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We all have wonderful
memories of a charming hotel in which we stayed that was free of the
cookie-cutter image, had an intimacy that made us feel special and nooks and
crannies that invited us to linger and relax. Hoteliers often harbor a
retirement fantasy that when the mainstream career comes to a close, they will
walk into the sunset and operate an inn or a bed and breakfast and will have
gone to hotel heaven. Well, let me tell you that hotel heaven can turn into hell
very quickly.
Because of their size,
small boutique properties often do not have the clout in the market to recruit
and retain good line employees. Seasonality can have the happy retired hotelier
making beds, doing laundry and unstopping toilets in the off-season when he/she
has had to lay off the seasonal staff. Any furloughs due to seasonality pretty
well guarantee that the quality labor in the market will go to a property with
the mass to offer them year round employment.
Budgeting and forecasting
can be a nightmare if accurate records of the previous years are not kept.
Benchmarking performance in the market is difficult due to lack of access and
the expense of Smith Travel Research reports. Overhead and expenses can run high
when the market dictates rate ceilings. The PMS systems available to independent
hotels often lack the sophistication of those available to franchise properties.
Inventory management is critical to maximize revenues in smaller properties and
the available tools often reside in the manager's brain.
If this scares you off
then you should doing something else. The rewards are the opportunity to create
a guest experience based upon hospitality rather than efficiency, to implement
customer service that makes memories rather than horror stories, to truly be in
touch with guests rather than seeking to avoid them because a guest contact
usually indicates a problem.
Marketing an independent
boutique hotel requires a certain finesse and accountability due to the
restrictions of size and budgets. As there is no franchise driven marketing
program and its accompanying contribution to occupancy by virtue of a GDS system
and 800 numbers, nor is there a frequent guest program, the marketing plan has
to be developed and executed with precision accuracy to reach the potential
guest with a true appreciation of a boutique hotel and the ability to pay the
price for this level of service and intimacy.
There are several key
factors to develop a lean and targeted marketing plan for boutique hotels:
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Begin
by developing a client profile for each market segment by season. This should
also include the F&B outlets. The profile should be developed
demographically, geographically and fiscally. Only when you have a clear picture
of your guest can you target both sales and marketing efforts and media
placement.
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Sign
up for the reservation and marketing systems available to independent hotels
that best reach your client profiles. Track their production so you can review
performance and make adjustments in your selection if necessary.
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Use
electronic distribution channels and manage the heck out them. Have a dynamite
but easy to navigate web site that is capable of accepting reservations online.
Ensure that your web master has you entered in the search engines by key words
that appeal to your guest profile and pay for them to regularly refresh your web
site positioning with the search engines. Use email to advantage when your site
includes an email response capability.
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Develop
a Public Relations Plan within your marketing plan. The GM should be the point
person for this so the sales person(s) can be dedicated to selling. The GM
should be heavily community involved and serve on key committees where the
visibility is highest for the target guest and/or can have access to and
participate in the formulation of civic and tourism policies that benefit the
hotel. Be e a patron of a key charity that has a high profile with your
potential guests.
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Develop
your own Customer Relationship Management program. Collect as much information
about your guest as possible. Not just the name and address but the kind of wine
they had with dinner, events or attractions that they booked through the hotel
or the hotel's concierge such as theatre tickets, special events or festivals
and last but not least, whether they liked feather or foam pillows. Many years
ago I was a Sales Manager with The Four Seasons Hotel in Montreal when the
company was still small enough that Isadore Sharp would e and sit in your
office and ask how things were going. The reservations department staff took all
reservations by hand but we had a computer with a customer relationship
management program (although we didn't know to call it that) that was state of
the art. We knew the answer to the pillow question and if the guest preferred
Evian or Perrier. These things were done prior to the guest checking in.
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Develop
cost effective mailing pieces targeted to past guests and potential guests that
your profile for the period of time or promotion that you have developed. Back
to the bottle of wine in you CRM system. If your or F&B outlet or an
organization in your community is sponsoring a wine festival, search the CRM for
the information and mail your promotional piece to them.
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This
may sound trite but MAKE SALES CALLS BASED ON YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER PROFILES. For
example, what segment of travel within a company appreciates and has the travel
budget to utilize your facility. Who are they and how can you gain exposure to
them. Which types of associations match your client profile in terms of
demographics, geographics and the fiscal resources of their members?
There is so much I could
say and do! It is fun marketing these independent boutique hotels because it
does require a certain creativity and finesse to reach those target markets
within budget. The rewards are in knowing that when the hotel is successful it
was a team effort not reliant on the power of a franchise.
The next six to nine
months could be difficult for independent boutique hotels. As many of them do
not have access to deep pockets, let us all sincerely hope that we don't loose
too many to closure or franchising. It is these unique qualities and the
experiences that they enhance (as well as the retirement fantasies) that make
the contribution of boutique hotels to the industry so valuable.
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Carol
Verret is a twenty-year veteran of the hospitality business, having begun her
career with Four Seasons and Westin Hotels in Montreal, Canada.
She most recently was Vice President Sales and Marketing for Sunstone
Hotels before she left in 1996 to start her own business.
Carol Verret Consulting and Training provides consulting and training
services to the hospitality industry in the areas of customer service and sales.
For a complete description of her services, access her web site at
http://www.carolverret.com/.
comments and feedback are appreciated and can be communicated via phone
at (303) 618-4065 or email at
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