|
How
will a war with Iraq (or anyone else for that matter) effect travel and the
hotel business? Are you in denial or are you making a contingency plan for your
hotel?
Several months ago, I wrote an article on
contingency planning as an addendum to the Marketing Plan. That dealt with
infrastructure changes in the market, the loss of a large contract or those
things that could significantly change the status quo in your hotel market. At
that time, we weren't even concerned about a possible war.
For those of us who remember the Gulf War,
the implications are profound. If you recall, travel came to a screeching halt
after the war began. A large corporation that shall remain nameless issued a
memo to all employees, advising them that if they were on the road they should
return home and all business travel was suspended until further notice.
Fortunately, that war was relatively short. That may not be the case this time.
The travel industry has yet to recover from
the changes in travel patterns associated with 9/11 and the economic downturn.
Couple that with the concern over new terrorist attacks that could be associated
with this war and it could spell disaster for those who don't plan and even for
those who do, it will significantly alter the revenue projections that have just
been finalized in most marketing plans.
Not one hotelier to whom I have spoken has
given this much thought. Alan Greenspan's attempt to reassure us by indicating
that he didn't think war would have a significant impact on the economy has done
little to reassure the uncertainty in the markets or the Consumer Confidence
Index.
While a war will most certainly have an
impact, giving some thought to how it may effect your hotel and developing an
alternative strategy prior to the event shortens the response time. In the old
SWOT analysis model, the T stands for 'threats'.
Which segments would be effected? Most
certainly corporate and leisure air travel to foreign destinations and gateway
cities, such as LA and DC will be impacted. Large convention venues and
attractions where large numbers of people congregate have been mentioned, as
have large resort destinations. Drive travel will still be the preferred
domestic mode of transportation although the destinations are likely to remain
those closer to home or close to military installations where family members may
have been called to serve.
What can individual properties do to minimize the impact on occupancies and
revenue? Below are just a few of the steps that you can take now in your
Contingency Plan.
 |
Poll
your accounts. Don't assume that you know or understand how a
declaration of war is impacting them or is likely to impact them and their
travel policies. Ask every account and every group this tough question. This
will prevent you from being blindsided by a drastic drop in an accounts
transient travel, group booking cancellations and unanticipated attrition in
convention attendance.
|
|
|
Develop
or maintain high visibility in drive markets. If you haven't
done this already, start now. Target transient through your property's web site
(you do have one, don't you?) and your state's tourism web site. Post specials
and packages aimed at the drive market. Make sure that you have rate driven
collateral at your state's gateway visitors centers, invite the volunteers or
staff of those centers to tour your hotel. Get a billboard (remember those) and
make sure that you can re-paint it twice a year with special offers seasonally. |
|
|
Implement
a group sales strategy aimed at drive markets. This includes
state and regional associations, corporations and affinity/SMERF groups. These
groups might go further afield in less uncertain times. If your sales staff can
make a sales trip to a market within 2 -3 hours of your hotel, imagine how much
you will save in expenses.
|
|
|
Call
billeting and the visitor centers of any military installations in your market.
Billeting is the department that is responsible for housing military personnel.
In the event of a call-up of the reserves and National Guard, they may not have
enough beds on base. They can also direct you as to how to get your information
out to families of military personnel called to duty who may want to visit them. |
|
|
Offer
special leisure packages to the military and their families. If
you are a resort location, make special offers through the military and
government travel agencies or the military bases. This is especially compelling
if your property is within a reasonable drive distance of a military
installation. |
|
Walter
Isenberg, President and CEO of Sage Hospitality,
participated in a panel discussion at the recent Colorado Hotel and Lodging
Association annual meeting, a conference where I also presented a seminar. In
response to a question from the audience about what keeps him up at night, he
responded, "The state of the world." This is profound not only from a
personal perspective but a business perspective. It keeps me up at night as
well.
The
point is that if this war does occur, it is those who have prepared for the
possibility who will be in the best position to implement their strategy. While
it may not eliminate the impact of such an event, it will give you an edge at
revenue recovery. Everyone else will be lamenting the event and excusing poor
performance on 'uncontrollable' events.
We
can't always control the things that happen but we can choose how we respond and
react.
Happy
Thanksgiving, everyone!
|
|
