Lots of talk at present about Tourist Tax and lobbying your local MP’s and councillors so they understand the full implications of this being implemented. How would it effect your business if you were required to pay a tax on all guests who were tourists.
One line of thinking is that not only is this another burden in gathering and passing on the tax to the relevant authority it also creates an unfair playing field. If accommodation providers have to pay a tourist tax, then does it not follow that petrol stations, restaurants etc should also be subjected to this tax?
Interesting reading in this article on tourist tax. http://www.taxationinfonews.com/2012/04/tax-authorities-eye-up-tourist-taxes/
If this is a tax which as a motellier you object to then you should be looking at putting in submissions to local and central Government on the issue. Either individual submissions or local association ones all add to the knowledge of councillors and politicians and possibly prevent the scales tipping too far against accommodation providers.
April 23 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Uncategorized | No Comments »
I have just read the blog post by James Hacon http://t.co/vYqUXQfY on the Hotel . Com survey for guest amenities. The pattern shows a trend as discussed in my blog on 3rd February http://bit.ly/HvMwFs
Good reading but also thought provoking especially one comment from Anna Pollock which stated it can be very difficult to get business services including printers whilst travelling.
I have recently purchased a new printer and following on from Anna’s comment I thought it would be great to have in a motel situation. The printer is an HP wireless 6500A which obviously prints wirelessly so any personal or office computers can print without the need for cables. Great to tidy up that precious office space in a motel. The function which I thought would be more beneficial however is the ability to print via the internet. This means provided someone has the access codes to the printer they can email print jobs to it and voila the printer churns out the required hard copy. This would be a great function to enable you to provide your guests with an easy to use print facility.
I am sure there are other brands which do the same thing or can even provide more facilities but it is food for thought to look for extra functions with technology when purchasing new items and think of ways these can provide an even better experience for your guests.
April 11 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry and Uncategorized | No Comments »
Research shows a direct correlation between interaction with clients and sales generated.
Jack Daly presents eye-opening research:
• 48% of salespeople never follow up after the first contact with a prospect.
• 25% of salespeople make a 2nd contact and stop.
• 12% of salespeople make a 3rd contact and stop.
• Only 10% of salespeople make more than 3 contacts.
• 80% of sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact.
Figures like this don’t always mean a lot but seeing them after just having undertaken a customer experience they appear very relevant to me. My daughter and her partner have decided to get married in December and so we have been looking at various wedding options. My own interaction with suppliers during this has made me very aware of the necessity for continued contact.
Firstly we started by planning to have the wedding at her partners family farm and hire a Marquee. I approached 4 Marquee hire places physically and 6 through an internet inquiry. All of the internet inquiries were followed up by a return email quoting their prices and maybe attaching a brochure. Most replied within 48 hours however one was very slow both in their initial reply (5 days) and then in a further email after another (4 days).
The ones I visited physically showed varying levels of service from pure disinterest with just a handover of a price brochure to anther who was very helpful with suggestions and advice as to what additional items we would need. A different company had a very nice person but she but seemed to think we wanted to use the cheapest possible options for everything and eventually left us with the feeling of her company planning for the cheapest option rather than fulfilling our own individual wants and needs.
From all of these people I have only had one follow up email from NZ Marquee Events limited. This was sent asking how I was getting on and if there was anything else they could help with. We had however decided to use a venue in the mean time and so I sent back and let them know the change in plan. Within a few days I had an invitation to join the owner on linked in and so they are now a memorable supplier of Marquees for me. Although we are not now a direct potential customer I am certainly a future promoter of their service and product to others and potential user at another time. As for the other people I contacted. I can’t even remember who they were.
The basis of my experience shows just how important it is to listen to your customers needs and follow up with further contact. This will provide advocates for your business which will strengthen and grow it.
April 03 2012 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
The latest Waikato Motel Association newsletter encouraged people to think about their price structure and if they should in fact be increasing their prices. It suggested in the magazine to google “Increasing Prices” and view some of the information which came up.
Being a naturally curious person and always interested in the mechanics of business I did this and found the following article. Written for small businesses in Canada it is relevant to any business no matter where in the world you are. Have a read and see if you agree with the advice and maybe pick up some hints and tips for your pricing policy.
http://bit.ly/aKY3iQ
March 29 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry and Uncategorized | No Comments »
There is an interesting comment thread on The New Zealand tourism Industry Blog at present about the attachment of Trip Advisor to Tourism New Zealand’s web site. Here is a link to the discussion.
http://linkd.in/zCEtiJ
It is obvious from the comments in this topic that there are many differing opinions on the benefits and disadvantages of Trip Advisor. The reality however is that this type of advertising is here and isn’t going to simply go away. It is in a way no different to the old traditional word of mouth advertising but is able to reach far more people far quicker.
One benefit I see is that at least service providers know what is being said about them and can reply or take appropriate action to fix a problem if necessary rather than being completely oblivious to the old word of mouth be it good or bad stories being told about them.
It is important for any service provider to be confident in their product and their pricing structure so that when a customer threatens a bad review in return for something free the operator can refuse. It is only by these people being refused they will realise that the practice won’t work and then it may cease. It is the same as people who seek a discount on a quoted price. If there weren’t any operators who gave a discount then people would stop asking for one.
Confidence in your product, pricing structure and service will alleviate most customer problems.
March 20 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends | 1 Comment »
This article highlights the internet trends in Vegas Hotels. Are they the same here?
Is this a sign of things to come with Internet hubs for the guests and mobile phone apps to connect with hotel/motel facilities.
Interesting reading.
http://bit.ly/xI0IeU
February 27 2012 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
This extract from the Trip Advisor survey shows trends for US hotels and compares them to the rest of the world.
There are some interesting findings such as how many hotels use discounting as a “top deal” and the increase in importance of mobile device strategies. There is also a heavy emphasis on social media and responding to comments.
I found when reading the article myself I couldn’t help but wonder about the fact it was trip advisor undertaking the survey and their product relies strongly on social media and comments and also that it is the owners of the properties being surveyed not the guests. I wonder if guests would have rated things in the same order of priorities?
Social and Mobile Marketing: Engaging Travelers Online and “On the Go”
Percentages following each statement are for U.S. and the WORLD respectively.
Social media marketing:
Expect social media marketing budget to increase in 2012 (of those who had such a budget in 2011) 52% 50%
Plan to monitor social media for mentions of the property 80% 76%
Plan to respond to guest reviews about their property on TripAdvisor 91% 87%
Mobile marketing:
Plan to offer a program to engage travelers using mobile devices (e.g., a mobile app, special offers on mobile, booking through a mobile device) in 2012 61% 53%
Plan to offer a program to engage travelers using mobile devices for the first time in 2012 27% 28%
Services and Amenities: Free or Fees
U.S. WORLD
Plan to add services or amenities in 2012
28% 38%
Foresee adding fees for services or amenities in 2012
10% 15%
Plan to offer free in-room Internet access to guests in 2012 89% 77%
Top Deals and Special Offers: Attracting Guests in 2012
U.S. WORLD
Discounts on rooms
59% 52%
Special amenities/services (e.g., free Wi-Fi Internet access)
58% 56%
Free parking 38% 32%
“Hoteliers’ plans to engage with travelers using social media and mobile devices are also important trends this year,” said Petersen. “While it’s encouraging to see so many planning to respond to online guest reviews in 2012, TripAdvisor’s data show that only 15 percent of property reviews currently have management responses. The owners and managers who follow through on plans to respond to reviews will have an advantage over their competition.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/21/4278895/tripadvisor-business-survey-reveals.html#storylink=cpy
February 22 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry and Uncategorized | No Comments »
TripAdvisor Survey Reveals Wi-Fi is Tops in U.S. While Turndown Service is Thing of the Past
54% of Travelers Have Canceled Reservations Because They Found Better Amenities Elsewhere
Read more about what is good and what is not according to this survey.
http://bit.ly/zm5CMO
February 03 2012 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Fancy setting up a camping ground in your garden for the next major event in your area? It looks like big events all over the world create the same issues for accommodation with some regular providers resorting to price hiking and non-commercial facilities trying to jump on board and get a slice of the pie. View this article on the 2012 Olympics. http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/escape/hot-global-travel-trend-garden-camping-uk-973266
November 24 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Online reviews require dedication and time but can really build your business. It is now believed that there is a need to allocate someone to managing reviews and then making the whole process a team effort.
The reviews can also be used as feedback to staff for either re-enforcing the things which are being done well or pointing out areas where there is room for improvement. Reviews must be monitored, acted on and responded to. By doing this in a team environment the whole business embraces the culture of reviews and using them to benefit the motel business.
Trip advisor has also just launched its new management centre which has tools to help with the review area of your business. This gives accommodation providers “more functionality and new educational content, such as a library of videos, resources for training new staff, tip sheets, in-depth how-to guides and a blog with updated sources of information. It is intended to work in tandem with third-party reputation management software that aggregates feedback from additional sources.”
Online reviews are an important part of your business these days and cannot be ignored. Like any trend or development within the area of motel management you need to understand it and use it to your advantage.
For more details have a look at this post by “hotel news now” http://bit.ly/qBEiLo .
September 21 2011 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry | No Comments »
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