Give Your Guests a Reason to Come to You - By Caroline Cooper

There was a time when I went on holiday that I was quite happy to sit on the beach and read my book for the duration. I know there are still many who are quite happy to do the same, but I’ve become a bit more action-oriented in my travels. Not only do I want to know what activities and attractions I’ll find at a given destination, but I plan my trip accordingly. And I’m not just talking leisure here; even when I go away on business I like to know they’ll be something to do in my free time.

Letting guests know what there is to do at and around your hotel is a great way to stand out amongst your competition, particularly if it is something they won't get elsewhere. And even if what is on offer local to you isn't unique to your hotel, what will make you stand out is that you're the one talking about these things (and might also help with your search engine optimisation). 

What to talk about

Don’t leave it chance that your prospective guests will know about what’s on offer; act like a tourist office. Inform guests of what there is to do before they arrive, rather than relying on the leaflets the tourist office provides for you. What are the things available all year round, such as attractions, theme parks and museums, historical sites, etc. What festivals, fares and events take place in your area? Maybe these already attract a lot of business to your hotel, in which case you may want to mention this to encourage people to book early. What about the great outdoors; scenery, walks, gardens, wildlife, anything that may be of interest to your target market?

Build a relationship with your local tourist office to ensure you're able to keep up to date with what's happening and when. But also talk about the things they won’t find in the guide books and tourist literature. The little things that can make someone’s stay that little bit different or special.

Don't forget to tell your guests about your own in-house entertainment. If you're in an area or a climate where guests will want to spend a lot of time in the hotel let them know what you have to keep them entertained so they’re not left wondering if they’ll be kicking their heals during the long dark evenings or wet weather.

Focus on what is of interest?

The list of potential activities could be endless so needs to be tailored to what is of interest to your guests. What will they find interesting? Get feedback from your existing guests. What are the types of things that they do when they stay with you, what do they enjoy, what do they see as value for money. Did activities live up their billing? What exceeded their expectations? What are the things that prompted them to come to you in the first place; whether any particular events, activities or attractions have bought guests to your area? What are the hidden treasures that people enjoyed while staying? What has been recommended by friends and family?

Making it an easy option

Knowing what’s on offer is one thing; knowing whether it’s feasible is another. Let your guests know the practicalities – how far, how to get there, when places are open. Give guests contact details or links to other websites (test these regularly in case they change). Do certain activities need to be booked in advance, and if so can you organise this for guests? How easy is it to get from you to the activity in question? And provide maps and timetables both before and during their stay.

Make it as easy as possible for your guests to take part in these activities. If guests like walking, will they get frowned on for bringing in their muddy boots, or do you have facilities for getting wet weather gear and walking boots dry. If you’ve fantastic fishing can you organise permits and fishing tackle? If access to some venues is a problem, what can you do to help get them there?

Work in partnership

If a particular venue, event or attraction helps attract people to your hotel or your area, get to work in partnership with these organisations to achieve a win-win. Start by inviting them to see what you have to offer so that they can promote you to their visitors, and vice versa.

What packages or promotions can you put together as a joint-venture to benefit both of you as well as offering great value to your guests? Are there any opportunities to run events with these organisations as sponsors, or vice versa? Keeping channels open between you will mean you're in a position to refer business to one another and continue to create opportunities.

Bring it to life

Don’t just lift descriptions from any old brochure. Give your own accounts and descriptions of the things to bring it to life. Highlight your favourite walks or haunts, where you like to spend time when you want to relax or seek adventure. Everyone likes a story, so use your own personal anecdotes.

Ask your team to share their accounts of these places and activities. Not only does this help to make the descriptions more personal, what better way to let your guests get to know your team and build that relationship before they even arrive.

And if you need to mention something where you don’t have a personal interest, find someone who does. For example of you have a local race course, but you hate horse racing, find someone who is interested and get them to write about what might be of interest to guests who are coming for the racing. If guests come to take part in rock climbing and you don’t climb, ask someone who does and get their account of what makes this a great base and to describe the climbs. Show your prospective guests there is a connection and you can relate to their needs.

Better still include your guests’ accounts of the things they've done while they've stayed with you. 

Don’t just say it once

It makes sense to include as much relevant information as possible on your website, including pictures and maybe even video clips. But don’t stop there. Your personal accounts and stories make excellent material for blog posts and newsletters, too, and is a great way to incorporate information of value and go into more detail. It  might even provide the perfect subject matter for a free download as an incentive to get prospective guests to sign up to be on your mailing list.

Personalise your confirmation emails with details of what’s coming up during their stay (and remind them if they need to make a booking). This all adds to going that extra mile, building the relationship and making a great first impression.

Then make sure there’s plenty of easy to access information available once they check in. Small details such as having local maps they can borrow, relevant opening times, up to date timetables for public transport or trips.

Keeping it up to date

There’s nothing worse than seeing a hotel website advertising something that took place six months ago; this will surely leave your prospects with the impression that you simply don’t care. Get a schedule in place that prompts updates. Put systems in place to ensure you get kept up to date with what's happening and when. Involve your team, maybe set up champions from different types of activities dependent on your team's interests; it's much easier to describe something if it's something that’s of interest to you, as well as being more inclined to make it happen.

Keep yourself up to date too with what’s being talked about in the media and what’s potentially the next big thing for your area. For example Highclere Castle in Berkshire, UK has recently been described as the most bankable country house in the world as it appeared for a second series in the costume drama Downton Abbey. So what will be making the headlines next in your locality?

And consider if your hotel might be the perfect antidote for those who want to avoid the throngs and masses of well publicised events.

So whether your market is corporate or leisure guests give your guests a compelling reason to come to you by letting them know what there is to do. And then make it as easy as possible for your guests to enjoy these activities so they want to come back for more and tell their friends and colleagues to do the same.

 

Caroline Cooper is a business coach with over 25 years’ experience in business and leadership development, and founder of Zeal Coaching, specializing in working with hospitality businesses, and is author of the 'Hotel Success Handbook'

Download her free report on How to Get more boost sales and get more repeat bookings for your hotel.

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