So, just how do you keep the occupancy at your luxury hotel booked solid all year long? The good news is that luxury travel is up. However, the bad news is that competition among luxury hotel brands is fierce. One would think that generally for luxury hotels it is all about the design first. Which explains the very expensive cost of renovations for luxury hotel brands.
A recent survey by Hotels.com might reveal otherwise that it might not be the design of the hotel but what the hotel has to offer instead. Here is how to cash in!
1. Give Something!
True you might cater to an elite crowd but they especially love V.I.P offers. In the survey by Hotels.com they found that travelers love free fast Wi-Fi! It was even a deciding factor to book a hotel.
Consider a Complimentary item (we don’t use the word FREE in luxury, bad four letter word). Think Complimentary Afternoon Tea, Complimentary Royal Brunch, Complimentary, you get the point…. Now that is knowing how to really make your guest feel special.
2. Signature Amenities
This is where your luxury hotel brand can outshine the competition. Keeping instep with the survey conducted by Hotels.com here are a few hot amenities desired.
- iPads for guest services, local information and personal use.
- Favorite food and beverages are provided. (45 percent reported that their favorite new amenities are: happy hours, wine tastings or any other time with free food and drinks).
- 31 percent of travelers expressed their wish to see more complimentary bottled water in their hotel rooms (34 percent of female travelers; 24 percent of male travelers).
- When asked about amenities at luxury hotels, women prefer designer toiletries (23 percent) and men prefer the fitness center and spa (27 percent.)
- When asked if they could stay celebrity-style, the top option for both men (35 percent) and women (38 percent) was to have their kitchen pre-stocked with their favorite food and beverages. However, a close second was the ability to have a private pool and hot tub in the room (37 percent of women; 34 percent of men.) These options beat out such fun or diva-esque in-room demands like: an arcade, favorite fresh flowers everywhere, private staff or a movie screening room.
Amenities Worth Ditching:
- Travelers felt like extra luxuries like turndown service and bath menus were “not worth the hype,” according to 44% of female respondents and 30% of male respondents.
- The bathroom phone gets no love. It is the least used hotel amenity, with 37 percent of total respondents saying they never touch it.
3. Resource Finder
I have a very dear friend who actually became very good friends with a well known celebrity by being an excellent resource finder. You see the celebrity was traveling and my good friend at the time was a parking agent. The celebrity asked my friend information about what to do in the city. My friend served as the most amazing resource finder making some phone calls even providing that the celeb received V.I.P treatment so on. At the end of the trip the celebrity gave my friend $5k ! That’s when my dear friend started the most amazing company for travel resources.
Now, as a luxury hotel you should be able to provide this same type of experience and service. Presenting resources for travel, entertainment, dining, and so on.
Try these luxury PR secrets out to book luxury hotels faster!
Cheers