Drive your competitor Parking Lots. Have you done this lately? Shop your local hotel lots after 8pm and before 6:30am. Know who is staying with your competitor and in your own lot.
Look for untapped markets in your area. Is there something you may not have been aware of? Is there a new training center in your area?
Cherish and Nurture Repeat Business. Build a relationship and find out what keeps your guests happy. Remember to always ask them if there are others that may be coming into town just like they are. Use your guests as a resource for finding more business!
Social Media. Make sure you are taking every effort to keep up to date on your hotel social media channels. Follow your competition. Follow your corporate accounts. Know what they are up to before your competition does. Sign up for their newsletters, blogs, white pages, linked in, Facebook, twitter, and trip advisor. You may uncover new business (who else is coming to town to work on the same project?).
Networking. Do you attend local community networking events? Partner with your local chambers, visitor bureaus, economic development council, beacon council, sports commission, etc… Join an association, attend meetings. Many are open to the public and will accept new members, know what is going on in your community.
Google. Have you Googled your competitive set lately? How about your own inn? Why not do so and even take it one step further by Googling your top accounts! See below for some tips on Googling:
Search your phone number, including area code (123) 456-7890. What accounts or companies have your inn’s phone number listed?'
Search your competitions phone number, scroll through all of the pages to see what you can find. Potential blue chip account business could be listed here!
Search the main phone numbers of your top accounts. Often you will find links to companies that are working with these accounts as vendors.
Google Maps: www.google.com/maps Enter the key words and your city name, or you can try entering the key word with ‘near me’ included in the search. Example: Training near me, corporations near me.
As always, share your findings with your ADOS!
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