Tips for hospitality businesses seeking to utilise last-minute marketing tactics: By Peter Ducker, FIH: Former Institute of Hospitality CEO Peter Ducker has spent a lifetime in the hospitality industry and is a member of P&G Professional’s Expert Advisory Council.
At the outset, let’s be clear that having a strategy for last-minute sales to boost occupancy is not always an admission that your long-term strategy has failed. There are valid reasons why you may decide to target late business at certain times – demand for the area is strong and you see rates rising, for example.
If, however, you find you are constantly worrying about that last 15% of target occupancy, or the final covers that tip your restaurant into profit, then you need to have a short-term strategy to address the ‘here and now’ and also, of course, a longer term plan to make your business more predictable, therefore more stable.
When we speak about last minute marketing, we’re really thinking about that ‘distressed inventory’ that, if not sold soon, is lost forever.
These days, we have more tools at our fingertips than ever, thanks to ‘Big Data’ – a powerful tool if you use it right. Data is all the information that you can leverage, hotels know who’s staying, when, and often they also know why; restaurants who are smart always ask, when taking a booking, whether it’s a special celebration.
Birthdays and anniversaries are literally ‘meat and drink’ for the restaurateur who manages their guest histories. When you’ve got your data, you can target people by the anniversary of their arrival – either with a discount or, more likely, a value add.
Tracking browsing on your website can also be a mine of information. Targeting bookers who previously reacted to a late availability fire sale rate can be productive – it’s all just a question of having the right data and using it.
Let’s not forget our third-party friends – online travel agencies and restaurant booking sites. Selling your distressed inventory is exactly why you need these partners in your business toolkit. In your hour of need, turn on this tap. There will be some quid pro quo of course, but at the end of the day business is business.
My final thought on conjuring up business when you need it is to look at what’s happening in your local community. Is there an event that will attract people from far and wide – a concert, exhibition, or sporting event? Is there a niche that your locale is famous for that you can bundle into a package?
If you identify honey pot situations that you can leverage, then create a package around the dates you are worried about. Ensure that you name it using appropriate keywords and put it on your website, post it on social media so that anybody searching for information gets to see your offer at the same time. You may be able to target special interest groups – it’s time to be creative.
The sooner you identify where the demand will be low for a period, the more likely you are to be able to do something about it. There are, of course, basics that you also have to cover.
Make sure your website is as good as it can possibly be – vibrant, attractive to look at and easy to navigate. Check that your booking engine is as slick as it can be. Do you implement the best calls to action? An OTA, for example, routinely uses the pop-up message that says – “only three rooms left at this rate”. OTAs use these devices with remarkable effect, you should also.
Do you use a tool to automatically chase down abandoned bookings? Leisure travellers will typically look at several sites before making their choice. If the client has abandoned a booking they may still be on the prowl – automatic follow ups are a very inexpensive way of staying in the fight.
Finally, never give guests a reason not to come. Address any concerns that may keep people away. In a post-pandemic world, we all want to be assured that wherever we go we will be kept safe. So don’t just have great cleaning protocols, make them part of your messaging – trust is vital.
P&G Professional has recognised this and launched the CleanPLUS Experience as a stamp of approval to reassure clients that your premises are cleaned to the highest levels. This gold standard can be displayed both physically and digitally to convey that your venue isn’t just clean, it’s hygienically clean – thanks to high-quality trusted brands such as Flash Professional and Fairy Professional.
