Hotels need to keep up appearances to attract customers and guests. Hotel users are some of the most judgemental consumers, basing their decisions on looks, aesthetics, and appearances. This is why hotel owners and B&B hosts must routinely update their accommodations to remain current with the latest trends and designs.
This hotel refresh isn’t just focused on how the place looks. In addition, hotel owners also need to consider updating other areas of their hotel business, such as the technology they use and the processes they follow. Here’s a rundown of some key areas you need to consider updating to ensure you can maintain a steady stream of customers well into the future.
Top 5 areas to improve your hotel
1. Check-in experience
Most hotels follow an outdated check-in and booking experience that doesn’t align with how the rest of modern businesses work. The check-in procedure for many hotels is often a manual, long-winded process, with guests having their booking confirmation checked by a front desk staff member. This process works but is often slow and not the most intuitive. Having to wait in line to check in can lower overall guest satisfaction, especially if they’re tired and weary and want to relax.
Travelers these days are used to the convenience of online processes. They can check into a flight online and order taxi services, so why shouldn’t they be able to check into their hotel online? Hotels that have adopted mobile check-in have seen an increase in revenue, and this is something your business should consider. With this technology, guests can bypass waits and conveniently get to their rooms. This approach is just one of many digital tactics to improve guest satisfaction.
2. Room quality
The accommodation guests sleep in is the most essential aspect of a hotel stay, so it’s an area you need to focus on when trying to improve your hotel. You need to ensure that these rooms are comfortable, clean, and stylish, so don’t be scared to invest a bit of money into them to ensure quality.
Guests will appreciate high-standard furniture and equipment, making their stay more memorable and relaxing. Within the room, try to include everything they may need, with standard equipment including ironing facilities, a hot drink-making station, a TV, and hairdryers, to name a few. It would be best if you also went the extra mile with your bed, ensuring that you use the best linen you can get and use quality mattress toppers.
Hotel owners can also improve their room quality by keeping it clean. Many hotels are starting to use robot cleaners to make the process more efficient without sacrificing quality. For example, using a robot vacuum cleaner frees up time for staff to focus on other tasks, allowing them to do more with less.
3. Appearance
Of course, any hotel renovation should include an uplift in the appearance. Potential hotel guests will judge if your accommodation is good enough just by looks alone, so if your facade or lobby looks dated, it may turn potential guests off.
When giving your accommodation a facelift, key areas to focus on include the entrance, lobby and waiting areas, rooms, and any conference areas. When updating these areas, take inspiration from other hotels to see what colors, tones, and design choices resonate with guests.
The frequency you need to make these appearance updates will depend on how much traffic you get. Hotels with many guests will wear down quicker and need more regular maintenance. As a rule of thumb, consider renovating and revamping your hotel’s appearance every ten years.
Renovating an entire hotel can be expensive and risky if you haven’t the cash flow to cover expenses. That’s where business loans can be advantageous. To increase your chances of being accepted for a loan, you can remove hard credit inquiries from your credit report to improve your overall score.
4. Up-sale opportunities
One significant area that hotels can improve on is their approach to up-selling. This can enhance the customers’ experience and help you generate more income from them, allowing you to grow your hotel even further.
Upselling in many hotels usually means including a mini-bar in a room where drinks cost extra fees or the option to add breakfast to their stay. These are good ways to generate up-sales, but the issue is that they are offered to the customer once their booking has been made, and at this point, they may not be as open to spending more.
Instead, offer your up-sale opportunities during the customer booking journey. Here you can advertise extra perks that feel like they’re enhancing a trip, like guaranteed parking, airport transit, spa treatments, and more. When you showcase your additional options at this point, you’re more likely to connect.
Tom Nolan, Founder of All-Star Home, says, “Every guest wants to feel special with added extras, but they don’t want to feel like extra costs are being forced down their throat. Offering these enhancements at the booking stage gives the guests more agency to add more to their stay.”
Upselling also works best once you discover your most valuable guests. Tracking their data lets you know who is worth the extra marketing, making your approach more effective.
5. Sustainability
Hotel guests and consumers are much more eco-conscious and will choose sustainable businesses over others. This means that revitalizing your approach to be more sustainable can help you generate more income.
Doing things like switching to LED lighting, using sustainable suppliers, and cutting down on waste can help your hotel stand out, especially if you market these changes and use them as unique selling points. Doing so can help you see a significant ROI on your rental property or hotel.
Conclusion
To survive and thrive, hotel owners need to make changes and ensure that their accommodation remains current and in tune with consumers’ trends and buying habits. Tradition is good in the hotel business and has its place, but you also need to be open to changing key areas of your business to help it succeed.
These are the main areas you should consider if you want to breathe fresh life into your hotel.
