Hotel Winter Checklist
Hotel Owner/Manager Winter Checklist
Its winter for most of our customers, and we thought it would be useful to review our Winter Checklist.
Booking Engine
- Have you loaded rates and availability for the full year (Most Booking Engines sell rates 365 days in advance)
- Have you setup any special offers? (Valentines Day/Mothers Day/Easter is coming up soon).
- Check your Booking Engine is embedded into your FaceBook Page.
- Check there are no other/old FaceBook Pages, make an effort to get them removed.
- Cast your eyes over your room descriptions. Is something obvious missing (We are surprised how many hotels do not mention that they have free Parking and Wifi or even that a cooked breakfast is included).
- Review the 'Optional Extras' that are set up.
- Is it time to consider setting up Room Only?
- Have you got Minimum Stays set up on key dates ahead (Bank Holidays/Local Festivals etc).
Online Travel Agents
- Check your listing on each OTA. Is it really optimised? does it really describe everything you have to offer?
- Check the OTA's you are working with. Do you need them all? Are their others out there that might suit you better?
- Check your wording on each listing carefully, your hotel needs to meet customers’ needs in 5 to 10 lines.
- Check your location on your OTA listing. Is it correct?
- Check Each OTA has the same room types (Bet you find one OTA has 10 room/rate types and the others only have 5!).
- Check what rooms you have listed. Are there any missing? Or are there any opportunities to simplify the rooms that are offered.
- Make sure your most recent photos are uploaded.
- Do you have a clear 'Book Direct' offer in place?
Marketing
- Check the 'signatures' of all the E mail Accounts in use in the property and ensure you have a standardised signature with a link to Website, FaceBook Account, Twitter Account and a link to your Special Offers.
- Check your website to ensure there are no images with copyright issues.
- Create yourself a folder and put into it 'safe images' free from copyright for future marketing (i.e. Download from https://pixabay.com/).
- Check your TripAdvisor Business Listing. Is it up-to-date, do you have a 'Special Offer' running?
- Take control of your listing on Trivago http://www.trivago.com/hotelmanager , consider signing up for a Pro Account.
- Review how much effort you are making to promote your website (Book Direct) inside the hotel. Is it enough?
- Check if anyone else is bidding on your property name on Google AdWords and take steps to prevent this if possible.
- Take time to review your Google AdWords Account. What’s your conversion rate? Are there any events coming up this year you want to target?
- Take a look at your photography. Is it time to refresh?
If anything from the list catches your eye, get onto it now, in a few weeks time you will be too busy!!!