To differentiate oneself on the hotel market and remain competitive, one has to offer one’s clients not just a hotel but an experience: culinary safaris, partnerships with tourist and event agencies, one has to sell the unique, the extraordinary…
How can we do this, attract new customers and increase customer loyalty?
By integrating the “local spirit” into his hotel…
The hotel has always had an important place in the hearts of holidaymakers. Being in a hotel is already being on holiday, the hotel is the first immersion in the destination. This is why more and more travellers want to taste the local cuisine in the hotel’s restaurants. Ingredients produced in the surrounding area are often a guarantee of quality and a good culinary experience. Hyatt Hotels require that all Hyatt restaurants offer at least 5 local ingredients per menu. Some hotels choose to integrate a harvesting site directly into the hotel: the Hotel Lucia in Portland produces its honey on the roof. Always in the spirit of integrating the “eat local” initiative into its establishment, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth goes even further. When it reopens in 2017, it will set up an urban market bringing together local producers and craftsmen on the ground floor of the establishment. As not all hotels have a restaurant, it is possible to integrate the “local spirit” into your hotel through decoration by adding elements of local culture into the design. Working with local suppliers allows his hotel to be both a driving force for employment in the region but above all to ensure a real identity.
By organizing activities…
Always with the idea of enhancing the guest’s destination through the hotel, the guest can organize activities.
Guided tour on a particular theme to make it more fun and original: Example: A visit of Paris through its bakeries.
Setting up private, exclusive events: concerts, artists’ shows within the establishment and accessible in priority to hotel guests. Culinary safaris, virtual reality spaces within the hotel that allow the guest to live a unique adventure.
By creating audacious partnerships to offer exclusive experiences …
Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts owes its reputation and a portion of its clientele to the “extraordinary experiences” it provides around the world. A private helicopter tour over Mexico’s agave fields to taste the world’s best selling tequila at the Jose Cuervo distillery, to a swimming party with impressive sea creatures in protected waters, to performing some figure skating tricks in the company of Olympic champions. You don’t have to be the Walt Disney Hotel in Santa Fe to pretend to sell more than a hotel. Simple, well-found partnerships can increase the notoriety of your hotel, give it a real identity and thus increase its attendance.
Realizing that today’s travelers are looking for more than just a hotel is paramount. As a hotel manager, it is essential to take into account the local dimension of your establishment as well as the activities of your guests’ stay. And finally, in order to make an impression and attract a new clientele, you have to focus on exclusivity.
