Gaining Hotel's Incremental Business

Category: Rooms – Corporate

Title: Local Congratulations

Objective: Offer local congratulations to gain new contacts and increase room nights

Target: Local businesses and organizations in your community

Strategy: Create and maintain good public relations and top of mind awareness to increase room nights.

Elements:

· Join the Chamber of Commerce to have access and know local area businesses

· Scan newspapers daily for notices of promotions, openings, new executives or other

noteworthy news items from the local area

· Clip the articles out

· Send a letter of “congratulations” or “welcome to the area” to the individual or company

noted in the paper, along with a soft sell promotion, flyer, or brochure of your hotel

· One successful method is to mount the newspaper article on cardstock with “(Your Hotel Name)

Salutes You”, laminate it, and send it to the subject

· Monitor the internet, searching local news channel sites and newspaper sites for the same

kind of promotions, awards, openings, and expansions of local people and businesses

· Use the Chamber of Commerce list to obtain an email address or visit the actual company’s

website for an email address

· Send an email, containing graphics and logo of your hotel offering congratulations and make

sure you personalize it

· Join local service organizations like Kiwanis or Rotary and be active. Many local business

leaders will be found and lots of congratulatory opportunities will abound.

· Follow-up on all letters sent out with a sales call to ask for the business!

Cost:

· Salary of person responsible for internet research and newspaper perusing or Hiring Hospitality Helpers at a fraction of the price of a Sales Person and get an entire sales team working for you.

· Postage costs and stationery for snail mail

· Chamber of Commerce membership