How do you conduct a competitive analysis and benchmark your hotel against your rivals?

This is a very interesting subject. I would like to draw your attention on following verticals. 1. Who is your real competitor? Is it another hotel close to your location withing the same district similar to your product and offerings? OR Is it the customer who stayed at your hotel and talk about you and your hotel? Who probably never returns!! Or who returns and bargain discounts? 2. How far hotel teams compete against what you have achieved yesterday, last week, last month and last year? 3. Haw far hotels benchmark against a specific marketclass or scattered marketclass? 4. Last but not least, can it be a partner/s who pressures you to drop your rates by creating virtual scenarios and demand drop.

Make a list of direct competitors. These are hotels that offer similar services, target a similar customer base, and operate in the same geographic location. Analyze competitors' websites, social media accounts, and online reviews to understand their brand image, customer feedback, and marketing strategies. Look at their booking platforms to understand pricing, package offerings, and promotions. Visit competitors' properties if possible to assess their facilities, services, and overall customer experience.

Conducting a competitive analysis and benchmarking your hotel involves several key steps. First, identify your main competitors, focusing on those in similar locations and market segments. Collect data on their offerings, pricing, occupancy rates, customer reviews, and marketing strategies. Use tools like SWOT analysis to assess their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Compare this information with your hotel's performance metrics. Evaluate service quality, amenities, online presence, and guest satisfaction. Regularly monitor industry trends and adjust your strategies to stay competitive. By understanding your rivals and continuously improving, you can enhance your hotel's market position and attract more guests.

Identifying competitors in the hotel sector, to me, is like mapping a landscape. I combine online research – think directories, reviews, and social media – with industry reports to pinpoint who's out there. It's crucial to consider both direct rivals, like neighboring hotels, and indirect ones, such as vacation rentals competing for the same guests. I categorize them based on size, location, quality, and pricing. This approach gives a clear picture of the competitive field, highlighting who's vying for similar markets or guest segments. Understanding this spectrum is essential for strategizing our unique position and offerings in the market.

To conduct a competitive analysis and benchmark your hotel against rivals, start by identifying key competitors in your market. Analyze their pricing strategies, service offerings, customer reviews, and marketing tactics to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Use this information to differentiate your hotel, capitalize on competitor weaknesses, and improve your overall competitiveness in the market.

Using various business tool matrices such as Porter's competitive strategies for you and the competitor set provides a robust framework for businesses, guiding them to establish a clear and sustainable position in the market. It's important to understand whether your pricing and offerings stay aligned with your overall strategies, whether they are Cost leadership (price) or Product Differentiation, which is to focus on market niche. The exercise goes the same way with your competitors to help you evaluate your performance versus the market performance.

Analyzing competitors’ offerings in the hotel industry is like being a food critic – you've got to taste everything to know the flavors. I dive into their service offerings, room types, amenities, and special packages. It’s about understanding their unique selling points. What are they offering that we aren't? A rooftop bar, a pet-friendly policy, or maybe a killer spa?

The most important area to analyse competitors is on the factors that are most important for your target guest. To understand your competitors it is first essential to understand what your target guest is looking for in and see how you compare on these area. Using the Jobs to be Done or Category Entry Points frameworks are incredibly useful here.

Analisar as ofertas dos concorrentes é essencial para qualquer negócio. Essa análise fornece insights valiosos sobre o mercado-alvo, identificando lacunas, oportunidades e amea?as. A utiliza??o de ferramentas como a análise SWOT e o cliente oculto permite uma compreens?o mais profunda das for?as e fraquezas dos concorrentes, oferecendo uma vantagem competitiva. Ao examinar produtos, pre?os, atendimento ao cliente e reputa??o, é possível descobrir oportunidades para melhorar e inovar, bem como evitar erros cometidos por outros. Essa análise detalhada é fundamental para adaptar estratégias e garantir uma posi??o sólida no mercado.

Conducting a competitive analysis in the hotel industry involves a detailed examination of your rivals using a SWOT analysis to assess their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Evaluate their product offerings, pricing strategies, service quality, promotional tactics, and customer loyalty programs. Additionally, employ mystery shopping techniques to experience and assess their services firsthand. This approach provides insights into their customer experience and operational efficiency. Focus on identifying gaps or weaknesses in their offerings that your hotel can capitalize on to enhance your competitive edge. This strategic insight is crucial for outperforming competitors and attracting more guests to your property.

Benchmarking our hotel's performance against competitors and industry standards is a strategic necessity. I focus on key metrics like occupancy rate, average daily rate, and revenue per available room. These figures paint a clear picture of where we stand in the market. Equally important are customer-focused metrics like satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. They're the true indicators of our service quality and guest appeal. The goal is to pinpoint our competitive edges and gaps. Are we excelling in customer service but lagging in profitability? Understanding these nuances guides our strategy to enhance overall performance.

A avalia??o do desempenho de um hotel vai muito além de números isolados; é um mergulho profundo em diversos aspectos que refletem sua posi??o no mercado. Comparar-se com concorrentes e referências da indústria é crucial para entender n?o só onde você está, mas também para identificar oportunidades de crescimento e áreas de aprimoramento. Métricas como ocupa??o, receita por quarto e satisfa??o do cliente oferecem uma vis?o abrangente, mas a aplica??o de um balanced scorecard permite uma análise mais holística, incorporando n?o apenas aspectos financeiros, mas também de clientes, processos internos e desenvolvimento futuro.

The biggest platforms for this are definitely STR / MKG for RevPAR benchmarking, and Hotstats for Profitability benchmarking. Now let's take it with a pinch of salts as we don't exactly know how exactly competitors are reporting and that can sometimes skew data. This is a good guideline but not the full picture of your performance against competitors.

Predictive Analytics & Forecasting play a crucial role in this step. At INNREV.AI, we leverage predictive forecasting to send out hotels the STR report before STR sends it out, with up to 99% accuracy. By achieving this, we ensure that our clients are always ahead of the competition. This foresight is the key to effective revenue management, allowing for proactive adjustments and strategic planning to maintain a competitive edge in the market.

To stay ahead, it's vital to understand and cater to your customers' evolving needs and preferences. Conduct regular surveys and feedback sessions to gather insights directly from guests. Analyze booking patterns, demographic data, and customer reviews to identify trends and preferences. Tailor your offerings to meet these demands, whether through personalized services, innovative amenities, or exclusive packages. A leader in the hospitality industry should champion a guest-centric approach, ensuring that every aspect of the guest experience aligns with their expectations and delivers exceptional value.

Identificar as necessidades e preferências dos clientes é crucial para oferecer solu??es e experiências que realmente os impactem. Essa etapa n?o apenas impulsiona a compreens?o do que os clientes desejam, mas também direciona estratégias e personaliza??es. Coletar dados por meio de diferentes métodos, como pesquisas, entrevistas ou análises online, permite uma vis?o mais holística e precisa. Segmentar clientes em grupos com base em dados demográficos, comportamentais ou necessidades é fundamental para adaptar produtos e servi?os.

La demanda es la clave, más aún a día de hoy donde ha tomado la fuerza y condiciona directamente la oferta. Conocer a los clientes, ver el grado de coincidencia con la estrategia marcada, nos ayudará a definir qué acciones debemos de tomar. También nos ayudará a identificar si estamos invirtiendo esfuerzos en captar un tipo de cliente que finalmente no llega y, de este modo, renunciar a ello y enfocarnos al que SI llega, nos ayudará a mejorar la percepción y resultados de nuestro hotel. Hoy en día los software permiten recoger datos de manera continuada. Una buena selección de los objetivos ayudará a nuestros partner tecnológicos a la hora de dise?ar la estrategia e implementar los sistemas que permitan obtener el dato correcto.

Understanding your customers should be the first step, not fourth. You can only understand who your competitors are once you know who your customers are and what they are looking for.

I reject the use of "rivals" in this question. Using a competitive analysis requires a multifaceted approach beyond just relying on STR reports or conventional "competition". First, I create a network of collaborative competitors, engaging with other local hoteliers to share insights and strategies. We discuss market trends, guest preferences, and operational efficiencies, fostering a cooperative environment. I actively involve community and economic development organizations. These entities provide valuable data on economic trends, tourism stats, and events that can impact hotel demand. I also utilize digital tools to monitor online reviews and social media trends, providing real-time feedback on guest experiences and expectations.

Esto es esencial para diferenciar tu hotel en un mercado competitivo. Definir claramente lo que hace único a tu hotel en comparación con el resto te permitirá atraer a los clientes adecuados y generar una lealtad más sólida. Esta propuesta también te ayuda a enfocar tu estrategia de marketing, ajustar tus servicios para satisfacer mejor las necesidades de tus clientes, y comunicar eficazmente tu ventaja competitiva. Un buen posicionamiento te permite ser percibido como la mejor opción dentro de tu segmento, más allá del precio o la ubicación.

Adam Zembruski, you are spot on. I was in total friendship with my "rivals". We spoke often, and for many reasons. We discussed local economics among other things. This also enables me to know my position, which is very key in this business. We always talked about any changes in our geographics. Going to visit competitors is also important to see what may or may not be happening there. Doing this helps when asking customers likes and dislikes. I worked in a couple hotels that had no clue to tourism business until I got there. Because with me checking in on my neighbors, I was able to gain knowledge on the terrain and plan accordingly. Bottom line is, if you are working in global markets, you have to know your local market.

Definir uma proposta de valor sólida e um posicionamento assertivo é crucial para um hotel. A proposta de valor deve encapsular a singularidade e os benefícios únicos oferecidos aos hóspedes, destacando aspectos como servi?os personalizados, experiências exclusivas e aten??o aos detalhes. Já o posicionamento é a forma como se expressa essa proposta, refletindo a identidade e a essência do hotel, seja por meio de uma abordagem de luxo discreto, sustentabilidade, ou foco em experiências culturais locais. é essencial que essa mensagem seja clara, envolvente e alinhada com a vis?o, miss?o e valores do hotel, criando uma conex?o emocional com o mercado-alvo e fortalecendo a identidade da marca.

Look up the Kano model. It’s helps to visualize various services, features and facilities as essentials that need to be done to a sufficient level, expected services that deliver greater guest satisfaction the better you provide them, and then unexpected services that deliver truly memorable and surprising guest memories and can distinguish your property from others.

Explore Sustainable Practices Include an evaluation of sustainable practices in your competitive analysis. Assess how your competitors approach environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical business practices. As sustainability becomes a more significant factor in consumer decisions, aligning your hotel with eco-friendly initiatives can attract environmentally conscious guests and contribute to your competitive positioning.

Monitorar e atualizar regularmente a análise competitiva e benchmarking é crucial para se adaptar às mudan?as no mercado, comportamento dos concorrentes e clientes. O uso de diversas ferramentas, como análise da Web e mídia social, permite uma compreens?o abrangente do cenário empresarial. A capacidade de ajustar a proposta de valor e posicionamento com base nessas informa??es contribui para manter ou melhorar a vantagem competitiva e desempenho da empresa, sendo fundamental para o sucesso a longo prazo nos negócios.

La monitorización de tu set competitivo es clave, como también lo es la monitorización del comportamiento de la demanda. Pensar en la competencia sin vincularlo a qué está pasando en el entorno/destino, puede llevarnos a toma de decisiones erróneas. El mercado es algo vivo y debemos de tomarle el pulso de manera continuada de modo que la toma de decisiones tenga la base correcta y minimice los riesgos.

I’d add monitor your inclusive practices here too - in regards to staff belonging and guest welcome/experience. Sustainability in travel has extended past environmental to include social practices too, so these should be top priority for 2024.

Tedious work. Use Google Bard to Generate a Starting Point for your Analysis. Bard can report on Google Hotels. Here's the Prompt I Use: As an expert in hotel competitive analysis, your task is to create a report for my hotel in Phuket Thailand. My hotel URL is: My Google Hotel Listing is: My Google Map listing to view reviews of my hotel is: Use Google Hotels to list similar hotels to mine in Phuket and report on the following: Guest Reviews: what are guests saying about competitor hotels that my hotel does not have? What are some features and products competitor hotels have that my hotel does not? How does my pricing compare with other hotels? What keywords are other hotels ranking for that my hotel is not?

To conduct a competitive analysis for a hotel, identify key competitors, assess their strengths and weaknesses, analyze pricing strategies, and evaluate customer reviews. Benchmarking involves comparing your hotel's performance metrics, such as occupancy rates and customer satisfaction scores, against those of competitors. Utilize this information to identify areas for improvement and implement strategic initiatives to enhance your hotel's competitiveness in the market.

In the context of hotel performance benchmarking, leveraging big data and AI is increasingly critical. These technologies offer deep, actionable insights far beyond traditional metrics. Big data analysis can reveal hidden patterns in guest behavior, preferences, and market trends, enabling us to tailor services more effectively. AI, on the other hand, enhances predictive analytics, helping forecast future market movements and guest needs. By integrating these technologies, we can not only compare our current performance against competitors but also anticipate future challenges and opportunities. In my view, the effective use of big data and AI is what will distinguish top-performing hotels in the coming years.

A common benchmarking method that many companies utilize is SWOT analysis, which assesses their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in comparison to key metrics of the company. After gathering relevant data through this analysis, the next step is to set up a detailed benchmarking framework that aligns with the company’s goals and objectives. Once the framework is in place, companies can perform a comprehensive benchmark, allowing them to measure performance effectively and identify areas for improvement.

Nowadays there are plenty of tech solutions that will help to optimize and enhance benchmarking. Big data and AI are present...not the future anymore. Browse the market and invest in something suitable for your budget! Thats my advice.