The practice is to place yourself in the place of the guest and understand how they feel about the services. In order to get closer to your guests’ requirement, figure out where do your guests spend most of their time online and design a strategy that will keep you ahead from rest of the competition. It is a time-tested method to boost hotel occupancy.
Today, we come up with a list of 9 incredibly easy ways to ensure full occupancy at your hotels in Kalyani.
1. Target the right audience
This step is the most crucial one in increasing your hotel occupancy. There is a subtle difference between ‘firing shots in the dark’ and ‘a targeted shot’. Collect all the data that your guests provide and understand the market demographics. Know whom you are catering your services to, the demography of the travelers you appeal to, and which regions most of your guests are coming from, etc. Analyze the collected data and plan out the market that you should target.
2. Customize your packages and promotions according to guest’s needs
Once you have your target market figured out, you can then move on to design packages and promotions which can attract the specific audience. You have to understand that different guests have different expectations and this varies widely depending on their age, cultural background, ethnicity, profession, income group, etc. So, make sure that you know every tiny detail about your target audience and throw them an offer they can’t refuse!
3. Coordinate with the big players in your field
Sharing your business with the corporate and other large businesses is a great strategy to increase your online hotel booking. By bringing in more sources of reservation in your fold, you diversify your business which in turn increases chances of hotel room occupancy. To make the work easy for the corporate, implement a smart Property Management System.
4. Get the maximum out of events or cultural festivals
If you find yourself grappling with the thought on how to increase your hotel occupancy, this one is your best shot. Mark the events in your area that attracts a lot of visitors and make the most out of them. May it be a cultural festival, a huge conference or just about anything that ropes in maximum people to your region, promote those events and use them to promote your property. Arrange special discounts for those who come with a proof that they are going to the event! Another way to use these events is to tie up with the organizers and get your property listed on their website or brochure. This way you will get more attention and chances will be high to attain full occupancy, may it be just for few days.
5. Offer discounts and other perks
More often than not, people are interested in things that are discounted. Offer discount coupons, loyalty points and other benefits especially for students, children below a prescribed age and for business travelers.
Loyalty programs are really great way to increase your hotel room occupancy. Such programs also encourage guests to keep coming for your service. Retaining old guests is way cheaper than attracting new ones.
Another great way to increase hotel occupancy is to offer discounts to long-term guests. More often than not, it pays big to tie-up with local agents for a reasonable fee as they can redirect a fair number of guests who are looking for accommodation ranging from a few weeks to a couple of months.
6. Make your hotel as inclusive as possible
Now, this is one of the most scarcely used hotel room sales strategy as not many hotels near Kolkata know about the term ‘inclusion’. ‘Inclusion’ means to make your property as welcoming to the guests as it can. The following points will help you increase your hotel occupancy:
- Make proper arrangements for the differently-abled guests by having a wheel chair or voice-enabled services for visually impaired.
- You can have high chairs in your hotel restaurant for families with infants.
- You can make your hotel pet-friendly as a lot of visitors like to travel with their pets and pet-friendly hotels are limited in number.
You can make your hotel available for several social occasions like family gatherings, wedding or even a business-meeting.
7. Promote you locality, not just your hotel
Sometimes a more convenient way to increase your hotel room occupancy is by promoting your locality or region. Being a local resident, you will be well aware of places that are not so famous yet spectacular. You can use them to attract more visitors to your property.
You can make a custom package with add-ons, discounts and arrangements for a day’s tour to these nearby places, or whatever works best for them.
8. Make your offer more unique
Despite trying out your best shot, there can be scenarios where most of your tricks and steps have failed to yield results. Disruption is the way out in such scenarios. You need to include that extra pinch of uniqueness that guests are less likely to find anywhere near you.
People have natural inclination towards words like biggest, tallest, smallest, widest, first, only. While not all ‘superlatives’ will be of your use, there are some you can apply with a little bit of creativity and quirk.
Go for theme based arrangements like- the lost hippie culture of 1970s or a theme based on- game of thrones that your guests are not going to experience in other hotels.
9. Increase your online engagement
Utilize the unlimited power of social media platforms to interact and engage with your audiences. Engaging online with your audiences can make it easy for you to build trust among prospects.
Increase your activity on review websites by responding to your guest’s queries. This will send a message among them that you care for them. Maintain consistency in your communication.
The above mentioned trips will help you increase your hotel occupancy as they are logical as well as practical. You have to remember that things won’t change overnight for you and each small step taken in a positive direction will definitely bear fruits for you.
