In fact, 72% of visitors “CAN ACTUALLY” book directly if they get the best deal.

Pebble Design

But this can happen, if and only if you have an attractive and powerful website for your brand. Although I know, there are many do’s and don’ts surrounding this thought.

So to leave them behind, in this blog I’m going to break down all your misconceptions linked to it and guide you on the importance of owning a hotel website.

What are the myths and facts about having a hotel website?

It’s not unusual for people to get the wrong idea about having a brand website. But, my question stands, should it continue to be that way? Shouldn’t the truth be revealed?

Definitely a NO to the first and a BIG YES to the next. Right?!

If you notice, the sudden shift of digitalization has led people to spend more time on the hotel’s website; exploring its beauty, location, and amenities.

On the other hand, the COVID19 pandemic has left everyone to build their bucket list and explore everything on the web; thereby making online presence a pressing priority.

Without further ado, here are the nine crazy beliefs about owning a hotel website that you should stop trusting right away!

Myth #1: Brand websites do not provide any benefits

Nowadays most people search for products and services online. However, it’s untrue to believe that a web presence is essential if and only if you are one of them or sell such things.

Without having an online presence, you wouldn’t be able to represent your business properly; leaving a question mark on your trust factor as well.

A majority of hoteliers still feel websites are just a liability to their business as they are unaware of the importance.

Fact #1: Websites enhance your brand’s online presence

Online presence has become the talk of the town these days and it is no secret that online presence = brand awareness. 

Thus, if you don’t have one, you are definitely left behind by your competitors. 

In fact, most marketing experts agree, how you present your brand online will gain you similar outcomes. 

Creating an online brand presence is about capturing the attention of your targeted audience. And, a website is a driving factor that helps you to do so. 

Being the first point of contact to know more about your hotel; it creates an identity that is bigger than you to engage, acquire, and attract more guests online. 

Myth #2: You do not get any conversions from a website

Hotel owners suffer from a misguided expectation that their website will automatically start attracting visitors the moment it is published. 

Also, some are of the view that it is difficult to gain visitors online, as OTAs have more power and it is tough to compete with them. 

This is because they expect that, since they’ve invested money to build a website, bookings should naturally start flowing in. 

But, it’s not that simple! Marketing for any brand does take time. And, once your website goes live, it’s time you start promoting.

Fact #2: Hotel websites drive direct bookings and generate higher revenue

Every hotel’s goal is to sell more rooms and maximize their profit. Having a stunning website helps you to drive in more visitors to it and eventually turn them into bookers.

The websites created with a website builder solution, often comprise a lot many features namely looker to booker widgets, promotional discounts to highlight, themes, and more.

Making the right use of them and integrating your website to a booking engine makes it even simpler for you to drive more direct bookings and thereby enhance your revenue.

It gives your visitors the freedom to check rooms, availability, and rates on a real-time basis thus allowing them to book their stay directly from your hotel’s websites.

Myth #3: Website requires a lot of maintenance

As a hotel owner, you would want to use your time wisely. And, many have the false opinion that, once their website is built they’d have to invest a lot of time and effort in maintaining it.

Also believing that, they would’ve to regularly check and update its content, photos, videos, as well as nurture its online presence.

All the more, their biggest concern lies in the to and fro to contact the web designer for minor changes and the additional cost that is incurred behind it.

Fact #3: Website creators are easy-to-use and user-friendly 

Nowadays, creating a website and maintaining it is just like a walk in the park. Thanks to the newest technology and the emerging option of DIY (do it yourself).

This means anybody who has little or rather no knowledge about coding can easily manage their website and make updates as required.

The website builder solutions provide you a simple and user-friendly option of drag and drop that requires no added costs, time, and efforts.

It allows you to add or remove any page you wish to on your website, showcase any new offerings, and promote your business in the best possible manner.

TIP: eZee Panorama is one such solution that provides all of these features.

Myth #4: You get poor search engine results 

If you think you can get your website ranked on the first page of the search engine results overnight, then you’re surely fooling yourself. 

Consider your business to be very lucky if you quickly rank as the number one website. Besides, getting a better ranking is just like playing in the stock market.

The traffic patterns are hard to judge and you cannot expect that once you’ve built your website you would naturally rank well and improve your reach without any marketing efforts.

Fact #4: Having a brand website enables stronger organic reach 

Building a strong website definitely has an edge over your competitors as it provides you to acquire better SEO results.

Currently, website makers are offering on-page SEO to help you rank better and improve your brand image. 

However, the organic value of your website will need some time and marketing to pick up the steam.

Besides, it makes your website become more discoverable if you promote and link your social media channels correctly to it.

Myth #5: Custom made websites are better than template websites

Many people are afraid to create a website because they lack the required knowledge and imagination. 

Apart from that, most hoteliers believe, customized websites are expensive and give more value to their business than the pre-designed templates. 

This is because many other businesses might be using the same templates, that won’t help your brand to stand out from your competitors.

They prefer to create a website from scratch believing that customized websites are adaptable to the hotel’s requirements.

Fact #5: Pre-designed templates provide a better look and feel to your website

The reality is, these pre-designed templates are exclusively created by experts who have good knowledge of your business and consider all your requirements.

They make such options available to save your time and energy in designing a completely new website from scratch. 

Templates are the simplest way to get a beautiful website built with a design that perfectly reflects your brand personality.

Website makers provide you various options to choose from and allow you to select or combine any of the templates you wish to.

Not only that, but also they give you a broader idea of what all features your website should include.

Myth #6: Websites are not responsive on all devices

A well-designed website might be visually appealing, but it won’t necessarily account for an increase in sales unless it is responsive on all devices.

Hotel businesses cater to an ample number of customers who could make their booking from any type of device they use.

And, often while they experience low bookings, they blame their website’s unresponsive design. 

They believe the clickable elements which look great on a desktop might not be as appealing on other smaller devices like a phone or a tablet.

Fact #6: They look best on any device and deliver a better visitor experience

At present more than half of the web traffic comes from smartphones. Thus, solution providers ensure to design a website that adapts the layout, content, and design of any device.

This enables your websites to attract and convert more guests online by giving them a delightful experience.

Adding on, these days most software providers give a free demo on how your website would look like on all types of devices such as a desktop, mobile, laptop, and tablet.

Myth #7: No ownership on your website data

Data security has always been a big concern for hoteliers. By creating a beautiful website for the brand, their main question lies upon “Who has the control on my data?”

What if I want to make any updates or remove any information from my website, will I have the power to make such changes? 

And there arises double thoughts on owning a website, believing that they have no ownership on their data information.

Fact #7: You get complete control over your website and data

You don’t necessarily have to worry about your hotel’s data. With the fear of a security breach, most website makers provide an SSL certificate to secure your online information.

Besides, they give you complete ownership of your website and the freedom to perform any edits on your own.

Be rest assured as your content is 100% yours – from the images to the domain, forms, links, and everything in between.

Myth #8: You can’t build a beautiful website without appointing a professional web designer

Often we assume, nothing turns out fruitful unless you invest in it. Likewise, this belief isn’t wrong.

Instead, most small businesses overlook having their own brand website, because of the additional investment of a web designer.

But, considering Fact #5, with pre-designed templates it becomes much easier to create a perfect website for your brand.

On the contrary, 

Fact #8: Website makers design and deliver a perfect website for your brand

Understanding the additional expense of a web designer, most website builder solutions now come with a dedicated web designer all-inclusive in their pricing plans.

They guide you through which templates could look best for your brand, the themes that resonate with it and build a perfect website that your needs.

eZee Panorama is one such solution that completely takes care of all these requirements and ensures to deliver the best website for your brand.

Myth #9: Website builder solutions are expensive than local web designers

Hoteliers commonly believe that website builder solutions include many features and so are more expensive than local designers or web design agencies.

On the other hand, such designers can help you to create and maintain brand identity; but are definitely unaware of your target market as well as the domain knowledge.

To give you a broader idea, here’s a comparison chart on why website builder solutions are better than local web designers.

Fact #9: They provide you various features at an extremely affordable price

It’s just the hype which makes hotel owners believe that purchasing a software incurs more expenses. 

But, the fact stands that, these solutions provide you higher benefits and are exclusively designed as per your brand requirements.

Besides, in reality, website builder solutions are much lighter on your pocket compared to other local designers. 

They are easy-to-go and deliver your hotel’s website within less than a week; covering all your technical aspects as well.

By far, I hope I’ve been able to debunk all your myths on owning a hotel website, although I understand that these might leave a few unanswered questions in your mind.

Let’s get them solved.

FAQs

Conclusion

My personal advice would be to leave all your myths behind and give your brand its own unique identity. 

I know, before making any decision, research is important and you would definitely do that; but do not wait any longer.

Creating an online presence usually takes months or even years to really establish, so better late than never. 

Remember one thing, in the end, all it requires is trust. Trust yourself that you’re making great decisions for your business to walk on the right track.

I hope these facts have tickled your mind. Do let me know how this turned out for you (via comments), and if you need any guidance to understand them better.

It’s time to give your brand, a new face!

The post 9 Biggest Myths and Facts About Owning a Hotel Website appeared first on eZee Absolute.

That’s a bitter truth.

I have seen accommodations pulling out and shutting down. So, you can take it from me. Initially, it might not seem to be a problem, but with time, it is certain to face obstacles.

If you’re a B&B owner or someone who has been thinking of starting a bed and breakfast, you might want to learn a thing or two.

In this blog, I am going to be your personal hospitality mentor and share some legitimate tips for bed and breakfast owners to run a successful B&B business.

What Exactly is a B&B Accommodation? 

A bed and breakfast (typically abbreviated as B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. 

Bed and breakfasts are often private homes owned and managed by couples or families with less manpower.

Unlike hotels, a B&B usually hosts guests for short periods, typically overnight, with an average of six beds as their offering. 

Equipped with all the amenities any guest may need, they are known for being designed as a “home away from home”.

Checklist: Things to Keep in Mind While Starting a B&B

Establishing any business and excelling in it is not something that happens overnight. And, a B&B is no exception, especially if you are new to this industry.

So look before you leap and answer yourself the below questions;

1. Very Important: Do you have a business plan and enough capital to invest?
2. Would you require any manpower or guidance?
3. Are you a people person and enjoy mundane tasks, such as cooking and cleaning?
4. How many rooms are you willing to offer? – One, Two, or the Entire Place?
5. Should you opt for technology to streamline operations?
6. Have any thoughts on how to market your BnB?

Loving what you do is generally the recipe needed for a favorable outcome. And, that’s exactly how you’ll make your guests feel valued and your property stand apart.

What Are the Challenges of Owning a Bed and Breakfast?

The hospitality industry has evolved over the last decade. What’s more, guests’ expectations are constantly changing with time.

Much of this is due to the internet revolution and social media. One bad review and you are sure to lose a good amount of business and vice versa.

Besides, with every plus, there are minuses, and below are some of those for you as a bed and breakfast business  owner:

1. Dealing with Seasonality: Not just for BnBs, but hospitality as a whole experiences the difficulty to achieve occupancy during low seasons. One way out is to offer attractive packages and showcase potential guests that there are still great things to do.

2. Remaining Competitive: With the emerging competition, it becomes tough for B&B owners to offer everything and match guest expectations. So to stay abreast, monitor your competitors, offer something exceptional and curate the best pricing strategies possible.

3. Gaining Repeat Business: Guests often want to try something new, and staying at a B&B can be a one-time experience for many. However, by creating a personalized stay for each guest, you’re well on your way to leaving a lasting impression and fetching a good business within their connections.

4. Setting Right Prices: You might go above and beyond to host your guests. And, it will certainly gain you positive reviews, but if it starts eating away your profits it’ll be hard for you to sustain. So, double-check the price of properties in your area. Are you competitive? If not, you must try finding ways to set your pricing better. 

To help you overcome such challenges and stay ahead of the curve, below I am sharing; 

The Strategies to Make Your B&B Profitable

Of course, the ideal goal for any business is to become successful. This can be achieved either by delivering the perfect guest experience or by being a well-known brand. 

However, before achieving that, you need to have clear strategies for a steady revenue source. 

Here are some of the fail-safe tips for bed and breakfast owners to make better profits and scale.

1. Better Guest Experience 

Curating a personalized stay experience for guests is a direct way to make them feel comfortable and homely.

And, data stands the king here. Unlike followers on social media, you always have access to your email lists so keep in touch with your guests time and again.

Set automated (personalized) emails and roll out exclusive offers to encourage them to choose your property over others.

Besides, during their stay try interacting with your guests and know about their likes/dislikes. This will help you to customize the stay as per their preferences.

2. Upsell Services

Upselling is a great business opportunity that helps you fetch some added income with the ideal package. 

This can be done either by tying up with a few vendors or offering them additional services at your property.

Basically by promoting facilities such as a spa, breakfast buffet, room upgrades, local sightseeing packages, sports activities, and more.

You can do this at any point in time during your guest journey – search for the property, while purchasing, post-booking, or even while they stay at your property.

3. Offer Discounts

Who doesn’t like discounts? It’s like guests might be willing to pay a little extra if you are offering a good deal. And, that’s exactly how you can make some added revenue.

Discounts, as it seems – to offer something at a lower price; however, that’s not always the case. You can consider several parameters, before showcasing the best deal for your property. 

These can be last-minute deals, advanced bookings, low/peak season bookings, OTA deals, package-based discounts, and much more.

It solely depends on the demand for your property and the ideal number of guests visiting your location. Ensure you do not quote a price that affects your BnB’s bottom line.

Besides, we have a blog on discount strategies for hotels. You can check it out and see if there’s anything you can incorporate into your B&B.

4. SWOT Analysis

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats – is exactly what SWOT refers to. It is an old-school method to assess certain business parameters. 

So, why should you take SWOT analysis seriously? As it gives you a clear picture of how your business is performing and what is the scope of improvement. 

For you, as a B&B owner, you can point down to factors such as current revenue and forecasting report

understanding market share, competitor analysis, and positive/negative reviews.

Once you determine these aspects, it will assist you to make necessary changes, focus on your goals, and be your guests’ best choice.

5. Create Online Presence  

What is the first thing your guests do when they plan to make a booking? Google it! And, if they can’t find you there, I am sure they would look for some more options. (At least I would do that!)

Indeed, the world has become digital. And, if you are not online you’re definitely losing out on higher business opportunities.

So how do you do this? Create your property’s website, list your business on Google and let your target audience know via social channels.

Acting as the first point of contact between you and your guests, it helps you create a bigger brand identity to engage, acquire, and attract more guests online. 

6. Marketing Your Property 

Online presence and marketing go hand-in-hand. Once you are online, you’d naturally want to market your property amongst potential guests.

This can be done through various ways like listing your B&B on online travel agencies, staying active on social media, asking for reviews, or tying up with local agents and influencers. 

Besides, marketing is constantly evolving. You never know what becomes a trend. (Can be when you least expect it).

So be very specific and careful while choosing the right marketing strategy to promote your business and welcome higher guests.

7. Revenue Management

Revenue management, though an old concept, lately, has become a need of the hour in this highly competitive and ever-evolving industry. 

You might be of the opinion that this is a new-gen strategy. But, believe it or not, demand-based variable pricing can do wonders for your business.

Also known as dynamic pricing, this strategy is based not just on-demand, but also on competitor pricing, seasonality, current occupancy, and several other factors.

And a revenue management system or a service or a dedicated in-house revenue manager enables you to optimize your property’s pricing and inventory. 

As a B&B owner, you might not have a massive budget. So, it is important to double-check before taking any steps ahead.

8. Bet on Technology

Technology – an ideal way to simplify and streamline your day-to-day operations. The way it has emerged in the hospitality industry has transformed how properties operate. 

Be it an online booking, housekeeping, or any check-in procedure; it’s just a matter of a click and you are all set.

To make your work easy, I am listing below some of the must-have technologies for a BnB:

1.  B&B Management Software: A bed and breakfast management system enables you to automate all the essential tasks of sales/bookings, front desk operations, room reservations, and more, thereby serving your guests better.

2. Channel Manager Solution: This helps you to streamline online distribution processes and easily manage property rates and inventory on various channels or travel websites. Within a matter of seconds, you can minimize the hassles of overbookings.

3. Online Booking Engine: Offer your guests a quick and smooth reservation experience on any device by seamlessly integrating with the property’s website. It is a system that assists you to accelerate direct bookings and save OTA commissions.

The post How Can B&Bs Be Successful in This Volatile Industry? appeared first on eZee Absolute.

From welcoming guests to observing a low influx, you never know where you might have taken the wrong path. 

And, such a breakdown, smashes you both ways – mentally and financially.

(This was the scenario for a lot of hoteliers in 2020 .)

So to keep you well prepared and save your hotel business from failing, I have penned down some extremely useful tips below.

But first, let me tell you

What can be the various reasons for a failing hotel business?

The word “closing” itself leaves me with a teary eye. And, we cannot stop or change something that is about to happen.

Besides, businesses don’t fail out of luck. There are several factors involved that turn you into a loss-making company from a profitable one. 

And before you reach a point where it all seems out of motion, let’s understand the reasons that can head you to closure.

I have covered some of the major ones below:

More expenses, less income:

When your expenses exceed the income, it is natural that your business will suffer from a loss. And this is one of the primary reasons why hotel businesses fail. Thus, make sure to reduce your costs and hike your profits before it’s too late.

Low bookings and guests influx:

For a hotel, everything revolves around guests. They are the reason why your business exists. So, if you observe low occupancy even during the peak seasons, then make sure you start implementing strategies to attract more guests.

Poor guest experience and bad reviews:

Bad customer service comes with dangerous side effects on your business. If you come across any negative reviews, start applying strategies to improve your customer experience. In case you fail to do so, it will harm your hotel’s reputation; leaving a bad impression on your future visitors.

Installing expensive technology:

Technology simplifies your hotel’s complex operations, but make sure you are getting enough ROI from it. It is very important to note that expensive DOES NOT mean EXCELLENT! So adopt a solution that delivers you the right returns and better guest experiences. 

Unfavorable market conditions:

Market conditions are unpredictable and you have no control over them. But, you should always have a strategy for the worst times. I have some exceptional cost-saving ideas that can help you overcome this.

Using old hotel management practices:

Technology and trends look fresh until they are not outdated. Likewise, the hospitality industry witnesses various trends with rising guest expectations every day. And, if you fail to adopt those, they’d choose your competitors over you.

Each of these and several other reasons can largely affect your business’s growth. If you’re not taking a proactive approach to controlling your expenses, your hotel will not generate higher profits.

So, better late than never, be well prepared to take the right steps in advance.

Let’s have a look below to implement them at your property. 

How to save your hotel business from failing?

It’s always good to have a plan B when plan A doesn’t head in the right direction. Likewise, if your hotel is not achieving the desired goals, it’s time to adapt creative strategies and turn things around.

Here are the smart ways through which you can lower your costs and achieve higher business profits.

1. Go low on marketing expenses

Marketing for your hotel business is surely going to give you better returns. But, when you are low on profits, this is one thing that you can consider skipping on. 

Instead, you can switch to no-cost marketing activities from paid ones (like ads). Also, consider targeting your audience directly from social media platforms.

Join (suitable) groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. Start posting about your offers, discounts, and the various facilities that you provide at your property.

I’m sure this will help you generate more business plus improve the brand awareness of your property.

2. Revamp your pricing and cancellation policies

Good pricing and flexible cancellation policies are always good deals for your guests. If you plan this right, what more would they want from you?

Pricing involves a lot of factors. And, if you don’t want to lose your customers, it is necessary to set effective pricing strategies to enhance the overall profit of your business.

All the more, ensure that your cancellation policies are in line with your hotel’s pricing. Because no guest would want to lose their money if they are unable to visit your hotel.

These are very crucial elements that you should often track. Especially during an unprecedented crisis, at the time of festivals, events, long weekends, and on the whole.

3. Take ideas from your hotel staff

When things get complicated, it becomes hard for you to come up with new ideas and draw a conclusion on the ongoing hurdles.

Here’s where your hotel staff can be your best friend to help you stay afloat during tough times.

Do consider their views and plan out new strategies. Because they are the ones who are actually on the frontend of your business. 

Further, if you deem it right, get in touch with industry experts to seek advice for your business growth.

4. Implement low-season tactics

Low seasons can make or break a property. If your budgets are already tight, any significant dip in bookings can largely affect your business revenue.

But implementing the right tactics in advance can help you beat them. Smart ideas, planning, and a bit of pop psychology can get you more guests even during the low season. 

Personally, I prefer to visit locations when there is an off-season. Because there are two major benefits – low prices and no overcrowding. 

I’m sure there must be many travelers like me that would help you here. So make sure you target the right audience during such times and hike your profits.

5. Take advantage of underutilized spaces

Look into every nook and corner of your hotel and find spaces that are not utilized or not used often. 

Using underutilized spaces to enhance your hotel’s revenue during your low-profit days can be a good way to earn a side income. 

Make use of such spaces for recreational activities that do not include much set-up costs. Namely - yoga, meditation, family gatherings, and such likes.

However, these might not be a permanent set-up at your hotel but can work as a promotional strategy to meet your expenses.

6. Host events and upsell services

Host events like music gigs, concerts, festivals, and parties, or collaborate with influencers. This can be a win-win strategy for both – your hotel and its fame.

Influencers often have a huge fan base that attracts more guests to your property through their presence. 

Besides, these events allow you to upsell your hotel services like hotel rooms, dine-in facilities, bars, etc. 

You can also offer combo deals at relatively low costs to draw your guests’ attention and thereby meet your business revenue.

7. Make use of social media presence

It is always advisable to follow the trend and stay active on social media platforms. This helps you to increase your bookings and engage more followers.

Besides, these days your guests are more active on social media, exploring every single thing they are looking for.

That is why regular posting, sharing updates, and adapting social media strategies would hugely benefit and promote your property. 

(You can also create a unique hashtag for your hotel.)

I have some ready-made social media post templates that would help you to start with this.

8. Promote cross-resource utilization

Cross-utilization of employees helps you to manage your resources in an effective and profitable way.

It is a method to build your staff with a secondary skillset and broader knowledge to perform activities of other departments as well.  

You may think this will need around the clock efforts from your staff. But, in reality, it will benefit them to know the in and out of your business.  

Besides, it will save you from the extra expense of hiring new staff by training your existing employees with new roles and responsibilities.

9. Run discounts that benefit your property

Discounts!! This word itself has a huge impact on your customer’s minds. It encourages them to make a booking with your property (if they find a good deal).

Running and promoting discounts often have several advantages - better branding, better sales, and better bookings.

That is why you need to be thoughtful and consider a wide range of parameters while offering the perfect deal.

Here’s a definitive guide to hotel discount strategies that will allow you to showcase the best discounts for your property and equally gain you good returns. 

10. Ensure your hotel software fulfills smooth operations

A hotel PMS is the heart and soul of your business. If you are not using an affordable cloud-based system, then you’re missing out on some solid perks.

An automated and streamlined system delivers a great guest experience by saving a lot of your time and effort.

Besides, when integrated with other systems, it reduces the to and fro between departments and boosts staff productivity.

Further, these systems include a mobile PMS that lets you track operations on the go and stay updated on everything.

11. Provide ultimate employee satisfaction

Employees are the right hand in your business. If you keep them happy, they’ll undoubtedly make your guests happy.

First things first, educate your staff and provide them training at regular intervals. Consider their views and in turn, share with them what are your future goals.

This will create a sense of trust and encourage them to serve your guests in the best way possible.

Also, focus on long-term employees by timely delivering rewards for their performances. This will help you to have an experienced set of team on board. 

12. Adapt to the changing trends

You can’t get ahead if you don’t know where the industry is going and what your guests’ expectations are. So make sure you’re aware of the upcoming hotel industry trends.

Being the first to offer new services, you are one step ahead of your competitors to gain more guests and business revenue.

You should also consider switching to modern practices from traditional ones and revamping your hotel premises (in case it requires an update).

Such changes will save your hotel business from failing, making it the #1 preferred destination for your guests. 

Thus, stay updated on what’s happening, how the industry is reshaping, and what can empower you to deliver a better guest experience.

13. Promote good hotel reviews

Reviews are a great way to attract guests and boost your hotel’s reputation. If you notice a guest is happy with their stay, never miss a chance to take their feedback on public platforms.

(Let me tell you, mouth-to-mouth advertising works the best!)

Highlight excellent reviews on the right channels, like a website, social media, Google, etc. It will give you a chance to showcase the uniqueness of your property.

To mention,  93% of people check hotel reviews before booking a room.

And, not only taking reviews but also its timely response (irrespective of whether it is a negative review); plays an essential role in your business.

I have some really useful review response templates (for free) that might help you.

Turning around an underperforming hotel is quite challenging, but not impossible. By far, I hope I was able to give you a solution to save your hotel business from failing. 

Let’s clear a few of your doubts now.

FAQs

Half information is always harmful. Therefore, I have listed a few questions that might have popped into your head by now.

The post 13 Strategies to Turn Around A Failing Hotel Business appeared first on eZee Absolute.

I’m sure this question would tickle your guests’ minds every time they plan for a trip, as the current crisis has put the travel and tourism industry to a standstill. 

Though we also see that tourism is being recovered in some parts of the world, and the first thing that is about to bounce back is domestic tourism.

So, in this blog, I am going to provide you with advice on how to attract domestic travellers at your hotel. 

Whether you are still in lockdown, preparing for restrictions to be lifted, or open to domestic travel; these are ideas that you can put into practice to win guests and regain revenue.

But, before that let’s understand,

What is domestic travel and why would people prefer that post the pandemic? 

Domestic travel. You must be familiar with this term right? Well, it’s all about exploring your own home country. 

With the uncertainty of what happens tomorrow, it is likely that your guests would prefer to travel internally at least for a while. 

This would make them feel comfortable and have a sense of trust in case of any medical emergencies; as they aren’t much away from their home.

Likewise, a staycation would also be an upcoming trend. These are travellers that prefer to explore places in their own backyards, close to their home city, and connect to their own local culture.

They are probably those who like going on a quick road trip or prefer staying in their own city. 

Besides, the observing change to go VOCAL FOR LOCAL across countries would make your guests go for domestic travel for quite some time.

But, how would you attract domestic travellers to your property? 

All you need to do is, be prepared to cater to their needs and match their expectations.

This would help you to boost your revenue and uplift your business.

So, let’s figure out,

Why should hotels favour domestic travellers? 

By far, there are barely any bookings being made for the future, and the current ones all stand cancelled. 

All the more, international travel hasn’t resumed completely; and the only option available to explore is domestic travel.

So, to give you a closer look at this, I’d like to share with you some data that I have been closely monitoring for the past few months.

Here’s a graphical representation that I observed on the number of bookings received per month in a COVID19 environment.

If we see, these are some of the worst hit times that the industry has faced where the months of April and March remain to be the most affected ones. 

However, with time, we saw things improving gradually. Tourism is once again getting back on track and people have started to plan their trips.

But, there are a lot many factors that need to be looked into to entice the attention of your domestic tourist.

Let me guide you on that below.

What type of guests would be travelling post the outbreak? 

Observing constant changes in the environment and behaviour of your guests, it is unlikely to judge who would be travelling in such a crisis. 

However, initially, you can expect couples who missed on to celebrate their special occasions amid lockdown or small groups of friends reuniting for a weekend break. 

To add on, there would be countless families that might have cancelled their trips during the outbreak. So, you could also witness such a group of guests at your property. 

Apart from this, your repeat guests would be most likely to visit your hotel. For now, trust and familiarity are such factors that would encourage them to come back.

During such instances, you can set limits on the number of base adults staying in one room.  And also, allocate alternate rooms to your guests thereby abiding social distancing. 

For time being, I advise you not to take bookings from countries that have been most affected by the virus.

I’m sure, considering even such minute precautions would benefit your property to stay safe in the long run.

Now, let’s find out ways on how you can attract domestic travellers.

How to attract domestic travellers at your hotel?

With rising expectations of your guests, you need to be well prepared to offer what they are looking forward to. 

The one thing that would be on top of their mind post this outbreak, is SAFETY. And, you definitely need to ensure them a safe stay at your hotel.

Bearing in mind the types of travellers that might visit your property, you must ensure ways to attract them to maximize your revenue.

Adding on, you might have witnessed every second hotel taking a hit during COVID-19, so make sure to have a plan smarter than ever before to get back on track.

Below I have listed down the ideas that would help you to plan and bring in a good amount of domestic guests at your property. Have a look:

1. Reframe your safety and hygiene norms

Constantly focusing and following the guidelines issued by the government, I’m sure you must have rolled out various precautionary measures at your hotel. 

Besides, I would like to mention a few MUST-HAVE measures that everyone at your property should follow. 

On your doorstep, make it a mandatory requirement to perform temperature checks for all your guests and hotel staff.

Along with this, install hand sanitizers across your hotel’s premises.

Further, to create a sense of trust and comfort for your guests, hang posters showcasing the precautionary measures you’ve implemented.

Lastly, make sure that everyone is following the required protocols and that your hotel’s premises, rooms, gym, pool area, restaurant, etc. are disinfected at regular intervals.

2. Impart usage of COVID19 safety kit 

In the old times, you offered complimentary toiletries to your guests. Similar to that, you can now provide complimentary COVID19 safety kits.

Post the crisis, even when things have settled down, you can place such kits in each of your hotel rooms. 

Make sure this comprises a mask, hand sanitizer, gloves, and a face shield (if need be).

Besides, highlight about this on your hotel’s website, social media, and every possible link that reaches out to your guests. 

So, when they make a booking, they are well aware of the safety precautions your hotel is taking.

3. Get in touch via emails 

Emails are not dead and never will be! They have been the most convenient way of reaching out to your guest even during the lockdown scenarios.

Start engaging with your existing as well as past guests. They are the ones who would be more likely to visit your property.

Focus on sending emails like your hotel’s reopening date, safety precautions you’ve taken, special offers, deals, promotions, and more. 

Don’t rush by sending too many emails regularly. Share them at fixed intervals and cater to the cities that are less affected by the virus.

I’m sure this would work and get your loyal guests enticed.

4. Reach out via social media

Social media is the best tool to get you more guests and keep them updated about your hotel. All the more, it helps you to reach out to a much larger audience.

So make sure you add this one in your plan! Be socially active and regularly post about the steps you are taking to keep your property safe and sanitized. 

Once you start receiving bookings, you can also highlight the packages and discounts that you are offering.

I have some ready-to-use social media templates to offer you. (Edit it as per your requirements)

This platform is vast if you have the right strategies for social media marketing then I’m sure you can do wonders and attract maximum guests.

5. Emphasize on your hotel’s location

If your property is situated in a beautiful landscape then you can take advantage by highlighting it. For now, all your guests want is a pleasing environment to stay in. 

And, having the plus of a mind-blowing location wouldn’t be hard for you to gain potential guests. 

However, if it is the other way around, then you can instead portray the various amenities that your hotel offers.

Along with that, do mention about the direct flights that reach out to your location. I’m sure your guests don’t want to be a part of the crowd for a much longer time.

And, having such direct flights to your location can be a plus point for them to choose your property.

6. Set attractive pricing 

One way to stand apart from your competitors is by having attractive and affordable pricing packages for your guests.

We all know that the pandemic has hugely affected all economies. So, the one thing that your guests would prefer is a low-budget stay.

Initially, you can acquire guests at a lower price than what you used to offer previously. 

Once you observe a good inflow, you can accordingly alter your hotel pricing strategies.

Do focus on planning out some really effective pricing combos and discounts. This will surely help your hotel to bring in more bookings.

7. Encourage contactless services

Contactless services are the NEW NORMAL that your hotel needs to adapt to. Like earlier, now your guests won’t prefer getting much in contact with your hotel’s staff.

Their requirements have changed. So, to match their needs, you need to now enable touch-free services at your premises. 

For this, having a guest self-service portal at your property can make your operations much simpler; thereby maintaining a physical distance between you, your staff, and your guests.

Besides, digitalization is the new way that your guests would get attracted to your property.

Right from acquiring bookings to being in touch with them post-departure, make sure you deliver contactless experiences at each stage of your guest’s life cycle.

8. Promote in-room services

Think twice, would your guests prefer to have crowded places at your premises now? No right? Not just your guests but I’m sure even you would fear that!

And post the pandemic or even earlier I’m sure such instances would take place mostly in your dining area or during the morning breakfast buffet.

One way to reduce overcrowding at such spaces is by promoting the in-room services. 

Offer them options like delivering the breakfast at their doorstep.

Make sure that it is delivered completely touch-free. You can advise your staff to ring the doorbell and leave or stand at a distance of 2 meters.

Practicing such things at your property would definitely make your guests feel secured and that you value their safety more than anything else.

9. Set flexible cancellation policies

Cancellation policies can make or break your property post the outbreak. By mentioning make or break, I mean, designing flexible cancellation policies can help you to pull more guests.

Lately, you must have received a lot of cancellations. Reason being, the pandemic of course, and its uncertain lockdown situation.

However, I’m sure you don’t want to witness such a scenario any time further. Thus, make sure you plan a fool-proof cancellation policy.

Don’t be over flexible though, do keep in mind that your guests don’t want to lose any more money in case they have to cancel their bookings due to an unprecedented crisis.

Thus, ensure that you highlight and mention about your hotel’s cancellation policy clearly on all platforms.

10. Collect and promote guest reviews

Feedback and reviews are a great way to encourage and attract more guests to your property. And, they may start to take a different shape in this changing world. 

Your potential guests will always be on the lookout for comments on the cleanliness, hygiene, and safety measures at your property.

And if you highlight them rightly on your website, OTAs, and other meta-search engines then I’m sure they can play a big part in influencing the booking decisions of your potential guests. 

Make it a practice to collect feedback from your guests as soon as they check-out. For this, no need to use the old traditions of a physical pen and paper.

Technology has reshaped. Just like payments have become cashless, likewise, feedback have turned paperless.

So, collect reviews via emails, SMSes, social media channels, and every possible way that lets you do so.

Adding these would definitely help you to entice more guests than your competitors.

Wait… That’s not all! I have some really beneficial links to share below.

Useful links and resources

Essential Requirements and Tips to Reopen Hotel

Strategies to Lift Hotel Business Post the Outbreak

Guidelines on Post COVID19 Protocols for Hotels

Effective Hotel Cancellation Policy

Guide to Discount Strategies

COVID-19 Survival Kit for Hotels

Email Marketing for hotels

Ways to Keep Your Hotel Business Safe From COVID-19

Conclusion

We know time heals everything and I’m sure it will do so for the travel and tourism industry being the most affected one. 

Besides, domestic tourism will be the first one to gear up and get back on track.

Thus, my advice for you as a hotelier would be to consider the new preferences of your travellers, stay well prepared to cater to their needs, and match their expectations.

Start with the various ways I have enlisted above to welcome your guests again. Remember to be empathetic, flexible, and helpful in your approach. 

We will recover and get through this phase too! 

I hope these ideas will attract more domestic travellers to your property and make your business fruitful.

Do let me know how this works out for you (via comments), and if you need any guidance to implement it.

The post 10 Sureshot Ways to Attract Domestic Travellers at Your Hotel appeared first on eZee Absolute.

So, as a hotelier, you should delight them with what they really like.

BUT, you cannot offer discounts in a single blow.

You have to be thoughtful and consider a wide range of parameters, before uncovering the best deal for your property.

In this blog, I’ll guide you with the what, why, and how of discount strategies in hotels. In addition, I’ll suggest the best times to run those deals, how to apply them, and everything else around it.

To begin with, let me tell you:

Why do hotels need to run discount offers?

Well, hotels need to offer discounts and run promotions for the following reasons:

1. To promote their brand.
2. To increase repeat guests and attract new ones.
3. To boost room sales in weak seasons.
4. To ensure the highest value bookings in peak seasons.

Though, most hoteliers have the following concerns for their discount strategies: Will it cost them higher or hamper their sales, will they get enough bookings, and much more.

(Don’t worry! I’ll cover all of that in this blog.)

In addition, offering a discount is a quick way to draw your guests’ attention. 

There are various types of discounts that you can run. Let’s understand them ahead.

Which types of discounts can a hotel offer?

You’ll mainly see two types of discount strategies in hotels: 

a. Promotional discounts:

Promotional discounts are those which are offered on hotel rooms or any other services. Its main purpose is to attract your potential guests for purchasing something additional at your hotel. These discounts are usually offered through PROMO CODES.

Few examples:
1. Get 10% off on one more night stay
2. Pay for 1 night and get 1 night free   
3. Enter promo code “FLAT10” and get 10% off on the 2nd night.

b. Package discounts:

Package discount means a discount offered when a guest purchases room accommodation plus any extra service, activity, or a meal plan at your property.

Few examples:
1. Stay for 3 nights, 4 days + breakfast @ 250$
2. Stay for 1 night, 2 days + Couple Spa @ 200$  
3. Stay for 2 nights, 3 days @ 300$ + all meals at absolutely no cost

I’m sure this will help you decide on which type of discount you want to offer at your property.
Just remember: Better the deals, higher would be your occupancy.

How can a hotel apply discounts?

I know that in this tight competition, you want to outrank your competitors by having the best discount strategies at your hotel.

But, you shouldn’t forget an important factor while doing that – HAVE PROFITABLE DEALS (for you as well as for your guests).

Let’s find out how to apply discounts and when is the best time to offer them at your hotel:

a. How to apply promotional discounts at your property?

I’ve listed below the various ways in which you can run promotional discount strategies in hotels and make your guests happy.

1. Night based discount:

Many times, you might host guests that prefer to stay for a short period of time. They can be business travellers, localites and millennials. In such cases, you can offer a discount either on the first night or the last night of your guest’s stay. 

For example, if a guest books a room with you for 2 nights, 3 days; then give them a discount of 10$ on either the first or the last night. 

Best time to offer: You can apply such discounts when there is a long weekend OR any festival coming up.

2. Discount on all nights:

Some guests prefer to stay for a long period of time, either to relax or to take a break from their routine life. Here, you can delight such guests by offering a discount on their entire stay.

For example, if you receive a booking for 7 nights, 8 days; then give either a flat amount of discount (15$) or % discount (10%) on their entire stay amount.

Best time to offer: Run such discounts when you have either charged a higher amount on your room or when the guest stays at your property for a longer duration.

3. Frequency based discounts: 

This means, how often you want to offer discounts to your guests i.e. the frequency of the discount. You can offer such frequency-based discounts when you want your guests to stay for a longer duration (increase LOS).  

For example, offer 10$ off every alternate day, or after every 3 days or on a particular set date.

Best time to offer: This hotel discount strategy can be applied during a mass gathering or any event at your property.

b. How to apply package discounts at your property?

Hotels can offer several packages to their guests. However, the below mentioned ones are the best ways to offer a package to them:

1. Basic package:

These are deals where your potential guest makes a booking at your property and gets a discount on the entire stay package.

For example, stay for 3 nights, 2 days + avail continental meal, and get 10% off on the entire package.

Best time to offer: You can run such deals when the guest is about to make a reservation or when your competitor’s rates are higher than you.

2. Booking window package: 

A booking window is a particular time period when the guest has to make a reservation for a future date. Here, they can avail the discount (package) ONLY IF they have made the booking in the given time frame.

For example, book for 3 nights, 4 days at 100$ before 30 June 2020, and visit us anytime till June 2021. Here, the booking window is till “30 June 2020.”

Best time to offer: If we consider the current situation of the pandemic, then now is the best time to run this deal. Other than that, you can apply such offers when you’re having a low occupancy at your hotel.

3. Last minute deals

The name says it all. Last-minute travel is usually a journey taking place within 7-14 days of your guest’s booking date. These discounts are provided to push last-minute bookings. 

For example, a guest or consider business travelers booking for a quick stay; makes a booking on 15th June 2020 for 28th-30th June 2020. Then, here you can offer them a 15% discount on the booking amount.

Best time to offer: Such deals can be best applied within 14 days of the guest arrival date.

4. Advanced booking deals

Advance booking allows your guest to book a hotel room at a discounted rate. Basically, it is a booking that is made atleast 3 months prior to their arrival date.

For example, consider someone booking for Diwali; stay for 3 nights, 4 days and get a discount of 10%.

Best time to offer: Such discount strategies in hotels are most beneficial for festivals or vacations.

5. Pay and stay deal: 

In pay and stay deals, you offer your guests an additional stay of the same nights they’ve paid for. 

For example, pay for 1 night and get an additional 1 night free, or stay for 2 nights and pay for only one.

Best time to offer: You can offer such deals either when your hotel rooms aren’t completely occupied during long weekends or holidays.

6. Minimum and maximum stay package:

Minimum and maximum stay packages mean any guest arriving on a particular date range needs to stay a minimum or a maximum number of nights at your property.

For example, a guest booking between 1-10 June 2020 has to stay a minimum for 3 days at a discounted rate. Similarly, for a separate time range, you can set the maximum night limit and offer a discount on that. 

Best time to offer: Minimum night deals can be applied best when there is a concert or any event at or around your property. (So, if the concert is for 3 days, then here you can offer a minimum stay package for 3 nights). And, if you have upcoming gatherings, you can apply the maximum night deals when your guests book a few days prior to those gatherings. 

c. How to apply discount on promotions and packages at your property?

In a very few cases, hoteliers offer this type of discount which is a combination of promotions and packages. 

For example, book for 3 nights, 4 days + get spa service, and an additional 10% discount on your booking.

Best time to offer: This can be considered only when you are extremely low on bookings or are experiencing a downturn in your hotel’s occupancy.

So, these are the various types of discounts that you can offer to your guests. Each of them has its own benefits and would vary depending upon your property type and requirements. 

Thus, before applying them make sure you analyze each of these in detail and figure out which works the best for your property.

Where can you offer discounts for your hotel?

Offering discounts is an unfailing way to boost your occupancy and revenue. However, below are the best possible locations to run discounts.

a. Discounts on OTAs

OTAs or better known as online travel agents have become an impactful source of marketing for hoteliers. They allow hotel rooms to be sold to a larger audience, helping hoteliers to gain higher revenue. 

Often these OTAs run deals, offers, promotions, and loyalty or reward programs to acquire more bookings. Participating in them will help you to showcase the best deals to your guests.

Here, on the OTAs, you can promote the various discounts that I mentioned above. Doing so will make your property preferable over your competitors.

b. Discounts on direct bookings

Even though OTAs are better accessible to guests, direct bookings take the cake when it comes to hotel revenue. Mainly because they help you save up on your hefty OTA commissions. 

So, encourage your guests to book with you directly by highlighting a good deal on your website. 

c. Travel agent discounts

Travel agents are a source of acquiring bookings apart from the OTAs, metasearch engines, and hotel websites.

Getting connected with them will not only help in showcasing your presence to guests but also reap you more reservations. I’m sure you might have tied up with several travel agents already.

Thus, do offer them something better apart from the discounts available on online channels. This will in turn get you more guests and help you upsell extra services at your property.

When should a hotel offer discounts?

Offering discounts is the best way to sell your property to a larger target audience. Below are the different times when you should do so:

a. Low season discounts

Without a doubt, the peak season is the best for hoteliers as you enjoy high demand and an influx of guests. Of course, it’s not that tough to achieve full occupancy during the peak season. 

For that reason, low seasons are what discounts are made for. Here, the first step you should take is determining when exactly your off-season starts and run the discount offers accordingly.

A GOOD DEAL will definitely help your hotel increase bookings during such times. Moreover, you should encourage your guests to stay longer with a discount reminder, when they add their stay dates. 

b. Event-based discounts:

Events are the best time to apply discount strategies in hotels and attract more guests. These events may be festival celebrations, parties, conferences, seminars, concerts, or some fun workshops. 

Showcase some great deals when you have such events coming up in or around your property. And, DO make sure to keep the most attractive offers in the market; such that your guests choose you and no other property. 

Start by offering early bird discounts, and then move to provide group discounts to attract more guests. Show off your discounts like a “FLASH SALE” to make your guests aware.

c. Guest-based discounts:

Hotels tend to provide discounts based on the guest type. You must also have various types of guests visiting your property. Set up discounts for all such types of guests viz. business travelers, leisure travelers, VIP guests, repeated guests, and so on. 

These guests might turn out to be great at word-of-mouth recommendations and improve your hotel’s reputation. 

For the most part, you can consider offering weekday discounts for business travelers, and weekend discounts for other guest types. 

Moreover, you can offer them free or nominal costing recreational activities to improve engagement and guest experience. 

d. Referral discounts:

A referral discount is for bookings made because of a recommendation or through a secondary business source such as cab drivers, shop owners, and vendors. 

Such collaborations are always beneficial and work in a win-win strategy, benefiting you with bookings, the opposite party with a commission, and the guest with a discounted stay. 

This would help you build better relationships with your guests as well as your business sources; thus enhancing bookings.

e. For desktop and mobile users

This is a newly added discount type where you can offer your guests to either do a booking through the desktop/tablet/mobile and get a particular amount of discount on it.

For example, often Amazon, Flipkart, or such delivery giants provide app-only deals or discounts. You too can offer similar deals for your property.

Moreover, you can also collaborate with some well-known brands and accordingly apply discount strategies that benefit them as well as your hotel.

I am sure, you must be pretty clear by now, as to when you can offer a discount. So, let’s move forward and understand the factors you need to look into before running any promotion at your property.

Which factors to consider while running discount strategies in hotels?

Promotions work great when they are targeted to the right audience, in the right way, at the right time. However, before running any discount offers for your hotel, there are several factors you need to keep in mind. 

Let’s understand each of these in detail here. 

a. Target audience

Primarily, identify the target audience you want to cater to. Is it business travelers, honeymooners, vacationers, or millennials? Do keep an eye on your competitors’ target audience as well. 

Sure, I know, not every customer is a good fit for any hotel discount strategy that you offer. Not all might need discounts to book with you, whereas some might request for a tad bit higher discount. So, don’t push the same offer to all. 

Rather, choose your target audience wisely and set your discount offers on the OTAs, website, and metasearch engines in accord.

b. Overall goal

Discounts are terrific, but offering them without any goal or purpose is just meaningless. Thus, before you implement or offer any discount make sure you are clear about why you want to do so. Is it to:

• Gain more guests?
• Achieve full occupancy?
• Enhance sales?
• Win over your competitors?

Well, once you know the reason, we are sure, offering discounts and making the most of them would be pretty much easy to achieve.

c. Terms and conditions

Determining and mentioning your hotel’s terms and conditions while availing any discount offer should be clearly stated when a guest makes a booking. These can be like:

• Discount valid upto {Date}
• Avail {10%} discount via {SBI} card only
• Free WiFi access
• Early check-in option available
• Pool access

Having transparency about such things will instill faith in the booker for your hotel to make the booking.

d. Cancellation policies

Proper and fool-proof cancellation policy is MUST before rolling out the discount offers on your website as well as other connected channels. Be careful while forming your cancellation policies and don’t miss out on anything important.

Try not to be over flexible as well as ultra-strict with it. This will help you to get more confirmed bookings as well as reduce your cancellation ratio.

Must read: Tactics to reduce your last-minute cancellations 

d. ROI on discount offers

This will help you to analyze the expense or loss incurred in discounts against the bookings and revenue you earned. 

You need to focus on this aspect because you are lowering your room rates while offering discounts. The more you lower them, the higher maybe your cost incurred. 

And, it is done with the aim that the guest would make use of the extra services at your hotel thus balancing the cost of your room.

So, once you offer discounts, make sure to analyze their ROI against the bookings that you earn.

Here’s a formula to calculate the ROI:

ROI of the bookings = Cost incurred to acquire those bookings / The revenue earned from the bookings.

Once you analyze the above factors, the next step that you need to focus on is, the different ways to promote your discounts and make your guests aware of it. 

How to promote discount offers?

No matter how appealing your discount offer is, it won’t be weighty enough unless you promote it properly. And so, try these below-tested techniques to make sure your target audience is aware of the discounts that you are running:

a. Email marketing

Emails are an evergreen way to promote your hotel’s discount offers to your audience. Moreover, you can use email marketing to keep your existing and potential guests up-to-date with the offers. 

Send them emails that include an offer, a coupon code, a discount on the booking itself, a recreational service, or a meal in your hotel’s restaurant.

Further, make sure these emails are attractive, short, and influential to make your recipient finish the booking. 

b. Social media

Social media marketing is one of the best ways to connect with and attract a larger amount of audience. Not only this, but it also helps you to keep your guests informed about any discount or offers that you are running.

For this, make sure you are active on all social media platforms and regularly post about your offers, combo packages, and deals.

Must Read: Simple Steps to do Social Media Marketing for your Hotel

We also have some ready-to-use social media templates for such and many other occasions.

c. WhatsApp and SMS marketing

Be where your guests are, ALWAYS. Apart from the social platforms, you should be active on WhatsApp, Viber and other communication channels. 

With the growing number of smartphone users, your guests can be available on any channel and may want to communicate on their preferred channels.

Just don’t miss out on any of it. 

This is where SMS marketing comes into the picture.

Firstly, have a fully-fledged list of data of your guests; let that be inquiries from existing or potential guests. Next up, start engaging them with your discount offers or promotions via a broadcast list and SMS. 

d. Highlight on website and OTAs

Your guest’s first step while making any booking is to check your availability either on the OTAs or your hotel’s website. This is the most convenient way for them to know about your hotel’s rates and any offers that you are running. So, make sure you’re displaying them properly on your website and OTAs. 

This way, they’ll be informed and reminded about the deals that you are offering; in turn, making your property preferable over your competitors.  

e. Run ads

Advertising is an important yet cost-effective aspect to promoting your hotel’s discount offers. You need to set a dedicated budget aside for this and find the best ways to run ad campaigns.

Running ads can not only help you to promote your discount offers but also your amenities, packages, ambiance, location, and much more.

Initially, you can start with Google Ads, remarketing Ads, and then move ahead with advertising your offers on Facebook or Instagram; completely depending upon your budget.

Here are some ready-to-use ad templates that you can take advantage of.

That’s all I have to share about discount strategies and package ideas in hotels. I am sure this will help you run your promotions even more wisely than before.

Frequently asked questions

This blog might lead you to a few unanswered questions in mind. So here are the below FAQs that hoteliers like you may ask.

The post A Definitive Guide to Discount Strategies in Hotels [Examples Inside] appeared first on eZee Absolute.

We are pretty sure, things would never be the same after this phase ends. As rightly said, it’ll be the “NEW NORMAL” that we’ll be living in.

Social distancing, preferring to stay at home, a contactless journey; that’s what people would favor most. Hence, the most important thing currently is, to “survive” and plan the future of your business.

So, we have come up with a COVID19 SURVIVAL KIT for hotels to help you keep your business alive and future-ready.

Basically, these are a list of resources that would help the hospitality industry to overcome the difficulties that COVID-19 brings.

We advise you to refer to each one of these in detail and accordingly plan the best for your hotel business. 

How Hotels Can Be Safe from Coronavirus?

Post this pandemic, as a hotel, there are a lot many preventive measures that you will have to adapt and ensure the safety of your guests. So here, we have given a detailed explanation on the what, why, and how of COVID-19 and which preventive measures should hotels take to assure a safe stay to your guests.

How to Keep Your Hotel Business Safe From COVID-19?

Presently, you might be experiencing a bad time in your business with low to zero occupancies. However, there are still a lot of important things that you should focus on to keep your hotel business safe from this deadly virus. Here, we have listed some simple and adaptable measures that hotels can take to keep their business safe from this downtime.

Strategies to Lift Your Hotel Business After COVID-19 Outbreak

Earlier this year, who would’ve imagined that 3 months into this new decade, global travel will be shut down? Nonetheless, we all are aware that the hospitality industry is the most affected one currently; with no sign of hope when people would resume travel. So, here are some best strategies for you to prepare and lift your hotel business after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Smart Cost-Saving Ideas for Hotels

Efficient operations in hotels are dependent on how well you manage your expenses. And, currently, with no business coming in, we’re sure “saving costs” would be the first thing to consider. Thus, for having a successful business in the near future, here’s how this blog would be beneficial to you. Check out the best cost-saving ideas for hotels and implement the applicable ways to reduce it at your property; ensuring maximum profits.

A Complete Guide to Hotel Email Marketing

Emails have been an evergreen marketing strategy for any business and are the most common means of communication currently. It helps you to engage and connect with your existing as well as past guests in a much simpler way. So, while practicing social distancing, this is the best way to stay connected with your guests and keep them informed about the in and out of your hotel. Here’s where this comprehensive guide to hotel email marketing will help you to understand its importance and rightly implement it at your property.

Simple Steps to do Social Media Marketing for Hotels [Free Templates]

Social media marketing for hotels can do wonders if done right. Needless to say, there are an immense number of users on social media that can give you great business opportunities. And, at present, it is the safest and effective way to engage with your guests. Thus, while you’re not occupied with operations right now, it’s the perfect time for you to focus on it, improve your presence, and promote your property. Here, as a part of the COVID19 survival kit for hotels; you can find out some great ways to make the most of your hotel business through social media.

Read here

A Complete Guide to SEO for Hotels [FREE Checklist Inside]

In this digital age, having a website has become a necessity for hotel businesses. As we know, most of your audience lands on your website through the search engines. So, it is absolutely necessary to appear on the top of the search engine results.

Moreover, the better your online presence is, the higher will be your bookings. And, now, as you have plenty of time to invest in your business, this is exactly what you can focus on. So, our COVID19 survival kit for hotels includes a complete guide on how to improve your hotel website by performing SEO; through some simple and actionable steps.

How to Effectively Design Hotel Booking Confirmation Email? [FREE Templates Inside]

Confirmation emails are very important as they give an acknowledgment to your guests for the booking they have made. However, not just sending an email is essential, instead, sending the RIGHT one is more important. And, we are sure you must be doing so. But, now is the right time to re-check if your confirmation emails have all of these necessary details. For this, we have designed a complete guide that shows you how to make the best hotel reservation voucher along with some ready-to-use free templates.

Read here

How to Respond to Negative and Positive Hotel Reviews? [FREE Templates]

Reviews are the face of your hotel. It can be good or bad. But, they are a great way to promote your business, it’s branding as well as attracting more guests. So, why not focus on that now amid your lockdown time? All you got to do is respond to them well and on time, thus providing a great customer experience.

Check out if you have missed responding to any of your previous reviews. If so, this blog will guide you all about how to respond to hotel reviews (especially the negative ones) along with some free templates inside.

Read here

Proven Ways to Increase Low Season Hotel Occupancy

Low seasons can make or break a property, particularly if budgets are already tight. And, if your hotel is already operating on threadbare profit margins, any significant dip in bookings and revenue can spell disaster.

Because of this outbreak; we are sure that you may face a low season crunch even after the pandemic has receded. So, we want to share a great way to attract more bookings at such times in this COVID19 survival kit for hotels. All are proven strategies to help you come across as a winner in these tough times.

Powerful Hotel Pricing Strategies to Implement

With no pricing strategy, it is almost impossible for hotels to grow successfully in the hospitality industry. So, if you don’t want to lose your customers and competition in the market once the lockdown ends; then start thinking on the RIGHT room pricing. Here, we have listed the effective pricing strategies for you to implement and understand better with some great examples inside.

Best Hotel Promotion Ideas You Can Use

If you don’t promote your business it will definitely die. And, if you don’t do so now, your guests would probably forget you by the time COVID-19 ends. However, if done in a proper way, it’ll help you to attract more guests as well as enhance your business revenue in the near future.

So, for you, here are the sure-fire ideas of hotel promotion. Start applying them now to make your business future-ready.

Great Ways to Increase Direct Bookings on Your Hotel Website

Commission-free bookings are of course more profitable than those coming from OTAs. In a post COVID19 era, direct bookings would earn higher importance; mainly because they’d lower your guest acquisition cost.

So, in this COVID19 survival kit for hotels, we’re sharing some of the best ways to increase direct bookings on your website along with ways to save up on your OTA commissions.

Hotel Digital Marketing Strategies to Get More Bookings

Hotel digital marketing, nowadays, plays a vital role in revenue generation for hotels. Having said that, in today’s era, most of the guests search for a hotel online i.e metasearch engines, social channels, Google, Yahoo or so.

Thus, to get more bookings post the COVID-19 phase, it is crucial for you to be where your guests want you to be. And, this can be done when you apply some great digital marketing strategies that we’ve listed here. Go through each of these and see which ones can be most effective for you.

How to do Upselling in Hotels? [Remarkable Ways Inside]

Upselling is a great opportunity to enhance the average revenue that a hotel makes from its guests. Doing so can help you to encourage your guests to pay more for a similar but higher quality product.

So, this is a great way to cope up with the expenses that you’ve lost during these months of lockdown. It’ll guide you here, on what it is, its benefits to hoteliers, why should you do so, and what are the various ways of upselling in hotels.

Practical Methods to Increase Repeat Guests at Your Hotel [Easy to Apply]

Naturally, post the pandemic it’ll be difficult for you to attract new guests to your property. So, repeat guests would work the best during that time. And, as we are aware that, repeat guests are like an investment for a hotel.

The more the investment (your loyal guests), the more will be the return (business ROI). In this COVID19 survival kit for hotels, this blog will help you in applying some powerful tips to increase repeat guests at your property as well as get better business profitability.

Ways to Improve Hotel Guest Experience

Right from the time when your guests have booked their stay, until they are leaving your hotel, and even after that; guest experience plays a very crucial part. Moreover, if your guests are happy, they would possibly recommend others to visit your hotel; thus gaining more guests as well as revenue.

So, not only after the pandemic, but even later this is one very important thing that you should focus on to achieve greater business. Explore some great ideas here to improve your hotel’s guest experience.

How to Reduce Last Minute No-show & Booking Cancellations at your Hotel?

Naturally, when you receive a booking, you would sometimes come across no-shows or cancellations by your guests (the reasons could be any). Also, we know, lately, you have experienced a lot of booking cancellations. And, we are sure you don’t want that to happen anymore. So, here are some ways through which you can reduce your last minute no-shows and booking cancellations at your hotel.

Essential Hotel KPIs to Track Your Performance [Free eBook]

Any business, big or small needs to watch its performance periodically to evaluate its success. The key performance indicators (KPI), therefore, are used at various levels to determine the overall success of your business.

Moreover, once things settle down and your operations are back on track, you should definitely analyze and focus on measuring your hotel’s performance at various levels. To help you with it, in this blogpost (eBook), we have listed the most essential hotel KPIs along with tips and actionable steps.

Read here

Top Hotel Revenue Management Strategies to Adopt [BONUS Inside]

Revenue management is all about selling, the right room to the right guest at the right moment at the right price and on the right platform. Moreover, it is a process of analyzing your customers’ demand and offering the best rates to them.

Thus, to optimize your revenue and attract more guests, post the pandemic; here are some solid hotel revenue management strategies that you can adopt to make the most of your business.

Read here

The post COVID-19 Survival Kit For The Hotel Industry appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Upselling is a great business opportunity to increase the average revenue a hotel makes from a customer. It is the practice of encouraging your guests to pay more for a similar but higher quality product. Well, let’s explore what it is, its benefits to hoteliers, why you should do so and what are the various ways of upselling in the hospitality industry.

What is upselling in hotels?

Upselling is the best method for hotels to generate more revenue. Basically, it is when a hotel promotes additional services to guests, such as a spa, breakfast buffet, room upgrades and more. Be it a small, mid or large-sized hotel business; upselling is an efficient option for every property type.

Stats say, 60% of consumers would be spending more if an additional service compliments or enhances their main purchase.

Hence, doing so would not only help in improving guest experience but would also enhance your revenue.

What are the benefits of upselling in hotels?

When it comes to upselling, knowing your customer and selling it at the RIGHT time is everything you need to focus on. Moreover, have a complete database of their likes, dislikes, etc. and offer them something which they are fond of.

Let’s look into the benefits of doing so:

• Higher profitability.
• Increased revenue.
• Greater utilization of hotel facilities.
• Better guest experience.
• More hotel occupancy.

Hence, the beauty of up-selling is it allows you to enhance your profits without even having to spend huge amounts of money on marketing activities.

What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?

Cross-selling is a widely confusing term with upselling. Although both are entirely different and upselling is interchangeably used with cross-selling. So, here we’re explaining to you its difference.

UPSELLING

Upselling is the process of selling a more expensive version of the service or product to your guests. Examples of upselling: room upgrade, indoor activities, any added service and so on. It can be done either when the guest searches for your hotel, during their purchase or once the booking is made.

CROSS-SELLING

Cross-selling involves selling additional products or services with the original purchase to enhance the experience and provide a complete package. Example of cross-selling: adventure activities, or city tours and such likes. This can be most effective when the guest has arrived at your hotel (i.e point of sales).

Hence, one of the best ways to boost revenue and make the most of your business is by applying the best upselling as well as cross-selling strategies. 

Both have their own advantages and practicing it in an organized manner would definitely help you reap good returns for your business.

Moreover, It allows you to utilize all your hotel’s amenities and products with an increase in the level of personalization to your guests.

How can hotels upsell to their guests?

Upselling needs to be handled with a degree of sensitivity, say the timing, tone, and regularity with which you upsell is vital to the success of your efforts.

Make sure not to sound like a sales pitch. Rather deliver it in a way that your guests know what options are available for them and how you are ensuring to offer your best services.

However, there are several ways through which you can upsell in hotels. Let’s have a look at each one of these hotel upselling strategies.

1. Identify the target audience

Primarily, identify the customers that are good targets for upselling which may include business travelers, honeymooners, vacationers, etc. Well, not every customer is a good fit for an upsell; so never try to push additional products or services on someone who doesn’t truly need them.

Guests who have spent on additional purchases in the past are a great place to start. Accordingly, you can get relevant ideas to upsell to the upcoming ones. 

For example: 
Do couples often order a bottle of wine or champagne from room service? OR 
Did you receive more bookings for a superior room type having more facilities? OR
Do your business travellers take advantage of last-minute deals?

Well, as the purpose of upselling in hotels is to augment guest’s experience, it actually can be challenging to figure out the right audience and their needs too. So, act wisely!

2. Determine the right time 

Upselling to your guests at the RIGHT time matters the most. Pitching a service exactly at the time when your guests are in need of it is an essential way to boost business. This helps you to gain more revenue as well as utilize your additional hotel services. 

You can do this by sending effective emails to them either during booking, after arrival or once they check-out.

Moreover, if they had a great experience staying at your hotel then such guests would definitely share good reviews; thus enhancing your online reputation as well.

3. Understand guest preferences

A good way to do this is, to send an email to your guests prior to their arrival inquiring about any preferences or requests they may have. This gives you an idea of their likes or dislikes and allows you to upsell services in regards to it. 

For example, some may like spa services or roaming around to explore the local culture or adventure activities and more. 

Depending on these or other such likes, upsell services to your guests accordingly. Moreover, you can create a complete database of your guests’ details for better reference.

4. Use proper booking confirmation templates

Email marketing is an effective tool to attract more guests and upsell services. Send out emails to your guests and let them know about your special offers.

Once you receive the booking make sure you send a booking confirmation email to your guests. Moreover, you can also highlight facilities like spa, pool, yoga, gym, etc. to encourage them in utilizing these services.

Do the exercise in intervals until they visit your hotel or even after the checkout. Make sure each of your emails has some important offering of your property to showcase them; thus earning great ROI for your business.  

5. Offer something local 

Upselling local offerings along with the accommodation has higher chances for bookings. Although, this will not only enhance your bookings but will also encourage guests to purchase your services.

For example, if your local wine or local cloth is famous then you can upsell such types of services to enhance sales as well as room occupancy.

This can be done mainly because guests are often more interested in purchasing or exploring such things.

6. Highlight upsells on your website and social media

Social media is the latest trend to highlight your extra services and attract more guests. Showcase best offers, combo packages, and deals on your website as well as on your social media profiles. 

You can also post Carousel images on social media platforms, highlighting the various offerings you have at your property.

For example, “Pay additional $5 and get spa service FREE” OR “Stay one more night and upgrade your couple booking to a suite room.”

Moreover, you can upsell services through your booking engine by making use of the plug and play widgets too. 

7. Use group bookings to your advantage

Group bookings are an added advantage. These bookings can be either for weddings, business conferences or family get-togethers. 

And, often hoteliers like you must be experiencing additional requirements of rooms, extra bedding due to an increase in the number of guests and so on. 

Such times can actually help you to upsell your services and gain a higher revenue through various amenities at your property.

8. Run loyalty programs

Running loyalty programs is one of the finest techniques to upsell and increase repeat guests at your hotel. Such programs will not only help you to increase your hotel’s occupancy but also make use of your additional services and create an even stronger relationship with your guests. 

For example, send personal emails by offering them special discounts, offers, reward points and much more to attract them.

For this, all you need is an accurate guest’s database, transaction history, reports of your guest, and an apt loyalty management software for your hotel. This software will help you build, run and maintain all the operations of your hotel loyalty programs. 

9. Don’t miss out on obvious things 

Encourage guests to begin their stay on a relaxed note with a drink at the bar, or celebrate any special occasions through banquet deals, add fruit and chocolate or other extras like a beer or so to their room, or order dessert after the main meal.

In addition to this, offer them services like room upgrades, transport facilities, hiring a car or a bike and much more. 

Make sure you always present as many options as possible so guests are making their own choice rather than just following your recommendation.

Commonly asked questions

The post 9 UNIQUE Ways of Upselling in Hotels appeared first on eZee Absolute.

If you’re managing a hotel, as an owner or working as a revenue manager, then you certainly know that seasonality is a major factor in your business.

Without a doubt, the peak season is the best for hoteliers as they enjoy high demand and an influx of guests. Also, it is not even difficult to achieve full hotel occupancy during such times. However, they also know that this is soon going to change as it does every year. Just after the peak or high season will come the mid or shoulder season, and eventually the low or off-season.

Struggling with attracting guests and reaching maximum hotel occupancy is the harsh reality and the most distinctive feature of the global hospitality industry. 

So, hoteliers like you need to have a good understanding of seasonality to increase low season hotel occupancy. As a result, you can avoid irregular cash flow, low returns on capital investment, and underutilization of staff and facilities.

Let’s move ahead and find the best ways to increase the hotel occupancy rate during the off-season.

How to determine the off-season?

The first step any hotelier should take in preventing a slow season is to gauge exactly when the downturn starts each year.

Is it tied to the weather, holidays or other events?
OR
Is there a corresponding slowdown in the social calendar of your locale?

Sketching out the boundaries of your off months will help you determine; what factors are causing it and come up with a plan to fight for it. 

However, seasonality is the major factor of tourist inflows during specific periods of the year. It includes natural reasons, like temperature and climate as well as institutional reasons, like holidays, events, socioeconomic status, and travel habits. 

Whatever the reason be, the fact remains that seasonality creates demand fluctuations that affect all finance and labor operations of a hotel.

How to beat the off-season and increase hotel occupancy?

Low seasons can make or break a property, particularly if budgets are already tight. Also, if your hotel is already operating on threadbare profit margins, any significant dip in bookings and revenue can spell disaster. 

Likewise, every hotelier, regardless of the size of the hotel, has faced challenges during the off-season. If you’ve been in the hotel business long enough, you should be aware of your low and peak seasons to prepare and plan for them well in advance.

During such times, all you need to do is, BOOST YOUR MARKETING PLANS. Make sure you do this with some creativity to increase your hotels’ sales during the low season. Also, clever tricks, careful planning, and a bit of pop psychology can bring more guests into your hotel even during the low season. 

In addition, a property manager who has plans to maintain its occupancy during low season, can gain profits and stand ahead of its competitors.

Also, many holidayers prefer and actively search for bookings around these times to avoid crowds and high prices. This acts as an advantage for you, to make your hotel as attractive as possible and increase your direct bookings.

Below I‘ve shared some ideas to improve your hotel occupancy during low season:

1. Increase repeat guests

Your guests (new or repeat) are one of your best marketing assets. They can make your hotel sink or swim in the market, depending on the guest experience you provide. Repeat guests are like an investment for hotels that give you a good return. The more the investment (your loyal guests), the more will be the return (business ROI). 

Be it a hotel, B&B, restaurant or any hospitality business, they always focus on keeping existing guests the same as gaining new ones. They have a habit to recognize hotel staff who dedicatedly do their job and serve them in the best way possible. 

A professional hotel ensures that guests get the best experience, before, during and post their stay. Hence, there’s nothing better than the loyal guests that can promote and provide you with more new bookings. 

The best time to apply this strategy is, during the peak season as you get maximum guests at your hotel to attract them for their next stay. Which in turn, would be a profitable business for you during the off-season.

Check out some best methods to increase repeat guests at your hotel!

2. Run loyalty programs

Running loyalty programs are considered to be one of the finest approaches to increase repeat guests at your hotel. Such loyalty programs will help you to increase your hotel’s occupancy, by creating an even stronger relationship with your guests. For example, send personal emails by offering them special discounts, offers, reward points and much more to attract them.

So, MAKE SURE you never forget to note the mail address of your guests when they are checking in.

For this, all you need is an accurate guest’s database, transaction history, reports of your guest, and an apt loyalty management software for your hotel. Such a loyalty program software will help you build, run and maintain all the operations of your hotel loyalty programs. 

3. Use unutilized spaces for different purposes

Look into every nook and corner of your hotel to find spaces that are not utilized or not used often. Using underutilized spaces to enhance your hotel revenue during the off-season is a good way to earn a side income. 

Such spaces might not necessarily be a permanent set up at your hotel, but work as a promotion strategy during the low season. For example; 

1. You could use your garden for weddings, parties or events. Deliver a great experience to the guests who attend these events and they could turn into your future guests too. 
2. If you have a hall; use it for yoga or a dance class, family gathering or business meetings, etc. This way, the guests will also spend a little extra money in your hotel then you expected; thus increasing your revenue.
3. An upcoming trend is to use your hotel lobby as a workspace, a social hotspot, a coffee shop, a small library or any flexible space that can be used for almost everything.

Setting up such spaces at your hotel will add a lot of value to your property; along with the side income that you will earn. 

These are just a few ones mentioned, however, there can be many other ways to make use of spaces and promote your hotel during the off-season. 

4. Organize events

Events will always be a good driver of revenue for hotels during the low season. Additionally, each event has a chance to upsell extra services of your hotel, like rooms, restaurant services, entertainment or relaxation options.

Scope out the area for local events and activities like music gigs, concerts, festivals, parties, fairs, comedy events, marathons and more happening in the area. This will invariably attract guests from all over. 

You could also create a partnership with the event sponsors and set special promotions implying a discount for anyone who will be present or takes part in the event. This will help you in gaining great marketing opportunities to attract more guests.

5. Tie up with local businesses

Speaking of partnerships, get in contact with local businesses to promote your hotel as well as their business. This savvy two-way partnership reaps benefits when it comes to the off-season.  

So, increase the flow of your hotel guests by promoting it to a local company for their events, such as business seminars, meetings, etc. Such events are conducted with many guests and consequently, they are very profitable as they would book multiple rooms at a time. 

Also, KEEP IN MIND that some business events are repeated every year, so it can become a source of a safer income!

Additionally, you could offer up some of your hotel’s services to locals in the area without the need for booking a room. Such as allowing guests a 24-hour pass to your gym, pool or games room, or invite them to enjoy the bar and restaurant at low prices. Make locals feel particularly welcome and special for a relationship that will last further in the future.

6. Run discount offers and promotions

Off-seasons are what discounts are made for. People love discounts and the perception of a “good deal” will definitely help your hotel to increase bookings. Budget and last-minute travellers will be scouting for good deals during less popular months, so make your discounts effective and clear. 

Encourage guests to stay longer as they add in their dates, with a reminder of the discount that you offer. Also, attract families, business groups, or other travellers with discounts offered on group bookings.

Or you can also offer discount promotions like: 

Book for 2 nights and get 1 night free!
OR
5%-10% discount for those who share a promotional post on Facebook
OR
Tag the property name in a photo on Instagram.

Offering such discounts is probably one of the best ways to lure your guests during shoulder and low seasons. 

Few booking engines allow you to create such promotions in the software itself. See, how you can do it in our booking engine eZee Reservation.

Further, ALWAYS be active on social media platforms and increase your bookings from there as well! Engage more followers on these platforms with our social media posts templates.

7. Meet the seasonal requirements

Find out what makes your hotel tick during the high season and use it to your advantage. For example, if your hotel enjoys a high season every year because of the monsoon, why not recreate the monsoon feel during the off-season? Offer rain dance in your package and create a monsoon theme to make it appealing. 

Or, if yours is a beach property that does not attract crowds during monsoon, then offer happy hours and pool parties during that season. 

Or, if you consider summer as your low season, then organize activities of a rain dance to beat summer blues at your property.

Market these packages in an exclusive manner which will make travelers feel privileged to be a part of it. DO represent your hotel in such a way showing that it is off-season friendly. This can be showcased by reasons like climate, season, festival, etc. via social posts or ads and suchlike.

Also, tempt them by talking about the various other opportunities they would get like low airfares, special discounts, other offers running in the city, etc. during the off-season months.

8. Run remarketing ads in the off-season

If you have some budget, then running effective REMARKETING ADS is one of the most beneficial techniques to promote your hotel. Your website can be the base of these ads as you’d want searchers to land on your website after clicking on the ads. 

With remarketing, you can lower your abandonment rate and close more bookings. Show attractive display ads to people who recently visited your site. These ads follow your website visitors after they leave your website without performing any action.

This reminds them that you’re there to lead them through the process. Try showing them a better deal with you instead of your competitors, and make the booking process as easy as possible.

This way, you can increase your bookings by displaying attractive discounts or deals you offer in the ads during such low-season.

Here are some effective FREE ad templates to help you guide better in running these ads!

9. Use email marketing

Hotel email marketing is an effective tool to attract more guests to your hotel during the off-season. When the low season is on the horizon, send out emails to your past guests. Let them know about your special offers and remind them of their loyalty discount. 

You can also add an incentive by offering an extra discount for the first 5 guests who book, telling them that this offer is exclusive to them as a valued past guest. Make sure you hint the incentive/discount part in the subject with a snappy, attention-grabbing title.

Also, offer your guests some attractive amenities at your property for free with a night stay at your hotel. DO HIGHLIGHT facilities like spa, yoga, gym, etc as well as focus on the various local events taking place to make them book your hotel fast. 

This attracts new guests and retains existing ones; thus earning great ROI for your business.  

10. Implement an off-season pricing strategy

During the off-season, you’d focus on filling your rooms; so charge less to encourage bookers to book at your hotel.

The first step in implementing off-season pricing is to segment your market into known groupings by location, demographics, climate and so forth. The core room price is just one aspect of the pricing strategy. So, consider combining it with other factors like guest’s stay preferences, no.of guests, and past booking prices, etc to create an effective pricing strategy. 

Make sure your low-season prices are attractive and affordable. Low enough to appeal at lean times of the year but high enough to cover your costs and make a profit. 

You can also invite your past guests to spend a second stay at your hotel at a much lower price offered exclusively to them.

Also, with a rate shopper tool, take a look at your direct competitors (including hotels) and see how they are setting their low-season prices. Avoid under-pricing dates that are in high demand e.g. Christmas, New Year, Holi, etc.

11. Overall, start preparing for this before-hand and be consistent

Prepare for off-season during the peak season time itself so that hoteliers like you can have a bumper season during those low season months. Remember, little things can make a huge difference and can hugely increase your hotels’ revenue.

Prepare a checklist of how and what features you can promote for your hotel during the off-season to enhance bookings. 

PLAN an effective strategy and be consistent in it. TAKE and IMPLEMENT the various tips mentioned in this blog.

ANALYZE the data of your latest low season guests and see who truly booked a room at your hotel. TRY out some new marketing and advertising strategies to discover how you can attract a different audience for your upcoming year.

NOTE: Don’t obsess in acquiring more bookings during the low season if it doesn’t make sense financially or if there simply isn’t enough demand. Use this time efficiently to undertake essential maintenance, create next year’s marketing strategy or simply enjoy the time off.

GET STARTED TO EXPERIENCE FULL OCCUPANCY DURING OFF-SEASON!!

The post 11 Proven Ways to Increase Low Season Hotel Occupancy appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Husafell is the woodland oasis of Iceland, an area that has been a tourist attraction for quite a while.

Located at a place rich in history and extraordinary natural wonders, Hótel Húsafell has been users of eZee’s hotel software ever since they commenced their operations i.e. for about 5 years.

Mr. Kristjan Gudmundsson, Head of Sales and Marketing at Hótel Húsafell says, "It feels great to have chosen eZee for our hotel operations. We're really grateful for what the system offers."

Besides, Hótel Húsafell is known for its stunning location and facilities. The region offers beautiful landscapes and activities catering to all groups of people. One may either prefer to relax in its beauty, have an action-packed adventure or spend some outdoor time with family. 

The Success Story of Hótel Húsafell: Awards and recognitions

Luxury + Amenities + Location have led Hótel Húsafell to achieve the following awards in its segment. Recognized by

FORBES magazine as, “One of the best hotels to experience the Northern Lights”.
AND
National Geographic as, “Unique Lodges of The World”.

eZee feels proud of their achievements and to have a client like them on board with us. We have seen them grow over the years, and we cannot be more sure that they’ll make it even bigger.

Beauty is where Hótel Húsafell is located

Iceland, a country of extreme geological contrasts is known as “The Land of Fire and Ice.” Moreover, it’s home to some of the largest glaciers and the world’s most active volcanoes.

Known as the land of light and darkness, the country experiences long summer days with nearly 24-hours of sunshine. Likewise, it has short winter days with only a few hours of daylight.

Certainly, you can discover all of these at Hótel Húsafell, where luxury meets adventure at Iceland’s doorstep. It’s a hidden gem of supernatural landscapes alive with the spirit of adventure.

This hotel is delightfully homegrown – the creation of a family whose roots in the valley go back seven generations. It’s built with sustainable design and furnished with excellent craftsmanship.

Perfect Location + Iconic Environment = Hótel Húsafell

This stunning property is nestled in the magnificent landscape of Borgarfjordur. Thus linking epic waterfalls, notorious volcanoes and glaciers that rank among the largest in the world. Furthermore, they’ve hung beautifully crafted paintings of the infamous artist, Páll Guðmundsson.

Unique offerings at Hótel Húsafell which attract globetrotters

Experience Iceland’s wild, wild, West at Hótel Húsafell! Subsequently, witness a temperature fall of up to -20 degrees Celsius. The property has 48 lavish geothermal rooms, followed by a fine dining restaurant, a casual bistro, bar and a lounge.

Most importantly, they offer various activities at the hotel of which glacier excursion was the first one having begun in 2015. This succeeded by super jeep tours, horseback riding and anything your adventurous heart desires; whether under the midnight sun of summer or Northern lights of winter.

These entailed extensive operations and higher manpower to manage such activities, along with maintaining good guest experience. As a result, they chose eZee as their hotel technology vendor - providing a one-stop solution. 

The property has built three hydroelectric power plants to capture the power from naturally-induced heat and water. From these, the hotel derives 100% of its energy. Its cold water comes from a glacial melt that passes through the lava which is an ultimate natural filtering system. 

Why do explorers choose Hótel Húsafell over other properties?

The property provides various adventurous activities in and around their premises, making them one of the most unique lodges in the world. Here are a few of them:

1. Northern Lights: An average of three aurora sightings per week during the winter months.
2. Ice Cave: A trip into the largest manmade ice tunnel in the world.
3. Lava Cave: Protected since 1993, a colourful paradise to explore one of the largest caves in the world.
4. Golf Course: A geo-certified golf course to play under the magnificent midnight sun.
5. Thermal Baths: An ultimate local experience in Iceland to swim outdoors in geo-thermally heated water.

and a lot more to explore…

A recent addition to their activities – Húsafell Canyon Baths provide a wonderfully solitary setting to enjoy the splendor of highlands.

Visitors can explore authentically Icelandic hiking through the surreal landscapes; which can be followed by a relaxing soak in a geothermal pool. This Canyon Baths project has kept the entire structure as a modest and sustainable one; staying true to the area’s heritage.

eZee’s role in Hótel Húsafell’s growth

As every hotel needs a software to simplify its operations, likewise Husafell needed one! While searching for the best hotel software on Google, they came across eZee providing an all-in-one hospitality software to meet its various requirements.

Kristjan says, "one of the major benefits of eZee is a 24x7 customer support and its flawless integration between all three systems. This simplifies all our operations even more."

Being unique in its beauty and attractions in itself, Hótel Húsafell drives its guests to be happy and come back to them. A complete hospitality solution like eZee helps them in achieving enhanced guest experience.

Our integrated solutions of channel manager, booking engine and hotel PMS gives them a seamless connection, booking flow, and streamlined operations. Likewise, a reputation management software like Critique helps them to strengthen their online presence too!

Using the inventory and stock management module in point-of-sale, eZee BurrP! helps in quick food ordering and serving. The other significant aspects of hotel management viz. guest engagement, housekeeping operations, laundry services, have also been extensively automated and simplified by eZee solutions.

Kristjan says, "eZee’s booking engine gives our guests a chance to book with us directly from the website. And this helps us to get maximum direct bookings from it."

eZee feels pleased to assist them with the best they need for their hotel!

We believe, “Selling is something we do for our clients and not to our clients,”. For that reason, with each product our clients choose, we assure they get the best of what technology has to offer.

Cheers to 5 years of our trust with Hótel Húsafell and a lot more to come! eZee wishes you all the luck and many more such achievements to add on.

About eZee

Founded in 2006, eZee is one of the very few hospitality technology providers in the world to develop and offer end-to-end hotel and restaurant solutions. Recently acquired by Yanolja, eZee has a stronghold on R&D and introducing innovations in its solutions to benefit the industry. Currently, eZee along with 200+ partners serves more than 18,000 clients in 160+ countries across the globe.

The post eZee Shares Story of Hótel Húsafell: Hidden Treasure in the West of Iceland appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Revenue management acts as the backbone of a fruitful hotel business. Hoteliers often opt for everything like a channel manager for online bookings, a booking engine for direct bookings, and a property management system for streamlining hotel operations. 

But, what about revenue management in hotels? 

Either they have to:

go to a revenue management company OR

buy a software OR 

hire a revenue manager.

But, why would they do this? 

Not all hotels in the industry have a budget to hire a revenue manager, right? 

So, you can Do It Yourself! 

All you need is proper guidance and the right strategies to grow your business correctly.

A similar problem was faced by many of our clients.

With being low on budget, many have wished to go for a DIY approach to increase their revenue and was looking for a way to do so. 

That’s why when we launched our eBook on hotel revenue management strategies, thousands of hoteliers came ahead to learn and apply the best suitable ones for their business.

Why and how we came up with a guide to hotel revenue management? 

eZee is one of the few complete hospitality IT solutions providers in the world who offers best solutions. Our aim is to not only provide solutions but also try to come up with something which helps hoteliers’ operations to become easy. 

Often many of our existing clients came to us asking for solution on how to grow their revenue?

All we could offer them were few tips and tricks on this as and when they asked for.
BUT, there wasn’t any steadfast solution which we could provide to our clients on this problem. 

Thinking a lot on this, we studied in-depth about the hotel industry’s pain points and recognized the need of a hotel revenue management strategy. 

This lead us to craft one such guide that would help hoteliers in managing their revenue effectively.

Our main purpose to offer the eBook was that it should benefit all kinds of hotel business; be it small, medium or large scale and help them to grow their own revenue at no extra cost.

What does the hotel revenue management eBook contain? 

It comprises of:

1. Assured strategies for your revenue management
2. Examples of how to implement those strategies
3. Useful tips from industry experts

Effective hotel revenue management strategy helps hoteliers to increase their profits by selling their property’s perishable inventory to the right guests at the right time.

However, most hotels having a business scale of small to midsize might not be able to afford a revenue manager or even have enough financial resources to do so. 

As said, doing an ample amount of research, we came up with a list of strategies to provide to the hoteliers. 

A couple of months after the launch of this eBook, we got in touch with around 50+ hoteliers who had gained access to the guide, and asked them for their feedback.

And almost all of them responded on a positive note, indicating the hike in revenue they had received using the eBook.

Let me share with you some of the most liked strategies by the hoteliers:

1. Having more OTA connections

Choose the right OTAs for your property.
Remember: Never limit yourself to only 2-3 OTAs.

For example: Many of our customers were initially listed only on 1 OTA. But they now got listed on more than 3 OTAs resulting to better online presence after applying this strategy.

2. Smart inventory distribution

Adopt a uniform distribution method through a channel manager and list all your inventories on all channels to get more bookings. 

For instance: The hotels which previously used to worry about overbookings or rooms remaining underbooked, now seem to be stress free with inventory being managed centrally through a uniform distribution.

3. Yield management

Often hoteliers get confused and consider Yield Management = Revenue Management.

However, that’s a myth.

There’s a very thin line of difference between the two. Yield management is not the same, but a subset of hotel revenue management.

With yield management strategy, it helps hoteliers to determine the right hotel room price i.e increase room rates when the occupancy increases and vice versa. 

A hotel says, “Adapting this strategy has helped us to make the most revenue even in the off-peak seasons by selling the hotel inventory at the best price in the market.”

To know more about this you can refer our blog on yield management in hotel industry, which has helped many hoteliers to clear their concept of yield management and revenue management.

4. Pricing strategies

The ultimate goal to achieve: 

• Increased occupancy with high revPAR and
• High revPAR with maximized yield

should be through various pricing strategies such as; 

1. Packages – A package is a room rate clustered together with other products and services.
2. Discounted rates – Sell your rooms on a discounted price for a short period.
3. Loyalty programs – It is the best way to get business from repeat guests by offering attractive rewards to increase your sales. 

and many more…

P.S: Island Hop Resort has tried with discounted rates and loyalty programs strategy for now, that has definitely helped them to gain better profits!

To know more on this you can refer our blog on hotel pricing strategies for 2021!

How can the hotel revenue management guide benefit YOU?

Effective hotel revenue management strategies lead to, 

1. A successful hotel business.
2. A headway among your competitors 
3. A steady flow of income regardless of any factor
4. An idea of how to manage revenue flow

Did you know?
8 out of 10 hotels don’t consider revenue management and lose 30% of its revenue? 

We’re sure you don’t want to be one of them! Right?

To sum up

On launching the hotel revenue management eBook, we received great responses from our clients with more than 3000+ downloads in just a month, which definitely paid off for all our efforts.

Key points:

• Hotel revenue management is considered to be as important as a hotel’s day to day operations. 
• It helps to achieve higher profits. 
• Transforms your hotel business.

However there are still many hoteliers who are struggling with implementing these strategies and increasing their revenue effectively. Consider this as a shout out to them for downloading this guide and help them manage their hotel revenue.

Besides, if this still doesn’t help you achieve the desired results, hiring an expert revenue and marketing management service provider would work wonders.

The post How Did our eBook on Hotel Revenue Management Increase Revenue of our Clients? appeared first on eZee Absolute.