News & Press
Are we poised for Recovery?
By Linda Hay, Communications Team - December 10, 2009
While a crystal ball may be on your Wish List this season, you probably don’t have one yet. Every time there’s a financial uptick someplace, people start asking, “Is this it? Is business finally going to pick up” 
That question I am unable to answer, but I can ask one in return. “What if it is? Are you ready?” While most of us welcome an upswing, I venture to say not all of us are really ready for it. And until recovery gets here, there is a lot we can all do to prepare.
Mend Fences
Face it: not all of us are operating under ideal circumstances and that may have taken a toll on some relationships, either with vendors or guests. You can prepare for better times by being gracious, which costs nothing. If you are paying a little more slowly than your vendors want, at least be pleasant about it. Communicate as honestly as you can. That vendor may pull you out of a real hole someday and they want to work with you.
Respond to bad comments. If you received a poor score on a guest survey, respond to it. Apologize, if necessary. You may be able to set things right. Digital Alchemy has a Comment Card Response System that allows for the ability to see Comment Cards in real-time and to respond immediately by email to the sender or to forward the comments to the appropriate staff person to resolve problems, tracking the issue along the way. You might settle a matter before it hits a travel review site.
Get your thinking out of the box and into your guests’ heads!
Guests are golden, and it can be challenging to provide great service with reduced budgets or staffing levels. Yet those guests are the key to your recovery! They may praise you or roast you on travel review sites, which have huge impact on future occupancy. Smile. Let them know you are trying. Think outside your job description. Imagine you are the guest: not some hypothetical guest, but the one right in front of you. And then, UPSELL (or empower your staff to do so)!!
If you see exhausted guests, who arrived late and beaten down by a bad day of traveling, check them in with a smile and ask if they’d like you to book them a spa appointment to help recover from their rough day. Or ask if they need Room Service to send up hot chocolate or a nightcap. Tell them about the easy breakfast order form they will find on their pillows. If their luggage is lost, be prepared to tout your fabulous hotel laundry or dry-cleaning services. And if they have a mountain of luggage or sports gear, offer them a room upgrade to a bigger room (using unsold inventory for increased revenue)!
Communicate
It’s easier to up-sell an amenity or service if the idea is already in your guests’ mind. Put the idea there with great communications, using images to convey just how relaxing you spa truly is, how delicious your food looks, or how luxurious and spacious your suites are. Email marketing, electronic pre-stay CRM and your own website are the places to start this process. Guest preference forms or automated upgrade offers are other ways to plant the seeds of increased ADR.
Ask what will make your guest happier. Yes, it can be that simple. Digital Alchemy sends a Mid-Stay Communiqué to guests after check-in. This email affirms your commitment to an excellent stay experience and asks a simple question, “Is there anything we could do to make your stay better?” I promise you can’t imagine what answers you will get, but you will know what will make that guest happier. Happy guests spend more, stay longer and return more often. They write better reviews and give higher post-stay survey scores. Most of all, they become the true foundation for your recovery. Don’t miss it.
(For more information about eMarketing, CRM services, Comment Card Response System or Mid-Stay Communiqué, please contact sales@Data2Gold.com or visit www.Data2Gold.com )