B2B Sales Strategy for Selling to the Hospitality Industry
George Nolas-Dermentzoglou
Marketing Director at Manager's Office Marketing & Management Services - Official Reformer of H2H Business Model
B2B reps at retail brands and service providers, for instance, can target hotels to offer wholesale bedding, bathroom supplies, cleaning and maintenance, security, IT support, booking software and even marketing services (print materials, digital advertising and social media management).
Though selling to hospitality clients can be difficult, it can also be rewarding.
Understand the unique challenges of the industry.
It’s no secret that B2B salespeople have to intimately know the industry they’re targeting. The hospitality sector, however, is teeming with many idiosyncrasies not found in most other modern industries. They include:
Hotel chains not only operate 24 hours a day, but because their locations are global, their “busy hours” never end.
Depending on the function of your client at the organization you’re selling to, you may have to pay special attention to the scheduling and timing of sales calls. There is usually a manager on site at all times, though the one regional director for a dozen chain hotels might be available only from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time.
There is a chance that the hotels you hope to sell to are union properties, which may mean special agreements must be considered for the purchase of new equipment or the implementation of new procedures. This adds an extra layer of bureaucracy, which can further complicate the sales process.
With the rise and dominance of Airbnb, hotels are actively searching for ways to offer guests a more authentic and luxurious travel experience to compete with all the new local hosts and their accommodations’ bargain rates. How can you fill this need?
Due to the seasonal nature of travel, many hotels have periods when their rooms are overbooked and months when they struggle to reach a 65 percent occupancy rate. Take advantage of this issue. HotelTonight did: It pitches major hotel brands to help them fill vacant rooms using last-minute discounts.
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