How Hotels can Plan for Short-term Activities to get The Mid to Long-term Vision

In the current times filled with uncertainty due to the COVID 19 outbreak, coupled with a dwindling economy such as we are facing today, coming up with a long-term budget planning process is often considered as a luxury, rather than an essential business practice as believed to be earlier. No matter what kind of economy, the need to anticipate the future and the financial boundaries is of paramount importance to ongoing business success. One needs to have an idea of where they are headed, be it greater successes or even overcoming hurdles.

The thing that we need to get behind is inflow and outflow of cash; it is what business owners, operations managers, and sales managers are prioritizing right now. Sales teams are not always provided with adequate information relating to the overall business cycles, and they need to be as engaged and efficient as they possibly can. It is always advisable that one plans ahead to tackle problems such as seasonal fluctuations and even unexpected emergencies. Planning ahead will help reduce stress to some extent.

When the economy is down, the potential for a shortfall in business, leading to diminished cash flow, is a great concern for a lot of businesses. To deal with this shortcoming in advance will only help one handle this situation better. The requirement for thoughtful, efficient, and responsible management is more crucial than ever.

This article will be talking bifurcated into two approaches.

1. first part will address mapping out sales plans and then accordingly preparing and revising your sales forecast.
2. The second part will talk about aligning the expense budget with ones' forecast, sales plan, and practical approaches to opportunities in the market.

A. Mapping out Your Sales Plan

First things first, one needs to acquire and use good selling knowledge. One needs to ask a series of questions when aiming for long term success, which are:

• What is the point of origin of the sale? One can identify this with the help of reservation systems,TMCs, OTAs , PMS systems, registration cards, among other sources. This information can be very crucial for measuring the effectiveness of a marketing plan.
  
  
• The next is- how did they come to select the said property? Was the property the first choice? Was it referred by an area business? Was it because their first choice was not available? Or is the loyalty program luring them to pick this location?
  
  
• What is the reason behind the stay? Is it for a meeting or a leisure stay? Here, the front desk can help solve the problem, and then the sales team can use this information and update their forecasts and plan proactively.
  
  
• How long did they stay? Duration of the stay is also an important factor to consider while planning. Occurrences of multiple nights is preferred and desirable if the rate and revenue are properly set.
  
  
• How much are customers willing to spend, both on hotel rooms & ancillary services? Total revenue is a crucial and contributing factor. With customers becoming extra cautious, spending patterns also need to be analysed to provide a clearer picture to form the plan.

Having access to this data will help the sales team formulate their strategy, and with the help of the information, one can get a better understanding to address the cash flow problem. To help further, one can even opt for a channel manager software that helps connecting with the right customer. As demand channels shift, it is of utmost importance that a robust channel mix is employed for generating higher occupancy rates. It is important to diversify to ensure sustainability and this is where a Smart distribution channel management software that identifies new demand channels in a sophisticated way assists in the process.One can also gather all the information like guests booking journeys until their stay till they return to their home, A feedback mechanism can be implemented to refine the social media strategy to build trust and enhance the customer experience with the brand.

B. Come up with a good market mix.

While the economy starts to recover and demand increases, it goes without saying that there are clear differences in the market, not just that- there are overlapping ones. For instance, a corporate client today might become a vacationer tomorrow when the travel bans are lifted, or the company might extend the stay depending on changing scenarios. Thus, it is challenging to cater to all the needs of the people at all times, which means one needs to know their customer base, in and out. Of course, no one wants to turn away from potential customers or revenue, so here understanding the mix of business reflects what type of business one is doing. 

What one needs to do here is look at the records and ask: 

How much percentage of my past total room sales came from? 

• From meetings at the hotel or nearby centers?
• From youth groups or sports-related activities?
• From the transportation center (such as airport, bus, cruise lines, trains, amongst others)?
• From seniors, if yes, then why?
• From the brand reservation center and at what rates and plans?
• From the nearby community college, university, high schools?
• From the medical center or offices?
• From the chamber of commerce or convention/visitors' bureau activities?
• From transient business, walk-in guests, and other categories?
  

After analysing the past sales data, it will be easier to understand how loyal the customers are towards your brand and what kind of communications you will need to plan for the recovery phase.

These were some of the short-term activities one can do to figure out the mid to long-term vision. Moreover, to get a better idea, one can also opt for a hospitality software that will help give answers to these questions.

Moreover, to stay up-to-date with the current situation and know more about 

• Distribution landscape changes: Diversification, Content, Renewals, and Technology.
• COVID 19 and the hotel pricing trends worldwide
• Crafting an engaging guest experience with hospitality technology
• Relevant coping strategies and best practices to increase direct bookings.
• Reopening Preparations: How hotels can plan for short-term activities to achieve the mid to long-term vision?

Then join the #bettertomorrow initiative by RateGain, a travel technology company, that is committed towards the entire hospitality industry by releasing resources that help players operating across domains, The are also conducting informative webinars revolving around the aforementioned topics to help the industry bounce back and head towards recovery.

About This Author

Erric Ravi Erric Ravi is an entrepreneur & the founder of SEOexpertnow Joined: May 30th, 2018