by Dr.
John
Hogan, CHE CHA CMHS
May 6, 2011
For each of the last several years, I have felt honored to
work with the award winning Short Course of the Texas Hotel &
Lodging Association. TH&LA for the past six decades has annually
offered a week-long course at a very attractive rate for rising
hospitality professionals. The program includes a range of well known
corporate and academic hospitality educators who lead interactive
discussions on the leading topics of the day.
This past year, one of the topic areas I addressed was
marketing. Today's rising professionals are very savvy on social media
and a number of related areas. Below are a sampling of questions for
your review. Mark True or False and take a moment to think why you
answered the way you did.
QUESTIONS
- Whether you work in a small limited service property or a
large convention hotel, there are key marketing techniques you cannot
afford to ignore. True or False
- The Marketing Plan is the fundamental center of effective
marketing. True or False
- The trend in hotels the past five years has been to build
and market large convention hotels. True or False
- Research and Qualifying is one of the key marketing
activities that must be properly executed. True or False
- Market Fragmentation means blast marketing at as many
markets as possible to find the right customers for your hotel. True
or False
- Successful Hospitality Marketing today relies heavily on
Relationship building. Getting to YES requires coordinated marketing
activities that makes the potential customer want to make the decision
to use your hotel over a competitor. True or False
- The most effective way to Overcome Objections is to
continue your presentation as planned and answering all questions at
the end. True or False
- The only Concessions or Negotiating Points important to
meeting planners are Complimentary Rooms, Upgrades, Meeting Room
Rentals, Parking and Internet costs. True or False
- Revenue Management means adjusting rates so your hotel
always achieves the highest average rate. True or False
- The real secrets of bed & breakfasts are that they are
small, inexpensive and unusual. True or False
I will review the answers directly, but
here were the most important 3 key points of this presentation to be
emphasized to this energetic class of rising professionals:
- The end result in Hospitality Marketing is recapped in
the quote from long time sales executive and Executive Vice President,
HSMAI Adrian Philips, ”Don't go after a friend to make a sale; go after
a sale to make a friend" The responsibility for exceptional
customer sales and service belongs to everyone on staff, including the
owner and manager.
- Understanding that Repeat Clients are the heart of any
successful hotel marketing. This means Defining your clients,
knowing what makes you special to them and adding special experiences
to enhance the ‘uniqueness’ of your offerings. That combination of
sales message and service delivery are tied together
- Successful Hospitality Marketing today relies heavily on
Relationship building. We cannot forget that Getting to YES
requires a coordinated marketing activity that makes the potential
customer want to make the decision to use your hotel over a competitor.
You have to be better and more attractive in your total package to get
them to make that YES decision.
Now for the ANSWERS
- Whether you work in a small limited service property or a
large convention hotel, there are key marketing techniques you cannot
afford to ignore. True - the property's size determines budgets,
markets served and staffing, but there essentials of marketing that
remain essential to pay attention to.
- The Marketing Plan is the fundamental center of effective
marketing. True - even smaller country inns, B&Bs,
restaurants and all hospitality businesses need a central plan.
- The trend in hotels the past five years has been to build
and market large convention hotels. False - while there have
been some large convention center hotels built or expanded, the trend
has been to smaller boutique hotels. Trends do change and tend to go in
cycles, depending on many factors.
- Research and Qualifying is one of the key marketing
activities that must be properly executed. True - even smaller
properties must know who their probable client is. The days of massive
cold calls are behind us, as techology can assist tremendously in
qualifying leads.
- Market Fragmentation means blast marketing to as many
markets as possible to find the right customers for your hotel. False
- while “blast marketing” may have its' place in establishing name
recognition, understanding which markets you serve and when means
working the marketing plan effectively.
- Successful Hospitality Marketing today relies heavily on
Relationship building. Getting to YES requires coordinated marketing
activities that makes the potential customer want to make the decision
to use your hotel over a competitor. True - this one should not
have required extensive thought. Networking and relationships are
essential to ongoing success.
- The most effective way to Overcome Objections is to
continue your presentation as planned and answering all questions at
the end. False - there is a difference between effective
listening and “canned” answers. Think of the responses we sometimes
receive from the cable companies, certain banks, airlines or other
“service” providers that only respond to key words. Today's customers
have too many choices to deal with uncaring hospitality firms.
- The only Concessions or Negotiating Points important to
meeting planners are Complimentary Rooms, Upgrades, Meeting Room
Rentals, Parking and Internet costs. False - I worked with a
series of meeting planners in the 2nd half of 2010 at national programs
across the US and they are dealing with many of the same issues as
hotels. Attrition, concern on attendance, providing excellence in
service and meetings are all major concerns for them as well.
- Revenue Management means adjusting rates so your hotel
always achieves the highest average rate. False - Revenue
Management is complex and yet simple. The best results are from
research and a blend of clients that meet both short and long term
goals of revenue and occupancy.
- The real secrets of bed & breakfasts are that they are
small, inexpensive and unusual. False - many people have yet to
enjoy the distinctions offered at B&Bs and Country Inns. These
smaller properties have limited numbers of accommodations and tend to
provide exceptional personal attention that justifies their higher
rates.
On a personal note, I am excited to have just posted my Blog #
100 : A Baker's Dozen of Reflections - What our Guests Should Mean to
Us | And a Competition!
http://hoganhospitality.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/blog-100-a-bakers-dozen-of-reflections-what-our-guests-should-mean-to-us-and-a-competition/
Hospitality Tip of the
WeekTM:
"The
best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mohandas K. Gandhi
KEYS TO
SUCCESS is the
umbrella title for my 2011 programs, hospitality services and columns.
This
year’s writings focus on a variety of topics for hotel owners, managers
and
professionals including both my "HOW
TO" articles, HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS™, Lessons from the Field™, Hotel
Common Sense™ and Principles
for Success .
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Don't forget the special values being
offered to industry professionals available on annual membership at www.HospitalityEducators.com.
Feel free to share an idea for a column at [email protected]
anytime or contact me
regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements … And
remember
– we all need a regular dose of common sense.
John Hogan is
a successful hospitality executive, educator,
author and consultant
and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many
hospitality industry events. He is
Co-Founder of a consortium ( www.HospitalityEducators.com)
of successful corporate and
academic professionals delivering focused and affordable counsel in
solving
specific challenges facing hospitality today.
www.HospitalityEducators.com
is a membership site offering a wide range of
information, forms, best practices and ideas designed to help
individual
hoteliers and hospitality businesses improve their market penetration,
deliver
service excellence and increase their profitability. Individuals
wishing to
contribute materials may send them [email protected].
Special pricing is in effect for a limited time that also includes a
complimentary copy of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD- A COMMON SENSE APPROACH
TO
EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES.
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