Hospitality Career E-Mag

MARKETING | Old vs New in the Media Melange

2011-12-30T19:39:00.000+05:30

There has always been a debate between the goodness of Old - the time-tested, comfortable setof practices that have proven their mettle time and again and the value of New - a precocious kidon the block that struts its stuff with vigour and confidence of having been received with openarms.

As any Public Relations expert - Hospitality specialist or any other - knows, media is theveritable best man, the strongest ally and one of the most powerful tools in the PR toolkit.

Today, a PR person is spoiled for choice, between the old and new media and within theirambits, says L. Aruna Dhir, a seasoned Hospitality Communications Professional . Some, shesays, are from the old school of thought and still hold the old media in a prominent place whilewarming up to the idea and prospects of the New Media. There are others who are fans of PR 2.0so much that they make the mistake of ignoring the traditional media, of course at their own risk.But the wisest are those who hold both kinds in esteem and continue to reap benefits out of thetwo.Dhir brings out the advantages and the downside of working with both kinds of media.

Andgives a handy snapshot of the Top Five positives and negatives for both Old Media and the NewSocial Media that will prove to be a ready referral when planning one’s media strategy.

For instance L. Aruna Dhir’s positives for the Old Media are –

1. It is the best form of credible and creditable Third Party Endorsement.

2. To appear in a top notch publication immediately ups or reinforces the profile of your Brandin the minds of the significant publics. Think Condé Nast, WSJ, New York Times, The Guardianand you get the picture.

3. To be written about by the renowned reviewers / writers of these publications is a majorachievement in media presence. Imagine getting first class rating by the likes of Mary Gostelow,Lynn Middlehurst, Jeff Weinstein and see how proud and pleased the owners, management andthe guests are.

4. Mention in traditional media has a sense of permanence to it. The news report can be filed andarchived and can easily be dug into when it needs to be referenced again.

5. It is easier to control what is being written about you (either through your Press Release or onaccount of your established relationship with the media representative) and form opinions in thetraditional media as compared to the information circus that exists in the New Media.

Source

Demystifying the Magical Pricing Potion

2011-11-22T18:21:00.001+05:30

By Jean Francois Mourier, REVPAR GURU

You may not know it, but the grandfather that is today’s hotel industry room rate optimization technology just celebrated an anniversary – and a big one at that. Fifty-nine years ago this month, UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer), the 16,000 lb, 500 vacuum tube-equipped behemoth performed the unthinkable: it correctly predicted in an early call the 1952 president election of republican Dwight Eisenhower with a less than one percent margin of error in the electoral vote count and an equally slim three percent error in the popular vote.

CBS News at the time, fearing the computer’s error, refused to announce the results. It preferred to rely on its experts’ gut instinct. The “Electronic Brain’s” Hotel Career ShiftIf UNIVAC could have, it would have checked itself into a luxury hotel and then laughed itself off to the proverbial bank. The stunning prediction marked the first time a computer accurately predicted an election. By 1956, a host of so-called “electronic brains” were putting their thinking caps on to again make that early call. As the saying goes, in terms of computerized election prediction, the rest was history. So of course, this little story begs the question, “What does all this have to do with hotels, revenue managers, and pricing systems?” The answer is simple – and comes without vacuum tubes. Just like the technology, software and algorithms that went into UNIVAC, so too does a carefully attuned calculus comprised of today’s modern rate optimization systems. In other words, pricing a hotel room rate fairly, one that is both reasonable for the customer and for a revenue manager’s bottom line shouldn’t be rocket science, nor should it require a magic wand or an apothecary’s potion. Like successful election predictions, various intelligence-specific factors are taken into account.

The REAL Abracadabra Behind PricingAbove all, dynamic pricing is essential. Dynamic pricing is an umbrella term that encompasses others, and is an effective way for revenue managers to evaluate multiple pricing metrics in real time. This includes real-time price comparisons to competitor hotels, as well as monitoring instant changes that affect those rates. Another component is a hotel’s historical prices. But it’s important to note that this metric is increasingly less of a factor when figuring a current or future rate. Historical prices are very good at faithfully reporting back to the revenue manager a past room rate, but is a very poor predictor of what the new rate should be, i.e., the future. Other pricing systems partially determine rates based on room rate elasticity, or the flexibility of price based on consumer demand. For instance, travelers regularly expect room rate hikes during peak seasons like the upcoming holidays. Travelers accept and pay those rates and rather than diminishing demand over higher prices, demand actually peaks. Thus, holiday hotel room rate prices are said to be relatively inelastic, or inflexible. Another component to modern software-driven hotel room pricing is rate optimization. And part of that fair rate is based on your hotel’s clout relative to the competition. Increasingly that clout is based on where your hotel lands in basic Google searches as well as online travel agent (OTA) rankings. Other factors that are part of the pricing mix include: booking patterns by day of the week, time of day booking patterns, special events, room size, guest reviews, and booking pace. Seven days a week, 24-hours days, all of these factors, and others, are re-evaluated in real-time in order to establish the perfect rate at the very moment a room is booked. Breaking the Spell: Poof!In the end, today’s modern hotel room pricing software, unlike its UNIVAC grandfather, is more a forecaster of appropriate (and best) pricing than a predictor of room rate outcomes.

Hoteliers and revenue managers have come a far way since the time of Eisenhower’s shattering win in 1952: no longer are their internal room rate calculations performed, pardon the pun, in a vacuum, or guessed at peering through a crystal ball, but rather in an open, transparent and real-time interactive environment. Finding the right price is not about lowering rates or relying on what’s worked in the past, it's about reaching the perfect "sweet spot" - that ideal rate that will convert a looker into a booker, be it a business or leisure guest. Without gazing into any crystal ball, I can tell you that automated pricing programs and their intelligence-gathering abilities will grow increasingly complex – and importantly, extremely helpful to the revenue manager, pulling in and analyzing greater and greater amounts of data to make more informed decisions. While in some ways, thanks in part to meta-search engines and OTAs, customers have as much or even more access to current room rates data than revenue managers, that imbalance is likely to even out.

Hopefully, my commentary has demystified some of the magic that we seek out when it comes to pricing rooms. In any case, it’s time to put away the magic wand and rely on science and technology, and intelligent software to make those on-target and critical pricing decisions that hotels’ profitability rely on. About REVPAR GURUThe Intelligent Online Solution: Revenues and Results in Real Time REVPAR GURU delivers an intelligent online solution to help hotels maximize occupancy, improve distribution and grow revenues.

By automating critical pricing decisions, REVPAR GURU adds power and adaptability to improve rate optimization and deliver results in real time. REVPAR GURU’s online pricing solution empowers revenue managers with the knowledge they need to make better pricing decisions by combining the RMS, Channel Manager, & Rate Shopping solutions to form the ultimate online selling system.

To learn more about REVPAR GURU, please visit www.revparguru.com or call +1.786.478.3500 . For testimonials from hotel clients, visit http://www.revparguru.com/customers-speak.html.

DCW | A QUICK CHECKLIST FOR A COMMUNICATIONS CHAMPION IN HOTELS | PART TWO

2011-08-08T21:09:00.002+05:30

Last week, we featured part I of Aruna's checklist for Communication Champions - Click here.

This here is Part II.

In Part Two of my Communications’ Checklist follow the remainder of the alphabets each hoping to enjoy a place in your mind space and get reflected upon on several thought-provoked occasions.

Read on -

IMAGE INSPIRED

I mentioned this briefly in the FOOD head, but you need to have a big yen for photography. That a picture says more than a thousand words is so much more pertinent for hotels. There are guest room, Lobby, Spa, Pool, Banqueting, restaurant images to be shot for use inbrochures and other collateral, food shots to be organized for marketing literature and the press and images to be developed for the virtual tours on the website.Not only do you need to have a good panel of photographers you work with but you must also have a keen eye for angles, lighting, subjects, props, backgrounds, image size, clarity etc. and most of all a strong focus on the fact that the images define your brand personality and theymust be within those boundaries.Like for any other creative part of your portfolio, surf around for inspiration and do a competition check. You can also learn a great deal – at least where food photos are concerned - from your Kitchen’s and F&B teams.

LORD OF THE LISTS
It is often said that a PR person is as good as his or her lists. And this is largely true. You need lists to work through for a large chunk of your portfolio. Media lists being the most prime among the lot. And within Media there is the Top Editors list, Electronic Media List, LifestyleMedia, General Media, Food Critics, Restaurant Reviewers, Hotel Specialists, Travel Media, Business Media, Features Writers, Art Critics………….it is as wide as the network you wish to ensnare and work with.Then there are the other lists that you need to keep in your top drawer at all times – List of local and international celebrities you invite to your events, list of PR Agencies, Event Management Agencies, Printers, Graphic Designers, Photographers, Merchandisers……….againthe extent covers the scope of your work.Keep your lists updated, weeded out and dynamic. Additionally, from a purely professional perspective, there should be a synergy between the key agenda and structure of your Social Media Lists be it your professional Facebook Friends, LinkedIn contacts, Blog Followers, Fans orGroup Members.

MARKETING MAGNATE
As a Hotel PR Head you end up handling a large part of the Marketing pie too. This may not be true with large FMCG firms or big Real Estate companies or some other sectors where there are designated departments handling collateral design and production, direct marketing, directmail etc. But in hotels, it is you who are responsible for a lot of this work.So, please understand the 4 Ps of Marketing and 7 Cs of Communication and all that lies in between rather well and in the soundest manner.As a PR & Communications Head of your hotel, you are also the Head of Marketing Communications. Therefore, you are responsible for devising a lot of marketing strategies in tandem with the Head of Sales & Marketing, initiating many a marketing alliances with like- minded companies such as Credit card companies, travel companies, Airlines, Car Rental companies etc. You also have to develop a lot of promotional material and at times represent your hotel in the international travel & trade shows such as WTM, ITB, ILTM.With Marcom as a significant part of your portfolio, you are the person who has to plan, visualize and create all the Sales and Marketing Communications collateral required by the Hotel at large and by the Sales & Marketing, Front Office and Food & Beverage departments inparticular.Of course you will have the advantage of working with a panel of creative people ranging from graphic designers to printers to even paper companies but always remember that you are the TEAM LEAD.

MEDIA MANDARIN
I cannot lay enough stress on the importance, depth and broad spectrum of your media relationship. Sadly, even now, a PR person’s job is often thought to be limited to media relations, press release writing and dissemination and coverage in the press and electronic medium. Of course, you and I know that the scope of your work is much more than this and is consummately communications driven in all its aspects. But because media relations is the most important, result oriented and visible work that brings in the hugely important Third Party Endorsement that people often mistake your role for just that.On the positive side, you are the one who gets your company in the news. You are the one who ensures that there is positive coverage of your hotel and its products - be it rooms, spa or restaurants. And what an important role this is, as you go about getting noteworthy column-cm space or sound bites on the media platforms as against paid advertising which is really bought over publicity.Given the importance of this part of the overall communications cake, it is imperative that you know the media well. And this entails national, international, regional and local media. You need to know the senior editors and international journalists just as well as you know the beat correspondents. Your media list should span the range from business, corporate and news media to features, food, lifestyle and the arts. For you, both print and electronic media hold a lot of importance and you bring them into play depending on the assignment at hand.And since media is one of your strongest allies, you must develop a long term and strong relationship with them that is based on mutual trust, respect and two-way information sharing. You must also be accessible at most times, even the odd hours. You must understand how media works, how they work on steep deadlines and the demands of ‘here and now;’ more importantly because you don’t want your prize press releases to be linings of the News office bin.Finally, knowing the Foreign Correspondents based in your region is also as important. As a hotel, your establishment may not churn out newsworthy piece of information, but there are times when the Foreign Correspondent will be working on a feature piece and your hotel willhave a top of the mind recall.

MERCHANDISE MASTER
This is a very interesting part of your portfolio. I have had the privilege of not just working with an exciting lot of merchandise manufacturers and suppliers but have also had the opportunity to develop some of the nicest hotel merchandise by myself. From picture postcards, note cards,Seasons’ Greeting cards to golf balls, match box sets and silver cuff links, it has been highly satisfying to see the self-developed product range in the Hotel’s Boutique collection, guest give- aways list or the guest catalogue.PEOPLE PERSONThis forms the core of what you do and how you are supposed to be. As a PR Expert, you must be a people’s person. You must have good internal and external relationships. You must be able to communicate with and relate to a wide gamut of people ranging from the doorman to thehotel owner, from a socialite to a social activist, from an editor from India’s Fleet Street to a printer from the old world of Chandni Chowk.As the Public Relations Officer, you meet an interesting array of publics, all in a day’s work – from artists, dancers, musicians, film stars to activists, scientists and sports stars. It adds a lot of spice, glamour, drama and high energy to your role and provides you with a lot of staplefor interesting anecdotes, stories and pieces of information that could be used in your PR communication at times.

PERSONALITY PERFECT
Yours is a very visible role. You organize and attend press conferences. You give interviews. You wine and dine with the media, guests and other important hotel contacts. More importantly, with a strong focus on external publics relationships, you are one of the most significant brandambassadors of your organization along with being the chief guardian of the brand. With all this observable performance at play, you must have a pleasing personality both in terms of demeanour and the picture perfectness of the outward look.You don’t need to be a high street brands slave or overly conscious of your look but you must carry yourself well, be perfectly groomed and embody the personality of your hotel brand.There is something particularly distasteful about clothes horses who are flashy and show off their collection. Be understated like the quintessential hotelier who is a global citizen representing his brand within the cultural sensitivity of the local region his brand is situated in.Be proper, perfect in your mannerisms and personable in your appearance and you are onto a winning start every time you need to make an introduction for yourself or your brand.

PROFIT PROTECTOR
Public Relations need not only be a spending department – spending on collateral, events, media, merchandise, advertising, coverage and so on.If you are a smart PR person with S.M.A.R.T tactical objectives and well thought out strategy, then you do not stress on a lot of monetary outlay to justify your work. Even when you handle a big PR budget, profit protection keeps at the core of your planning.While advertising is important and more focused, media coverage is more feel-good, believable and notable.Since yours is a Hotel, it is not always important to hire an event management agency. Your banqueting team is also quite qualified to organize the hotel events along with you.With your years of experience in working with designers and getting collateral developed, at one stage you become extremely adept at doing things on your own, especially if you have a creative bent and have a penchant for designing. The same applies to all the writing work thatyou must do for the organization.As part of your profit protection plan, get your website to do a lot of work for you in terms of publicity, newsletter dissemination and getting the good word out about your company.

RESEARCH RACE HORSE
You will find that the nature of your work relies heavily on research. You need to search for information each time you want to make your press release and backgrounders loaded.You also want to be a research expert if you present reports to your Company’s Board, write manuals, conduct focus groups and surveys for specifically Communications or general hotel assignments.I once had to work on an “Image Study and Positioning Analysis” for the New Delhi unit of the Oberoi hotel. It involved spot interviews, broad questionnaire based surveys, focus groups, guest interaction and a whole lot of research to make the Study composite and benchmarked.

TRAVEL TITAN
As a Hotel PR person you are part of the Hospitality and Travel Trade. Hence know the Travel industry, its people and its workings well. Learn about Trade events and explore widely what is required from the PR front for representing your Hotel brand in these trade shows. Is there aMedia Cell which has worked out a charter of things required to keep the publicity machinery actively pumping pre, during and post the event? Are there customized collateral required for certain markets? How much stock is needed of the standard collateral? Are you in a position toorganize interviews and Press meets of your General Manager with the international media at these Travel Marts? The opportunities are endless.A French boss I once worked with, certainly one of my mentors, urged me to acquire wings and travel to see the world. He said that as a Hospitality professional I should love travelling and have an inclination towards exploring other hotel brands during my stays abroad. What afine and practical lesson there! You can’t get a more real and useful tutorial than experiencing places and hotels first hand.

WEB WHIZ
The Hotel website is your baby, you know that. You have helped develop it or are responsible for keeping it clean and dynamic with up to date information. You are the one that feeds it with new information streaming in from other departments or the Company per se. You work withthe IT admin, the SEO consultants and Web designers to make sure that your website remains the best selling tool for the Company and materializes real time sale for it.In today’s world of Social Media deluge you have to be on top of the game of internet PR, Web 2.0 and Viral Marketing. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube are then your new friends on the technology driven media block. Keep abreast of the latest trends and developments andemploy them effectively and optimally.

WORD WARRIOR
A PR person’s professional life, if it is really filled with something concrete and tangible then it is words – written, spoken, said, unsaid. As the PR expert you write releases, reports, newsletters, backgrounders, briefing notes. You speak at events, training sessions, interviews, conferences.With such a large portion of your portfolio relying on words – in all their elements – you have to be a wordsmith who can spin the magic with your language and not only grab attention but also garner sales with your writing. A tall order that. But something that you need to master.One of the most visible and significant part of my work across the various hotel brands I have worked with have been the body of writing I have left behind. It has been ego boosting to see the Press Releases I wrote appear again and again, each time with minor tweaking. It has alsobeen highly satisfying to create and leave behind a rich resource of documentation, reports, manuals and other reference material that has proved to be a great bank of archival data and training material for those who have followed.The Hyatts had ‘Feel The Hyatt Touch’ for a long time. And who has not heard of Shangri-La’s ‘I am a Fan.’ During my tenure at The Imperial I had the unique distinction and first time honour to create these, I would like to think, immortal and unmatched marketing buzz lines– ‘TheImperial Experience,’ AND ‘The Imperial – Elegant, Exclusive, Exceptional.’

WORLDLY WISE
As a Hotel PRO, because you are part of an international Hospitality and Travel industry, because your guests come from all over the globe and because you work in a multicultural / multinational environment, it is imperative that you have an international outlook, be in step with the international PR agencies & the Foreign Media and be abreast with the global trends.Global approach with the local essence should be your method of work and process of thought and you should be glocally savvy. Have a comprehensive world view and comprehensive outside-in thinking.Finally, with a juggler like task with several elemental balls up in the air that you must not drop at any time, you have to a JACK OR JILL OF ALL TRADES and perhaps a master of few.

Enjoy the professional roller coaster ride!

About The Author

L. Aruna Dhir is a consummate public relations and communications professional, with stints at Imperial New Delhi, Oberoi Group, Hyatt among others.
Click here to see her full profile

Top 10 Social Media Marketing Tips for Hotels

2011-07-14T15:12:00.001+05:30

by Patrick Landman

Here are our Top 10 tips for hotel social media marketing. We have put these together from daily hands on experience performing internet marketing for our hotels. It is the best list of practical ideas that can be implemented right away.

1 - Have a Blog to post information on activities, attractions, dining, shopping, nightlife. It allows you to provide your guests with suggestion on what to do. Moreover it is a constant source of content that you can use to spread on other social networks like FaceBook and Twitter.

2 - Manage your online reputation, by inviting guests to post reviews on TripAdvisor, Yelp and other review websites. Make sure you also respond to all reviews and that you manage your profile on these sites (description, pictures, contact info).

3 - Invite guests to join your FaceBook page (upload their emails), and ask them to post pictures of the hotel and their trip. Panoramia is also a great site to have guest post pics as it is linked to Google Earth & Maps.

4 - Link local companies and attractions in your Twitter and FaceBook posts by using ‘@’ and their profile name. It will jump start your interaction online and grow your sphere of influence. To make it easy, think like your guests. Get connected to cities, tourist attractions and tourist information centers by liking their page. Just start reading and very often the accommodation requests are right there for you to grab. For example on the city page of Amsterdam a young lady is asking for tips on what to do during her trip. Give her a compliment on choosing Amsterdam because it is simply awesome and include a shortened link (goo.gl) to the blog on your hotel website that just happens to be about the top 10 of things to do during a short break in Amsterdam. (but don’t overdo it). This way you can get the interaction started and after a few messages back and forward she might book your hotel. If not no worries you just generated a bunch of clicks to your hotel website.

5 - Prizes to get the job done. An incentive gets people moving. Give a free weekend in return for the best guest pic of the month …

6 - Local check-in site like FourSquare or Gowalla can help you gain exposure and promote your F& outlets. Give a welcome cocktail when checking in online if staying at the hotel. Or a free upgrade based on availability (1 per day of course ;) ).

7 - Find interesting and funny videos of your destination and add them to your YouTube Channel to create a sort of video tour guide. Compliment the ‘producer’ and let them know you put it on your official channel.

8 - Recycle content across social networks. Your positive reviews should be posted on Twitter and FaceBook, as well as your blog articles. Gather all your guest pics from Picasa, Flickr and Panoramia into one album on FaceBook.

9 - Get a (young) internet savvy person on your team to work on social media. They are fast in picking this stuff and copying best practices from others. He will be more personal in speaking to your guests. And this is very important.

10 - Be funny and original. A sense of humor works better then a formal and conventional approach. What is the last thing you really click-ed on or read on FaceBook? I am sure it was funny or original… it’s what works…

These simple steps will help you grow your fan base and create interaction with your guests. Engagement is not easy online, but these tips and best practices should help your hotel’s social media marketing strategy.

Source

DCW | Shifting From Manual to Automatic in Revenue Management

2011-07-14T14:11:00.002+05:30

Consider the difference between taking the stairs and riding the elevator to get to your high-rise office:

Stairs:
You climb, stair by stair; leg muscles straining every step of the way. Time is slipping by: you have so many things to get done; yet you must climb all of these stairs to get to your destination. Beads of sweat form, you shift the load in your arms: with every floor, the briefcase you’re carrying seems to multiply tenfold in weight.

You finally get to your office—now what is it you were thinking about? What is it that needs to be done?

Elevator:
Press the button. Arrive.

It’s effortless. It’s shifting from manual to automatic.

Now let’s take a leap in logic and apply this same “manual to automatic” concept to hotel revenue management. In today’s environment—with multiple channels and infinite revenue optimization decisions—don’t you think it’s imperative for hotel revenue managers (RMs) to make revenue management effortless by shifting from manual to automatic? Many industries made the transition long ago and have never looked back:

Banking - We go back no further than the 1970s here. Look at the breadth of automation in consumer transactions since then: automation has moved from human tellers with drive-thru pneumatic tubes, to ATMs that count and sort cash deposits, then instantly apply the funds to the customer’s account. Can you imagine the viability of a bank that refused to implement even the simple version of ATM technology today?

Marketing/CRM - Today, customer relationship management (CRM) systems are mobile, and adaptive. Gone are notebooks filled with postcard surveys and the paper databases of names and addresses. In their place are interactive systems, such as digital signs that communicate with customers through their mobile phones. These systems have the ability to remember the customer and adaptively respond with different messages for each “interaction.” Would it be feasible for marketers to return to the old school, manual communication methods?

The questions at the end of these examples may be a little exaggerated, but only to make the following point: it makes no sense today to use the technology of yesterday. Yet, hotel revenue management has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Most revenue managers forego the automation of an effective software solution for the manual process of channel management, inventory control, and forecasting; however, such a system in today’s RM environment is not quick, nor is it effective.

Faster, Better, Stronger

Consider the automation of channel management: there are so many channels available to the consumer today. OTAs, mobile booking, travel agents, telephone, walk-ins… the list goes on and on. And the speed at which emerging channels appear today is incredible.

It is hard enough to effectively manually manage the channels currently available—with new ones popping up every year or so, it could almost be impossible. Now imagine the cost associated with managing all of these channels, both new and old, manually as opposed to automatic. The human incremental cost of monitoring, adjusting, and calibrating each new channel is enough to justify the switch. An RM relying on manual technology for channel management is vulnerable, like a building with an old alarm bell, whose owner hopes that someone will hear.

Not overwhelming enough yet? Let’s take into account inventory management. Not only do RMs need to monitor all booking channels, they also need to instantly update inventory in order to optimize revenue. If a hotel is manually updating inventory, chances are there will be a delay - and chances are there will be money left on the table. To illustrate this, let’s look at a hypothetical scenario:

Before the hotel’s RM can update rates and inventory levels due to a group booking of 20 rooms, the hotel staff has booked two customers over the phone while a three-night booking was made through an OTA. All bookings overlap on the same dates, and the RM has yet to make his initial rate and inventory update.

In this example, since rates weren’t able to reflect the initial change in inventory (i.e., the group booking), money is being left on the table.

Is it significant? Maybe, maybe not; but spread such incidents over three months or a year and it adds up to a significant loss. The RM must update inventory and transmit the rate affect across all channels, instantly. Like a bank customer waiting in line at the drive-thru bank teller: his time is valuable—how much of it is lost relying on old, manual technology?

Of course, keeping revenue optimized also relies on constant rate adjustments based on historical patterns, forecasts, and seasonal highs and lows. Effective software systems start with the appropriate data (based on the RMs recommendations) and adapt to current trends. This automation of booking pace gives RMs the option of simple oversight, or the ability to completely override and control the system based on both forecasted data, and real-time, actual results. Much like today’s CRM systems, software automation in revenue management is adaptive. Automatic booking pace is the difference between standard mail-in CRM response cards and adaptive, interactive mobile marketing communications.

So, given the marked improvements that switching from manual to automatic gives to revenue managers, why not get from point A to point B effortlessly through a software solution?

To not do so is like taking the stairs in a world filled with high-rises and elevators. Why would you?

DCW | Jean Francois Mourier

Founder & CEO of RevPar Guru Inc.
Click here to see his full profile & Articles contributed

KNOW | Gautam Anand's Presentation at The Sleep Event Mumbai

2011-05-22T22:58:00.000+05:30

Gautam Anand is VICE PRESIDENT,OPERATIONS PLANNING&PRE-OPENING SERVICES at ITC Hotels & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR WELCOMEZEST.

He was at The Sleep Event India recently and shared his thoughts on Examining the emerging design trends driving the leisure hotels in India- An Operators perspective.

We caught up to him and he said "India is the new hunting ground for International Hotel Chains.
What will differentiate Indian Hotel Company's is their local knowledge as well a personality rooted in the Local Soil"

Here is the presentation from the event.

What’s In Store for Hotels in the Gogobot Era

2011-05-18T00:57:00.000+05:30

In recent weeks, many articles have touted that Gogobot, a new social networking-centric online travel agency (OTA) and booking site, is becoming a serious threat to Expedia’s market share.

Gogobot is a new travel site that combines social networking with a sleek user interface and an interesting concept: travel plans based on the opinions and reviews of social networking friends instead of “unknowns.” While I’m very impressed with what Gogobot (currently in its beta release) has to offer, in my opinion, Expedia is not in any immediate danger… Yet.

While Gogobot will bring the OTA industry firmly into the Web 2.0 era, it will be a long time before the site takes a bite out of Expedia’s market. Expedia currently commands the online hotel-booking market. In 2010, Expedia was the overwhelming choice for online hotel booking: over 79 million gross room nights were booked through Expedia, with over 53 million travelers visiting Expedia-branded points of sale per month. Expedia offers partner hotels access to 13,000 affiliated sites and the firm actively purchases local advertising through a variety of mediums, such as television and outdoor boards. And in case you were wondering, I’m not providing Expedia with free advertising, I’m just making my point: Expedia’s market share is not in danger anytime in the near future.

That being said, Gogobot stands to revolutionize the way OTA sites use user-generated content (UGC) to drive travelers to book. Gone will be the days when a potential guest plows through anonymous reviews to get a good sense of the property’s condition and service quality. The new era will consist of travelers booking rooms based on reviews by people with whom they are either intimately familiar with or somehow tied to through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Think of it as “six degrees of separation”—times a million. This is the new word-of-mouth advertising and it will dramatically affect hotels. It’s just not 100% certain as to the specific effect that this development will have as of yet.

On the one hand, when it comes to leisure travelers, I have found that many don’t want to admit that they spent a great deal of money for an average/terrible vacation. This bodes well for hotels, as travelers are less likely to overemphasize less significant negative experiences to their online social sphere.

On the other hand, people tend to view their social network sites, walls and friends lists as their personal property, a fact which could dramatically influence reviews of hotel properties. Comments that might not be posted today on sites such as TripAdvisor, might be posted on Gogobot. Consumers are more likely to be brutally honest when they know the people to whom they are providing the review and it will be published review material, not simply a posting for friends to see. I can also almost guarantee negative reviews will be published within minutes of the experience, without time to reflect or calm down, making it a potential hotbed of problems for hotels.

And then there is the business travel segment. Most business travelers would rather be anywhere else in the first place than living out of a suitcase on another business trip, so any mistake made by a hotel will be magnified a hundred-fold and published - again, within minutes.

Of course, all of this is knowledge already held by seasoned hoteliers dealing with UGC on sites like TripAdvisor today. The only difference with the new site is that the credibility of reviews will be taken up a notch—for better or worse—as friends (and friends of friends, and so forth) will be directly linked to OTA booking engines.

With the launch of Gogobot, consumers’ opinions – whether good or bad - might as well be written directly into the booking path. Now is the time for hotels to recognize the ever-growing importance of user-generated content in distinguishing a hotel from its competition and develop a plan before the site’s reviews become a problem.

About Jennifer Rodrigues

Jennifer Rodrigues, Visibility Development Manager with ThinkInk and TravelInk’d, is a seasoned public relations professional with a passion for the hospitality industry, which is expressed in her role at ThinkInk’s travel division, TravelInk’d. At TravelInk’d, she is responsible for developing cost-effective and creative public relations and marketing strategies for clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors. For more information on TravelInk’d, please visit www.travelinkd.com or contact Jennifer at jlr@travelinkd.com. For more news about PR and marketing in the travel industry, follow TravelInk’d on Twitter @TravelInkd and visit the TravelInk’d Facebook Fan Page.

KNOWLEDGE | PPT on Hotel Front Office

2011-05-15T12:56:00.000+05:30

Hotel Front Office
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KNOWLEDGE | Hotel Organization Charts

2011-05-15T12:47:00.002+05:30

Click here to see the document

REPORTS | HVS India Hotel Valuation Index HVI 2011

2011-05-10T10:49:00.000+05:30

As we enter 2011 and start the next decade, it is both important and relevant to look back at the last decade to understand how our industry has evolved during this period and what we can learn from these ten very interesting years.

At the beginning of the last decade, we were a country with only a limited number of international brands and had hotels that were mainly concentrated in the major metros and predominantly in the luxury/first class positioning. Over the years, the hotel industry has undergone significant changes and has reinvented itself in a manner that we believe has benefited the industry as a whole, including all its constituents – hotel guests, investors, employees and other stakeholders.

An analysis of the industry today reveals a landscape where hotels are no longer restricted to major cities but are aggressively growing in Tier 2 and even Tier 3 cities. Guests today have choices in hotel products that range from the luxury to the budget segment. India has now become a market that no serious hotel company can ignore, as evidenced by slew of international brands that are either already established in country or are seriously plotting their entry strategies.

To see the full report, click here

Indian Restaurant Chains Have Overseas Expansion on Their Menus

2011-05-02T22:50:00.000+05:30

Indian chefs aren't very welcome in the United Kingdom these days. New immigration rules have put several stringent restrictions on the hiring of chefs from outside the European Union. "[This] is likely to hit the £3.2 billion (US$5.24 billion) Indian restaurant industry," reported business daily The Economic Times.

Indian restaurants, however, are only too welcome in the U.K. According to food industry estimates, there are more than 10,000 Indian restaurants across the region and the number is growing. Chicken tikka masala regularly emerges on top of U.K. polls as the nation's favorite dish; former foreign secretary Robin Cook anointed it "Britain's national dish."

Across the world too, the popularity of Indian food is growing and Indian restaurant chains are following the taste buds. The companies are small compared to the large U.S. chains. But with the diaspora as a captive customer in the beginning, the Indian companies are testing the waters. "Some domestic [restaurant] companies, after having a successful and stable operation in India, are looking for joint ventures," according to a 2010 National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) white paper. Among the names mentioned are Moti Mahal, Bikanerwala, Bukhara and Sagar Ratna.

Making a personal foray is Sanjeev Kapoor, India's celebrity chef whose book, How to Cook Indian, was launched in the U.S. in April. But the book is really a sideshow. The events are a prelude to the imminent U.S. debut of Sanjeev Kapoor's own chain of restaurants. He already has three chains with locations in West Asia: Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana ("fine dining"), Yellow Chilli ("casual dining") and Options ("rich dining"). In the U.S., these will be launched through franchised operations. "The expansion is a regular progress," says Sanjeev Kapoor. "When business matures, you have to look beyond your home market."

If Sanjeev Kapoor is seeing bright prospects for his food business beyond India, so are others. Even as the domestic consumption story is sizzling, overseas expansion has become a recipe for growth for many Indian food companies. After building a Chinese restaurant empire in India, the country's largest restaurateur, Anjan Chatterjee of Speciality Restaurant, has lined up a public issue and plans to take his hugely successful chain of Mainland China eateries to -- where else? -- Beijing and Shanghai. After Vienna, Prague and Karachi, Café Coffee Day -- India's largest coffee chain -- is serving steaming beverages and snacks in other European nations. And Chennai's favorite fast food joint -- Saravana Bhavan -- is churning out authentic South Indian fare in 10 countries, and is hungry for more.

From joint ventures to franchisees, Indian food chains are setting up their kitchens in Singapore, West Asia, the U.S., Canada and the U.K., all regions with large Indian populations. "There's a huge opportunity to be tapped there," says Samir Kuckreja, president of NRAI, an industry body. For instance, as Sanjeev Kapoor's assorted restaurants are going places in West Asia, he has partnered with a Mumbai-based corporate multi-brand entity Better Value Brands (BVB). The deal, signed last year, envisages a global chain of Indian restaurants branded Indii ("trendy Indian food goes chic"). After establishing an Indii in India, there are plans to take the brand to "reach out to the Indian diaspora in different continents," according to Sanjeev Kapoor.

Experimenting Beyond Curries

The overseas journey for Indian restaurateurs has been triggered by a host of factors. Business owners see a lot of potential because of the Indian diaspora, consultants note, and Indian food is also gaining acceptance worldwide. "People are willing to experiment beyond curries," says Pratichee Kapoor, associate director at Technopak, a New Delhi-based research and consulting firm that released a white paper on the food industry last year.

Along with China, the Indian economy, too, has been the global flavor of the season; Restaurateurs want a piece of the action. While Chinese food has long been internationally accepted, Indian cuisine was often dismissed as nothing but "oily curries" and "tandoori chicken." Not anymore, according to Hemant Oberoi, group executive chef at the Tatas' Taj group of hotels, and the first Indian chef to be nominated to the World Gourmet Club. "There is life beyond tandoori chicken and biryani in Indian food today," he notes. "Now people travel far more, and are familiar with our cuisine."

This is a change from the early 1990s, when the food chain traffic was from the opposite direction. After India opened its doors to economic reform, McDonald's was one of the first to set up shop in the country. Since then, brands like KFC, TGIF, Subway and Pizza Hut have made India their home. The latest is Starbucks, which brewed a deal with Tata Coffee in January, while others like Dixy Chicken [a British-owned chain specializing in halal chicken], Hooters, Grand Canyon Coffee and Burger King are also investing in India.

The entry of foreign players obviously impacted Indian food chains in a big way. The homegrown brands spruced up their menus and upgraded their standards in food, hygiene and service, besides refining the art of marketing eateries. This has given them the heft and confidence to embark on a global expansion. "India is the toast of the season, and restaurateurs want to leverage the popularity of Indian cuisine abroad," notes Pinakiranjan Mishra, partner & industry head (retail and consumer product practice) at Ernst & Young.

Just sprucing up wasn't enough, however. As the food industry became cluttered, it had to expand. But with saturation in the major metros, growth and expansion meant smaller towns, or going overseas. For example, after being in the business for 76 years, the family-owned Nirula's, one of New Delhi's original fast food chains, went national only a decade ago. It had opened three outlets in neighboring Nepal in the 1980s, but closed shop a few years later due to political instability. In March, the company announced that it was stepping on the gas. The next year will see 50 new outlets (half owned and half franchised) in tier II cities such as Patna, Baroda, Pune and Udaipur. An overseas drive -- initially to Sri Lanka, Nepal and West Asia -- will follow.

Real Estate Is the Problem

Local expansion may come first because it is familiar territory. But for Indian food companies, growing at home often means writing a larger check. The soaring property prices in India in two of the leading metros -- Mumbai and New Delhi -- makes business unviable, say restaurateurs. "It's location, location, location for the hotel business. Being on the high street is critical," says Anil Madhok, managing director of Sarovar Hotels in India.

According to Anuj Puri, chairman and country head of realty consultant Jones Lang LaSalle India, occupancy costs in major metros like Mumbai and Delhi are one of the highest in the world. Throw in heat, light and power, and the 10% higher bill can be a killer. For instance, occupancy costs for food chains in India account for 15-16% of revenue, while it is 10-11% in the international arena. "So the margins are lower in India," notes Puri.

No wonder restaurateurs find the grass greener across the border. "We would rather invest in New York and Leicester," Anjan Chatterjee of Speciality Restaurant, whose brands include Oh! Calcutta, Mainland China, Sigree, Haka, Machaan, Flame "N" Grill, Just Biryani and Sweet Bengal, told Realty News last year. "Not only do we have to invest less in real estate overseas, but the returns are also much higher than what we get in India."

India is also a price sensitive market: good quality food is available at affordable prices. A typical South Indian meal of dosa and idli -- rice crepe and rice cakes accompanied with lentil soup and chutney -- costs US$10 in the U.S. It sells for a mere US$1.70 in India. Hike prices in India and sales drop, according to restaurant owners.

At the same time, increasing disposable incomes are the main reason why Indians are spending more on food. The NRAI's food report says the restaurant industry is one of the Indian economy's best kept secrets. The report adds that 50% of urban Indians regularly eat out at restaurants, and 25% list dining out as one of their most enjoyed activities. This is reflected in the US$2 billion organized food industry in India, which has been growing at a 20% to 25% rate over the past few years.

Venture Capital Provides Backing

The industry's growth rate has even attracted venture capitalists. According to Venture Intelligence, which tracks private equity funding in India, over US$113 million has been invested in the fast food space in the past two years. Over the years, the Bangalore-based Coffee Day Holdings, which owns Café Coffee Day, raised private equity and debt funding through its various group companies from AIG, Sequoia, IFC, Deutsche Bank, New Silk Route, JP Morgan, Darby Investments, KKR and Stanchart PE. Café Coffee Day has a current tally of 1,090 outlets, including four in Vienna, 14 in the Czech Republic and one in Pakistan. It is now expanding into eastern Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia before going to West Asia and Southeast Asia.

The coffee chain's offbeat global expansion makes sense. "Eastern Europe has a vibrant coffee drinking culture minus the cutthroat competition of mature Western markets," according to Shweta Shetty, CCD's president for international business. "It offers greater potential for growth." In Vienna, for instance, the per capita consumption of coffee is 8 kg per annum. It is 85 gm in India and 8 gm in Pakistan.

In addition, consider Chatterjee's Speciality Restaurant, where VC firm Saif Partners bought a 20% stake in 2007. The restaurant group has filed papers for an initial public offering, and the proceeds are likely to enhance the growth story. Chatterjee, who has a chain of 62 restaurants and 11 confectionaries under assorted brands in 17 cities in India and one in neighboring Bangladesh, has been talking about global expansion plans for the past two years. However, he was asked by his investors to scale up the home tally to 100 before venturing overseas. Expansion plans include acquiring South Indian and Italian restaurant chains in India. By next year, Chatterjee wants to look at expanding into China, in addition to Dubai, Doha, Qatar and Sri Lanka. He aims to ultimately go to London and the U.S.

Finding the Right People

When Indian restaurant chains go to China, they will face competition -- from Indian restaurant chains that have been started by local Indian entrepreneurs. Antony Munuswamy runs more than 20 Indian Kitchen restaurants across China; he opened the first one in Macao in 1990. Talking of his Shanghai outlet, he says: "We started by targeting the Indians in China. Chinese food is so different -- and very different from what passes as Chinese food in India or the U.S. -- that Indians came here to eat authentic Indian fare." But as Indian condiments became available in China, expats could cook their favorites at home. In addition, there are very few Indians in China. "We are now targeting local Chinese, many of who have developed a liking for Indian food, and tourists," Munuswamy adds. "Every Indian who visits China wants to go back home and say that he has found authentic Goan -- or Saraswat or Malvani or whatever -- cooking in the heart of Beijing."

Restaurateurs in other countries with a higher non-resident Indian population bank on the diaspora more for marketing purposes than as a customer base. Indians introduce their American friends to the cuisine. The Indians return perhaps once a month; the Americans who like the food come back once a week. "Never, ever target non-resident Indians, for they are a niche clientele," cautions Zorawar Kalra, managing director of Wrapster Foods, which has two brands -- Punjab Grill, an upscale restaurant with plans to expand overseas, and Street Foods of India, a fast food chain in India.

But for all the potential, establishing an Indian food chain overseas isn't everyone's cup of tea. "Each new market is challenging," says Sanjeev Kapoor. "You have to understand local competition, demographics, price points, pay structures and local ingredients." Taj's Hemant Oberoi, who has opened seven overseas restaurants for the group, believes that the success of a couple of outlets at home often convinces other firms to venture out, which can be a big mistake. "For business reasons, they try to compromise on recipes because of local tastes, or create fusion cuisine, which doesn't click," he notes.

Then there is the people issue -- finding skilled labor, and paying them can be a challenge. Sarovar Hotels' Madhok, who was once part of India's leading Oberoi group of hotels, reveals how Oberoi ran a 600-room hotel in Singapore with 500 employees. In India, a 500-room hotel had a staff of 1,800. "You cannot have this luxury abroad," because of the salaries employees expect to receive, he says. Madhok pegs payroll at 12-14% of revenue in India, while it is 35% in New York, around 40% in London, and 25% in Dubai and Singapore.

The high cost of labor means Indian chains have to rethink the way they hire. Since a restaurant is only as good as its people, some food chains are beginning from ground zero. To combat the paucity of skilled labor and high employee turnover in the industry, Speciality Restaurant has opened a catering institute in Chatterjee's hometown Kolkata. Apart from retraining employees, the institute puts new recruits through the rigors of catering essentials. Nearly 250 students undergoing training will be absorbed within the group.

Saravana Bhavan, which has 27 restaurants serving South Indian fast food and meals in India and 30 outlets globally, sends people from India to work in their foreign outlets. For one thing, the cost is less. But this works only in budget chains where customers don't expect service with frills. "Theirs is a high volume, low margin venture which makes their business even more labor intensive," notes Madhok.

The other issue is the cuisine itself. If Chinese food has become a global favorite, it is thanks to the adaptability of the cuisine. "What you need to give in Indian cuisine is not fiery concoctions, but flavorful food," according to Vernon Coelho, head of the department of food production at the Institute of Hotel Management at Mumbai.

But success for Indian food chains going overseas will lie in tweaking their offerings to local requirements -- not in taste, but in adhering to foreign regulations and standards, notes Ernst & Young's Mishra. "The timing is right for food companies to travel abroad, but they have a lot of ground to cover."

Source

Taj's first luxury resort opens in Kashmir - Brochure inside!

2011-04-30T23:09:00.000+05:30

Forest, lake, hill and verdant green, the newest property by the Taj group of hotels in this picturesque summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir that opened earlier this month has it all. It is perched atop the Kralsangri Hill, overlooks the Tulip garden, the Dal Lake and the Royal Springs golf course and has the densely forested Zabarwan Hills in the backdrop.

The resort is 20 km from the Srinagar international airport and provides a panoramic view of the entire city.

Dal View Srinagar

A Warm Welcome to Our New Distinguished Contributing Writer : Gabriele Feile + New Article 'What To Put On Your Hotel Facebook Page"

2011-04-17T23:35:00.000+05:30

Gabriele Feile

“I have learnt most things from reading, travelling and asking questions.“ - Gaby
With her company “Kommboutique“, she finds stylish words to make hotels more attractive – to and by unique people.

Click here to see her full profile & Articles contributed

Here is her first article:

Ideas on What to add to your Hotel's Facebook page to make more engaging:

Link to guest comments from review sites such as TripAdvisor: If you do reply to negative reviews in a good way, why not link to those bad comments as well? Yet also offline comments can be shared, as the Hotel Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai shows with their great invention Guest Comments Wednesday. It is a bit of work to scan the comments and to black-out names, yet it is very personal.
Surveys: Ask your fanbase about their opinion on e.g. menu items, names for new products etc.
Lucky draws: Let‘s face it, they still work. Just ensure you use a fair system with chances to win for everyone. And be creative with what you offer as prizes as well as what you ask your fans to do to win. Also, be aware of the Facebook promotion guidelines and ensure you comply with them.
Keep a social calendar and post e.g. wishes for National Holidays: The better you match them to your fanbase (check the countries your fans are from in your insights), the more reactions you will get.
Photos always do work very well: Try to post photos with people on it (check if they are ok with it and avoid tagging unless they agree). If you post photos from staff events, your employees will be delighted and will spread the word. Additionally, the public can see what a great place to work your hotel is.
Encourage your fans to post something personal like a picture of their pet, their favorite cocktail recipe or a photo of them on holiday or in your hotel.
Promote other businesses rather than your own. You can feature your suppliers, a partner hotel in another country, an event in the city or something you found while being online. Anything that seems worth sharing and that creates emotions.
Videos are cool as long as they are not too long. Why don‘t you record one in your hotel with a simple webcam or your smart phone and upload it. Do put it on YouTube (if you do not have a channel – get one now!) and link to it on your page. Alternatively, you can upload it to Facebook directly. Or do both. Have a look at the page of the hotel nhow Berlin for some cool music videos.
Post job vacancies in your own hotel and make sure you encourage your fans to tell their friends as well. Or ask them for candidate recommendations they can send by e-mail to keep them private.
Do post something about your hotel promotions (F&B activities, packages etc.) from time to time. You can just post it, link to your website, write a note, upload a video or create an event. After all, your fans want to be informed what is going on there and do want to come there once a while. They wouldn‘t be fans if they didn‘t, would they? Stick to the 80/20 rule and hence only promote your hotel directly at a rate of 20 %. Fill the other 80 % with the above.

Why don‘t you try those things and let us know how they worked?

Use the Facebook page to post your feedback: www.facebook.com/kommboutique

DCW | Understanding The Anatomy Of An Organization

2011-04-16T15:48:00.000+05:30

A new article by L Aruna Dhir, our Distinguished Contributing Writer

Once we are out of the somewhat carefree college and university days we end up spending a major chunk of our lives in professional organizations, quite until it is time to hang up our boots and retire to a slow-paced, less hectic twilight years.

Hence it is essential to understand what are these buildings all about where we spend anywhere between 10-12 hours of our waking up time and 5-6 days of our week. As we all know, the building are much more than edifices of mortar, glass and steel often designed by award-winning companies. They are actually living things that breathe, inhale and exhale energy and embody characteristics and emotions mirroring all of us who go in and work there. What essentially forms the baseline of these buildings is three important constituent elements – the livewire organizations, the complex set of colleagues we work with and ‘WE’ ourselves who bring in our unique disposition to the matrix, sometimes maddening but always mindful of all these elements.
Therefore, it becomes imperative to understand what kind of organizations would we like to work in - a progressive organization where we can achieve more or would we rather stay put in a mediocre one striving to improve it?

We all have worked in both kinds of organisations. There, really, is no ideal organisation and every place has its mixed dynamics as much as there are a matrix of people who work there and bring in their set of values, drives and energies adding to or depleting the corporate culture.

I used to lament about the deep-rooted politics, credit-stealing, clique driven and yes-man culture in my last organisation. And now when my niece talks of her experience with a Swiss MNC or a progressively Indian Legal Services / Development sector and my husband brings his woes from the Consumer Durables line of business, I notice that things are not very different. And that the more the companies may be different in their areas and appeal, the more they are the same in their cultural dynamics.

I am sure, most of us want to work with wonderfully progressive organisations with utopian work environments without realising that each of us are essential cogs in the corporate wheel.

My experience says that we need to do a lot of internalization and introspection in order to make our organisations optimum places to be in.

This brings us to the second component – our colleagues. How do we feel about the effect of our Co-Workers? It is, indeed, a mixed bag of thoughts and feelings depending on the personal and professional characteristics of the person in question.

There are great and efficient workers with questionable personal attributes.
There are excellent people with poor set of work related skills.
There are pathetic workers with deplorable personas, AND
There are wonderful, top notch colleagues with exemplary attitudes.

No organisation is immune to this awesome foursome of categories.

Our response to them, our kinetics of equations at work and the interconnected web of relationships therein is a result of the chain of reactions set off by each of these conductors. Isn't it???
This finally brings us to the most important component. We, ourselves.

What single-most important quality should underline the personality that defines our professional identity and that would help us row our career boat in smooth waters avoiding choppy waves?

Here's my pick - It is definitely, Passion, Zeal, Enthusiasm, fire in the belly........and any other name that you may call it by.

Passion for one’s work ensures that the tiller paves smoothly all the paths that lead to his work or Goal. Be it, then, the path of wisdom or desire or honesty or punctuality or efficiency or being not just able to lead but always blend well with the team.

And because one has the passion, it certainly means that one has made sure that the essential requisites that arm him well for the road ahead - such as education or experience - are well honed.

Likewise, while passion can make people feel flighty, it still is going to ensure that for the success to be achieved again and again, shades of wisdom are roundly and squarely employed.

Finally, if it weren't for passion, then serendipity, creative genius, excellence, going beyond the brief and the marvel in the mundane would well be lost.

And keeping all the three cogs of the big wheel well oiled and continuously serviced will ensure a smooth and long professional ride.

Yet, having said all this, when the going gets really tough (and absolutely against your grain) then the tough get going (to find another place under the sun).

About The Author

L. Aruna Dhir is a consummate public relations and communications professional, with stints at Imperial New Delhi, Oberoi Group, Hyatt among others.
Click here to see her full profile

Prognostication & Pricing: Relying on Only a Few Statistics is a Poor RevPAR Strategy

2011-04-14T13:53:00.002+05:30

By Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of REVPAR GURU

Discussions about whether hotels should or shouldn’t raise rates have dominated RevPAR pricing strategy in 2011, as evidenced by this recent article The fundamentals of sustainable hotel demand growth. Only one thing has been determined: hoteliers should proceed with caution, especially when given generalized predictions based on one or two “key” variables. Instead of creating a strategy focused on incrementally raising rates, hotels should be prepared to respond to market variables by both raising and lowering rates. Which action you choose should always be determined by utilizing the most up-to-date information and variables based on your market, and should always be done with flexibility. Let’s take a look at the main topics regarding the latest prognostications:

ADR and Occupancy
ADR is far from being established as a variable that, by itself, represents the road to recovery. While 2010 provided a boon to the hotel industry, not all hotels experienced an upswing, and ADR grew primarily through occupancy-driven strategies such as heavy discounting and the “return” of business travel. What happens when the strategy shifts from occupancy-driven discount rates to a strategy that focuses on pre-recession rates based on a single year’s ADR growth? Maybe demand accommodates the increased rate. Or maybe such an increase in rates kills tourism growth and lowers ADR. Both scenarios are possible—the fact is, nobody can know for sure, even when given every variable known to man, much less one or two.

Not to throw cold water on what is otherwise great news—2010’s ADR growth is a very positive statistic for the industry—but it is only one element of recovery. ADR and occupancy are just that, statistics. While they provide a representation of the past, they should only be taken as two of many variables to forecast the future. ADR and occupancy should only help in formulating your RevPar strategy, not determine it.

Economic Forecasts
While we all like to believe that economic recovery is imminent, it’s not a foregone conclusion. Most people didn’t see it coming in the first place, so placing an abundance of faith on forecasts that predict exactly when hotels will be “out” of the recession is foolhardy. Furthermore, there is almost as much speculation on a “Double Dip Recession,” suggesting the importance of pricing based on both “favorable” and “unfavorable” forecasting data—humans tend to favor the former, not the latter.

Interest rates, unemployment, real estate recovery (both nationally and locally) and GDP growth all need to improve. Using only a selective few indicators such as “pricing” and “local economic activity” to generate a RevPAR strategy is much like buying stock based on only two earnings ratios: you’re taking a gamble by not completing all of the research necessary. Hoteliers must hedge their rate-pricing strategy by carefully monitoring all variables.

Bottom Line: Micromanage Your “Sphere”
Micromanaging room rates based on multiple variables within your own sphere will always yield the best results for pricing strategy. While there is always some prediction involved, the most effective solution lies in forecasting based on all meaningful variables and marketing channels. A successful RevPAR strategy is then achieved by adjusting rates (either lower or higher) to correspond with your existing inventory. It’s a monumental task, but it’s the closest “take it to the bank” strategy in the hotel industry—regardless of the prevailing prognostications.

About REVPAR GURU
REVPAR GURU provides hotels around the world with an alternative revenue management software solution, designed to deliver maximum bookings and profits. As REVPAR GURU's custom-designed Yield Dynamic Price Engine is the only real-time revenue management software available on the market, it meets the rapidly changing needs of hotels in a very demanding business environment. REVPAR GURU’s solution offers dynamic rate optimization, real-time pricing, integrated internet and extranet yield channel management and GDS sales distribution, to increase a hotel's RevPAR intelligently and effectively, while maintaining rate integrity and automated rate parity. Since 2004, REVPAR GURU’s software solution has been used by hotels worldwide to increase occupancy and RevPAR.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, additional information can be found at www.revparguru.com or by calling +1.786.478.3500.

10 Cool Things to Do in Bangkok - suggestions by Four Seasons

2011-04-11T23:58:00.000+05:30

Bangkok … a name that conjures up images of the exotic East, of shimmering golden temples, of bustling street markets, of tuk-tuks zooming through the streets, of sights, smells, sounds. A name that was immortalised in the 1980s by the song One Night in Bangkok.
But Bangkok deserves much more than one night. And here are ten reasons why:

1. A city by any other name

Known as Krung Thep (City of Angels) to locals, the full name of Bangkok, one of the world’s longest place names, is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. Wondering what it means? The full name can be translated as “the city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.”

2. Shop 'til you drop

Think more than 5,000 stalls spread over 35 hectares is doable? Then head to Chatuchak Weekend Market, a roller-coaster shopping experience where one can find practically anything. From vintage clothing to beautiful antique silks, from cheap and cheerful t-shirts to the latest up-and-coming young Thai designer threads, and from oil paintings to puppies to antiques both faux and real, Chatuchak has something for everyone. One tip – if one sees something one likes, it's buy it immediately. The chances of ever find the way back are as slim as the labyrinthine narrow alleys.

Other great shopping experiences include the glittering, glamorous Gaysorn, Central World and Siam Paragon malls, all within a few minutes’ walk of Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. Or how about Talad Rot Fai, also known as the Train Market, one of the city’s newest night markets, open on Saturdays and Sundays, and located by rusting railways tracks on land owned by the State Railway of Thailand. Here retro-lovers can find vintage clothes, antiques, mid-century furniture and all sorts of other treasures laid out on the ground, in front of old VW camper vans, or inside Rod’s Antiques in the huge old railway warehouse. Grab a beer and a few sticks of satay from one of the food stalls, and dive in.

3. Jurassic park

Join the locals for an early-morning jog or a spot of tai chi on a Sunday morning in Lumphini Park, and there are more surprises in store than just the sheer number of people running around the carefully-groomed pathways. Lumphini is Bangkok’s very own Jurassic park, home to a population of water monitor lizards. Water monitors can grow to around ten feet in length, but most in the park are a more conservative three to four feet long. They like to swim in the cool waters of the ponds, or sun-bathe on the lawns. Not known to be particularly dangerous, they can still elicit a fright if encountered unexpectedly, and they do have a habit of looking one straight in the eye and licking their lips!

4. Street life

The streets of Bangkok are colourful, lively places, sometimes noisy and crowded, but always a source of life. A stroll along the city’s streets can lead to stalls of sarongs, dresses and Hawaiian shirts (especially popular around Songkran, or Thai New Year), false teeth sellers, ad-hoc bars sprouting up from nowhere in the late evening, and vendors selling anything from plants to sweeping brushes to delicious local iced Thai tea from the back of handcarts.

The streets are also a great place to sample some of the city’s famous street food. From steaming bowls of noodles to sticks of charcoal-grilled chicken and pork satay, from pad thai cooked in a wok over huge flames to the irresistible mango and sticky rice dessert, and from crispy scorpions to crickets and other bugs for the more adventurous, one need never go hungry in this city. A slightly off-the-beaten-track place for visitors to discover their own favourite dishes is Sukhumvit Soi 38, a small alley of street stalls leading off the main Sukhumvit Road just by the Thong Lo BTS Skytrain station. Only open in the evenings, the stalls here stay open late to cater for the post-clubbing crowd. So if all that dancing in the clubs of Thong Lo makes the stomach rumble, this is the place to come.

5. Water, water everywhere

There aren’t that many places in the world where it’s acceptable to empty a bucket of water on a passerby, or take aim at a total stranger with a water pistol. But in April in Thailand, this is exactly what happens – and visitors are invited to join in the fun. Every April sees the arrival of Thai New Year, also known as the Songkran Water Festival. Celebrated from April 13 to 15, the festival embraces goodwill, love, compassion and thankfulness, using water as the means of expression. Originally a sign of respect, the traditional water pouring has evolved into good-natured country-wide water throwing. Locals and tourists alike roam the streets armed with buckets of water, or wait on the side of the road with water pistols to drench friends and strangers alike – all in the name of fun. A word of warning to visitors to the Kingdom of Thailand at this time: you will get wet, so try and remain cool (a good dousing with water usually helps) and join in this good-natured fun with a smile and sense of humour.

6. Escape to the islands

Bangkok is a big, bustling city, and that’s what makes it exciting. But sometimes it’s good to get away, and with some of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world right on the city’s doorstep, escaping to an island paradise is quick and easy. Without jumping on a plane, perhaps the Bangkokians’ favourite is Koh Samed, a beautiful island with white sand beaches, crystal-clear waters, and friendly people. Koh Samed (also sometimes written as Koh Samet) can be reached by car and boat from Bangkok in about two and a half hours. From the boat pier in Ban Phe, take either a local ferry (fun and cheap, yet slow) or a chartered speedboat (fun and still quite cheap, but fast). The island is relatively small, but with something for everyone. From the party beaches in the northeast to the quiet getaways in the south, all one needs to do is find a favourite beach, dip toes in the water, and relax.

7. Shrines to Buddhism, and consumerism

The area directly surrounding Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok is the commercial heart of the city, with some of its swankiest shopping malls close at hand. It’s also a spiritual destination for local Thais and visitors alike, being home to six of Bangkok’s most popular shrines. All are within a short walk of the Hotel, and offer guests a great insight into the spiritual side of the city. As long as one is dressed correctly (no bare shoulders or shorts, and it’s better to wear covered shoes), visitors are welcome to pay their respects at each of the shrines. The most popular is the Erawan Shrine, also known as San Phra Phrom, believed to bring good fortune. Stalls selling colourful flowers and offerings line the street outside. Why not join the locals and pay respects? And to gain that extra bit of merit, pay the traditional dancers at the shrine to perform a dance to accompany prayers.

8. Incredible, beautiful, spectacular flowers, available 24/7

It might not be feasible to take them home, but the 24-hour flower market, Pak Klong Talad, is a temptation nonetheless. It’s open 24 hours a day, and is full of the heady scents of fresh jasmine and bitter marigolds, and the riotous colours of fresh orchids. The stalls that line the streets sell huge bundles of greenery, orchids in vibrant yellows, reds and magentas, enormous sprays of roses, and giant swathes of marigolds. Truckloads of lotus flowers are delivered throughout the day, bundled up in their own leaves, for sale at the side of the road at an unbelievably cheap price. Head into the covered alleyways and the senses with the fragrance of bags full of tiny jasmine blossoms, a scent never to be forgetten. Be sure to take a camera to capture it all, and if one simply can't resist, Four Seasons will provide vases to decorate one's hotel room.

9. I want to ride my bicycle

Bangkok may be well known for its traffic jams, but it’s also an amazing place for a cycling tour. Whether pedalling through the old city and Chinatown, past ancient temples, billowing clouds of incense smoke, and crumbling colonial-style buildings, or heading over to the other side of the Chao Phraya river to see a different side of Bangkok, complete with canals, coconut palms and emerald green rice fields, this is a great way to see the sights at a slower pace. It’s also a wonderful way to meet the locals – be sure to try out a “Sawasdee” greeting and smile; this is the Land of Smiles, after all. The Hotel's concierge can suggest reliable tour companies who can lead a cycling safari of the lesser-known sights of this incredible city.

10. Adrenalin junkies

If just experiencing the excitement of being in Bangkok itself isn’t enough of an adrenalin kick, perhaps a few hours throwing oneself off a tree into the jungle canopy will do the trick. The Flight of the Gibbon ziplining experience will give just the burst of adrenalin one seeks. A 90-minute drive away from the city and located in the rainforests of Chonburi, home to giant squirrels, barking deer, hornbills and gibbons, the zipline experience involves jumping off 24 different tree-top platforms and launching oneself through the trees to the next one over a course of wires three kilometres long. Suitable for adventurers of any age, this is sure to be an unforgettable day out for anyone wanting to unleash their inner Tarzan.

Source

Mauritius-Top 7 Hotels

2011-03-31T23:28:00.000+05:30

Mauritius… this sparkling island set in a radiant cobalt sea is the acme of warmth and hospitality. Small wonder that the well-heeled tourist is hard put to make a choice when it comes to accommodation of the luxurious variety. Here is a list of seven of the best hotels in Mauritius.

Le Touessrok

Sensuously chic this luxury hotel and its surroundings are calculated to leave the traveler breathless. Laid out on a velvety stretch of white and golden coastline, the resort looks out towards the pearly blue Trou d’eau Douce Bay. The hotel has two private islands where guests can chill out with each of their wishes attended to with utmost care. Golfing enthusiasts will love its golf course ranked by the Golf International Magazine at Number One. Don’t miss the Givenchy Spa, winner of the Diner’s Club Silver Award.

The Grand Mauritian Resort and Spa

This resort is set in the backdrop of green sugar cane fields, verdant landscape, and a deep blue sky with white floating clouds. Unostentatious by choice there is a subtle beauty about this resort that takes its guests by surprise. All the rooms and suites of this hotel are bathed in Mauritian décor and the large ballroom and dining venues most beautifully appointed.

Constance Le Prince Maurice

The unspoiled view, the thatched rustic appearance and the spicy aroma laced with the warm breath of the ocean is what sets Constance Le Prince Maurice apart. Eponymously named after Prince Maurice of Nassau and Orange it evokes the sentiment of another era. Guests are made to feel pampered and special. The staff is on attendance 24/7 and does its best to anticipate all your needs. Do check out its floating restaurant, Le Barachois with its natural fish reserve.

Le Saint Geran

Spend your vacations in style this summer. The coconut palm beaches, the lush gardens and the delectable sea breeze will render your experience an unforgettable one. This is one resort that offers you beautiful views of the Indian Ocean no matter which suite or room you are booked in. The suites have a private terrace each and all guests are entitled to personalized butler service throughout the day.

Royal Palm

The Royal Palm has been billed as the hotel for guests with an aristocratic lineage. The silence and the calm is a heavenly getaway from the hurly burly of public life. Take a walk on its sunny beach close to the Grand Baie, soak in its Spa designed by Clarins, and pick out a range of international foods from the gorgeous terrace restaurant known as La Goélette. The hallmark of this discreetly lavish resort is the highly personalized attention you are likely to get as a guest.

Do you wonder that it has a strong tradition of repeat guests and a staff that has endured for decades?

The Residence

Voted the best hotel in the country The Residence is redolent with the theme of colonialism. Thanks to its quaint structure or layout, you cannot help feeling that you are walking through the pages of history. Its pristine beach stretched out over a mile ringed by lush gardens, its palatial rooms and suites, not to mentions its exotic cuisine will make you want to come back for more.

Don’t miss the spa experience, especially the caviar facial and massage.

The Oberoi

Rustic and refined The Oberoi in Mauritius shows off its emerald backdrop like none other. Located over 20 acres with a gorgeous view of the ocean this resort is a favorite with sport lovers offering as it does, a panoply of aquatic sports including diving, water skiing, wind surfing, and sailing. Its rooms and suites replete with grand furniture, slatted ceilings, and terraced gardens spell the ultimate in luxury. The enormous dining space too, is a symphony in opulence- both visual and tactile. The menu has to be tasted to be believed featuring as it does

Oriental, African, Creole, and European fare.

Altogether, a highly palatable experience all the way.

Author Bio:

Angelina Christy is a travel author who has written many articles that keeps on guiding the
travelers throughout the world. Angelina herself is an avid traveler who has traveled more
than 22 countries. She also talk about travel options like flights to tokyo and flight to tokyo that
explains how tourists can minimize the cost of their travel fares.

10 psychology studies every hotelier must know

2011-03-17T03:05:00.000+05:30

What is this about? What should you expect in the next few pages?

I enjoy psychological research and over the years I have collected some favorites of mine. This is just the 10 that I think you as hotelier would enjoy to read about and the ones that I think can make a difference, a huge difference to your business / operations.

Read on then.

Click here to read

VIDEOS | How to open a bottle of Champagne

2011-03-10T22:10:00.000+05:30

Ways To Make Hotels' Loyalty Programs More Effective

2011-02-25T21:32:00.000+05:30

By Denis Huré, CEO and Jill Goldworn, President and Co-Founder of the first club™

There is no doubt that loyalty programs are on the rise today. In the U.S. alone, there are 1.8 billion individual memberships in loyalty programs1, everything from airlines to convenience stores to movie theatres. In light of this huge number, the general perception is that consumers are happy to join loyalty programs¾eager to enjoy the added rewards that come with loyalty programs. The reality, however, is that they’re not. Confirming this expectation gap, a recent survey by the Chief Marketing Officer Council found that some 32% of consumers surveyed felt that participation in loyalty programs holds “little to no value.” Ouch.

What has emerged as a result of this disconnect is a new direction in loyalty programs: instant reward redemptions. In the past, instant rewards have been limited to cash or discounts at the register; maybe a free item of very low value. Technology, thankfully, has given rise to this new breed of instantly redeemable rewards – the digital, downloadable kind. These instant rewards promise to finally eliminate some of the traditional problems associated with loyalty programs, like engagement and delivering value.

Problems with Traditional Programs

According The Journal of Retailing, “the rewards associated with loyalty programs provide a means to establish reciprocity between the customer and the company.2” But problems that have plagued this interaction, or reciprocity, throughout the years and usually stemming from the delay between collection and redemption by loyalty program members. Whether a program’s threshold for redemption is too high, or the redemption process is too cumbersome (which often the case, ask any FFP member), traditional loyalty programs suffer from program inefficiency. And here’s where instant redemption provides instant relief, specifically in two areas:

Low-Threshold Consumers

In the past, a big problem has been the loss of “low-threshold” consumers. For these consumers, who maintain a low accumulation of points (or whatever program currency), the traditional loyalty program concept fails: if the point threshold is too high, the program has become irrelevant because the consumer feels the reward is not obtainable3. In such cases, the loyalty program is actually hurting the brand. It suffers because the consumer disengages from the brand before they have received an added "reward" for membership.

Instant reward redemptions provide companies a very affordable alternative to offer these low-threshold consumers an easy way to burn low point accumulations. Loyalty program managers also benefit, as studies have shown that these “light buyers” represent a large increase in spending and purchase frequency post-redemption4. In other words, they’re not a segment to be ignored.

Delayed Redemption

Another area of concern with loyalty programs is cumbersome redemption processes. Regardless of the delivery method, timing is of the essence in loyalty programs. In fact, the timing is (almost) everything. The longer the delay in collecting a reward, the less powerful the loyalty creation5. Here, instant rewards reduce the delay between collection and redemption and, therefore, a larger chance for loyalty engagement success.

Digital Content: The Ultimate Instant Reward Redemption

Digital content, offering loyalty members downloadable content (such as the latest selection in music, movies, software, books, games, magazines), is emerging as the premier medium for the delivery of instant reward redemption. The sheer selection of digital content that is available, along with its monetization potential, makes it an excellent vehicle for instant reward redemption programs. Consumers want instant rewards, and digital content is the next logical step. Research from Mintel confirms this fact: 47% of consumers surveyed said their choice of loyalty program would be influenced by instant redemption options, such as cash or discounts. Jackpot!

So with this information acquired from recent surveys and obvious positive consumer sentiment, the next question seems to be: is digital content a good substitution for cash or discounts?

In a word, yes. According to Mintel’s study, 61% of respondents said that lower overall cost for merchandise they would have purchased anyway is an important attribute of a loyalty or rewards program. It’s feasible to assume then, that relevant content¾content that the consumer is likely to purchase regardless¾is a good substitute for cash or discounts. And considering that 65% of internet users have paid for intangible digital content, there is a huge market for relevant and engaging digital content waiting to be developed6. In the UK, a recent YouGov survey showed that among those aged 18-34 who had engaged in digital activities, 22% spent more than £5 on digital books, the digital content category receiving the highest spend7.

Digital content presents a win-win strategy

Digital content gives businesses the chance to burn points off their balance sheet, while offering the entire spectrum of loyalty program participants the opportunity to redeem points for merchandise in which they are interested or already purchasing on a regular basis.

In essence, instant digital rewards have bridged the gap between reality and perception. By making rewards instantly redeemable, businesses can give their customers the value that they seek: relevant rewards instantly and anywhere, loaded onto the devices they use in their everyday lives. Instant digital rewards, it seems, have created a new trend in loyalty programs: programs that work¾for everyone.

Loyalty: Looking Forward

Featuring latest statistics and defining characteristics of various industry loyalty programs presented by the first club™, “Loyalty: Looking Forward” can help program managers grasp emerging loyalty trends and their digitized, instant future. To download a copy of the whitepaper, please visit www.thefirstclub.net/en/white-papers

# # #

About the first club™
the first club™ is the first global solutions provider to present a new, better, and more effective way to offer rewards and build loyalty by delivering relevant, digital content that is instantly gratifying to today’s consumers. the first club™ digital solutions can enhance loyalty, promotions, incentives and any type of rewards programs by offering the latest in premium content that will engage consumers worldwide, with attainable low-level rewards. Consumers can redeem rewards instantly to access the very latest in digital content in 12 languages, including millions of music tracks, mobile phone apps, games, eBooks, audio books, and soon casual games, digital magazines, movies and TV shows to engage with their favorite brands. the first club™ solutions are easily integrated into existing loyalty and reward programs, are cost-efficient and scalable to encourage low level reward redemption, increase customer loyalty and create additional revenues for brands. For more information, please visit www.thefirstclub.net, or the first club™ consumer site, www.thefirstclub.com.

Sources/References/Notes

1. http://www.colloquy.com/article_view.asp?xd=5889

2. Kumar, V., and Denish Shah. 2004. "Building and sustaining profitable customer loyalty for the 21st century." Journal of Retailing 80, no. 4: 317-330.

3. O'Brien, Louise, and Charles Jones. 1995. "Do Rewards Really Create Loyalty?." Harvard Business Review 73, no. 3: 75-82.

4. Liu, Yuping, and Rong Yang. 2009. "Competing Loyalty Programs: Impact of Market Saturation, Market Share, and Category Expandability." Journal of Marketing 73, no. 1: 93-108.

5. Dowling, Grahame R., and Mark Uncles. 1997. "Do Customer Loyalty Programs Really Work?." Sloan Management Review 38, no. 4: 71-82.

6. Jansen, J.. December 30, 2010.http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Paying-for-Content.aspx (accessed February 13, 2011).

7. http://www.kpmg.com/UK/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/NewsReleases/Pages/SmartphonesandTabletsdriverevenuefordigitalcontent,saysKPMGreport.aspx

8. Mintel data provided in the PR Newswire piece Instant Redemption Opportunities Lure in Loyalty Program Customers, Reports Mintel

9. -CMO (32% hold “little to no value”) taken from “Loyalty: Looking Forward.”

how do you determine if a recipe is gluten-free?

2011-02-16T22:26:00.000+05:30

Here are some guidelines to follow
1 - Recipes that use flour (bleached white flour, whole wheat, cracked wheat, barley, semolina, spelt, farro, kamut, triticale) or vital wheat gluten are not gluten-free.

2 - Recipes featuring pasta, including cous cous, are not gluten-free.

3 - Alcoholic drinks including beer, stout, ale, guinness and lager. Most contain gluten, however, a range of gluten free boutique beers are available. This also includes meat, sausages or other food cooked in beer too.

4 - Cereal and baking products – wheat, wheaten corn flour, semolina, couscous, wheat bran, barley, oats, porridge, breakfast cereals containing wheat, rye, oats or barley, corn or rice cereals containing malt extract, some icing sugar mixtures and baking powder.

5 - Recipes calling for breadcrumbs, croutons, cereal, cookie crumbs, pastry, crackers, are not gluten-free.

6 - Snacks such as liquorice, some lollies and chocolates, packet savoury snacks and some flavoured potato and corn chips.

7 - Hidden gluten and wheat can be found in gravy, broth, soy sauce, malt vinegar, marinades, sauces, salad dressings, cured meats, sausages and burgers, hot dogs, self-basting poultry, flavoured and herb cheeses, spice blends including curry powder, dry mustard, canned and prepared soups, tomato paste, sweeteners, beverages, flavoured coffees, herbal teas, roasted, flavoured or spiced nuts, jerky, flavoured yogurts and puddings, some chocolate and chocolate chips, cocoa and instant coffee mixes, flavoured vinegars, cooking wines, flavoured liqueur and liquor, wine coolers, ice cream and frozen desserts.

Source

Best Practices in Hotel Loyalty Programs for 2011

2011-01-26T22:54:00.002+05:30

What hotel marketers and loyalty program managers need to learn to increase bookings from their most profitable guests: Repeat customers
By Denis Huré, CEO and Jill Goldworn, President and Co-Founder of the first club™

While most hotels have loyalty programs, they are definitely not living up to their potential. On average, only 20 to 40% of program members regularly accrue points toward award redemption. That means hotels are losing out on significant opportunities to encourage at least 60% of their customers to become repeat and loyal customers ¹– and as repeat customers can be the most profitable ones, that means hotels are leaving a lot of money on the table.

Moreover, travel industry loyalty reward programs have seen a 31% decline in active participation since 2007, according to research from Colloquy. This decline is attributable to a decrease in business and leisure travel and cuts in corporate travel budgets, which only underscores the fact that hotels need more compelling loyalty initiatives to attract and retain frequent guests.

It’s worth mentioning that not every trend in these programs is negative. In fact, overall hotel loyalty program participation is actually up 19% this year², most likely owing to the recent recession and consumers’ heightened quest for the best deals when planning travel. As the economy rounds into recovery, however, consumer interest in loyalty programs may also start to fade, reducing the effectiveness of these programs once again.

Hotel loyalty programs – also known as frequent guest programs (FGPs) - of the past offered simple point accrual for nights stayed and preferred service as a benefit of membership. To survive through 2011 and beyond, however, they must offer more value and simpler reward redemption to remain attractive to today’s consumer. Ease of redemption is key; consumers can become more excited and loyal to a hotel or chain after their first redemption, facilitating their transition from "experimenters" dipping their toe in the loyalty program waters to profitable, consistent members who keep coming back.

So what do customers look for today in a hotel loyalty program? What rewards will be most popular for 2011? What should hotels do to make sure that their loyalty program appeals to the widest segment of travelers?

The answers to these pertinent questions can be found in some of 2011’s loyalty industry best practices, many of which are currently being implemented by forward-thinking hotel chains. These practices will be the cornerstones of many hotel loyalty programs in the coming year, as large chains and small hotel groups alike will seek to improve their offerings in a post-recession environment.

Emphasis on Value
Of course, just because the recession may officially be over doesn’t mean consumers will abandon their search for value. Though the emphasis on value this year may be less distinct among business travelers (and the corporations that pay for their lodging), this emphasis remains in the leisure market. Hotels primarily serving the more temporary, vacation and family segments should take special care to integrate value-oriented loyalty programs in 2011, as it is this aspect that consumers frequently cite as most appealing - 32% said the recession has made their participation in rewards programs more important, research from Colloquy has revealed.

Easier and Incremental Redemption
One of the ways hotels can demonstrate value within the scope of their loyalty programs is by making reward redemption more convenient. Hotel loyalty programs have historically relied on the improved or increased services that are offered as benefits of program membership. That is, a Marriott Rewards® member, for instance, enjoys a higher level of service than a one-time lodger simply by participating in the program.

While this type of reward can be effective in encouraging repeat business, the real motivator for multiple repeat stays is the accrual of loyalty points. As with airline loyalty programs, however, customers often become frustrated with the amount of commitment necessary to earn enough points for a free room night. A full 37% of respondents to a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council survey indicated that they found individual points to hold little or no value, with another 38% citing "too many conditions or restrictions" among their top complaints about loyalty programs.

It is reasonable, therefore, to say that hotels should be moving in a direction that reduces limitations on reward redemption – a strategy that includes an evolution away from the “free room night” as the sole reward for loyal behavior, and instead encourages guests with rewards that are attainable from just a single stay. These rewards are redeemable at any time and bring the guest right back to the brand’s site – after he or she has left the property to re-engage with the hotel brand once again.

Digital Rewards
This is where digital rewards content – such as instantly-downloadable music, movies, video games, eBooks, software, magazines and so on. – have become increasingly attractive and effective. This is because the value of a loyalty reward has as much to do with its relevance to consumers as to how easy it is to earn enough points in order to redeem these. In much simpler terms, loyalty program members want useful prizes and digital rewards at any easily attainable (read: lower) level.

This makes good sense – consumers are increasingly interested in digital rewards, and tend to perceive them as valuable. Gearing a loyalty program more toward relevant, immediately-redeemable digital gifts like MP3 tracks, eBooks, and downloadable movies shifts the emphasis from long-range point accrual (for a free room night, for instance) to a higher-interaction, incremental redemption process.

This results in more interaction between the consumer and the hotel brand through the loyalty program, not only encouraging repeat business but also improving members’ relationship with the brand.

Digital-centric loyalty programs align directly with prevailing consumer trends. Digital content consumption is moving from an ownership to an access model, with typically "owned" media types like DVDs on the decline, and access to streaming content on the rise. Providing access to digital content as a reward puts a hotel’s loyalty program squarely at the front of consumer preference and profitability.

And there is a huge upside to digital rewards for hotels and loyalty marketers: because digital rewards are redeemed more often, they reduce the burden of unclaimed loyalty points on hotels. Unclaimed points become financial liabilities for the hotels offering the programs, as they're effectively benefits owed that go unused. Loyalty programs that offer easily redeemable, digital rewards increase the redemption rate and cut down on these kinds of liabilities, making a hotel's finances cleaner and more straightforward.

Loyalty in 2011
These three best practices are quite simple to implement, but carry great potential for both sophistication and efficacy in their execution. Emphasis on value implies presenting consumers with a loyalty-based bargain, but actually represents a comprehensive approach to loyalty programs overall. Offering multiple levels of redemption options is a strategy that has proven effective again and again at increasing consumer engagement and loyalty. New technologies, increasingly sophisticated mobile devices, and the growing rate of consumer adoption of digital content across all aspects of their lives – from iPods to mobile apps - have all supported the growth in popularity of digital rewards, which offers attainable, instant rewards that consumers will actually want to redeem their points for.

By following these loyalty program best practices, hotels across the globe can move their loyalty programs forward into the new decade, and grow their bottom lines in 2011.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time for your loyalty program to go digital.

¹Loyalty Traveler blog
² Colloquy

About the first club™, Jill Goldworn & Denis Huré
the first club™ is the first global solutions provider to present a new, better, and more effective way to offer ewards and build loyalty by delivering relevant, digital content that is instantly gratifying to today’s consumers. the first club™ integrated digital solution can enhance loyalty programs, promotions, incentives and any type of rewards programs by offering the latest in premium content that will engage consumers worldwide. Consumers can access the very latest in digital content including millions of mp3 tracks, mobile phone apps, games, eBooks, audio books, and soon casual games, digital magazines, movies and TV series, in up to 12 languages, to engage with their favorite brands. Using cloud-based technology, the first club™ solutions are easily integrated into existing programs, are cost-efficient and scalable to capture more of the burn budget, and can even create additional revenues. As the co-founders of the first club™ and with more than 30 years of combined experience in the loyalty and digital licensing industry, Jill Goldworn and Denis Huré have been long-time advocates for the importance of providing rewards to increase loyalty program participation across all industries. For more information, please visit www.thefirstclub.net

2011: A Close Look into the Hotelier’s Revenue Management Crystal Ball

2011-01-11T15:32:00.002+05:30

The industry will continue to grow, largely because of technological shifts. The more nimble and adaptable operators will profit handsomely from this trend.

By Jean Francois Mourier, REVPAR GURU

2010 was a fine year for the hotel industry and 2011 is shaping up to be even better. In the first three months of 2010, RevPAR around the world increased, in one case dramatically. The metric for Europe grew 3.8% during those months, while the Middle East and Africa gained 3.9%, the Americas 5.3%, and Asia-Pacific a whopping 22.8%, according to Smith Travel Research (STR). For 2011, that growth story should continue across the globe. It's obvious that, although today’s bookings aren't quite where they were at during the pre-recession days, the industry is slowly managing to crawl out of its slump.

But not every hotel and tour operator will benefit from the boost in business. Competition remains strong and customers are becoming increasingly selective. In order to take advantage of the upward trend, hotels will need to be increasingly flexible in not only marketing their rooms, but determining what price their customers are willing to pay. This is because potential guests now have a wealth of comparative pricing information at their fingertips, ensuring that they won’t book if a hotel’s pricing is too high. More and more, even a few dollars can make the difference between a customer booking and not booking with a property.

Technology Wins the Prize

In the travel and tourism industry, operators who take advantage of the technology currently available will be the winners in 2011. Witness Google's $700 million takeover of ITA Software, which will not only make the internet powerhouse a serious operator in the travel business, it will also rewrite the rules for bookings. As Google is a ubiquitous presence in every corner of the internet, it will seed its travel offerings throughout the online space. It's very possible that starting as early as this year, web surfers logged into Gmail will be able to plan and book their entire vacation with a few mouse clicks inside the Google web ecosystem, making it much easier to do from anywhere, while on the go.

2011 will see the further deepening of the mobile web environment, so customers will make more bookings while in transit, often as close as from the pavement outside their hotel of choice. Now, more than ever, a customer will be able to wait until the very last possible moment to get the very best possible price, making the already tiny booking window even more miniscule. Wi-Fi options offered by most airlines will mean that, particularly for well-expensed business travelers, more bookings will be made in-flight, or from the airport lounge. Compounding this trend will be more and better smartphone apps to sniff out available rooms and, crucially, the best prices on those rooms. According to Priceline, 58% of customers with mobile devices made their booking within 20 miles of their hotel where they ended up staying. More impressively, 35% of those polled were within one mile when they clicked on the “reserve this room” button.

Tech Shift – The Customer Gets the Power

With continuing developments in technology, the industry heavily favors the consumer, over the hotel or hotel chain. Not only does a traveler have a wealth of solid pricing information available (often literally) in their pocket 24/7, travel companies are shaping their business to conform to what customers want. As ever, what those travelers want is better prices, and this demand has had a big impact on the industry. Late last year, American Airlines pulled its listings from Orbitz, in order to avoid the fees charged by the site. The airline was subsequently dropped from Expedia. Ignoring angry accusations of unfair practices from those operators, AA shifted its focus to its own website, effectively allowing it to offer the best deals possible.

AA’s move will mean a direct connection between the airline and its consumers, which will be another factor driving down prices. This is happening across the broader travel sector, not just in the hotel industry. The wise hotel operator would be well advised to consider how best to reap the rewards from this trend, thinking about how to optimize bookings across both the OTAs and through their own property’s website to ensure the most online bookings possible.

Tour package operators are already rising to the challenge of this new reality. They will continue their relentless march from the offline (i.e., expensive storefronts and sales operations) to the online space. Increasingly, they’ll attempt to reach the customer and score fees by providing services through mobile apps and social networking.

And speaking of social networking, it will be another engine driving growth in bookings in 2011. Facebook is now the giant of the internet - the most-visited website in the world. Smart operators and hotels have recognized the value of Facebook and its kind, and will continue to take advantage of it as yet another booking channel, especially since the invention of tools that allow direct bookings through social networking sites. After all, millions of people on earth use it to communicate with their friends and post updates about their lives so 2011 will see them continuing to broaden their usage to include e-commerce opportunities - which includes, of course, tour operators and hotels. TripAdvisor, for example, has meshed aspects of its site with Facebook, so consumers can view travel experiences and recommendations from their friend list, when logged into either site. Before long, researching a hotel stay and booking it within Facebook will become commonplace and hotels need to plan accordingly, before they lose out on valuable social media bookings.

Adapt, Capitalize and Win

Rather than being overwhelmed and under-informed about this technology and the big changes in the industry, in 2011 the clever and profitable hotelier will adapt to them and use them to his advantage. Pricing in 2011 should be seen as a fluid system responsive to consumer demand, not as a fixed, immobile and static set of numbers on a page. Revenue management systems have already evolved to manage this fluidity and the savvy hotelier and revenue manager will allow these RMS to handle the minutiae of their day-to-day pricing tasks in order to stay ahead of the competition and affording them the opportunity to focus on the bigger, more strategic revenue management picture. Especially since this year will see a noticeable uptick in the “book anywhere, anytime” environment, a well-functioning and always up-to-date RMS framework will be a crucial tool for success.

But as always, technology is only an enabler, however, so it will be imperative for hotels to utilize it properly. Revenue managers will increasingly need to harness data properly in real-time, in order to effectively adjust pricing according to the various key factors (room availability, etc.). The savvy RM will also use RMS tools to shape their property’s value-added offerings to the incoming guest, perhaps by bundling a few concessions appropriate to the guest’s profile into the room price.

The Guest is King

At the end of the day, of course, making money in the hotel business is all about providing comfort and service to the customer. As that customer gets more tech-savvy and flexible, he or she will reward accommodation providers who do likewise. Harnessing the power and promise of technology, both externally via the internet and internally through good RMS management, will be the key to winning guests in 2011 and to reaping the benefits of the industry’s upswing in the process.

So what are you waiting for? Make technology your property’s ally in 2011.

About REVPAR GURU

REVPAR GURU provides hotels around the world with an alternative revenue management software solution, designed to deliver maximum bookings and profits. As REVPAR GURU's custom-designed Yield Dynamic Price Engine is the only real-time revenue management software available on the market, it meets the rapidly changing needs of hotels in a very demanding business environment. REVPAR GURU’s solution offers dynamic rate optimization, real-time pricing, integrated internet and extranet yield channel management and GDS sales distribution, to increase a hotel's RevPAR intelligently and effectively, while maintaining rate integrity and automated rate parity. Since 2004, REVPAR GURU’s software solution has been used by hotels worldwide to increase occupancy and RevPAR.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, additional information can be found at www.revparguru.com or by calling +1.786.478.3500. Follow REVPAR GURU on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube.

Guest Engagement Stories from the Taj

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Security, The Pierre, New York

On the evening of Thursday, December 9th while Security Officers George Otoo and Charles Gonzalez were on duty they were informed that a bus had broken down outside of the hotel on 5th Avenue. George and Charles immediately responded to investigate and Charles spoke to the driver of the bus in order to assess the situation. The driver informed Charles that the bus had no power, and that his company had been informed and would be sending a service technician, who would arrive in approximately one hour.

The bus was on its way to Atlantic City for the weekend with a group of senior citizens who were looking forward to a nice, comfortable trip and an enjoyable weekend. George told Charles that he was concerned about the frigid temperatures outside; with the bus having no power he knew it was only a matter of time before the bus became too cold for its passengers. Charles agreed and together with Frank, they came up with a plan to accommodate the passengers. They advised the driver that he and the passengers were welcome to come inside to the Hotel Lobby where it is always warm and secure; they could wait until the service technician arrived and restored power to the bus.

As Charles directed the heavy 5th Avenue traffic around the bus, George directed the passengers safely into the Hotel Lobby. Once inside, George and Charles tried to make the elderly passengers as comfortable as possible by providing them with water, restroom access and seats. Needless to say all of the passengers were grateful to George and Charles for their kindness and generosity and felt very lucky that the bus broke down in front of The Pierre Hotel with its caring staff that treated them like V.I.P. guests!

The ultimate sales story! Sales, Taj Boston

In mid-November, a Virtuoso agent called Sales to book a mother and daughter's stay in Boston for a couple of nights. Sales found out that it was the mother's 60th birthday and the daughter's 30th birthday. This was to be a special trip. Sales also found out that their original plans were to go to Paris to celebrate their birthdays. Due to the labor strikes in France, they decided it would not be a good idea to continue with their plans. Once Sales found this out, they decided to bring Paris to Boston!

The reservations team was employed to ensure a room with double beds were pre-blocked and upgraded to a beautiful view of the Public Gardens and Boston Common for the Fall Foliage. Guest Recognition worked with Pastry to create a chocolate Eiffel Tower amenity upon arrival and had a birthday card for both ladies written in French, as well as, having a French fashion magazine laid out on the bed.

Sales also found out that ladies were planning on shopping on the Champs Elysse while in Paris. Sales were able to get the Concierge to circle all stores that were French, like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc. And fashion stores, such as, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Burberry, etc. The guests also wanted to see French architecture and museums. The Concierge was able to draw a path through the Boston Common to Beacon Hill where all the housing is Parisian in design, as well as, making it seem like they were walking through a garden in Paris. They also suggested they visit the Museum of Fine Arts where they can see Colonial embroidery that is French inspired and the Artist Abroad exhibit that has artworks from London, Paris, Rome and Venice. The guests thoroughly enjoyed their stay and sent a picture to their Virtuoso agent of the Eiffel Tower amenity.

"A Warm Welcome to The Pierre...and the World", Front Desk at The Pierre

A couple called the hotel prior to their stay asking for upgrades with their American Express package, but unfortunately due to the hotel occupancy, an upgrade was not available. Despite this, the guests were still very excited for their stay!

After their arrival, Sapphire mentioned to Emelie that she wanted to do something special for the couple since she found out that they were expecting their first baby. After brainstorming, Sapphire and Emelie came up with the most unique and caring gift idea. Sapphire wrote a card to the baby-to-be from Pierre the Penguin. The card said:

"Hi! I'm Pierre the Penguin and I'm so excited to meet you! I can't wait for you to arrive so that we can play together!"

Sapphire personally delivered this note with a Pierre penguin to the guests who were so touched and amazed by the gesture that Mr. Donn gave Sapphire a great, big hug! Now the little baby-to-be has a new friend who's patiently waiting for his or her arrival!

The Magic Shoes
Housekeeping at Taj Boston

Caroletta was on the floors when she saw a guest check into 627. It was a lady and a little girl. Caroletta went to meet the guests. After she introduced herself, she saw that the guest's little daughter was wearing special types of shoes. The shoes had flickering lights in them. SO each time the child walked around the lights will come and go. Caroletta told the little girl that she had magic shoes on. However, the little girl did not believe her and thought that she was simply teasing her. Caroletta immediately knew how to touch the heart of the little girl!

She sent over a plate of cookies to the room with a note which read "Your magic shoes told me that you like milk cookies". On the second day Caroletta placed a small teddy bear on the bed with a note "Your magic shoes told me that you like teddy bears". By now the little girl was completely convinced that her shoes are indeed magic! So when she saw Caroletta next, she ran to her and offered to show her the shoes. Caroletta had indeed touched her heart!

KNOW About T.G.I. Friday's

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T.G.I. Friday's restaurants offer authentic American food and exciting drinks in an atmosphere that provides an energizing Friday feeling – any day of the week. Friday's guest recognition program, Give Me More Stripes®, rewards our loyal guests with great deals and fun events year-round, creating an engaging customer experience. As the original casual dining restaurant, T.G.I. Friday's differentiates itself with a unique point of view which promises to exhilarate its guests with the feeling of Friday.

T.G.I. Friday's, which operates more than 900 restaurants in more than 60 countries, is also famous for its knowledgeable and charismatic bartenders, approximately 8,000 of whom compete annually for the title of the "Greatest T.G.I. Friday's Bartender in the World."

T.G.I. Friday's is part of Carlson, a privately held, global hospitality and travel company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. Carlson encompasses more than 1,085 hotels including, Radisson®, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson(SM), Park Inn® and Park Plaza®; more than 900 T.G.I. Friday's restaurants; and a majority stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the global leader in business travel management. Carlson operates in more than 150 countries and its brands employ about 150,000 people.

For more information, visit www.carlson.com or www.fridays.com