TIPS TO INCREASE LOW-SEASON HOTEL OCCUPANCY

 

Peak season is the best for the Hotelier as there is high demand and an influx of guests. During high season, it’s quite easy to achieve full hotel occupancy. However, the Hotel’s low season is a harsh reality of the global hospitality industry when the Hotelier has to struggle with attracting guests and reaching maximum hotel occupancy. Seasonality creates demand fluctuations that could be due to natural reasons, like temperature and climate. Also, other reasons, like holidays, economy and other factors play a role in this aspect. Unfortunately, low season has a negative impact on the Hotel’s revenue and turnover. Now, the question arises: How to increase demand outside high season

  • Use Booking Master to forecast low hotel occupancy periods with high accuracy.
  • This gives a crystal-clear picture of accounts receivable and payable during the low season. It enables the Hotelier to meet business objectives and do an overall planning.
  • Target niche markets: Focus on Millennials, backpackers and generations Z and X who travel throughout the year.
  • Make Wellness/Spiritual Travel a USP of your Hotel or Resort: Spiritual travel allows people to detach from the cacophony and get re-energized both mentally and physically.
  • Make your hotel pet-friendly, particularly during the low season as it will definitely help you attract customers who are otherwise reluctant to leave their pet during their trip.
  • Boost your occupancy rates in the low season with attractive family package deals.
  • Offer your property for corporate meetings and events during the low season.
  • Offer a coworking space for self-employed people and small businesses.
  • Create space for renting your property for weddings and other private events during the low season.
  • Focus on Geo-Targeted Marketing to increase conversions: For instance, if your hotel is situated in a coastal area, you could target potential customers from areas with high temperatures as they want to beat the summer heat.
  • Introduce new activities and offer lucrative Packages for potential guests.
  • Incentives like free drinks at the bar, welcome gifts, and huge discounts can attract customers in the low season.
  • Reduce room rates to attract price-sensitive customers.
  • Booking Master’s revenue management system can help you reach the right guests with the right offers during the low season.
  • Create engaging events for specific audiences during the low season. For instance, if you’ve decided to target retirees for a mid-week travel, you can hold an event where a local author speaks about financial planning during retirement.
  • Repeat guest promotions, event hosting, dine & and stay packages, value addition through special packages, concerts or dances, Spa packages & and retreats, complimentary airport shuttle etc. have the potential to attract guests.
  • Promote the low season as a benefit for the Guest. Highlight low room tariffs, great incentives, less crowds as unique selling points within your promotion.
  • Avail Booking Master’s Channel Management Service: The surest way to increase occupancy during the low season.
  • Temporarily increase your metasearch budget during the low season as there is a dip in occupancy at this time.
  • Increase your Google search engine ranking and optimize visibility by implementing effective SEO strategies, such as keyword usage and adherence to meta description guidelines.

In a nutshell, in order to stay ahead of competitors, you have to think outside the box during the low season. You need to consistently update and improve your Hotel’s Revenue Strategy and you can do that with Booking Master.

HOW TO INCREASE HOTEL REVENUE?

Every hotelier faces the challenge of how to increase revenue. Engagement in day-to-day operations could make it difficult to have a bird’s eye view. Income can be generated through room sales as well as through exploring some of the best options.

Consider Upselling Options

Generating income through room sales should not be the only focus. The Hotelier should also consider other ways to increase hotel revenue. For instance:

Spa/salon services

Restaurant

Seasonal offerings

Netflix/streaming packages

Room service

Upgrade Almost Anything

Train your staff on how to implement your upgrade program.

Creative ways for upselling your guests

Offer special services on holidays, like Independence Day, Valentine’s Day, Dura Puja, Christmas etc.

Create a discounted rate structure for longer stays.

Show Guests pictures of better rooms using a tablet or iPad. It gives a much more enticing glimpse of what’s on offer.

Membership Programs

Offer membership programs that offer benefits to guests for their frequent stays and upgrades.

Direct bookings with Booking Master’s Booking Engine

Direct bookings generate the most revenue since there are no agents/distribution partners that must be paid a commission when a guest books the room directly from the Hotel’s Website. Prioritize social media strategy when focusing on increasing direct bookings.

Destination Marketing Campaign

In this, local businesses collaborate with the Hotelier to promote the region as a whole. Result: The inbound tourism markets are targeted resulting in a drive-in demand and higher revenue.

Cross-promotion

Hoteliers can promote their brand at concerts, music or art festivals, and major events.

Run a Loyalty program

This could include rewards for staying frequently/Rewards for purchasing upgrades, and finally Rewards for referring your property to friends and family members.

Revenue management

Drop room rates during the off-season in order to encourage bookings and increase the rates during a full season.

Optimise OTAs

Provide high-quality photos, engaging descriptions, and up-to-date information about your hotel’s amenities and services on platforms of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda to improve your ranking on OTA search results so that your hotel is more visible to potential guests.

Consider Re-marketing

Guests nowadays explore their options by doing thorough research by visiting a number of different websites. If potential guests have visited your site and have not finalized their booking access these customers again at different websites and nudge them with offers to visit your website again to book with you.

Co-Promote

Build partnerships with local restaurants, adventure companies, adventure sports companies, car service companies, etc.

Sales and Marketing

Drive sales with amazing visual advertisements, videos, unique selling points, virtual tours of your hotel, etc. Other methods: Connect with influencers, link with local businesses, focus on creating user-generated content and reviews, humanize your Hotel brand, incorporate discounts with eye-catching promotions, offer promotions around honeymoons or anniversaries [if your Hotel is located in a romantic place], offer promotions around relaxation experiences like spa and water sports [if your Hotel is located in a coastal region], offer promotions around adventure sports like paragliding and hiking [if your Hotel is located in the lap of mountains]

Partnership promotions

Partner with other businesses, for example, restaurants, cinemas, sporting adventure, and tour guides.

Hotel Sales Software

Use technologies like Booking Master’s channel manager, online booking engine, and Revenue Manager- the sure shot way to have supernormal profits.

Applications of AI in Hotel Industry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the Hotel Industry. AI can improve efficiency, increase revenue, and enhance guest experiences.

Applications of AI in Hotel Industry.

  • Personalised Guest Experiences.
  • Targeted services to guests based on their preferences and behaviors.
  • Predict equipment failures and maintenance needs.
  • 24/7 customer service with AI-powered chatbots.
  • Dynamic room price adjustment based on supply, and demand. Result:  Increased revenue and improved occupancy rates.
  • Optimisation of energy usage.
  • Facial recognition technology for check-in and security purposes.
  • Hands-free control over room features and services with AI-powered voice assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa.
  • Automation of repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
  • Predictive and prescriptive analytics — improved ROI.
  • In-person customer service.
  • Artificial intelligence can help analyze consumer attitudes.
  • Sentiment analysis for better offerings to guests.
  • Real-time recommendations and a dynamic pricing structure.
  • Detection of the most effective distribution channels and adjust prices to appeal to specific customer groups.
  • Streamlining of Loyalty Programs.
  • Usage of customer data to curate personalized offerings for repeat guests.
  • Monitor the amounts and types of food purchased and consumption rates.
  • Predict requirements more accurately, avoiding waste and ensuring that ingredients don’t run out.
  • Predict the use of utilities such as power and water, tracking consumption and reducing costs here.  For example, in-room heating and air conditioning can be connected to the hotel’s PMS so energy isn’t wasted on unoccupied rooms.

Web App vs Mobile App: Key Differences to know

A Web Application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. Web Applications should not be confused with websites. Web Applications refer to any website that does some work for its users. On the contrary, Websites are mainly informative and a lot of documents can be accessed on websites over the Internet.

Mobile applications on the other hand are software programs that are built for a specific platform such as smartphones, tablets, and other touch devices. They are downloaded via the App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android). Some popular mobile apps are Instagram, Zoom, Snapchat, Booking.com, and Spotify.

Web Apps Mobile Apps
Web Apps can be accessed directly using the internet browser. Users have to install the App on their device. They are installed via an app store such as Google Play Store and Apple Store
Web apps need an active internet connection in order to run. Mobile apps may work offline.
It can’t support complicated functionalities. It has Flexible User interfaces and it can support complicated functionalities.
Web apps will update themselves. The user needs to regularly download updates.
Web Apps are less expensive to develop. Mobile apps are more expensive to develop.
The speed of a Web Application depends on the quality of the internet connection. Poor connectivity leads to extended loading times. Mobile Applications give faster navigation with shorter load times by obtaining the system’s resources.
Web Apps don’t need to be approved by the app store. So, Quality and security are not always guaranteed. They are safe and secure as Mobile Apps must first be approved by the App Store.
User experience is inconsistent and dependent on the browser being used. User experience consistent.
Web Apps are slow and less responsive. Performance of Mobile Apps can be optimized to the device.

Why use Booking Master’s Accounting Software?

Booking Master’s Accounting Software saves time and money by automating financial tasks, like recording transactions, tracking payments, and generating financial statements, advanced analytics, mobile support, payroll, asset tracking, budgeting, and project accounting. Using Hotel Accounting Software cash flows are tracked across departments and the hotel’s financial position is analyzed so that the balance sheets, profit and loss, and cash flows are all up-to-date. Accounting makes budgeting, forecasting, or cost planning much more effective by ensuring profitability and helps in making data-driven decisions based on Financial Reports. 

With the use of Booking Master’s Accounting Software, the whole accounting process is automated and there is no need to hire expensive Accountants. Booking Master’s Accounting Software will maximize your hotel’s revenues through a thorough review of the budget based on real-time information and will adjust profit forecasts accordingly.

Once the burden of executing all tasks related to accounting is reduced hotel owners can focus on more important things like operations and Business.

Why use Booking Master’s Accounting Software?

Saves Time, Labour, and Money

Manual data entry could be labor-intensive as the transaction volumes increase. Also, hiring expensive Accountants could expose your business to corruption. For checks and balances, one needs to hire more trained people which will eventually increase your expenses. And even after that, your finances are prone to corruption.

Zero Errors

Manual data entry increases the likelihood of errors, with potentially serious consequences for the Hotel business. Switching to Booking Master’s Accounting Software automates and accelerates your hotel’s accounting processes, from entering transactions to creating invoices, tracking payments, and generating reports.

Generates Revenue and Grows your Business

As the Hotel Business expands, the accounting need becomes quite complicated. Manual accounting processes can be cumbersome and they can have an impact on the business growth. The Hotel/Resort might struggle to complete vital financial tasks on time, such as invoicing customers, collecting cash, paying bills, and closing the books. Booking Master’s Accounting Software allows Hotels and Resorts to be more productive with fewer staff, helping them boost business growth while reducing labor costs.

Eliminates the problem of scattered and inaccessible Data

Storing financial data in Excel, spreadsheets or paper documents leads to huge confusion and makes it hard to share information across the company’s Departments. Copying data from one source to another is labour-intensive and leads to errors. Booking Master’s Accounting Software consolidates financial data into one system so that everyone has access to a single, accurate source of information.

Helps in making Data-Driven Decisions

It’s hard for managers to get an accurate overview of what’s happening across the business when financial information is scattered across multiple spreadsheets. As a result, it is not possible to create accurate budgets and forecasts. Centralization of Financial Information along with Live Real Time Reports and Analysis, using Booking Master’s Accounting Software help Hotels and Resorts in making better-informed decisions.

Helps meet growing compliance needs

With the expansion of the Hotel/Resort Business, it becomes quite burdensome to comply with regional tax mandates, accounting standards, and other regulations. Booking Master’s Accounting Software can help overcome these challenges.

Inventory Management

Inventory & and fixed assets are critical for accounting needs. Booking Master’s Accounting Software has the ability to register fixed assets and compute depreciation for them. Important aspects of accounting include – Costs incurred on fixed assets, up-to-date track record of those assets, calculation of fair value, and the dynamics of asset management, etc.

Booking Master’s Accounting Software provides all capabilities like tagging inventory items, verification, revaluation or costing etc.

EASY WAYS TO IMPROVE GUEST SATISFACTION AND HOTEL REVENUE

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

― Sam Walton

So, if the end result is customer satisfaction, your business will thrive.

The first impression is the last impression

Train your staff to always greet your guests with a welcoming smile to make them feel at home. From the moment your Guests step into your Hotel, make sure that you can offer them a pleasant and approachable ambiance.

Proactive Front Desk

Your Hotel’s Front Desk represents your business. Front Desk staff should always be smiling, helpful, and proactive in nature.

Show diversity

People nowadays never settle for less. Before choosing a Hotel, they do rigorous research and comparisons among the sea of options available. Make sure that you embrace a tailored approach instead of a one-size-fits-all approach and offer them with a multitude of options that specifically caters to their taste and needs.

Booking Process needs to be as simple as possible

Simpler the Booking Process, the lesser the bounce back and the higher the Customer Retention.

Prerequisites to do so:

  • Mobile-friendly Website
  • Contactless Payments
  • Direct interaction through Phone/WhatsApp.
  • Virtual Reality Tours on your Website.
  • Include a prominent click-to-call (CTA) button.
  • Connect with guests over social media.  Your social media accounts should get linked directly to your booking engine in just a few steps.

Enhance Food Options

Food taste and offerings are the deciding factors in whether Guests would return or recommend the hotel to others. Offer an array of food and beverage choices to stay in the game.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Analyze customer profiles using Booking Master PMS and create various promotional offers for different client categories.  

Resolve problems quickly

Try to fix issues in a timely manner. If there is a delayed response to your guest’s issues/complaints it could be detrimental to your guest satisfaction level.

Feedback: Collect it and most importantly- Act on it!

Conduct mid-stay and post-stay surveys, quickly correct any issues, and prevent negative reviews before they occur.

Service Optimization

Collect and analyze guest reviews on your hotel’s facilities, amenities, and service and work on the downsides to improve customer experience. 

Maximize the use of Technology

These days, Technology has become a non-negotiable element in making guests feel safe and comfortable.

The following tools can help improve Guest Experience:  

Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi

Smart keys to access rooms

Cashless Payments

Use Booking Master’s PMS Software so that they can request service through mobile phones and tablets.

Smart TVs with NETFLIX/Amazon/Hoichoi/Hotstar Subscriptions.

Electric Kettle.

AC/Cooler etc.

Hire the Right People

Employ professional people. The staff members need to be groomed and inspired from time to time to be sensitive in recognizing the needs of guests and responding positively.  

Keep in touch

The relationship with your Guest is not over immediately after their check-out. Send regular email newsletters and promotions and build those relationships further.

Reward Guests who are loyal

Guests who visit most often and/or spend the most on your Hotel should be given offers/discounts/local tours in offerings on their repeat visits.

Predictive Personalization

Using a feature like Booking Master’s PMS, you can capture guest preference data from past visits and use it to anticipate future needs.

Some examples:

  • Game nights, and sports activities for young and teens.
  • Children’s pools, and watery activities for families.
  • Soundproof rooms and separate dining areas for older people
  • Personal workplaces for Business Travellers
  • Tour buses for backpackers
  • Party services to Guests on special days like Birthdays and Anniversaries

Cleanliness and Quality over Quantity

Routine replacement of bath towels, soap, shampoos, pillowcases, bed sheets etc.

Disinfect everywhere in your hotel.

Provide Transportation Services

Offer free or paid cabs for airports, bus terminals, and train stations.

How to stand out with your hotel design?

  • High roofs so that people don’t feel claustrophobic.
  • Eye-catching Gardens.
  • Use lighter colors in order to create a calm environment.
  • Adopt Minimalism- Provide good products and good furniture but don’t go way too far.

TIPS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

Charge All Your Travel Electronics

Charge all your travel electronics at home before any business trip. Your phone battery can die quickly due to Calls and emails. So, a power bank can come in handy.

Hydrate

Make sure that you carry water while traveling. Dehydration can give you headaches and tire you out.

Hotel Location

Book a hotel that’s close to the client/ business location. This is to avoid early morning commutes, traffic delays, etc.

Eat enough

It’s important to keep Emergency Snacks like a few energy bars.

Right Workspace

Find the right workspace in your hotel in order to think clearly.

Avoid jet lag

A melatonin supplement and exercise can help you overcome jet lag.

Business Etiquettes

Do your research on business etiquette to crack that deal.

Firewall while using public internet

An updated antivirus and a firewall prevent anyone from accessing your data.

Set clear agendas

This is to optimize your productivity and to keep everyone on the same page.

Documents

Keep the necessary documents at hand like the ID card, passwords, tickets, etc.

BUSINESS TRAVEL

BENEFITS OF CLOUD-BASED HOTEL RESERVATIONS

There are mainly two types of Property Management Software:

  1. The archaic locally installed PMS and
  2. The cloud-based hospitality software.

 

Local Property Management Systems operate where the software is installed on computers. Many Hotels are still using this type of system.  However, with the advent of cloud computing, many technologies have improved, including property management systems. Cloud-based hospitality software offers a more flexible system with a multitude of benefits.

Saves Money

Cloud-based hospitality software is cost-efficient. In the case of Traditional PMS, data needs to be stored in physical servers costs lakhs and requires a specialized IT team to install, maintain, and upgrade the system. Further, there is licensing fees and energy bills.

On the contrary, Cloud-based PMS systems eliminate all these costs. Data is no longer required to be stored in local software due to the Cloud System. A cloud service saves administration costs.

Accessible Data

In cloud-based hospitality software like Booking Master, the data is stored in the “cloud,” which is a secure network of servers. It can be accessed as long as one has an internet connection. Thus, users can access data and information anytime, anywhere.

Cloud-based PMS allows the Hotelier to monitor his/her properties, monitor teams, access information, and promptly update files and login credentials that are needed to perform all these tasks.

Increased security

Traditional PMS offers few security updates. This leaves the data vulnerable to theft, power outages, physical disasters and viruses.

When the Data is stored in the cloud, it is encrypted and stored virtually behind multiple layers of security such as authentication gateways, physical security measures, and sophisticated firewalls. These security layers are frequently audited and updated to keep up with the latest security advances.

Simple backup and recovery

No need for long hours of manual back-ups. Lon using a Coud-Based Hospitality Software like Booking Master, the input data automatically syncs to the cloud. Also, the Data is easy to recover and it can be restored easily.

Also, the system can be accessed anytime and anywhere as long as there is a working internet connection thereby minimizing downtime and ensuring the system is always running.

Real-time distribution

With cloud-based hotel reservations, your reservations and prices are instantly updated across all distribution channels. Automation gives hoteliers more control over their operations. Room inventory is updated end-to-end and in real time on various booking sites such as OTA, GDS, personal websites, and mobile platforms. It not only saves time and increases efficiency but also helps you manage your inventories with complete confidence.

Reduce errors

Thanks to cloud-based centralized bookings, hotels can now easily manage all products and channels through a single interface and a single platform. This helps in improving operations, reducing errors, and eliminating problems such as overbooking or overbooking. Cloud-based hotel reservation systems do not allow double booking, which makes the booking process both efficient and reliable.

Operational Excellence

Coordination between and across hotel departments is crucial to achieving efficient operations and excellent guest service. Due to cloud-based centralized bookings, the staff can quickly get information on room availability and work efficiently. Housekeeping can update which rooms are ready for occupancy, and the front desk can let you know which rooms are checked out and easily assign rooms to incoming guests. Likewise, hotel staff can manage multiple reservation processes at the same time, such as individual and/or group check-in and check-out, reservation confirmation, change, removal. After all, a simple approach allows hotel staff to focus on the guest experience and attract repeat guests.

Improves profitability

Cloud-based centralized bookings centrally manage and distribute rates across all your online/offline sales channels to increase occupancy. As a hotel owner, you can sell the inventory of all your properties centrally from the group website and Central Reservation Office (CRO) with a single sign-on access. All these will help you sell more and maximize revenue across all your properties leading to improved profitability.

Helps you know your guests better

With an efficient centralized operation, you can access guest data captured at the time of reservation at any of your hotels. For instance, you would be able to capture their full name, type (FIT or corporate), gender, nationality, contact details, and special preferences, including likes, dislikes, payment methods, and room type booked during their last stay. Knowing your customers better helps you reach out to them with a tailored approach instead of a one-size-fits-all policy. It helps you in building Customer Loyalty.  It’s crucial to take cognizance of the fact that only happy and loyal guests will come back to your hotel. Also, they will spread the good word about you on social media and hotel review platforms. The best business strategy!