How To Do Business Of Hotels: Tips By Hotel Consulting Consultants
All evidences indicate that in the Business of Hotels we are poised for some good times ahead. According to the tourism ministry, Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India during 2010 were 5.58 million with a growth rate of 8.1%. With data showing that domestic tourism registered an impressive growth of 15.5% in 2009 in spite of economic recession and other adverse factors for tourism.
And as Hotel Consulting & Hotel Management Consultants , with long term exposure to operating restaurants, hotels & resorts in India , we just keep experiencing such growth indicators every time the rubber meets the road. And that is when all client properties keep hitting overcapacity indicators regularly.
The growth has been well documented in some of the top business markets in India , but what about some of the secondary and tertiary markets? With growing travel & tourism industry, those markets are seeing traction, not just with occupancy but with rates, and this we know are true indicators to lead our way to better times.
Here are some tips that hotel owners and entrepreneurs in the hospitality business can benefit from :
•Discounting doesn't work as a strategy for hotels. </h3> A study by Cornel University professors found that a hotel that maintains a pricing premium, compared to its immediate competitors, also records a higher RevPAR than those competitors do. In contrast, hotels that keep their prices below those of their competitive set have relatively higher occupancy but their RevPAR doesn't hold up.
•Location, location, location is not all that matters for doing a hotel business.
One has to looking at other opportunity parameters like –
• Filling up customer needs where competitors aren't
• Heaviness of the competition from existing hotels
• Potential of the neighborhood
• Addressing the question "why my hotel?"
Marketing a hotel business is marketing intangible services that need to be tailored to target customers' profiles and needs. Are they families with kids, honeymoon couples, or those on romantic vacations, are they business class, or are they international tourists. What amenities, atmosphere, location, and services would suit their expectations? And what the tradeoffs are to meets needs of the most desired customers.
• Having the right hotel management and business plan.
Any savvy investor will first want to see the hotel business plan.
•Hotel Business Financing.
Be it an existing hotel renovation, buying an existing hotel, or building one from scratch, hotel owners and entrepreneurs will need financing. It would be wither bank loans and/or seed capital as the hotel business requires considerable assets that are dependable, experienced, and legal as one needs to deal with investors.
• Having the Right Hospitality Mindset.
How to do business of hotels is all about hospitality management. Its about how as hotel owner and/or entrepreneur you want your guests to be treated. And how this hospitality mindset can be ingrained into the hotel management staff. When the hotel management staff get the impression that top management at the hotel have higher motives than customer satisfaction, customer service takes a toll and the hotel business may fail or never take off in the first place.
So how the Business Of Hotels, Resorts, Restaurants, Clubs, Lodging etc. can be grown profitably in this dynamic market?
• Employing right Hotel Management personnel for planning and set-up
• Hiring experienced Hotel Marketing team to build up awareness and clients
• Keeping pace with latest developments in Hotel Technology for business advantages.
