Each hotel has a peak part of the season they look forward to. During this time, the bigger part of their yearly revenue is made. Most hotels these days strive to increase the number of direct bookings during the peak period. This is their most direct approach to increasing their overall revenue.
We are here to talk about a few practical things that hoteliers can do to maximize their booking and raise occupancy to previously unseen levels. The global hotel industry was estimated to have made around 550 billion US dollars in 2016. Still, these numbers are growing as global spending power increases and lifestyle priorities for people change. Keeping up with industry growth isn’t easy but it can be done if hotels manage to keep up with their season peak. Online Reviews These days, there is less and less work for travel agencies as the modern, tech-savvy traveler takes care of most things him/herself. Modern tourists want to create their own experience and are not afraid to do hard research to make it happen. When it comes to hotels, they tend to rely more on the personal experience of people who already visited the hotel than an advertisement, brand story and so on. Because of this, they will usually check various review sites, any existing testimonials, blogs or even personal videos and photos of other people who stayed at a particular hotel. The only way to ensure great online reviews is to be active in the online environment. Keeping online reviews positive and ratings close to five stars (nobody gets a perfect score in the long term) requires a lot of work and genuine care for the experience your visitors have. IT Improvement IT has become a big factor in the hospitality industry, but most hotels are stills struggling to implement all the technology needed to manage multiple online channels they aim to cover. Their work can be manual and repetitive without necessary automation and, therefore, prone to mistakes, issues with systems that don’t integrate well with each other. Pinpointing the right software solutions and making a timely investment before the peak season starts can help identify and convert more leads, raising revenue. A cloud-based hotel management software might be a perfect solution to help hotel staff keep up with booking coming in from different channels (OTAs, Brand Website, Google Hotel Ads). The goal is to unify all data and communication so as to avoid booking overlaps, vacancy issues and so on. Picking the right online hotel software is by no means an easy feat but once you find something that fits things get a lot easier. Pricing While peak seasons don’t fit within the same time span for all hotels, each hotel is facing fierce competition regardless of this. Most customer choices are oriented around the price they need to pay to get a certain level of accommodation quality. They will usually compare the price of more than a few hotels that provide a similar quality of service and go for the most affordable one. Hotel revenue management is a big factor here. This part of management predicts consumer behavior, optimizes availability and prices to attract as many customers as possible. Their goal is to reduce the amount of time rooms remain vacant but also to keep prices competitive. Direct Booking Incentivization We’ve already mentioned that direct booking is the most desirable booking outcome. The most direct way to improve the number of direct bookings is to offer customer benefits for doing this. This can be achieved through discounts on various things (food, beverages, discounts on future reservations, etc.), complimentary things (dinners, spa treatments, experiences, etc.) or some other benefit that suits your business model. Through these incentives, you are not only reaching your goal of raising the number of direct bookings, but you are also improving customer loyalty. These are by no means all the strategies you can use to optimize peak season revenue. Still, these four things will help you both reach new potential leads, manage them properly, optimize your vacancy/occupancy ratio and improve your brand's image. We hope you have a lucrative season! Source: Best Practices for Improving Hotel Revenue in Peak Season (hotelnewsresource.com)
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COVID-19 pandemic restricted many people indoors last year, the new social distancing norms encouraged more people to use social media. Which took social media users to a whole new height in 2020. Since many experts project that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to impact for the years to come.
With tons of opportunity available online for guests to plan a travel. More guests utilize their social media accounts every day to search for destinations before booking a travel, so it is important to stay updated and engage with its users. To utilize social media to its full potential hotels should use right hotel technology tools and plan their social media marketing strategy. We have compiled few social media marketing tips to help hotel marketers create an effective and successful strategy. Outline Your Social Media Strategy The primary step to create a successful social media marketing campaign is to think about your target audience and their interests to create a basic strategy. Also you need to think of which technology tools you use to manage social media you will be using and what will be the benefit. In this step hotel operators will learn to establish few best practices and social media guidelines, so all the staff understand what should be done. It may useful to identify demographics and to plot a list of influencer who can help your brand reach. Understand and Set Goals Once you define a primary step, the next essential social media marketing tip is to set a measurable goal. Setting a specific goal will help your team responsible for the social media activity to stay motivated and achieve the set goal. It is important to set the realistic and measurable goal. Using technology tools and monitor these goals will give you an extra boost to achieve this goals. Page Optimization With some basic strategy and a specific goals set, next step is to optimize your social media page. First ensure all the basic information is correctly mentioned and listed, all local information is mentioned and available for the page viewers and the content presented is error free. Try to upload many HD photos of property and surrounding, Maintain a HD Profile and cover photo to give your page an added boost. Be Consistent Generally, social media audience like consistency and dislike the repeated use of platform to promote content. It is vital for a hotel operator to implement a consistent approach when posting a content, instead of leaving social media page blank for weeks and then suddenly three to four posts in a day and expect a social media user to engage. Come up with a social media calendar of schedule for new content and us a social media technology tool to schedule and follow the calendar as much as possible. If your target audience know when to expect a new content, interested audience will take time to visit your profile and engage with it. Consider Paid Advertisement Most digital marketers believe in social media platform to generate more leads without much spend when compared to traditional advertisement. Social media platforms like Facebook and offers excellent paid options based on audience interest and helps hotels to reach new audience and it’s worth exploring these options because this technology has ability to re-target, advertise to target specific audience and a potential reach. Stay Engaged If you really want to succeed and use your social media tool, it is important to actually engage with the social media users. In a hotel industry users trust what others are talking about your property it is important to take time to monitor and respond to their feedback and questions. Most of Hotel Property Management System like mycloud hospitality has an inbuilt a social media engagement tool which will help you to monitor and engage with guests for reviews and feedback. Make correct use of #hashtag Added advantage of social media marketing is to use hashtag and keep a conversation of a specific topic in one place, there are many technology tools available online to help you with researching on trending hashtag topics and hashtag also helps followers to search content more easily. Since social media is outgrowing every year and emerging as one of the important marketing channel. Hotels who are tending to improve their revenues and reach vast audience should consider above mentioned tips for successful implementation of social media. In the wake of limitless connectivity and current technological revolution, one would think that the hospitality industry would finally enter another golden age. Digital nomadism has already been established as modus operandi of this generation, while 24/7 accessibility is no longer a matter of debate. But instead of a futuristic renaissance, hoteliers are experiencing deteriorating safety issues. The latest headlines from the industry are spreading the word of frequent phishing incidences, data hacks and security breaches. They are apparently taking a toll on luxurious hotels and small hospitality businesses alike, thus threatening not only individual brands but also the industry as a whole. It’s certainly a reason for concern, though it’s not a cause for panic, as reliable solutions actually do exist. The following is the only hospitality Wi-Fi security checklist you need. It All Starts and Ends with PCI Compliance and GDPR When cybersecurity experts talk about PCI compliance, they don’t mean it as a pro tip or an optional guideline. For all businesses in the hospitality industry, PCI compliance is mandatory. You simply cannot expect your guests to entrust you with their personal information without security assurance. GDPR, or The General Data Protection Regulation is basically a law that deals with data protection and privacy everyone that lives in any country that is a member of the European Union. In essence, it regulates any kind of personal data that is exported outside the EU. Luckily, that’s where a reliable hospitality software company enters the scene. We’ll talk more about the technology these companies provide later since for now, you need their professional opinion on overall security standards and on PCI compliant strategies you must employ for thorough coverage. Software Security Is of Utmost Importance Wi-Fi technology is not particularly complex, which is a reason more to keep it updated at all times. But it’s not only Wi-Fi devices that can be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Laptops and computers are just as equally easy targets, and their security calls for trustworthy firewalls and regular system updates. Trusting the Software Maintenance Expert If your guest data is being stored on the cloud, there’s really not much you can do about keeping it safe on your own. Every trustworthy hospitality software company that offers cloud-based hotel PMS solutions provide 24/7 technical support and do regular software maintenance on your behalf. These companies are maintenance and security experts, so there’s no need for you to interfere with their job. However, you should keep an open dialogue with their technical support, stay informed about their detection and prevention services, and apply them on all guest networks if necessary. Here are a few things you should look out for:
Encryption Is Vital for a Safe Environment Each and every one of the digital channels that you use for both internal and external communication must be properly encrypted. It’s true that encryption can be cracked too, but it’s perfectly natural that encrypted network devices can’t be breached as easily as those without any layer of protection at all. The problem is that Wi-Fi encryption tends to complicate things for guests. In a larger hotel environment, it can slow the connection down and cause problems for incompatible devices. It’s still vital for cyber protection, though, so consider using a dual connection equipment that supports multiple networks. Role-Based Access Brings Complete Control All the best cloud-based hotel PMS systems, CRM suites, and BPM tools offer enterprise-grade security features that keep guest data and business intelligence under the lock. Safety issues that used to tarnish the cloud computing’s name have been solved a while ago, so there’s nothing to worry about. Here, it is important to mention secure interfaces, meaning that all systems should work seamlessly with each other, but they should have a secure firewall bridge between them, and each system should be hosted on separate networks. What you can do to build an additional layer of protection around these systems is to establish a role-based access control. Similarly to encryption, it works with unique credentials that are assigned to every member of the staff, while also giving you an option to limit access to those who don’t need it. Building a Culture of Security Awareness With a hotel Wi-Fi being a public access network and with staff computers allowing access to the cloud database, the concerns about cyber safety in the hospitality industry are definitely not something to take for granted. Even with all security measures in place, the hotel network can still be vulnerable. The only certain way to prevent cyber attacks is, therefore, a holistic approach that includes both reliable technology and security awareness. Make sure that all of your employees are trained to use hotel software and internet in a safe and responsible way and that all guests are advised to do the same. In the hospitality industry, cybersecurity implies not only trustworthy Wi-Fi equipment, encrypted networks, and reliable cloud-based hotel PMS technology, but also security awareness. As long as you stay educated and informed on the latest threats, you will be the only firewall that your guests need. Source: https://www.mycloudhospitality.com/blog/effective-cyber-security-tips-for-the-hospitality-industry Is your hotel suffering from no-shows? If no, then perhaps it’s competition that’s been killing your revenue. Doesn’t sound familiar either? Then you must be among the very few who haven’t been unaffected by the ever-changing guest behavior and booking patterns. Sooner or later, you will be too.
Because the entire hospitality industry is The only ones who were spared are the likes of Hilton, Marriott, or Wyndham. What’s mutual between them is an automated hotel PMS. Having an automated cloud hotel PMS to help you automate and streamline everyday operations could be a lifesaver in the face of such business adversity. By taking the holistic approach to revenue management, these convenient cloud-based systems drive bookings and boost overall ROI. Here’s how. Cloud-Based PMS Solutions Are Cost-Effective Though there are PMS solutions that can be stored and used exclusively in-house, we’ve decided to focus on those revenue management tools that are cloud based and so should you. Cloud-based solutions are accessible anytime and anywhere, and they are also cheaper than in-house software. What’s more important is that cloud PMS tools enable you to stay on top of both guest demands and industry trends. All the best solutions boast robust analytical features, thus equipping you with metrics for tracking seasonal demands and occupancy levels in the area. If you make a comparison regarding year-to-year statistics, this will help you analyse trends. Many comprehensive hotel software solutions offer an integrated channel manager and competition tracking tools that allow hotels to seamlessly connect with OTA’s and, at same time, form their pricing based on the competition. This is an invaluable actionable insight. Armed with comprehensive data about your guests, competitors, and marketplace, you can predict future behaviors and adjust your prices accordingly. This optimizes both short-term decision making and long-term strategizing, which is of paramount importance in the context of revenue management. Tracking Guest Behaviour Is a Walk in the Park As a hotelier, you could never live on seasonal revenue only, nor could you allow yourself a luxury of not staying in touch with your satisfied customers. If your guests are checking off with a big smile on their faces, then you must use their satisfaction to your advantage. You have to keep delighting them. Customer retention is another thing an automated hotel PMS can help you with. Suppose one of your past guests has decided to book another room in your hotel. Since their guest history is already a part of your PMS base, you can tap into that data and offer them a personalized stay the next time around. Why not greet them with their favorite meal, for instance? A PMS stores room service information too, so you’ll need one quick glance to find out what that is. This opens great possibilities for upselling as well, since satisfied customers have no problem of paying a little extra for personalized treatment. In fact, one survey shows that if a travel brand tailored its information and overall trip experience based on personal preferences or past behavior, 36% would be likely to pay more for their services. Based on the loyalty of a customer, a hotel can offer a free upgrade depending on the season and availability, or throw in a free service. That will cement that loyalty even further! Automated Hotel PMS Supports Omni-channeling Satisfied customers will certainly recommend you to their family and friends, but that’s not everything that a cloud PMS solution can do for your brand recognition. Modern times call for modern measures, and omni-channeling is one of the best ones. The reason is simple – it keeps your reception open 24/7. If you say that you offer online bookings at better rates, you will capture more leads and have better revenue rates. And, 80% of customers prefer to self-serve in order to get the information that they need. An omnichannel feature is available only with cutting-edge PMS tools and essentially allows you to manage reservations coming from multiple channels like telephone, social media, messaging apps, and your business website. Needless to say, it simultaneously enables you to track revenue on each of them. That way, you can discover which booking channels provide the greatest influx of new guests and calculate opportunity costs based on this information. Not only do these channels deserve better marketing campaigns, but they should also be empowered with booking solutions such are chatbots. Managing OTA Payments and Expenses with PMS Revenue management software solutions are also brilliant for calculating accurate OTA payments, managing commission invoices, and finding their place in an overall ROI equation. Without a tool to help you do that, your business can end up paying for more reservations than it has actually booked. All this is enabled with reporting features that allow you to keep track of everything that’s going on with your OTA revenue. By monitoring these reports, you can stay in control of your incoming and outgoing commissions, and save money that you didn’t even know you were giving away to your OTA. In case one of these reports show that you owe less than the commission invoice amount, then it may be a good time to revisit your OTA agreement. Whether or not this is due to some discrepancy in their system, a cloud-based PMS will let you know. You can always contact the agency and fix the mistake. Automated hotel PMS solutions can save you money only by cutting down operations costs. When to that you add possibilities for personalization and customer retention, or opportunity management that allows you to predict future demand with certainty, you’ve got yourself a reliable revenue boost. Keep track of accounts receivable and look at ageing analytics to see which companies and travel agencies are credit worthy. |
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December 2021
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