As we’ve extensively reported in Hotel News Now, the hotel industry is on a roll. Demand, occupancies and profits are nearing record levels, and supply growth is muted. Life is good for the collective business.
Yet if you’re an operator of a hotel, you know better than anyone it is a street-corner business, and national averages mean nothing when you’re fighting for a big group contract, a tour, a youth hockey team booking or just hoping to lure more road warriors through your door.
Whether you’re basking in the success the industry is enjoying in aggregate or you’re in a tough competitive situation, it’s time you and your staff get up from behind your desks and hit the streets to do a little selling.
I was reminded of the importance of direct sales last week. A knock came to our office door, and it was two salespeople from a Holiday Inn in the Cleveland area. They were cold calling businesses, asking about potential room and meeting space needs. It’s not an unusual practice, but the hotel they represent is 15 miles from the Hotel News Now office, with many hotels in between the two points. They were definitely stretching the boundaries of their target market.
They felt it important—and it is—to turn over every rock to look for business.
As a counter to this anecdote, I remember about 15 years ago when I accompanied two brand executives on a sales blitz they were doing across the country. I caught up with them for two days at a property not far from Cleveland. It was the same drill: Cold call businesses in the area, talk about the hotel and see what lodging needs the companies had. Simple and straightforward without much hard sell.
The first morning of our blitz we met the hotel’s GM in the lobby, who was scheduled to accompany us for the two days. I couldn’t believe it when she announced she wasn’t comfortable doing the sales tour and wouldn’t be joining us. What? Not comfortable?
Who gets into the operations side of the business if they don’t enjoy encountering people? More importantly, what GM expects to be successful if they don’t engage their guests and potential customers at every possible chance? And why wouldn’t you accept the help offered from people more experienced than you who took the trouble to fly to Ohio to spend time at your hotel and with your customer base?
I have no way of knowing, but my guess is that woman is no longer in the hotel industry. If she is, I hope she’s not in a guest-facing leadership position.
Those two stories exemplify my point: No matter how well your hotel is doing or how bright the future seems, it’s always time to get into the community to meet as many people as possible to whom you can extol the virtues of your property and tell them why they should book business with you.
Sadly, I believe some operators and marketing people have fallen in love with social media and believe it is the best—and only—effective way to promote a hotel. Internet-based marketing has been a blessing for the hotel industry and is a crucial aspect of every hotel’s business plan, but it doesn’t take the place of face-to-face selling.
So get out there and sell every day.
Email Ed Watkins or find him on Twitter.
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