Hotel Marketing Starts Locally;
Never Forget Your Neighbors

By David M. Brudney, ISHC, March 2006

I love it when clients put me up at a hotel I never would have found nor selected on my own.  I love it because I always come away from the experience with either a reminder or a new lesson to share.

One lesson I�ve learned over the years is to always engage other guests in conversation, when and wherever the opportunity presents itself.

This past week I found myself in a suburban, independent limited service hotel near a project where I anticipate doing some future consulting work.  

So here I was, having a really nice complimentary breakfast - - make your own waffle fresh, what a great idea! - - when a fellow business traveler sat down at the table next to mine.  A CNN news item triggered some conversation during which I learned the following:

  • The guest was a �brand new� road warrior
  • He drove his own car 400 miles from home
  • He made no reservation because he didn�t think it was necessary (Metro suburban area, winter time, midweek arrival), but he had done some Internet homework and knew of two options 
  • Upon arriving in the town he tried to check in at a branded inn and suites property in the heart of the small downtown
  • He couldn�t find the entrance and due to all the surrounding construction (condo development), he made the assumption the hotel was not open
  • He had an address of the other option (�our� hotel) but he could not find it in the dark
  • He saw a familiar branded supermarket across the street and since his wife worked for the same chain, he went in and asked a cashier where he might find a room for the night (3 nights!)
  • The supermarket cashier not only told him about �our� hotel, she told him it was a nice, clean place and then gave him specific directions on how to find it
My fellow business traveler�s stay represented $262.11 in room revenue and taxes.  None of that would have been collected by the innkeeper had it not been for a neighborhood merchant�s awareness and testimonial. 

And that testimonial did not come from the supermarket�s general manager nor manager on duty, it came directly from a cashier, possibly part-time hourly.

As I reflected on the experience, I wondered if the hotel�s general manager and/or sales associate had made neighborly calls on the market, providing information while delivering �goodwill� packages (breakfast or snack samples) and thanking the team for keeping the hotel in mind whenever shoppers inquire?

I wondered if the hotel had ever called on all the other neighboring merchants: fast food, restaurants, lounges, service stations, auto repair, car rental and retail shops?

Paraphrasing the late Tip O�Neill, all marketing is local and it begins with careful cultivating of merchants in your immediate and surrounding neighborhoods.  A testimonial and/or referral from a local merchant can make the difference in a point or two in weekly occupancy or making room revenue monthly budget.

Better yet, should the innkeeper deliver the product and service, that one referred guest might return a dozen times in the future and who knows how many other potential guests he or she might influence?

A successful restaurateur told me once that a table of four - - producing a positive dining experience - - represented $1 million worth of future business. 

Here�s a few other reminder tips:

  • Seek out website linkages with merchants, attractions and venues of interest to your guests
  • Seek out database sharing and possible co-op marketing efforts and cross-selling opportunities with selected local merchants with interest in your guest profiles
  • If your complimentary breakfast is your hotel�s signature item, invite selected merchants to experience first hand
  • Offer neighborhood merchant owners complimentary rooms and breakfast (subject to space availability, of course) as part of their employee bonus and incentive planning
  • An annual neighborhood merchant reception with heavy �working the room� by the G.M. and/or Sales associate, is very good for business 
Note: for more ideas and tips on neighborhood marketing, read  �Uncertain Times Call For Backyard Basics,� April 2003.

© copyright 2006
 
 

David M. Brudney, ISHC, is a veteran sales and marketing professional concluding his fourth decade of service to the hospitality industry.  Brudney advises lodging owners, lenders and operators on sales and marketing �best practices� and conducts reviews of sales and marketing operations throughout the U.S. and overseas.  The principal of David Brudney & Associates of Carlsbad, CA, a sales and marketing consulting firm specializing in the hospitality industry since 1979, Brudney is a frequent lecturer, instructor and speaker.  He is a charter member of International Society of Hospitality Consultants.  Previously, Brudney held sales and marketing positions with Hyatt, Westin and Marriott.

 
Contact:

David M. Brudney, ISHC, Principal 
David Brudney & Associates 
Carlsbad, CA 
760-476-0830 Fax 760-476-0860 
[email protected]
www.DavidBrudney.com
www.ishc.com


 
Also See Notes from the ALIS Conference / David Brudney / February 2006
General Managers Workshop: Managing Today's Hotel Sales Teams / July 2005
Owners & Asset Managers: Need Expert Advice, Referral? Ask A Trusted Consultant / David M. Brudney, ISHC / May 2005
Larry May: The Passing Of Another Hotel Soldier / David Brudney ISHC / April 2005
Hotel Owners: Better, Worse or About the Same? / David Brudney ISHC / December 2004
Let�s Put Bush and Kerry Through the RFP Process / October 2004
Bev Kordsmeier, Hyatt Sales� First Lady / April 2004
Message to Hotel Sales Associates: �It�s Not You!�/ January 2004
What Innkeepers Want Every Christmas? Fill Those Empty Rooms / December 2003
Uncertain Times Call for Return to Backyard Basics / April 2003
Time to �Group Up�?  Maybe, Maybe Not / May 2002
America�s Front Desk  Fights Back! / January 2002
Front Desk Fails To Catch America�s Hospitality Spirit / David Brudney ISHC / November 2001
A Very Good Time For That Sales Audit / David Brudney ISHC / Sept 2001 
More Theater, Less Zombies / David Brudney ISHC / Dec 2000 
It�s The Experience, Stupid! / David Brudney ISHC / Nov 2000 


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