The Hotel industry thrives on the booming occupancy ratio during all the seasons. If you were to ask me what is the one thing that keeps a hotel business flourishing. I would say a well-balanced occupancy ratio along with the great service offered by the hotel staff. One has to implement strategies to maintain full occupancy at your hotel. Once you have busted the mystery box, now comes the most important discussion- How to ensure full occupancy at your hotel?
There is an endless list of ‘What to do’ and ‘what not to do’ but it is important to take up one thing at a time.
Many of you would not be aware of ‘Occupancy rate’ and how it is calculated. It is quite simple. For example, if there are 120 rooms in totality and out of these 30 are occupied, the Occupancy rate would be 25%. This is the rate which the hotel looks out to optimize and target the customers accordingly. Of course, there are a lot of factors that determine the occupancy rate such as the location of the hotel, the competition existing in the hotel industry and the kind of customers coming in.
Maximizing the Occupancy Rate
The most common solutions that come to our mind while charting out a plan are Promotional discounts, Advertisements, word of mouth and online promotions. Let us deal with it strategically.
1. Curate Promotional Packages:
To lure the customers, it is important to offer them promotional plans so it arouses their interest in the stay. Offering services like pay at hotels directly, free pick and drop, free cancellations and much more can attract the customers. Always remember, in the hospitality industry how a customer is handled goes a long way in determining the success of that business. It is one of the important steps in ensuring full occupancy at your hotel.
2. Strategic incentives like Food Combos:
There are a lot of 4-star hotels in Dubai that offer promotional food combos and meal packages to customers so to maintain brand loyalty. Most of these hotels are placed near Dubai International Airport. this can not be ignored while ensuring full occupancy at your hotel.
3. Location:
Moreover, the strategic location of the hotel is equally significant in determining optimal occupancy rate. Hotels that are located far off from the central market are commercially less viable than hotels situated near airports and malls for the obvious reasons. Providing pick-up or drop-off services to the customers can be a great step towards working out optimal occupancy.
4. Setting Targets to Acquire Tourists:
Ascertain monthly or quarterly target figures. It is easy for customer relationship team to work out a plan to ensure full occupancy at your hotel. The measures and strategies need to be planned in advance.
5. Maximize your Credibility and Encash the Geographical Advantage:
There is no shortage of travelers and a lot of people have erratic flight schedule. This makes them pick hotels located close to Airport. Location of your hotel close to the airport is a plus point. It saves the traveling time of customers. Complimentary shuttle bus services to its visitors to the airport are add-ons and can be provided by the hotels.
Ensuring Full occupancy rate is no rocket science. It does require strategic planning, innovative measures and a hawk’s eye on the changing scenario of the hotel industry.
