96 – Spring Workshop Takeaways

Episode Transcript

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Ryan Embree:
Welcome to Suite Spot where by hoteliers examine-in and we verify out what is trending in resort marketing and advertising. I’m your host, Ryan Embree.

Ryan Embree:
Hi most people and welcome to a different episode of the Suite Place. This is your host, as normally, Ryan Embree, Director of Internet marketing at Journey Media Group. And we have acquired a fantastic episode for you now. We do these episodes 4 occasions a yr due to the fact we essentially perform four occupancy workshops for hoteliers. And this season’s workshop is titled “Business is Blooming: How to Improve Occupancy this Spring.” So this is our spring occupancy workshop. It is a person of my favorites since we are coming out of the winter season, which is usually a slower time for the sector. And we’re last but not least setting up to see that growth and occupancy. Now the springs the previous few decades have naturally been a little little bit unique with the pandemic and coming out of that. But with these workshops, we are talking about positioning your lodge digitally for results when travelers are browsing and they are performing quite a bit of browsing, which we’ll converse about below in 2nd.

Ryan Embree:
So once again, these are occupancy workshops where by we meet 1-on-a single with hoteliers in about a 15 to 20 minute session speaking about the hotel’s electronic existence. How are they positioning on their own coming into the period of spring crack, vacations, May possibly, Memorial working day, a good deal of terrific things in the spring and actually location ourselves up also for the summer months the place occupancy truly heats up. So with these episodes, what we like to do is, usually when I conduct these workshops, we get some really fantastic takeaways and insights from the hoteliers that we discuss about some widespread themes and threads. So in the earlier, certainly we’ve talked about the staffing lack appropriate now, which has been hurting a good deal of people. This is our third time executing a spring occupancy workshop. All over again in 2020 and 2021, there have been quite various discussions, which sales opportunities me to our to start with craze that we found this workshop compared to other folks, which was the positivity of the hoteliers that we were being conversing to. The optimism that was out there, that journey is returning.

Ryan Embree:
And as I talk about these vacationers doing queries, you know, I have bought a truly awesome stat that we came across, wherever it states U.S. organic and natural Google search pay a visit to advancement by field in Q4 of 2021 vs . Q4 in 2020. And the proportion change for journey was at 41%. So that is a great deal of eyes wanting and planning and currently being influenced to travel once once again. But as I warning the hoteliers that I spoke to on this workshop, they’re gonna be seeking at your hotel’s electronic existence a good deal differently than they did pre-COVID-19 and pre-pandemic. But craze range one particular, occupancy is rising. It’s in this article. Whether we like it or not, transient leisure has always been there the past pair years and has been foremost the pack in recovery, but we’re also seeing business enterprise, weddings arrive again. So we’ll chat a very little bit about that later, but the 2nd craze that I observed on these discussions that I was acquiring is, you know, we have been as an market functioning close to, it feels like, striving to figure out what to do to adjust to this pandemic, this new normal that COVID has variety of ushered into our industry.

Ryan Embree:
And then on top rated of that, you have this staffing lack, correct? Inflation now starting to hit house as perfectly, but we’re commencing to see items variety of gradual down and hoteliers definitely ultimately checking issues like their social media, their testimonials, critique responses. And a large amount of the hoteliers I talked to when we took 15 minutes to in fact sit down and get a seem were being seriously surprised with what they observed. They it’s possible experienced a front desk supervisor or a DOS that had left throughout these past two several years that was in cost of this stuff. And now it is kinda laid dormant there. So I would motivate you if you are listening to this, check your Facebook, verify your hotel’s Instagram, LinkedIn, with any luck , you’re on these web pages, but check and see when the very last time you posted, due to the fact time has been flying by proper now and prior to, you know, it, a great deal of these posts that we were viewing had been back in 2021 and travelers are hunting now far more than at any time for appropriate info.

Ryan Embree:
So if they see some thing again in, in 2021 or even 2020, it is not gonna be appropriate to them. And it could suggest a unfavorable connotation, damaging perception for the travelers that are undertaking investigation. They’re finally sitting down and checking things like their review internet sites and seeing on websites like TripAdvisor, OTAs, Google, places wherever vacationers are creating scheduling decisions that the past review that they bought was 6 months back. We know right now that everything is shifting so rapidly. Omicron arrived in November and swept by means of the country. And that modified the way that men and women understand touring and the amount of protection of what that was. So all over again, test like your resort, social media, your reputation and review responses. That was yet another point we were talking about, is getting the time to answer to opinions. And I know for a whole lot of hoteliers listening to this, it may well be 1 of individuals matters at the bottom of our priority checklist, but it is so critical correct now when we discuss about our subsequent trend, which is environment anticipations vs . meeting anticipations. And I’ll describe the distinction.

Ryan Embree:
So meeting anticipations is, imagine about a traveler strolling into an economic climate lodge and expecting Ritz-Carlton services at an economy amount selling price. Those people expectations are a tiny bit as well superior, and it could be tough to fulfill all those expectations. Placing anticipations is a fully different discussion. Believe of environment anticipations as a person strolling into your lodge in the summertime and expecting to love that lovely pool that you have, and your pool’s closed for renovations. And they experienced no plan that that was the circumstance. That is a failure to established expectations from a hotelier standpoint. So there is a incredibly exclusive variation there. And when we communicate about overview response is one of the most impressive sites that we can established expectations for our future traveler.

Ryan Embree:
Sure, it’s incredibly essential to respond to the comments that is in entrance of you and to that traveler that took time outta their day to depart you a evaluate for your small business. But it is also location the anticipations for that long term traveler. So a great deal has improved in excess of the earlier two years from breakfast, facilities, even resort guidelines, the way we’re cleansing rooms, the way we’re interacting with friends. There could be travelers that when they appear onto your assets have a absolutely unique expectation. So if you’re not location those prior to their continue to be, then you are failing to established their anticipations. And that is really the variety a person purpose that we are seeing detrimental opinions online. As a whole lot of you know, that hear to this, Travel Media Team has a React and Take care of resolution where we respond to visitor opinions. We have now strike the unbelievable benchmark of responding to above 750,000 testimonials for our lodge companions and are currently responding to a thousand visitor resort critiques a working day right now in our headquarters.

Ryan Embree:
And the quantity just one explanation, the quantity a single rationale that we are looking at these detrimental reviews appear in is due to the fact correct expectations are not established. So if we can use critique reaction as a way to communicate and information to long run vacationers, which is gonna give us the chance to set those people correct expectations. And I’ll give you a brief instance if you are adhering to me. So one of the factors that has totally modified and I suspect will just take a little little bit lengthier changeover to get back to usual or pre-COVID is breakfast for our house, proper? With the staffing scarcity, with men and women interacting, breakfast buffets, we have been explained to to keep absent from those through the thick of the pandemic. Now we are at a put exactly where resorts could be at completely distinct spectrums of breakfast. Some could be right back again to in which they were in 2019 with a giant warm breakfast buffet.

Ryan Embree:
Some others are still becoming conservative, breakfast on the go. If your guest walks into your resort and does not know what they are likely to get in the morning, that is a failure to established expectations. And we’re seeing that at times in these assessments. So assessment response is a fantastic way to established that. Social media, also. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, you wanna make certain that you’re placing these right visitor expectations, for the reason that we’re looking at that once again, truly impacting hotels’ reputations that we’re working with. And then lastly, the very last trend that we talked about with hoteliers for the duration of these workshops is just adjusting to the new regular. Viewing these teams arrive back and what it is likely to choose in get to gain their small business. Weddings, previous episode, if you are pursuing me the chance correct now for weddings and wedding ceremony blocks for our attributes is unbelievable profits possible out there.

Ryan Embree:
So what are you carrying out to consider to seize that and marketplace your hotel, getting edge of the bleisure journey trend, ideal? The business enterprise traveler that now works from dwelling all 7 days and wishes to start off their holiday vacation early. They want to appear out to the property on Wednesday, Thursday, or on Wednesday with their family so that the spouse and children can get pleasure from some of the amenities or sights in your region. And they get the job done from the hotel, extending their getaway, extending the space nights for each keep. So how are we attracting? How are we adapting our advertising strategy to capture this new ordinary traveler that we’re gonna see? And as I wrap up this episode right here, I will say, it is been a quite tough few yrs to do this variety of spring workshop. And I have experienced to dig incredibly, quite deep in research to check out to uncover some positive news in the field as it relates to occupancy and ADR, but knock on wooden, if every little thing goes right, this spring, we are in for a monster spring and an even bigger summer.

Ryan Embree:
So the occupancy is heading to be there from tourists. But the problem I want you to ask on your own is how do you want to be picked out? Do you wanna be picked out due to the fact that traveler had in the beginning required to remain at the lodge subsequent doorway and they had been all booked or their rate was way also substantial and they chose your hotel simply because you have been selection B or do you want to be solution A, do you want your traveler to be psyched about the continue to be that they’re gonna occur on home? Do you want them to turn into an advocate of your resort right after they stay on assets? Have you set correct anticipations for this traveler when they stage in as a result of your foyer and technique the entrance desk, these are the sort of inquiries that you want to be inquiring, because yet again, the occupancy will be there.

Ryan Embree:
But the change among traveler A that I just described and traveler B is day and evening. And at the time you get that variety of snowball influence of occupancy and advocates for your assets, it just furthers your get to and electronic marketing and places you at a aggressive benefit for escalating your occupancy. So if you haven’t participated in these workshops, as I stated prior to, we do them each and every solitary time. It’s a person of my beloved sections of my occupation in this article at Travel Media Team. I would adore to discuss with you about your house, about your spot. We know every one hotel is various. So that is what I enjoy about these workshops. If you’re intrigued in having a dialogue about that, naturally you can achieve out to us whenever at travelmediagroup.com and we’d appreciate to talk with you or upcoming time we’ve acquired it in the summer time coming up. If you see that email run throughout your inbox, schedule a conference with me, like to talk to you, but I am certain the following time we do these insights, we ideally, fingers crossed, will have some great, excellent news to share. So thank you for all the hoteliers that participated in the workshop. Thank you for all for listening. And we’ll chat to you upcoming time on the Suite Location.

Ryan Embree:
To join our loyalty application, be certain to subscribe and give us a five star score on iTunes. Suite Place is made by Travel Media Team with address art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host, Ryan Embree and we hope you liked your remain.