Why is the price not going to be the determining factor when a client considers making a reservation at your hotel?

Safe_Stay_vs_price

Why is the price not going to be the determining factor when a client considers making a reservation at your hotel?

In this new era the price will not be the most important factor of our client’s decision making process, as there are elements with much higher value. Safety and trust are now more important than the price.

On this premise a question arises: are the new strategies for your hotel being correctly adapted to the ‘’new normal’’?

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis there has been talk of inevitable price drops upon the reopening of the hospitality sector, estimating an average of a 20% ADR drop.

However, there is a parallel bet with which I absolutely agree. It is to add elements of value to the product/service to avoid this drop in price.

Lowering prices is a common and widespread business strategy when faced with moments of crisis. It is the first thing that is done, and sometimes very drastically, resulting in immediate cannibalization of the market, and very little benefit for anyone in the medium to long term, and not even in the short term.

Moreover, in the current health crisis we must bear in mind that the scenario is completely different from that of previous economic crises, and that the price will not be, nor it is, the main motivation when booking accomodation. Below, we can see how the traveler’s decision making process has changed. Observing and analyzing this tremendously useful information helps you build a solid strategy and action plan in this “new normal” which we are facing.

Looking at this new scenario, we can draw very interesting conclusions:

  • Price is not the key to a successful reopening of your hotel. The key is to make your accommodation a safe place, which generates confidence and with added value adapted to the situation.
  • You can get well ahead of your competition, regardless of the category of your accommodation, if you implement all the necessary measures to generate security and effectively communicate these changes to your clients.
  • The reviews of your first customers are essential to generate credibility with potential customers and future bookings. Everyone should know that not only do you say you implement exceptional health and safety measures, but that you really do it. This message can only be transmitted through the reviews of customers who have stayed at your hotel.
  • Even if you had bad reviews before the lockdown, if the ones you get after you reopen have excellent ratings based on the health and safety measures you are implementing, you will gain a lot of credibility. The new scores will have a lot of weight in your client’s final decision making process, regardless of the average score of the general calculation of all received reviews (pre and post coronavirus).
  • The key to standing out after reopening, is to constantly communicate through our channels (web, social media, etc.) and rewriting the descriptions of our facilities on the different distribution channels (OTAs, TTOO, etc.). This way the measures that are being taken are clearly communicated to all potential customers.

One thing is clear, we are starting a new scenario where the rules of the game have changed.

It is a great opportunity for many hotels to reposition their brand on the market and to even outperform those competitors who had taken the lead. Now the hotels that best adapt to the new normality will be those that will best recover and begin to have an increase in the number of clients sooner.

It is in your hands, hotelier, to come out on top on the other side of this situation.

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