Crushing the Competition: Driving More Share to Your Hotel

Service and Cleanliness are EVERYTHING

They always have been and always will be. It would be remiss to leave these out when discussing how to drive share. It is possible to have the newest hotel in the competitive set, but if it is not clean and if our team is not service driven it will not matter. Guests want to feel recognized and valued and a spotless room is imperative for guest retention. It goes without saying that this should be top priority. Reviewing and responding to Guest Surveys and using their feedback to improve is critical to our success. This includes responding to In House Guest Comments and Post Stay Surveys from the OTAs.

Using this feedback as a tool to improve will help to improve our service, drive OTA positioning and better results in the future. Additionally, other potential guests are making stay decisions when reading previous guest reviews and our responses to them. Most potential guests searching a hotel read reviews before selecting one so our focus should be on making our service world class no matter what type of hotel we have.

Online Optimization

One key piece of the puzzle when driving share is online optimization. Our own brand sites and all other sites that we appear on should be current with our most up to date and detailed information, relevant key words, amenities, and photos. Room descriptions should be detailed and the difference between room types should be easy to understand. Top Demand Generators should be reviewed quarterly and updated. Perhaps there are demand generators in our markets that close for Winter and vice versa so it is best to keep it current.

Having great high-quality photography and videos gives a glimpse to potential customers of what it would be like to stay at our hotel and what we kind of amenities we offer. Online optimization is necessary to drive more traffic to our site. This is not a set it and forget it - these should be checked and updated often.

Know Your Competition

Knowing what our competition does well and not so well and staying up to date on what amenities they offer allows us to successfully sell against them. If we closely monitor competitive hotels we will stay on top of sellouts, renovations, new amenities, and any other changes that affect our own pricing and selling strategies. As we forge relationships with the teams at the competition, they are more likely to refer overflow business to us including group that they are not able to accommodate. Old school Google Alerts, Reader Board Shops and Parking Lot visits are still viable ways to stay on top of what is in the competitive set.

Agency 360, Knowland Reports and OTA Insight are other great tools to stay in touch with what our competitors are doing, who is staying in their hotels and who we can target to shift share. It is also a great idea to schedule a visit or an overnight stay at the comp set a few times a year to stay up to the minute on anything new.

Be Agile

This goes back to the adage If You Always Do What You've Always Done , You'll Get What You've Always Got. If a strategy is not working as expected, then it is likely time to regroup and pivot onto something else. Advances in technology allows us to use readily available intelligence to drill down and find opportunities by segments, location, and a variety of other criteria to create a new game plan and design actions for improvement and growth.

Being agile also means avoiding analysis paralysis and having easy access to this detailed information allows us to react quickly. We can review the data with our teams, come to a decision and implement targeted actions swiftly. Monitor new strategies for success and if a new approach does not work then we try something else. The key is to be agile, review the data, act quickly and be open to trying new solutions.

Think Outside of the Box

What can we do that no one else is doing? What can we try that we have not tried before? Sometimes a crazy idea or an outside the box strategy change can work. How about a fun package celebrating a new local attraction or local event? Maybe a well themed package centered around an event like Spring Break or Mardi Gras could drive some much-needed weekend occupancy? Those events may not actually be in our market, but we could still offer them as a themed package including themed decor, food specials and a memento. When was the last time we dug into the hotels in our comp set that we do not normally watch? What share shift opportunities can we uncover from them? These may not be hotels we compete with on a regular basis, but there could be some low hanging fruit that we can use on shoulder days.

Let's not forget about pricing. What would happen if we switched up our pricing? Can we change the premium on upgraded room types to drive ADR or drive share? Have we considered long term stay rates or when was the last time we reviewed our long term stay pricing? Is our weekend pricing philosophy still sound or can we change up the room type differential? Is there a segment we've never entertained that we are seeing more of in our market such as Bachelorette parties, Quinceaneras or guests traveling with pets to name a few? Nothing is off the table when we think outside the box and the results can be very rewarding.

OTAs

Several of the prominent OTAs offer additional ways to drive share, but most of these promotions come at an additional cost. Expedia Travel Ads are approved by most if not all the brands. Based on a per click bid you can increase your position on the booking site if your bid is within the sweet spot. There are various OTA promotions available by offering additional discounts based on length of stay or location for example such as International Guests who tend to stay longer. There is also the option to run last minute deals and package offers.

Another OTA option is to run an Accelerator where a larger commission is paid to boost position on their site. Not all these promotions are brand approved so it is best to check with brand policies before running them. All these promotions include an added expense in addition to the commission already paid to the OTA, so these measures need a close look before moving forward.

High Demand

When we talk about driving share the approach in our slower times could be drastically different than in our peak months. In high demand we are more inclined to drive share by growing ADR and managing stay patterns to increase the length of stay. Well before our busy season we should review the premium pricing on room types for opportunities and assure rates rolling in are appropriately positioned especially on the most desirable days. We can use minimum or maximum stay restrictions to assure a smooth occupancy pattern around peak days and put controls on deep discounts including employee rates where we do not want them to sell.

Setting up Google Alerts is a great way to stay on top of newly announced citywide events or concerts so we can protect them. We should also assure that our brand systems that manage rates and restrictions are set up for success with the correct controls in place such as floors, ceilings, hurdles, Special Events indicators to name a few so that these systems react appropriately year-round.

Low Demand

There are limitless options to drive share during low demand and usually finding one or two actions that work is enough to make a big difference during low occupancy times. eProspecting is a great way to find new business coming to the area. eProspecting new store or restaurant openings by our zip code could result in construction or new store training groups or additional corporate business. Looking for future tournaments could give us an edge on future teams coming to the area. There is also a huge advantage to being the "first foot in the door" when calling on any kind of new business. Reviewing new building permits either online or in person is another way to stay on top of development in our markets and potentially find new group opportunities.

Our Front Desk Teams are salespeople too and often the first contact with a customer. Aside from blowing our customers away with great service they can engage our customers on what is bringing them to the area for possible sales leads. This could be impactful when we notice new companies staying with us or when guests are staying long term. The Opaque channels are still one way to drive occupancy during our slower season, but this occupancy is usually accompanied by a lower ADR.

Using market reports from the Opaque channel allows you to find the best price point. Value add packages help drive share during off season by using combined package elements and offering a discount off what the elements would cost. For example, if you are offering a package that includes an overnight stay with a $100 value, breakfast for 2 with a $20 dollar value and an Amazon gift card with a $20 value the combined value of the elements is $140. To make it a value add you can price it at $120 or another price point where the guest can easily see the value.

When trying a new strategy, we should always monitor the outcome. If the results are not as expected it may be time to tweak the strategy or move onto another option. In our current dynamic hotel environment, the important thing is to be innovative, agile, and aggressive and keep finding great new ways to drive share and crush the competition!