One of the hot topics at the recent Motel Association road shows has been that of credit cards and the changes in the way the banks are allowing merchants to process cards.
One of the big problems with credit cards is the amount of theft of card numbers to enable the holder to make many purchases and basically steal money off of the card. It is not the theft of actual cards that has caused the biggest problem but the theft of card numbers from computer systems which has resulted in the largest loss. As a consequence of this the banks have now introduced a thing called PCI compliance. This is the criteria required to be able to store credit card numbers on your computer. If you do not meet the requirements of this you are no longer able to process card not present transactions. The cost of meeting this audit process however is in the tens of thousands of dollars and prohibitive to most motels.
Some new lessees have already had this facility removed from their systems when they purchased a motel business. One motelier is only able to process the credit card once the guest has physically arrived and is currently having to give out their bank account number and ask people to direct credit the deposit. If they have been given a credit card and the guest is a no show there is nothing they can do to debit the card. The debt still remains but the motelier now has to use another option to collect it. This makes for a very inefficient way to run a motel business.
What does this mean to you as a moteliers?
Firstly check with your property management system that they are compliant. If they say they are then ask them for a copy of their compliance certificate. Essentially if a credit card is used for fraud and it can be traced back to having come from your computer you can be held liable for the debt. Ensure that you can prove you took steps to become compliant and avoid being the scapegoat.
Secondly if your property management system is not compliant then to avoid not meeting the criteria for storing the credit cards on your computer you can store them somewhere else. For example you can write the card number down and store them in a safe or use a separate hard drive which is disconnected from your internet computer and store this in your safe. Other options for card not present transactions can be to use the old fashioned zipzap machine. This can be used by manually writing the credit card number in and then taking to the bank. Some banks will process this but some will not. Another option can be to discuss with your bank an option of using the banks secure site to process cards. Some banks have a site which you can use instead of an eftpos machine so this may work for you.
If you still have the ability to do card not present transactions then just carry on as is but be aware that the issue may arise in the future for you. As it is obviously going to impact on many areas there will no doubt be some other options which will be introduced in the future and hopefully this will happen before your business is impacted by the fact you cannot do card not present transactions.
October 23 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry | No Comments »
Bitponics is a new project backed by kickstarter which allows you to monitor your plants on line to assess the moisture, soil content and temperature and determine the optimum needs of your garden. This is a great inexpensive idea for people like me who don’t quite have green fingers. Read More here
September 11 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry and Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
The Motel Association of New Zealand held their annual conference in Wellington recently which was as usual a valuable benefit for it’s members. Below is a brief description of the event.
Day One
John Key was as usual a very dynamic and informed speaker. Information of the economy, the world and tourism in NZ all delivered with a good dollop of laughter and affinity to the ordinary kiwi person.
Following this Steve Lange the owner who grew Tony’s tyre service to 20 stores gave plenty of advice about customer service, expectations and tips to get all your staff on board with the ethics of your business. Turning complaints in to loyal customers and exceeding your competitors was another strong message to come through.
Debbie Mayo Smith followed up with 8 tips to free up time and make more money. Smart phones were a tool of the customer and needed to be considered from a business point of view. Outlook tips also gave ideas to be far more efficient with the email tasks.
A good time for visiting all the suppliers enabled delegates to make the most of having them all in the one place and get the maximum amount of information without having to spend hours by phone or email contacting them all.
The day was wrapped up with two workshops from Harman’s lawyers and Blakemore group valuers. Seaton Read and Brian Burke discussed improvement rental and the impact on both lessee and lessor and the factors effecting the termination of a lease for various reasons. Bruce Mainwaring gave delegates an insight in to valuation and arbitration processes and highlighted points in a lease which could affect a valuation
All in all it was a very full day loaded with information and tips for delegates. Top this off with the networking and discussions between moteliers and it is not surprising there were so many positive comments from delegates at the end of the day saying how glad they were they had made the decision to attend.
Day Two
Day two contained the AGM where Peter Blackwell was awarded an Hon life associate membership and the marketing plan of where MANZ is heading in the future. After lunch delegates were given a look at the new website from Maree Surrey along with the capabilities it had and tools it would provide for members. There was also a raft of tips and things delegates should be doing with their own websites. After lunch Jennifer Rolfe gave a fantastic insight in to branding, what it is and how to review or develop your brand.
Of course the night displayed all the delegates in their finery at the Gala Dinner. The mass of black ties and fancy dresses created an amazing atmosphere which set the scene for a great night. During the night The AA host supreme award was won by Roselle and Peter from Shadzz in Palmerston North. Congratulations to them on this. Then in typical conference tradition there was dancing well in to the night.
Day Three
Today had Kerry Prendergast describe the direction and activities of Tourism New Zealand and then a final session by Pam Corkery Which was highly entertaining but also very poignant and reminded us to make sure our life was full of good memories by ensuring we create them with the way we live our life.
This conference certainly delivered what it needed to for its delegates. Everyone should go home with ideas for their business, new skills and highlighted areas to expand their learning and knowledge, but also with new friends or further cemented old friend relationships. Moteliers are a special group of people and those proactive ones who attended conference have shown just how good they are.
August 02 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends and Entering the Motel Industry and Uncategorized | No Comments »
Good article today regarding the “Emerald Inn’ and a dispute over Rugby World Cup accommodation bookings. It is good to see the court rule that the contract binds both parties and uphold the commitment made to the motel by the customer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10813107
June 15 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Changes in Motel Trends | No Comments »
I often search the internet and read business related items. I recently found an article detailing 12 tips to business success by Bob Reiss which I thought was interesting reading. As a business owner are these the attributes that you possess or is there something here you could work on?
What’s important to the success of small-business owners and entrepreneurs? Knowledge, skill and talent.
However, many competitors have the same traits you do. The key to beating the competition and achieving success is mental, reflected in one’s attitude, totally controlled by the individual and requires no cash. This holds true in most human endeavors besides business — in sports, the arts and politics.
How many times have we seen the underdog team or player win over the more talented opponent? The difference is often attitude.
These 12 attitude attributes can put you in the right mindset for achieving entrepreneurial success.
1. Have passion for your business
Work should be fun. Your passion will help you overcome difficult moments and persuade people to work for you and want to do business with you. Passion can’t be taught. When it wanes, as it surely will in difficult times, take some quiet time. Whether it be an hour or a week, take inventory of all the reasons you started the business and why you like being your own boss. That should renew your passion.
2. Set an example of trustworthiness
People have confidence in trustworthy individuals and want to work for them in a culture of integrity. The same is true for customers.
3. Be flexible, except with core values
It’s a given that your plans and strategies will change as time goes on. This flexibility for rapid change is an inherent advantage of small over large business. However, no matter the pressure for immediate profits, do not compromise on core values.
Advertise | AdChoices
4. Don’t let fear of failure hold you back
Failure is an opportunity to learn. All things being equal, venture capitalists would rather invest money in an individual who tried and failed founding a company than in someone who never tried.
5. Make timely decisions
It’s okay to use your intuition. Planning and thought are good. But procrastination leads to missed opportunity.
6. The major company asset is you
Take care of yourself. Your health is more valuable than the most expensive machinery or computer software for the company. You don’t have to choose between your family or your company, play or work. Maintain your health for balance and energy, which will, in turn, enhance your mental outlook.
7. Keep your ego under control
Don’t take profits and spend them on expensive toys to impress others. Build a war chest for unexpected needs or opportunities. This also means hearing out new ideas and suggestions no matter how crazy they sound.
8. Believe
You need to believe in yourself, in your company, and that you will be successful. This confidence is contagious with your employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers and everyone you deal with.
9. Encourage and accept criticism graciously. Admit your mistakes.
You need to constantly work on convincing your employees that it’s OK — even necessary —to state their honest opinions even it if conflicts with the boss’s opinion. Just stating it once or putting it in a mission statement won’t cut it for most people.
10. Maintain a strong work ethic
Your employees will follow your lead. It will also help you beat your competition by outworking them, particularly when your product or service is very similar.
11. Rebound quickly from setbacks
There surely will be plenty of ups and downs as you build the business. Learn from the setbacks and move on. You can’t change the past.
12. Periodically get out of your comfort zone to pursue something important
Many times you will feel uncomfortable in implementing a needed change in technology, people, mission, competing, etc. For the company and you to grow personally, you sometimes have to step out of your comfort zone.
Many organizational and leadership shortcomings can be overcome or mitigated with the good attitudes described above. All can be learned except passion, which comes from within. Take time out of your hectic schedule to periodically reflect on these attributes. You may be inspired to act.
Bob Reiss is the author of “Bootstrapping 101.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34736736/ns/business-success_in_hard_times/t/tips-business-success
Entrepeaneur.com.
June 07 2012 | Articles for current moteliers and Entering the Motel Industry and Uncategorized | No Comments »
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 | 1 Comment »
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 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 »
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