Monday, September 30, 2019

Independent Hotels: Competing With Chains

For many hoteliers, competing with large chain hotels can seem overwhelming and intimidating. They can often fall into the mindset that due to their limited resources they are not able to compete with ‘the big guys’. However hoteliers need to understand that large hotels are still competitors, and they must address this with the resources they have available. Fortunately, there are many advantages independent hotel owners have over chain hotels, and if utilised correctly, can produce excellent results. To succeed today, hotels should strive to have the best service rating in their price category and location.

There are many advantages that independent hotels have over chain hotels, they should use these to their advantage, including

  • Individuality – small hotels are often unique and original, which is a charming feature that attracts many guests
  • Focus on individual property – managers are able to focus their attention and resources on an individual hotel, rather than spreading resources across a number of hotels
  • More focus on guests needs and experience – hotel staff are able to create more personalised experiences for their guests
  • Original concepts drive higher guest review – unique features of small hotels increase the likelihood of positive guest reviews
  • No licensing or franchise fees- this allows hotels to use their funds elsewhere

Create Experiences and Build Loyalty 

One of the main advantages of being a small hotel is having greater control over the individual guest experience. Whilst you may not have the huge marketing budgets and resources of larger hotels, you do have the ability to mould and create a personalised experience for your guests. By creating added value for your guests, anticipating their needs and providing solutions, you are providing outstanding hotel service, as opposed to the standardised procedures they may experience at a large chain hotel. 

Upselling is also important during this stage, to really ensure the guests are getting the most out of their stay and you are maximising each customer. A hotel that delivers great experiences can compete in its price category/ location regardless of how big its competitors budgets are. By creating more personalised and memorable experiences, this builds up customer loyalty. You should also employ a CRM to ensure that every step of the guests process is a smooth as possible, this includes everything from pre-arrivals, on property and post stay. 

Online Presence

Your online presence is everything in this age of modern consumerism, and for hoteliers online reviews are critical. Many people rely on online reviews to guide their purchase decisions. According to a recent New York University study, 93% of travellers check online reviews before booking a hotel, and 53% will simply presume the worst and ignore you entirely if they cannot find a current review of your hotel. Encourage and incentivise guests to leave reviews and don’t forget to respond to the reviews within 1-2 days. Through the use of Online Travel Agencies (OTA), you are able to access niche markets, a valuable resource to attract new travellers to your hotel. You should also take advantage of metasearch engine, this is a search engine that gathers data from other websites and displays them together, e.g. Trip Advisor. 

Website

Your website is another very important marketing tool, that should be properly managed and optimised for user experience. The website should persuade potential customers that your hotel is a relaxing, stress free environment and it should contain relevant, accurate and engaging content highlighting your hotels features. The design of the website should be simple and easy to use with the ability to directly book and purchase your hotel room. 

The post Independent Hotels: Competing With Chains appeared first on Accommodation Finance Australia.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

How To Choose A Financial Advisor

If you made a New Year’s resolution to choose a financial advisor or replace your current one, proceed with caution. This is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make. The person you select will influence or control your investment decisions and the quality of those decisions will impact your long-term financial security, in particular during your retirement years.
 You can’t delegate your choice of an advisor the way you can hand off investment work. You own this decision, and your vetting process has to be good enough to separate the weak from the strong. Here's how to look past the smoke and mirrors.
1. Decide what type of advisor you want. These are the four basic types of advisors and the key characteristics for each.
Registered representatives, also called stockbrokers, investment representatives, and bank representatives, are paid commissions to sell investment and insurance products. Their primary sales licenses are Series 6 or Series 7.
Financial planners are a tough category. There are no licensing requirements for planners. Anyone can claim to be a financial planner whether it is true or not. Your vetting process should limit your selection to those who have earned the CFP, CPA/PFS or ChFC certification.
Financial advisors are Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) or Investment Advisor Representatives (IARs). They are compensated with fees and are financial fiduciaries so they are held to the highest ethical standards in the financial services industry.
Money managers have the same registrations and characteristics as financial advisors. Their distinguishing feature is that they make decisions for investors without their approval in advance.
2. Be objective. Use a process of elimination--vet four advisors, and select one, so you have to exclude three. As you identify weaknesses, cross these advisors off your list. Focus on qualifications—among other things, you might want a professional who has retirement planning expertise. Don’t just choose the advisor with the best personality and sales skills; chances are this is not the person you want advising you on investments.
3. Gather and compare data. Get the same information from multiple professionals so it is easy to compare their responses.

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