Will leisure clients travel this summer?
Will corporate clients move as they did before soon?
Which kind of trip will they looking for after the quarantine?
How my hotel can convince clients when bookings will start again?
These are some of the questions we consider in this article to support hoteliers…
How to be prepared before the end of the lockdown
There is an old French adage saying « later it will be too late ». After this first month of quarantine, and even if we don’t know when the hospitality industry will start again, we know that we have to anticipate. Be ready for this will be a key to have new bookings quickly.
Experts expect a return to normal in 2022. This year, tourism will recover but it will be different. Hotels need to adapt to this new situation. Summer Holiday will remain a time to escape for the local tourists, perhaps to a lesser extent…
Together, we can use this time off to analyse, think different and improve your working tools.
Evaluate your client segmentation and your sales
First, start a study of your clients: how many guests come from your country? From which countries do the others come? How many are for leisure and for business? Do you have a lot of bookings for groups or MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Events)? Make an analysis by country and by client segment is important to make good decisions.
Today more than the half of the world is contained at home to face this unprecedent crisis. International tourism will take time to come back. As we read, airports estimate a return to a normal air traffic around December 2020. International travellers will be few of them this year and hospitality industry is already adapting. It’s better to count on its local customers to get its reservations going again.
The end of the lockdown will be a good time for leisure travels or weekends, especially with spring days that begin. Experts think that people will be looking for journey close to their home. Hotels need to connect with customers living under two hours from their place, by bus or train. The nearest cities can be a good communication target too. Communicate about Health, staff and client protection. It’s important to clean following the W.H.O’s sanitary protocol too.
Adapt your strategy and your offer
Our hospitality experts offer you two advices.
First, we recommend to stop selling your room with a price non-cancellable non-refundable in 2020. Even when the crisis ends, clients will remain worried. A flexible rate will be comforting for clients. Your hotel will be more attractive if it is flexible and offers safety with no fees for cancellation until the day before check-in. Work your flexible rates and put others off!
Our second advice is to keep your price. Don’t lower your rates. Clients don’t think to spend less in hotel when they could move again. Lower prices by all the actors will pull down the hospitality industry. Keep your prices but think how to improve the guest experience! How could you offer a memorable stay? How your guest could live a great experience with friends or family? What kind of activities do you have more than other hotels? What can they discover? Think package, special offer with partners, be different and let everyone know!
Update your online reputation
Make the list of your online presence and update it. This is a long task but now we have this time with the quarantine!
During the crisis, your hotel is closed or open with few activity. That’s the perfect moment to get some new photos of your place. Capture your rooms, your reception, your living quarters, your services and your facilities (spa, restaurant, activities…). Make your own attractive photo base, it will serve for years. And why not, ask your staff to be the models of your photos!
Use this content to update your online pictures and write new descriptions everywhere. Your website and your booking engine are great places to begin. Then, work on your OTA pages and online reviews platforms. Make yourself more visible, attract a new kind of clients with nice activities or show a new image of your hotel. You are the best person to talk about your surrounding area to your guests!
Prepare your tools & your technology
Now is the best moment to review your tools and list your needs. There are efficient solutions made by hospitality experts that improve your daily operations. Normally, you don’t have the time to spend to know each of them, but now you can think about it! Every hotel needs a PMS but do you know all the integrations of your PMS? Ask for free demo, request quote, learn additional information… Be properly equipped and have good expert around your hotel when tourism will start again!
If you need more information or advice, contact our experts at sales@misterbooking.net.