Look Local

Sometimes it is important to stop and smell the roses, have a look at what is going on around you in your local area and then working out how you get your fair share.

Local Attractions

Do you have a good understanding of what brings people to your town, what they want to do and where they want to go? A mix of paid and free? Family and couples? Not sure, ring your local visitor information office and ask them. 

Once you understand what your guests are going to want to do, go and talk to these attractions and offer them the following:

1.      Promotion on your website in exchange for promotion on their website – backlinks help your website rank on Google

2.      Discounted tickets – they will be trying to work out how to sell more tickets the same as you are trying to work out how to sell more rooms. Offer to build the ticket price into a package which means that you can both discount without guests seeing by exactly how much. Add a bottle of wine, free upgrade, early checkin to mask exactly how much the discount is. Look to Luxury Escapes or Groupon for inspiration on packaging, they do it so well, just don’t use them to sell as they will take 30% in commission. 

3.      Social media links – you can post about them and they can post about you. Share the love.

Once you have created the package (we are here to help) then speak to your local tourism office, newspaper, TV station, Tourism Aus (use hashtag on social media for them to pick it up), anyone that you know and see how you can get this thing to go viral.  

For a quick master class on social media, go to tourism.australia.com/socialmedia

Use hashtags: #SeeAustralia #HolidayHereThisYear #EmptyEsky plus whatever your local RTO uses and your state uses.

Tips to remember:

1.      Do not forget the random smaller attractions

2.      Packages will not always produce but they are great banners for drawing people to your website and attracting attention from customers who then book the good old room only package

3.      Have fun

4.      Your customers are local, they are Australian, they will probably live within 2 hours drive time and they want a bargain

5.      The attractions will be trying to work out how to sell more tickets and get back out there so offer them a solution

6.      Be prepared to try random, weird, whacky and new. We don’t know what will work until we try it.

Say Thank You

Essential workers are not just the medical staff who have kept us safe over the last 3 months. They are all those front line workers that have continued to turn up to work and do their jobs so we could buy our groceries, enjoy smooth roads, have our rubbish collected, continue to use the wifi etc while staying safe and staying at home. 

1.      What can you offer these workers who are local to you in the way of a great big thank you?

2.      Where can you promote this offer?

3.      It isn’t all about accommodation, what about your restaurant?

As a leader in your local hospitality industry, have you teamed up with your staff to pop to the local fire station, supermarkets, or anywhere nearby with morning tea and some vouchers to share. A great photo opportunity but also a chance to get your name out there and show you are a member of your community. 

Local Residents

These are the people who live within your town limits. They are right there on your doorstep but how are you tapping into getting them to use your facilities. Facilities that they have probably driven past every day for the last x number of years and never paid any attention to because they think you are for tourists.

1.      These are your first customers; they are ready to support local and help those who have been effected & can be your best advocates

2.      Design a special offer for your local community then target all the local Facebook groups with your offer

3.      Use a promo code to track

4.      Target local schools, sports clubs, newspapers, radio stations, networking groups, the council etc

5.      Don’t forget those people who have been stood down or made redundant, how can you support them?

6.      Get the locals to promote you – ask those who dine in or stay to share their experience on social media with your hashtag

7.      Large companies – if there is a big factory or company located nearby, contact them to see whether you can share an offer on their extranet

8.      Restaurant – locals only discounts on production of a driving licence

Give something back with the goal of receiving loyalty and dedication from your neighbours. 

Cars

We all know that our first customers are going to be those driving within 2-3 hours of home. Therefore, consider what is going to be important to them:

1.      Parking: can they park outside their room? Is the parking free? Does your website and OTA listings tell people all about your parking

2.      Pre-arrival letter: consider where people are driving from and tell them where to stop on the way. Give them options for toilet and snack breaks along with attractions to visit on the way.

3.      Photography: do you have clear photos of your car park and information what to do locally from a car

4.      Review your reviews and look for any trends in car parking complaints then address them. Eg allocated parking or gravel car parks

5.      Free: if they have a car, they can get off the beaten path so give options on National Parks, beaches, waterfalls, parks etc. The attractions that only the locals know about

6.      Bikes: do you have secure parking for bikes? They might ride to you or bring them on the back of their car so offer somewhere secure to put the bicycle

7.      Pets: if coming by car, the dog might want to come too so offer a pet package

8.      Petrol: where is the local petrol station. If it isn’t obvious, let people know

9.      Car wash: 4wds that have been on beaches or thru parks need to be cleaned so tell owners where to go or provide a bucket and sponge along with a spot to do it themselves

Think what is important to a person in a car as it will be different to someone coming by plane.

Corporate Bookers

1.      Cold calling is not about making more calls, but it is about making more targeted and structured calls

2.      Who are your normal corporate clients? Will they be coming back post Covid in the same numbers or will their work and their ability to travel have changed? Talk to them and find out their plans and what their company is mandating so you can forecast accordingly.

3.      Where can you find new corporate clients?

 i.     Look at your database, email addresses hold a treasure trove of information

 ii.     Talk to your present regulars and see who else they can introduce you to

iii.     Get in your car and go for a drive. What businesses are local to you that you didn’t even know existed?

 iv.     Who can your staff introduce you to?

4.      Council website – what new projects are coming up in your local area? Government will be spending big on infrastructure to get thru the recession

5.      Travel agents – turn these guys into your best friend and start networking with them over the phone to find out more information on the client

6.      Review your rates. Is your government rate competitive in this brave new world and is it bookable? 

7.      Meet with your market managers – Egencia, HRS, AOT, THN, Consortia / GDS, and anyone else who can give you more information

Every hotel in your local area will be going after the same bookings so what are you doing to be unique, create a relationship and build loyalty from both the booker and the guests?

If you need help, please don't hesitate to reach out to the team at RevenYou. We are here to help.