Who or what exactly is it that makes a difference when it comes to hotels? On looking into this, there were 5 things that really spoke to us. One of these was the role of history – the unique story behind a hotel, and another was the question of how to attract guests without being pushy.
1. Tell a fascinating story!
"To us, it’s really important for a hotel to stand out from the crowd and have its own unique character as expressed through its level of service, communication with guest, interior design and technologies. All of which can be made to tell a unique and fascinating story!"
Michael Struck, founder of Ruby Sofie, Vienna
2. Pull all the levers!
"It costs us about 20% of our room-per-night fee to acquire a guest via an online travel agent like booking.com – that is an expensive way of selling a bed, but if we then acquire that guest and know we can resell to them, and get them to come back via the direct channel, that dissipates across many nights and becomes a very attractive route for acquiring customers. In short: Pull all the levers to make that happen.“Julie Fawcett, Managing Director Qbic Hotels, London
3. Attract guests directly!
"The good news is that commission-free booking engines and other website technologies are today available to hoteliers to allow them to drive down the cost of acquisition (...)."
Mike Ford, co-founder and managing director at SiteMinder (in an interview on tnooz.com)
4. Create a real guest experience!
“The right balance of flexibility, price and technical knowledge is important to create a seamless guest experience.“
Rob Morgan, founder and managing director of BLOC Hotels, London
5. Promote your best assets!
"The heart of our new SMART hotel is our technology."
Benedikt Komarek, managing partner of Hotel Schani, Vienna
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