Covering all Bases

Covering all Bases

When community becomes a competitive advantage in hospitality.

Behavioural economics and psychological research have taught us that we fundamentally crave a sense of connectedness, belonging, as well as a shared ‘mission’ particularly when it comes to performing at work. There are ample studies that suggest that companies that foster a strong community spirit have better company culture; and therefore happier employees (and of course, customers).

When you put this in context - in the short-term rental industry - then this can quickly become your competitor's advantage. As operators of this industry, it’s important to remember that we aren’t reinventing the wheel nor ‘doing anything new’, the concept of renting out one’s property to guests for short and long-term stays has been happening for decades.

However, to stand out as a company and make your brand more “sticky”, you can hone-in on building a community around your business and nurturing a strong company culture. For me, these things are a prerequisite for marketing, PR and all the other integral vehicles that help drive your hospitality brand forward.?

Yet, so many people are laser-focused on only pitching products and services to their customers (like 90’s salespeople in pinstriped suites) - and hoping that that’ll be enough.

News flash: It’s no longer enough.?

A Better Business Model?

When you transition from simply selling a product (for example, rental rooms in your property) to building a community around your brand, you immediately unlock superior competitive advantage and increase the chances of your brand becoming more memorable.

There’s a reason why hospitality businesses are big fans of loyalty schemes, clubs and membership subscriptions - that reason being that humans love to feel a part of something.

Ultimately, community building for your business leads to:

> Enthusiastic members who help acquire new members and become your brand ambassadors (at no added cost to you). This is a fantastic marketing tool.

> Higher retention levels of your brand’s community, as members (due to simple human nature) will be? incredibly unlikely to abandon the community.?

> Members support one another with issues, questions and concerns, meaning that you don’t have to be physically present all the time - freeing up your time to focus on other areas of the business.?

As engagement within your community grows, your brand will be at the helm of it.?

Remember, people may not always be talking about your specific products and services; but they will never forget who’s responsible for facilitating this “safe space”. As a result, if a genuine need for one of your services does come up, your brand will without a doubt, be the first on everybody’s minds.?

Your Market is Changing?

If you’ve read all my past Editions of? the Property Powerhouse, then you’ll know what a big fan I am of evolving and keeping-up with change, particularly on a tech front.?

We’re now doing business in a world where multiple generations of people have grown up with smartphones and social media as part of their day-to-day lives. Because of this, a number of cost-efficient, scalable tools have been developed - specifically for the purpose of community building. We like? to use Slack, ClickUp and WhatsApp Groups at Luke Capital Group (both internally and externally) - and then you also have platforms like GitHub, MeetUp.com and of course, WordPress.?

The truth is, consumers expect different relationships with brands these days. No longer are customer support emails and newsletters enough; millennials and Gen Z are more concerned with connecting with brands on a deeper level, with the help of shared values and principles.?

It’s no surprise that some of the world’s biggest companies have heavily invested in digital and in-person community engagement across various product portfolios - this includes Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. So, it’s a business model that’s absolutely worth following.?

Plugging into the Magic of Community?

The team and I recently launched the world’s most inclusive property coaching club, called Room 22, The Property Club. While there are a number of other property coaching opportunities across the world, I’ve taken my own advice and used community building as our competitive advantage.

What’ll make Room 22 stand out from the rest is that it’s wholly inclusive and has community spirit at the very heart of it. We’ll be covering all bases by bringing in experts from different areas of the property industry; and these experts (along with our valued club members) will form the essence of the brand.

Not only does this make smart use of emotional marketing (reported as 2022’s most integral marketing trend in Forbes), but it’s commercially smart and will cement higher retention levels, as well as ensure that Roomies (our club members) are always receiving maximum value.?

As a community, Room 22 will cover these key elements - and I urge anybody else who’s looking to build a community to focus on the same:

1) A shared value and purpose?

2) Simple value consumption

3) Simple value creation?

4) Clearly defined incentives and rewards?

5) Healthy, diverse participation - driven by good leadership?

6) Carefully crafted accountability and support?

7) Continuous evolution and desire of “growth”?

There’s no reason why we can’t follow in the footsteps of the big boys of the business world. In fact, we absolutely should, if epic growth and scalability is what we desire. Carrying the weighty baton of success is no one-person game - so ensure that you build a community around your hospitality business as well, to help you all get closer to your goals.

That’s real community spirit.

In the meantime, keep building and bettering -

Ryan.