With the rise in tourism and growth in the industry, competition is getting tougher every year. Two years ago, the global COVID-19 pandemic caused a drastic decline in the tourism industry. Additionally, extreme weather conditions in some areas make access for tourists harder. Roadblocks due to heavy snowfall also make it difficult for the tourists to make it to the resort or the hotel. Keeping tourism alive while surviving through harsh conditions and competition is a challenge.
While natural and unnatural disasters may be out of our control, hotel and resort owners can still take steps to increase footfall to their facilities. Combining marketing strategies, discount offers, and planned, targeted and effective advertising can boost sales. In addition, tweaking the place to your customers’ liking increases the loyal customer base of any business.
Moreover, keeping an eye on the market trends and competitors’ activities is extremely important to stay ahead of the competition. Using updated technology to gather customer data and offering seamless services could be a plus point. You have to understand your clients’ expectations from you to deliver what they want. Looking at customer trends can give you a better idea regarding this.
Offer Value-Added Services
Apart from hotel stay and restaurant, provide value-added services. For example, dinner shows in Pigeon Forge make a simple dining experience much more fun, with pirate-themed live shows, tropical birds, mermaids, etc. Such a fun dining experience will attract thousands of tourists to dine in to enjoy the live shows. Not every resort offers such an experience, which gives the pirate voyage an edge over the competition.
Similarly, some campgrounds do not just offer a camping experience. For example, the Great Smoky Mountains campgrounds offer a complete range of camping activities. These include bonfires, outdoor live BBQs, swimming in the watering hole, outdoor sports for children and young adults, etc. The cabins are pet-friendly and include all amenities, including free Wi-Fi, room service, an indoor swimming pool, cinema room, and game room.
The value-added services take a simple service to the next level. The more comfortable and flexible the stay the tourists receive, the more likely they will visit more frequently.
Tell a Story
Does your hotel or resort have a background history? If yes, make it central and put it on the front in promoting your resort. Some hotel rooms sell more if people know that a significant incident occurred. Some hotels are haunted, and people who enjoy staying in such hotels go there.
What sets it apart from all the other hotels? Your resort has to have something unique that is central to only your facility. Some hotels are themed. For example, the Elvis Presley-themed hotel in Graceland also has a museum featuring all things Presley. Similarly, there is Dollywood in Tennessee, named after Dolly Parton, a famous country musician. A Wild West-themed motel named Pioneertown Motel in California was used as a set for numerous film shootings depicting the famous Old West during the 1940s and 1950s. The place attracted many Western movie stars, so it charges accordingly due to its strong history and story. The motel also features the classic salon from the Old West, a horse tethering space, and quaint boutiques.
Some resorts do not just offer rooms. They have cabins, motel rooms, camps, lamps, and all its amenities under one roof. Others sell more on their unique architectural design and beauty.
Therefore, whatever story your hotel portrays will attract a relevant audience. So, plan to sell your story accordingly.
Make Your Services as Seamless as Possible
The easier it is for the customers to book rooms, make payments, check in, and checkout, the more pleasant their experience will be. Moreover, room maintenance and preparation before their arrival and room service during their stay should be up to the mark.
Make sure you have a digital scheduling system for all your guests. Make any terms and conditions very clear from the beginning to avoid any mishaps later. Make it easier for the elderly, especially those who may not be able to stand in line for their check-ins. Provide them the facility to check in digitally and checkout.
Also, make it easier for customers to cancel their bookings. Most hotel customers face this widespread issue. Usually, the booking fee of a hotel is non-refundable, takes longer to process, or is non-transferable. Make the booking option temporary, making it easy to cancel anytime. If a customer wants to check in before or after the booking date or because of a flight delay, you must be able to accommodate them.
Pay special attention to hygiene. Unclean hotel rooms use bedsheets or glassware that can turn off any customer. Make sure to change everything every time a customer leaves a room. Have adequate and efficient staff members who are punctual and quick in their jobs.
Moreover, offer good laundry and ironing services. Customers usually do not plan longer stays in hotels that do not offer laundry and ironing services. They have to look for a nearby service that costs them a lot. Offering these services could be a plus point for your hotel.
These are prevalent hotel service problems. If all your services are on point, it will attract more customers to your facility.
Collaborate with Other Businesses
If customers check in to your hotel because it is close to a ski resort, you should work with the ski resort. You can offer ski discounts to your customers after check-in or free ski gear to all your guests who plan to go skiing.
Similarly, if you own a beach resort, offer your guests special offers on nearby cafés and restaurants. On the other hand, people who visit the nearby café and order something can receive a beach resort voucher. If shops and boutiques are near your resort, offer 50% off on booking or check-in after spending a certain amount on shopping.
Conclusion
Increasing footfall to your resort means more sales turnover and more profit for your business. To do this, you must make unique offerings to your customers, which other hotels and resorts lack. Moreover, in tough competition, you must offer value-added services to turn an essential service into a luxury experience. Significant examples are themed restaurants and hotels, live shows, and dinner shows.
Solving the most common hotel service problems makes your service quality superior and puts you ahead of the competition. Therefore, make your guests’ stay as comfortable and flexible as possible to get more footfall. Excellent service will land you tons of positive reviews, placing you on top of other hotels and resorts.