Here is a seven pointer on how major players in world hotels industry are marketing to not only attract customers but primarily retaining them. Cost of attracting new customer is much much higher than that of retaining the old customer and make him the loyal customer. Apart from amenities and facilities which all luxury hotels in the world equally provide, there is a race to present customer something extra, that can really make the difference.
Most successful strategies adopted by few of them are as follows:
- We Care
- Special security for single women guest.
- Using technology.
- Encourage best resources.
- Green Hotels
- Relationship Management
- Internet Marketing
We Care: These days not only a plastic smile will work for the hotels. Today's customer is very smart and he/she won't mind that smile until he/she doesn't get everything ready on time. The customers need everything in place from entry point of hotel to the toilet of his room, from car to the remote of TV and AC of his room. Every customer is unique and he/she must be treated in its own unique way. Some customers don't like to see too much of the face of the servants while others would like to chit chat with them too. The marketers have to be very quick and accurate in judging the customer's liking and disliking to treat him that way and show Yes ! We Care.
Security for Women Guest: As women are getting self independent they travel (43% of business travelers are women) alone more often than they used to be in the past for the business purpose or just for a vacation. But, the security has always been a major cause of worry for single women. Most luxury hotels have adopted state of the art security systems for the safety of these women guests. The security measures include:
- Women only floors.
- Programmed key cards.
- Screens showing who is outside the room.
- Panic buttons at different points in the room.
- Hotel Taxis to commute.
Using Technology: Hotels are taking help of technology to woo more and more customers. Hotels World over like the
hotels in US, Europe, Asia, etc are adopting latest technologies like Wi-Fi connectivity, biometrics, robots, teleconferencing, online hotel selection and personalization, Underwater hotels, floating hotels like islands, smart cards, so on and so forth. These technologies are making the visitor's stay more convenient and enable personalized service and rooms. These smart rooms which changes on the guest's demand are connected through the data network with central server and act accordingly like dim lights, curtain open or close, etc.
Encourage best resources: The hotels have started identifying their best available resources and make good use of them. Any hotel in the world can not afford to lose its most valuable employee who is able enough o create a level of comfort with the guests. This strategy is greatly successful in retaining the guests.
Environmental Friendly Hotels: As society is getting more concerned about the preservation of planet, hotels are also responding in a positive manner. They have started using renewable and non renewable energy sources in a more efficient manner. For ex, they water their golf course and lawns from flushed waters of washing machine, started using incandescent bulbs instead of fluorescent bulbs, using battery operated vehicles instead of petrol operated ones, etc.
Relationship Management: World hotels maintain records of their guests like birthdays and wedding anniversaries, etc and never forget to send them a greeting, or sometimes a gift coupon or a free dinner or stay in the hotel. This has proved to be a great step in retaining a guest.
Internet Marketing: Hotels are adopting the newest, widely spread and growing media to market their services. The websites help the guests to know about the hotels, its facilities and tariffs and allow the visitors to book the room. This has helped save time and increase convenience of the customer and save hotel's money.
So, all these prestigious luxury hotels of the world like Hilton, Ritz Carlton, Taj, etc are adopting one or the other marketing strategy to win the race as this one is the most competitive one.
Electronic Master Remote Control: This advanced super remote control customizes the entire hotel room: lighting, music, temperature, video, wake-up calls, and more - all at click of buttons
Cell phone operated door locks with retinal identification: You don't have to carry an additional hotel room key now, your cell phone is your new key for the hotel room that you have booked, combined with retinal identification access to your room, for added security.
Kindles: This is a wireless e-book reader, so its time for bed time storeys, so you don;t have to take pains to read the book. You just need to tune the voice that you want to listen your story in.
