The onset of the pandemic shook the hospitality industry to its core and has significantly affected the guest flow and occupancy rates of nearly every hotel in the world. As we look forward to a pandemic-free future, a return to normal occupancy rates at hotels will be warmly welcomed. In the meantime, here are a few tips on ways you can work to bring in guests as smoothly as possible under changing circumstances and easing restrictions.
Build Your Social Presence
Building a social presence can help your hotel stay at top of mind for guests when travel is slow. A solid social media strategy makes you stand out so that when guests are ready to stay, your hotel is the first place they think of. For boutique hotels particularly, building a beautiful social presence is an effective way to build brand awareness and increase an individual’s inclination to stay with you in the future. Showcasing the quality of your rooms, common areas, and amenities can help get people interested in and excited about your hotel before they even stay there. You could even garner interest through a “countdown clock” that tracks to the moment your state or region is projected to fully reopen.
Gather & Highlight Success Stories
Additionally, showcasing the positive experiences of current or past guests is a great way to encourage new guests to flow in. Social proof is a strong testament to the quality, customer service, and overall experience of your ho
tel. Reviews are a great way to get people who are familiar with your hotel to actually make a reservation. TripAdvisor cards can be an easy way to ask guests to leave a review as they are checking out of your hotel – these cards are the size of a business card, but detail where and how a customer can share their experience. To take advantage of social proof even further, build out more extensive case studies on unique guest experiences or exceptionally positive reviews. Sending these more robust success stories through email or serving them as local advertisements can prove to your audience that they will enjoy their experience booking with your hotel and can help you bring in more guests even during these slower times.
Make It an Experience
As restrictions move through different tiers, offering a full experience for guests is going to be a major benefit for your hotel. Creating unique incentives for guests to stay with you can catch attention and be a major motivator for them. Offering specials on “work from hotel” rates, extended stay discounts, or solo traveler deals can help you bring in those who are still traveling and work to keep your occupancy rate relatively consistent. Along with these unique incentives, including hotel supplies that can be used as souvenirs is a wonderful way to help guests remember their stay with you. Staying in a hotel during a pandemic is an experience unlike anything else, and offering custom key cards, key sleeves, brochures, or luggage and valet tags to your guests can help them look back at their time with your hotel with fondness.
Front Desk Supply is committed to helping you keep occupancy rates consistent and give the best guest experience possible into the new year and beyond. Having fully stocked supplies in place, including key sleeves and PPE, is vital to ensure your hotel functions safely and efficiently from check-in to check-out.
Unsure about how to help your hotel continue functioning successfully during these changing times? Download our Free Hotel Checklist. This list provides your hotel with information on how to keep your doors open safely and successfully.
Many of the items on our hotel checklist are available for purchase on our new website.
