Be Prepared
Preparing Your Property for Holidays
For many properties, holiday periods are highly influential for their bottom line. This is not limited to the Christmas and New Year’s break. With many different events and holidays throughout the year, your property should be prepared for any occasion. There are a variety of things you should be doing to get prepared and to boost your occupation rate during these periods.
Have your Property Prepared
The holiday period can be a stressful time for a lot of families and guests. From long days travelling or hectic travel plans, many guests may have less patience than usual. To ensure a smooth and stress-free environment for your guests here are a few things you can do:
Ensure you are Properly Staffed
Having an appropriate amount of staff is vital. This ensures quick check-in time and overall efficiency of your property. Staffing is tough, especially during a holiday period. To stay on top of this, set rosters early when you know a busy period is approaching and any staffing issues can be dealt with, swiftly and appropriately. As mentioned due to travel-induced stress some customers may be irate with little issues, which can be negated with well-trained staff who have a plan in place and can resolve issues quickly. So, before a busy period have a small session with your team and discuss ways to assist guests who are having any issues.
Remain on Schedule
If you say rooms will be ready at a certain time, ensure they are available. Many travellers have planned their days down to the minute. To keep them on schedule, make sure rooms are available when said, also if you offer on-site dining be on time for opening. However, it is understood that not everything is perfect and delays can happen. Be prepared for this, and offer some form of compensation. Compensation can look like a variety of things. For example if rooms are delayed due to housekeeping you could offer something as simple as a coffee voucher, or if there is a cafe located close work with the cafe to send guests there while they wait. Something as little as this can make all the difference for your guests’ first impressions.
General Cleanliness
First impressions count, the first thing that many guests notice is how well-maintained the property is. This does not only include dirt/dust things such as how well gardens and grounds are maintained. If you know a busy period is approaching be prepared, it should require little amounts of maintenance during that period causing less work for staff.
Increasing Occupancy During this Period
There are a plethora of methods that have been proven to increase bookings, especially during busy holiday periods. What should you be doing to get an edge on your competition? Listed are a few methods which can be used to boost occupancy:
Package Deals
Offering holiday specials or package deals is a good way to draw more attention to your property. If presented in the right way you can create extra value for your customers without reducing your online prices. By contacting local attractions you could create a deal for discounted rates for your guests at their experience. This benefits both you and the local business as you are creating positive guest experiences whilst being able to package this into your hotel. Additionally, you could offer complimentary breakfast if you have in-house dining options or in room breakfast hampers continental style.
Themed Events
Promote on-theme events and content for upcoming holidays. For example, Easter is coming up. You should be anticipating the reason people are holidaying at that period and promote easter style specials and deals now. Putting on events for kids can also be a point of difference. Having things available such as themed colouring-in or a small Easter egg hunt. The cost incurred is minimal by you but could make all the difference for families who are looking to book accommodation. If there is an event happening in your town, organise a shuttle bus to and from the venue or instructions on how to attend the event. It’s best to prepare yourself to understand what is on and who the event/holiday is targeted towards. This will help you make your guest’s stay a more personalised one.
Target Advertising
Choosing the correct channels to advertise your property on is vital for how many bookings you may receive. This comes back to understanding the events and who they are targeted towards. Many different demographics tend to use different channels to find accommodation. For example, if there is an event targeted towards 20-30-year-olds then you should be advertising your property on sites such as Airbnb and Bookings.com. Understanding your target audience can lead to an increase in bookings due to being easily found and appealing depending on who is looking.
The Importance of an Online Presence
A strong online presence is required for properties and is proven to help convert lookers into bookers. The use of social media has an influence like no other, the ability to put your property on display daily is key. People place value on being able to see up-to-date pictures and gain the ability to connect with your property before they go. This is seconded by an easy-to-use and effective website that is aesthetically pleasing. These simple processes can have an immense impact on your occupancy and help get people over the line when booking accommodation.
Maximise Your Profit
Increasing the minimum length of stay and rates during holiday periods is a strategic way to maximise your revenue. Here’s what that could look like:
- Identify Peak Periods: Determine which holiday periods experience high demand in your area. This could include Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Easter, Independence Day, or other local holidays and events.
- Implement Minimum Stay Requirements: Set minimum stay requirements for guests during peak holiday periods. For example, you could require a minimum of two or three nights’ stay to encourage guests to book longer stays, thus maximising occupancy and revenue.
- Tiered Pricing Structure: Implement a tiered pricing structure where rates increase progressively as the holiday period approaches or as availability decreases. Early bookers can benefit from lower rates, while last-minute bookings may be subject to higher rates due to increased demand.
- Offer Packages and Specials: Create holiday packages and specials that bundle accommodation with additional perks or amenities, such as holiday dinners, spa treatments, or local attraction tickets. By offering value-added packages, you can justify higher rates and encourage guests to book longer stays.
- Promote Extended Stays: Emphasise the benefits of extended stays during holiday periods in your marketing materials and communications. Highlight the convenience and value of staying longer, such as more time to explore local attractions, relax, or spend quality time with family and friends.
- Provide Incentives for Longer Stays: Offer discounts or incentives for guests who book extended stays during holiday periods. This could include a percentage discount on the total booking cost, complimentary upgrades, or additional perks for staying a certain number of nights.
- Enhance Guest Experience: To justify higher rates during holiday periods, ensure that the guest experience is exceptional. Provide personalised service, festive decorations, special amenities, and holiday-themed activities to create a memorable and enjoyable stay for guests.
- Monitor Demand and Adjust Pricing: Continuously monitor demand and adjust pricing dynamically based on market trends, competitor rates, and booking patterns. Use revenue management software or tools to optimise pricing and maximise revenue during holiday periods.
- Communicate Value Proposition: Clearly communicate the value proposition of booking a longer stay during holiday periods to potential guests. Highlight the benefits, savings, and unique experiences they can enjoy by choosing your hotel for their holiday getaway.
- Collect Guest Feedback: After the holiday period, collect feedback from guests to gauge their satisfaction with the pricing and length-of-stay policies. Use this feedback to make adjustments and improvements for future holiday seasons.
How We Can Assist In This Process
GuestPoint Channel Manager
To help with administration stress around holiday periods, a channel manager is an effective tool for any property. Reducing overbooking and creating front desk efficiency, leaving you more time to focus on the guest experience. With real-time updates and over 730 days of advanced inventory, our channel manager is tailored to maximise your property’s efficiency. With hundreds of channels remain connected to a variety of demographics and target your ideal guests with no added administrative stress. Explore how a channel manager can benefit your property:
Housekeeping services
Built into the GuestPoint PMS is our housekeeping solution. Which enables you to schedule the cleaning of rooms and keep track of cleaning progress. Also, it can be used to manage general areas such as the lobby, courtyard, or swimming pool just to name a few. Helping you keep on top of your backend processes.
GuestPoint Websites
Our purpose-designed websites are formulated to get the best results for the accommodation industry. We understand the industry and understand the importance of a strong online presence. With mobile-first indexing in mind, we can help boost your property’s search engine optimisation (SEO). Don’t let your website be the reason you miss bookings. Discover how our websites can help:
Revenue Maximiser
Built within our PMS is a revenue maximiser feature. Which allows seamless rate changes to be applied to both your direct booking platform and your channel manager. Creating maximum efficiency for you while preparing for the holiday period.
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