Is your hotel in need of Sales & Marketing during these economic times?

Where is some great information from one of our hotel's Choice Brand Performace Consultants:

"When we find ourselves in hard economic times, many hotels go into panic mode, which often exacerbates the problem. To be successful in today's economy, true winners focus on the basics. They understand who their ideal guest is and then focus their selling efforts like a laser beam on that market. Rather than scrambling for anything that looks like a room night, they stay calm and collected and work steadily to serve their "sweet spot" market better than anyone else.

Success often comes from being a contrarian. While most of your competition is hunkering down to weather the storm, this is the time to charge forward; gaining new customers and increasing market share. You will also be poised to capitalize on your efforts when the economy turns around (and it WILL turn around).

Here are Five Strategies of F.O.C.U.S. that I guarantee will maximize your property's potential, even in hard economic times.


Focus on your Best Customers - Pareto Principle

Know the demographics of your best customers and market with a laser sharp focus to others who look just like them. We all have customers who just seem to fit. They are usually the most profitable and least problematic. These are the people we want to focus on with our increased marketing effort. This is not to say we won't take others who come our way, but simply that our marketing effort and dollars go to attract these "sweet spot" customers.

Opportunity shows up in unlikely places in tough times

Many industries, such as health care, are very resistant to recession. Identify the businesses in your market that are still prospering and launch a consistent, methodical marketing campaign to gain their business. (Many of these businesses have been taken for granted by current providers and this is a great opportunity to show them you care).

Concentrate your efforts

Streamline your sales and marketing process (work smarter - not harder). Get out of commitments and associations that are not providing you a quantifiable ROI and pick one or two networking opportunities that are full of prospects. For example, rather than being on the membership committee of a local chamber of commerce, your time might be better used by actively participating in a local health care association that is the gathering spot for decision-makers in the industry. Maximizing your presence on the Internet is also a must.

Understand the Rules of the Gatekeeper

Understand that the game has changed and that many decision makers have become gate-keepers. People that were once empowered to make buying decisions have had to relinquish that responsibility to the boss. We will discuss ways to keep your foot in the door with the new decision maker.

Success breeds Success - ask for referrals from every single sale

Ask for referrals every month and develop an external networking list for every one of your customers. This list is an effective tool to move throughout other departments in the organization as well as to other business relationships. You not only want to saturate ABC Corporation, but you want to reach their subsidiaries, clients, vendors, trade associations, etc. All too often we focus just on the customer in front of us without realizing that they are all connected to other possible customers as well.


Don't blame the economy for your lack of success. Learn how to effectively put these principles to work for you today and begin seeing results immediately. There are always winners and losers, and all an economic recession does is magnify the differences. You can choose to come through this economy stronger and more successful or you can come out of it battered and bruised. The choice is yours."

Last but not least, when you don't have time to do sales yourself, hire a reputable Sales Company like Hospitality Helpers to do the job for you at a fraction of the cost of a salaried sales person.