Thinking Outside the Box – Creative Strategies to Drive Revenue

In both high and low demand times when everyone is vying for their share of occupancy sometimes all it takes is a little bit of time and creativity to make our properties stand out and get noticed. Thinking outside the box can be beneficial in driving more guests to our hotels or capturing more revenue from the guests we already have. A quirky or distinctive offer or strategy coupled with some great targeted marketing is sometimes all that is needed. Let’s explore just a few of these creative ideas.

Getting Started

Often it takes a shift in our mindset to stimulate creativity and start thinking outside of the box. Go for a walk, try working in a different location or find a new route to drive to work for a couple days to clear your head. Have you ever noticed how your perspective changes after a weekend getaway, a vacation, or any break from the day-to-day routine? Sometimes a break in routine is all we need to get started and then embrace your newly unleashed creativity!

Inspired Packaging and Collaboration

Several years ago, near the end of the pandemic when air travel was still limited, we came up with an idea for a package. At the time it was not something anyone else was doing and we thought it was fitting for the times. We designed a package called The Great American Road Trip created for potential travelers that were tired of being cooped up and were ready to get out and explore by car. It was a company-wide promotion that included all of our Spire hotels.

We included gas cards, a s’mores kit, information on local attractions and a travel themed magnetic photo frame and priced it as a value add. We held a photo contest for the guests staying on the package and awarded a complimentary stay at one of our hotels as the prize. This package was well promoted through all eCommerce channels and among all of our hotels. Some hotels did better than others, but every hotel sold a few rooms at a time when occupancies were very low, and every bit of occupancy was welcome. Some hotels sold many rooms under the package. This was one of those times when trying something outside the box and putting in a little extra effort truly paid off and it was fun for the guests and the hotel teams.

The sky is the limit on designing creative packages and it often takes an exceptional and unique idea to pique the attention of potential guests. If you design a package around what is important to someone and market it to the right customer, they will come. So many people are traveling with their pets now and they value their pets as family. It makes it special when the hotel staff values and recognizes their pet too. A Dog Friendly hotel could consider a Pet Package that includes something to acknowledge the pet by name or by their favorite kind of toy.

Another idea is to include supplies that make it easier on the pet owner such as a pet bed or food and water bowls in the room. A donation to a local animal shelter for every reservation would also be a nice touch and a way to give back to the community. This is just one example of creative and targeted packaging.

Local partners within our business communities are also great resources for creative ideas such as a spa day or a relaxation package partnering with a local spa. How fun would it be to have the local spa come to the hotel and do mini manicures or chair massages as a breakout during a corporate meeting? How about a Team Building Meeting Package including a local Escape Room or other venue as a team building activity? Maybe a Romance package that includes a couples massage with champagne at an exceptional local spa would help drive some winter weekend business? Any one of these could be packaged with overnight guest rooms, breakfast and more. Our local restaurants can be great partners for Valentine’s Day and New Years Eve where we provide the accommodations, and they provide dinner or other festivities. Coupled with a shuttle and late check out this would make a great package. The possibilities are truly endless.

Celebrate!

While the month of February is known for Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl there may be other quirky Holidays worth celebrating such as National Home-Made Soup Day, National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day or National Carrot Cake Day just to name a few. February also has a National Cherry Pie Day and a National Tortellini Day! These could be the start of a fun eccentric package or a distinctive way to drive more customers to our restaurants. Of course, the major Holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas would benefit from creative strategies too such as free gift wrap or gift wrapping and store coupons as part of a shopping package or rooms promotion.

This would work for hotels that are close to a popular Holiday shopping venue. Events are another opportunity to drive unique promotions. You do not have to be in a city hosting a major event to celebrate a major event. A Kentucky Derby rooms promotion or party could work anywhere if it includes the right elements coupled with good marketing. This could also be applied to any major sporting event such as NFL or Soccer games.

Concerts, local festivals, local attractions, and sporting events are other great drivers to creatively market to. Your target audience can be reached in many ways such as past guests who attended those same events, targeted Facebook ads and targeted OTA ads are just a few. A percentage discount based on an advance purchase rate, a late checkout and shuttle service to the venue would make for an attractive offer to market to event attendees. Once added to our email lists these guests can be targeted for future offers based on their interests. It pays to stay close to the venues for marketing suggestions and early access to future events.

With the onset of winter, the Staycation is still a very viable hotel promotion. This works best in hotels with breakfast and an indoor pool or other indoor activities for couples or families with small children. Who doesn’t need a little staycation getaway after the rush of the winter Holidays?

Clever Pricing

Pricing success starts with strategically pricing to who we compete with by understanding their features and benefits versus our own. Once rational pricing is established additional pricing strategies may be enlisted. Everyone is familiar with the Buy One Get One offer at their local grocery store, and this can be applied as an effective hotel offer too such as a Stay the Weekend get Sunday Free Offer or Stay 6 Nights and get the 7th Free. With so many people working remotely now Thursday to Monday stays are not uncommon, and a BOGO can be built around the shoulder days of Thursday or Sunday for someone enjoying a work and leisure trip combined or just making the most of a long weekend.

A Flash Sale or Limited Time Offer are other forms of promotional pricing that get attention when strategically priced and marketed. These offers typically include a discount that gets attention, and they are available for a very short time such as a week. This gives the buyer an incentive to book sooner rather than later. Flash Sales and Limited Time Offers can even include the BOGO pricing previously discussed. These work great when marketed to previous guests or other targeted audiences.

Some other tested offers include stay one night and get a second night for half price, weekly or monthly long term stay rates and value priced breakfast included or parking included rates. When value pricing the offer should be a better price than what it would cost if you bought the elements on their own. Many industries now run Friends and Family rate offers to drive customers and this could certainly work in the hotel industry as well. While not always the best rate it is additional revenue on nights where a sellout is not likely, and it can drive other incremental revenue such as food and beverage and parking.

What would happen if we tried five wild and crazy new ideas this winter? If we try five new ideas this winter and each idea conservatively drives twenty-five more room nights a month that is an additional one hundred and twenty-five room nights a month. Over a four-month period that’s an additional five hundred nights!

This can really make a revenue impact during a slow time of the year and could be the difference between making budget or not making it and it doesn’t have to be just for winter. It can apply to any time of the year if priced effectively. Now is the time to get those creative juices flowing and design some fun and innovative ideas that can drive more revenue!

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.