and what benefits it has for your property.

What Is a Hotel Self-Service Kiosk?

A hotel self-service kiosk is a digital device that enables guests to fill in the required information and get access to their rooms and other services. It eliminates the need for the front desk as it handles bookings, check-ins/outs, provides room keys, processes payments, and such likes.

The hotel kiosk system comes with various integrations. The most important one is its integration with your property management system through which it works in sync with your overall hotel data.

Along with the instant reservation for walk-in guests, it successfully serves guests who have pre-booked through the hotel or any OTA website.

While kiosks handle all the major front desk functions, your staff gets a chance to enhance the guests’ experience by interacting and providing them with quick services.

Should You Install Kiosks in Your Hotel?

The prime aspect on which the hotel industry is established is – “hospitality”. The key function of a hotel self-service kiosk is to give a boost to this hospitality.

According to this, without a kiosk, your full suite of technology solutions is not really complete. To acquire its best efficiency, installing a kiosk is a must! 

(But I am not going to push my opinion over you.)

I just want to give you a clear perspective on why kiosks are a need in this constantly growing hotel industry. For this, I will make hoteliers understand how a kiosk works and streamlines their operations effectively.

Therefore, in the next section, I am sharing all the benefits of a hotel self-check-in kiosk.

10 Benefits of Hotel Self-Service Kiosks

Hotel Self Check-In Kiosks are not just limited to guest satisfaction, it goes beyond that. Your hotel staff also get to enjoy various benefits.

So let’s just hop in and see what all wonders a hotel self-check-in machine can do:

1. Eliminate the front desk fuss

A front desk is the trickiest place in any hotel. With all the guests having unique demands and expectations, it gets difficult to perform front desk operations fluently. But with the kiosks by your side, you can turn this around.

When most of your guests will use kiosks for check-ins and check-outs, you will only have a handful of guests at the front desk who genuinely needs human assistance. And for those, your front desk staff can deliver the best of their services.

In addition, you might not require as many staff members as before (saving on that).

2. Say goodbye to queues

Availing of self-check-in and check-out services through kiosks takes not more than a few minutes. Guests just need to enter their detail, select their room, pay for it and they are out with their keycard. 

Unlike the front desk, they do not have to engage themselves in a dialogue process. This means Kiosks save you from long waiting queues.

Being a hotelier, you may agree that keeping your guest waiting is a setback. Even if you have a dedicated concierge, a guest would want to check-in at the earliest.

So if your hotel is stuck in managing the waiting lines, then the kiosk is your way out.

3. Acquire a modernized look

Nowadays guests are always on the lookout for a well-developed hotel where they can get a luxurious vibe. Along with the infrastructure, furnishing, and services, modern technology and automated operations give hotels an affluent look.

A kiosk gives a modern outlook to hospitality businesses with its functions, user-friendly interface, and digitalized technology.

Your guests use this device at check-in and check-out, so they are likely to get a long-lasting impression from its usage. It will add weight to your hotel’s image.

4. Cut down on human error

The major benefit of installing technology is that it nullifies the chances of error. It is true that we humans can misinterpret things more often than a machine. 

For instance, a human can sometimes make mistakes while processing cash payments but a kiosk will be accurate in its calculations. We may mix up things while multi-tasking but a kiosk will maintain transparency at its best.

Hence, keeping in view, that these small human errors can become a considerable reason for your guest to question your hospitality, why not use a kiosk to eliminate them all at once?

5. Upsell your resources effectively

I think it is a clear psychology that most people get skeptical and deny the additional resources when sold in offline mode. However in online mode (say while doing online shopping), with the visuals on the screen, people end up buying more things. This is why upselling your services at the front desk results in a low success rate.

At the front desk, guests do not get enough time to make a decision because (a) they are mostly in hurry and (b) they think it is a tactic to add more value to their bills.

However, with the kiosks, guests get personal space, time, and a well-showcased catalog to choose from and add the resources easily with just one tap. Moreover, the charges are added automatically so their psyche doesn’t question them on spending more.

6. Focus on meaningful guest interaction

No doubt, hotel operations take a lot of time for the hotel staff. Not only check-ins, check-outs, or guest services but handling and processing all the data on the system takes significant time. Among all this, do your staff get enough time to interact with the guests?

If not, then a hotel kiosk can make that happen. It saves the time of your guest as well as your staff to help them get along on the interaction part.

Now you know that installing a kiosk doesn’t mean cutting off human interaction. On the contrary, your staff gets to welcome your guests nicely. They can offer them great services and assistance in the meantime.

7. Add weight to personalization

The hotel kiosk system helps your guests to choose what’s best for them. At the front desk when you ask about their personal choices for the various services you have in the bucket, it gets a little too much to process at once.

Choosing a suitable set of things becomes easy when it is listed properly, you can go through the options and choose them with a tap.

For example, choosing the type of room you want: smoking/non-smoking, double bed/two separate beds, deciding whether you want complimentary lunch/dinner, what payment gateway you want to use to clear bills, and much more.

You can categorize everything in the kiosk so your guests can select them at their convenience. Along with adding value, it also automates the process of personalization.

8. Satisfy the introverts too

Being an introvert is a lot of pressure. You want things but can’t ask for them and when you finally ask, the opportunity is long gone.

(No, I am not talking about myself.)

There are times when introverts even struggle to ask important questions like, “Where is my balance worth 1000 bucks?” (Just kidding)

But this can’t be denied that there are a lot of introverted people nowadays and they simply hesitate to make decisions on the spot (say, at the front desk).

For them, a kiosk is a big-time life savior as it gives them space to choose the suitable set of services for themselves.

9. Save everyone’s time

As a hotelier, you would agree that your guest loves to save time. Not only them, but even your staff wants exactly that.

Everyone wants to accomplish a lot of things in a day. And if only checking in takes a lot of their time then it is not impressive at all.

Therefore, installing kiosks to speed up your operations is a fair decision as it saves a lot of time for both parties.

10. Keep technology by your side

As I mentioned in my previous blogs, millennials choose hotels having modern solutions, facilities, and technology. It is not just millennials but anyone traveling nowadays looks up to that.

People are getting tech-savvy and to attract them, hoteliers need to skill up at the technological parameters. Kiosks can definitely help them achieve that.

And this must be noted that once modern technologies are by your side, you also start fetching international recognition.

FAQs

The post Hotel Self-Service Kiosk: Why Is It a Must-Have? appeared first on eZee Absolute.

With constant innovations, the industry is adopting every technology that can enhance business and offer great experiences to guests.

The hotel industry has lately turned to WhatsApp to streamline communications — both with the guests and among the staff.  And to a great extent, the messaging platform has done a tremendous job in delivering just that. 

Want to know how? Read on as we explore WhatsApp for Business and its impact on the hospitality industry.

WhatsApp’s Emergence in the Hotel Industry

If you’re like me, you probably can’t remember when was the last time you went without using WhatsApp, do you?

Every one of us uses WhatsApp on a daily basis. And just like me, you probably have sneaked a peek at least once in the last hour.

(I just kept my phone aside to write this blog.)

This isn’t about popularity anymore! WhatsApp has become a necessity for both individuals and businesses worldwide.

And that fact itself speaks about its emergence in various industries including hospitality.

But let me tell you more…

The hotel industry is a lot about communication. What do I mean by that?

If a hotel wants to succeed, it must offer a great experience along with clear and concise communication with guests.

Being one of the most proactive businesses, hotels were quick to identify the changing preferences of travellers and witness that guests these days are on WhatsApp — for everything. Be it solo travellers, couples, families, or busy business professionals, everyone wants to be reached out on WhatsApp.

And this change in the needs and wants of travellers plays a significant role in bringing WhatsApp and its business solutions to the hotel industry.

Impact of WhatsApp on the Hospitality Industry

The impact of WhatsApp Business across the hotel industry is massive. This communication tool plays a crucial role in multiple aspects of the hotel business – driving profitability and great guest experience.

Following are some of the aspects where WhatsApp is making a great impact:

1. Smooth communications

Guest communication is the very first aspect of a hotel business where WhatsApp plays a pivotal role. The messaging tool has simplified communication both – among the hotel staff and with guests.

9 out of 10 guests prefer WhatsApp to communicate with the hotel.  It can also be seen that WhatsApp messages have an astounding open rate compared to traditional emails.

Meaning, that guests nowadays are inclined towards picking up their phones and sending a WhatsApp text for even the tiniest of queries. And if your hotel has WhatsApp integrated, you’re more likely to stand up to your guests’ expectations.

For example, if your guests want to book a cab for airport transfer, they don’t have to call your concierge to check for availability. They can simply drop a text or pick the service from the catalog and voila!

2. Instant notifications

“Instant notification” might not sound intriguing initially, but in reality, it holds a higher position in the list of positive impacts.

Today, hotels can offer great experiences right from the moment guests make a reservation.

With WhatsApp, hotels are now updating guests in real-time with an instant booking notification. Your guests don’t have to go back to their email inbox to find the itinerary; it's available right at their fingertips.

Speaking of instant notification, it’s not limited to booking. Integrated WhatsApp allows you to notify guests of their stay details upon check-in and also ask for their feedback when they check out.

3. Quick responses and support 

Gone are those days when you would send an email regarding a query and wait forever to get a response from the hotel.

WhatsApp has changed the scenario significantly. Resolutions and responses to guest queries have become quicker, even if no staff is available to attend to them.

With auto-response and chatbots, hotels are now offering continuous and instant support to guests. What was once an area of constant attention, is now on autopilot, enhancing the guest experience by a great level. 

4. Hotel business catalogue

Back in the past, guests always had to pick up the intercom and call the front office whenever they needed something.

That’s not the case anymore.

WhatsApp for Business offers a catalogue that allows guests to avail of any service — be it booking a cab, ordering food to the room, or anything else.

With the WhatsApp business catalogue, hoteliers can now showcase and share their services with guests in the simplest manner possible. Meaning, that guests can browse through a hotel’s services and avail of whatever they want.

For example, if I am a guest staying at your property, I can simply check out your WhatsApp catalog, book a spa session and make the payment right there and then. I don’t have to go through a lot of hotch-potch.

Additionally, this one simple catalogue has opened multiple doors for business. You can even share the catalogue link on social media and other platforms, and drive sales easily.

In this entire shebang of hoteliering and WhatsApp business, this feature certainly steals the show.

5. Gain your guests’ trust

WhatsApp for hotels today plays a vital role in garnering attention and allowing hotels to become a brand that people love and trust.

You might say that it’s possible even without the messaging platform, but what about the following advantages?

When hotels leverage WhatsApp for communication, there’s a strong factor of authenticity. What I mean by that every message is routed through a verified identity (a green tick) with a brand name and logo. Additionally, as the company says, every message is end-to-end message encrypted, keeping all the information safe.

This is a sign of trustworthiness. With such features offered, hotels can easily gain their guests’ trust.

6. Connect better through personalization

Even though the open rate of WhatsApp messages is higher than traditional emails, one thing remains the same — personalization.

A majority of people don’t like emails that are meant for the masses. And to cater to such people, personalization is the key.

Integrating WhatsApp with your hotel’s PMS makes both the system communicate and function in sync. Meaning, whenever you receive a reservation, you don’t have to individually add the contact details of the guest.

You can create a list of contacts based on preferences, booking patterns, and other factors. And this makes it easy for you to create personalized messages for your guest and offer exactly what they prefer.

7. Make upselling easier and better

Upselling is undoubtedly one of the great business opportunities to increase the average revenue of a hotel.

But calling up your guests to pay more for a similar but higher quality product or convincing them to avail of some additional services might not work well. You could try sending an email but then it might never get opened.

But WhatsApp has transformed this as well. Hoteliers now consider WhatsApp as their go-to communication channel for upselling. And why not? After all, messages do get the opens, especially the ones on WhatsApp.

For example, hotels send WhatsApp messages that read something like this — 30% off on Premium Spa tonight for all the in-house guests. And this significantly increases their chances of upselling and boosts their overall revenue.

Upselling, which seemed daunting, considering all the negative responses, is now an easy task to pull off. Thanks to WhatsApp. 

8. Generate greater ROI

Whenever a hotel opts for a tech or a service, ROI is never overlooked. After all, at the end of the day, revenue is all that matters.

WhatsApp and hospitality, have proved to be a match made in heaven. The messaging app has managed to deliver significant results for numerous hotels around the world.

Now when we say revenue, the best and obvious ways for hotels to generate it are by acquiring more bookings and delivering great experiences.

Be it in terms of marketing, operations, or guest experience, the efficiency levels of hotels have spiked. And that’s exactly what hotels need to drive more bookings and make better revenue.

With WhatsApp Business for hotels, accommodation providers today are improving their overall bottom. They are not just able to make the entire experience of guests better but also acquire repeat bookings.

FAQs

The post How WhatsApp Is Revolutionizing the Hospitality Industry appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Most sales professionals always find it frustrating when closing a lead takes forever.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Every hotel, irrespective of its shape and size, can speed up its sales cycle.

You just need to spare some time to understand your current process, implement certain steps, and voila!

I know…I know. It isn’t as easy as ABC! But it’s not something you can’t achieve.

Without further ado, let’s dive right into the topic, understand everything about it, and come up with strategies to speed up your hotel sales cycle.

What Is a Hotel’s Sales Cycle?

Generally, a hotel sales cycle is a process of turning a lead into a guest. However, this process is repeatable and tactical and involves everything from the first touchpoint to building strong relationships with the guests.

To put it simply, a sales cycle in a hotel is not just about turning a lead into a guest, but also repeating the success by acquiring repeat reservations.

Why a Sales Cycle Is Important for Hotels?

You’re walking down the halls of your hotel and you’re seeing that all your rooms are empty. There’s complete silence!

Isn’t that the horror?

This is a hotel without a sales cycle. A little exaggerated but you do get the point, right?

Basically, when you have a well-defined sales cycle you increase your chances of keeping your hotel booked. Even during the drought days of the year.

In the case of a hotel that doesn’t have a sales cycle, the control is usually with the potential guests. They are going to book based on their impression of your hotel. You, most probably, have no say in their decision-making.

Worst still, you’re just sitting at your property and waiting for guests to check in or waiting for reservation calls or notifications.

What if you have a sales cycle? Or, what if you have a strategy to find prospects and communicate with them?

Then you have a better chance of acquiring reservations.

Let me explain how.

A potential guest checks your hotel website. He gets your number and calls you right away. However, he refuses to make a booking because of the pricing or maybe something else.

What would you do?

Maybe you’ll let the person drop the call at that moment. But you’ll certainly call him back and try to offer a price, inform him about the latest discounts or events or anything special. And maybe, this time he’ll make a booking.  

This might sound philosophical but a hotel with a sales cycle is like “not giving up”. You’re not sitting idle and waiting for guests to flock. You’re playing your cards right to make them book a stay with you.

I am sure this shows the imperativeness of a hotel’s sales cycle.

Different Ways to Speed Up Your Hotel Sales Cycle

Having a sales cycle is one thing but having a sales cycle that delivers results at speed is a thing to achieve. However, there are various ways to increase sales cycle speed at your hotel and we are going to see just that.

1. Understand the fundamentals

Be it in terms of a hotel or any other business, fundamentals aren’t simply said to be the “building blocks”.

Hotel sales is a vast aspect. It involves multiple stages before you convert a lead to a guest. And to gain advanced knowledge in hotel sales and support your future sales strategies, you need to have a strong foundation.

Now, I also want you to see whether your current strategies are in line with the basics, the results it is driving, and the average sales cycle length.

So, this is the first and foremost thing to do when you’re speeding up your sales cycle.

2. Determine the bottlenecks

Next up, drill a little down further and see where exactly it takes time.

What I mean by that is you must look for the stage where it takes time to move the leads.  

Once you figure that out, you’ll be able to filter out what’s going wrong.

For example, you receive a lead from your website but then you’re taking days to reach out to the lead. Is that the right thing? I don’t think so. I might want to change it and make it quicker.

Furthermore, human errors could also be bottlenecks. Maybe your sales reps aren’t that well trained or maybe they are missing out on leads.  In these cases, you might want to host sessions to train them.

Whatever the case is, identifying what’s wrong is the key to building future great strategies.  

3. Attract ideal leads

Most of the hotels have a severely slow sales cycle because they are channelizing their efforts toward a guest base that isn’t in line with the hotel.

For example, I run a luxurious hotel that is located near the airport. Through the months, I figured that corporate travelers are more likely to stay at my hotel. So, my ads, content, and all my marketing material should be directed toward corporate travelers.

But what if I keep capturing details of budget travelers? Am I going to make a sale? I don’t think so.

This is why it is important to attract the right leads — the ones who are interested as well as who can afford.

#ProTip: One of the best ways to do this is to create guest personas. They can help in curating personalized marketing material to attract the right guests.

4. Use social proof to gain trust

Social proof is majorly a marketing element. However, it can significantly speed up a hotel’s sales cycle.

Let me explain.

As per the typical definition or what Wikipedia says, social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people try to replicate the actions of others in an attempt to undertake correct behavior in a given situation.

For example, you’re browsing a hotel website and see a testimonial from an influencer you respect and follow. You can also recall that the influencer has posted great pictures from this hotel. It now drives you to make a reservation in this hotel. That’s exactly what social proof is.

And if used correctly, social proof strategy can eliminate multiple stages of your sales cycle and bring in a good number of reservations.

5. Have a set of KPIs

The reason I am asking you to have a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) is that they help in setting and achieving realistic goals. They are like the catalyst that drives you to your milestones.

However, it doesn’t mean you’ll list dozens of KPIs. No!

You have to determine the prime key performance indicators; the ones that actually make the difference in your hotel’s sales cycle.

For example, lead response time could be a KPI to track. It is the amount of time between a lead’s inquiry and your sale rep’s response. Upon tracking, you’ll get the average time that your sales reps take, and if it seems to be high, you must reduce that.

After all, the faster you’re able to respond to your leads, the more likely you can send them further down your sales funnel to convert.

6. Set realistic and achievable goals

I talked about goals in the previous point and now, let me stretch a bit on it.

When I am talking about setting goals, I mean realistic goals. Because when goals are realistic and achievable, it increases motivation that goes beyond simply saying, “I’ll do my best.”

You might want to do some in-depth analysis of your weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals before coming up with a new set. Also, it might seem like a daunting task, but it is worth it considering the bigger picture.

7. Ask more and better questions

Wondering why I am talking about asking questions; better questions, to be precise?

It will help you understand and communicate with your prospective guests better. You must ask questions whose answers reveal your prospects’ motivation and preferences.

For example, you cannot shoot arrows in the dark and try convincing the person on the other end to make a booking. You could rather simply ask about their budget or what amenities, experience, etc. they are looking for. It will make it easier for you to make an offer that is in line with what they are willing to pay or want.

8. Make time-sensitive offers

Speaking of offers, there’s one more thing you can do to speed up your sales cycle is making time-sensitive offers.

What is that, you ask?

Time-sensitive offers are exclusive hotel promotions that are limited to a certain period of time to create urgency and engage buyers who might be on the fence.  

Interestingly, there’s, a psychological element involved which is based on the pleasure principle that states that people make decisions to avoid pain. And in the case of a time-sensitive offer, the pain would be missing out on the deal and paying the full price later.

Isn’t that intriguing?

9. Keep a lead call cheat sheet handy

Having a cheat sheet handy while on a call with a lead is also a great way to dodge unnecessary situations and stick to the point.

To be precise, a lead call cheat sheet is a set of instructions or a mock conversation that has all the answers or everything you need to say during the call.

For example, if the prospective guest asks whether you could give him a 30% discount, you shouldn’t say “No, I can’t” and let him drop the call. Rather, you should have an answer ready with an offer that’s a win-win for both – the guest and the hotel.

Or, what if a guest starts to curse or become rude, you can retaliate the same way, can you? So, for situations like this and to cut right to the chase, it is advisable to have a lead call cheat sheet.  

10. Automate the process (use a CRM)

While every other step is crucial, it is also important for hotels to turn to automation. And this is where a CRM comes into the picture.

Even if it sounds a little harsh, but if your hotel isn’t using a CRM then it is certainly lagging.

A comprehensive hotel CRM helps in managing the leads in the most effective way possible.

For example, it helps in ranking and prioritizing your hotel sales leads. Meaning, you have the exact idea of where to spend your time. No lengthier calls with the “not-so-ideal” prospects.

Furthermore, a CRM offers a 360-degree view of guest information and interactions, helping in managing guest feedback, loyalty programs, and more.

The post Faster Sales. Better Profit: 10 Ways to Speed Up Your Sales Cycle appeared first on eZee Absolute.