AURORA, CO Carol Verret, of Carol Verret and Associates Consulting and Training, has published a report including a list of suggestions about how a hotel owner can prepare a property to maintain market share in the softening economic environment.
Included on the list are the following suggestions:
1. Evaluate rate positioning against the competition on a daily basis Verret suggests that rates be adjusted for last-minute bookings. She mentions that developing rate-driven flyers for local visitor centers, rest areas and other sources of walk-in and short-lead reservations may help boost occupancy.
2. Make sure the sales development team is out on the road making sales calls Verret believes that grass roots marketing and direct sales effort will work in most markets. She suggests that hoteliers evaluate the sales skills of their staff and provide immediate training for deficiencies. Furthermore, she recommends asking the sales staff for period sales reports and occasionally accompanying them on sales calls.
3. Empower and motivate the front desk staff to capture every walk-in If there is no incentive for a front desk associate to sell a room because they get paid the same whether they do or not, Verret believes that a hotel owner will never know “how many walked out the door.” She suggests that a reasonable rate range needs to be set every night that an associate can quote with confidence and they need to begin incentive to sell it.
4. Exceed guests service expectations Verret stresses the need to make expectations of quality customer service clear to employees in terms of empowering them to satisfy the guest and resolve guest complaints. An active suggestion she gives is to put complimentary coffee in the lobby and a bowl of apples on the front desk.
Verret believes it is “going to be a tough summer for a lot of hoteliers” and has compiled this list of suggestions in an effort to help hoteliers “minimize the damage and maintain or increase market share against a competitive set that may be asleep at the switch until it is too late.” (4/10/01)
SOURCE:How Soft Is Your Hotel s Landing? Carol Verret Consulting and Training