In the bleak midwinter

Robert Holland suggests that hotels quell those winter blues by leaping on the New Year trends of self improvement and, if that fails, wistful thoughts of summer

?

The shift from the festive break to January can be a seismic one and the jolt can induce some peculiar behaviour. The most common responses -weeping, wailing, looking for leftover cheese down the back of the sofa - can be very attractive.

?

But, even if your hotel can’t be temporarily relocated to the Caribbean, there is plenty which can be done in January to warm your cockles and even drive revenue. You’re not the only one thinking of the summer. For TUI, ‘Sunshine Saturday’ (the first Saturday of the New Year) is the day on which customers in the UK book the most holidays for the whole year.

?

This year, the chill is driven in part by the impact of last year’s Budget, with hotels facing additional team costs and limited likelihood that they can be passed onto guests. PwC has forecast[1] that nominal ADR would fall in London by 0.5% and by 0.2% in the UK regions, limiting flexibility.

?

What kind of client can we attract that is going to come at a lower cost? Someone that is staying for longer. If you stay for three nights, the housekeeping cost associated with one three night stay is far less than the housekeeping cost associated with three one night stays. Those people booking a long way out are usually those who are staying longer, those planning a holiday rather than a night out or travelling for an event.

?

How can you encourage people to stay longer? By putting in place revenue strategies that apply a greater discount on a longer length of stay than you might normally, in order to win that business, while thinking about the savings on that room. It is also worth considering, that if someone is staying for three nights, they are more likely to eat in the hotel one night. They’re also more likely to use your ancillary offerings such as your spa. The total revenue per customer is likely to be much higher than an overnight guest who is just using your hotel as somewhere to sleep.

?

Rather than focusing on the business you're not getting today, focus on the business that you should be getting in June and July. Make sure that your rates are aggressive enough to get the right kind of bookings and make sure that the offers you’re creating are encouraging people to book directly, saving on the cost of acquisition. Your Saturday nights are going to be full, but you need to make sure the bookings you're taking today, include a Sunday night and a Monday night, by applying restrictions further out.

?

And while you’re working on your offers, think about what you could be doing with any unused rooms you might have. Don't wait until May to replace those faulty showers or check that the air conditioning is working. The last thing you want is to have rooms out of order in the busy summer months.

?

January is also the time to be thinking about FIT business. You may have snubbed group business before, but people are still travelling in January. They’re coming to London, they’re going to the regular tourist destinations. They’re not spending as much as we would like, but they are still spending and they’re in a room which would otherwise be empty. This is a great time to think about your relationship with a wholesaler.

Historically, we often worried that if people only pay ￡100 for a room in January, then they will be upset if you expect them to pay ￡300 for the same in June, but that’s not the case anymore. The guest is fully educated about peak and off seasons, it’s one of the reasons those travellers’ are out and about in January at all. They might be coming so that they can visit those popular restaurants and locations which are swarming with visitors during the busy months and enjoy the experience with shorter queues and a booking time which corresponds to regular meal times.

?

After all, this is January. Waiting too long for a meal could well be the straw which broke the camel’s back.

[1] https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/hospitality-leisure/insights/uk-hotels-forecast.html