Aug
7
Are you promoting a luxury hotel?
Selling your luxury hotel online is difficult. It can be hard not to get caught selling "luxury" as "cheap".
You can go and visit any number of “luxury” hotel websites. These hotels may indeed be the last word in luxury, their websites are probably things of beauty - wonders to behold on your browser screen... but I bet you the online selling isn't "luxury".
You can’t automate the sale of luxury. Not if you want to get (or indeed, deliver) all of the value you really want.
Selling your luxury hotel online is difficult. It can be hard not to get caught selling "luxury" as "cheap".
You can go and visit any number of “luxury” hotel websites. These hotels may indeed be the last word in luxury, their websites are probably things of beauty - wonders to behold on your browser screen... but I bet you the online selling isn't "luxury".
You can’t automate the sale of luxury. Not if you want to get (or indeed, deliver) all of the value you really want.
For hotels, the biggest part of the luxury experience is the service.
It's the warm glow your customer gets from the interaction with your receptionists, porters and restaurant staff.
It's the standard of product provided by meticulous housekeeping staff and skilled chefs.
All levels of hotel, regardless of grading, share one vital characteristic - it's hard to differentiate one hotel from another on the basis of the hardware. A comfy bed is a comfy bed; a sirloin steak is a sirloin steak, a restaurant table is a restaurant table. If you want to have the same comfy beds as your competitors all you need to do is go out and buy them. You can easily copy hardware. If you want to truly differentiate your hotel business, you need to apply yourself to the software.
That means paying attention to the way things are done and to the people who will do them. Software is much harder to copy. Skills, knowledge, ability, attitude, savoir faire, esprit de corps, motivation – all “software”.
So, creating a luxury hotel experience is a mix of investment in the right hardware; developing the right method for doing things and training/motivating people to handle the hardware and to follow or fine tune the methods, adding their own dash of personality and panache to your service.
Creating a luxury selling experience needs to involve one more component. The customer. It's the only time your business process exists without the customer being in situ. They don't know how comfy your beds are because they can't see or touch them. They can't savour your fine wines or tender steaks because they haven't taken a seat in your restaurant yet. They don't know how friendly your staff are because (when they're online) they have no opportunity to interact with them.
Luxury is as much about service as it is about the physical product. The decision to make a purchase is often influenced by “how it makes you feel”.
You can't automate a sales experience selling luxury. Not if you want people to pay the prices you expect.
All around your hotel you have ambassadors for your business - you have people with the experience and skill necessary to provide the customer with the service they expect. You have head receptionists, head chefs, head waiters, wine waiters, housekeepers and concierges all dedicated to delivering luxury through service. Once your guest arrives at your door you can guarantee them a luxury experience. The people are part of that experience.
But what happens before they get to the door? What is that experience like?
My argument today is that if you want to sell luxury at a premium price, you need to give prospective customers the opportunity to be involved in the sales experience. You need a sales experience that offers interaction and service. Without these factors, anyone else can copy what you do. Without these factors, it becomes hard to differentiate your hotel from any other. Without these factors, it becomes harder and harder to justify your price premium. Without service, you become just another hotel – and if you’re just another hotel, why should I pay more to stay?
In the rush to cut costs through automation of the sales function, many hotels have forgotten a basic truth: The more you automate, the more distant your customer becomes. The more distant your customer, the less they can know about your service. The less they know about your service, the less they will be prepared to pay for it.
You can overcome this by adding interaction to your online sales processes. Encourage your customers to ask questions, provide the answers. Create a story or an image that’s all about them. Talk to them, listen to them, learn from them. Turn them into a profitable resource.
Customers who appreciate luxury are used to paying for it. No matter what they pay – they expect to get the service they’re used to.
Does your website or booking engine smile at your customers? Does it soothe them throughout their booking? Does it make polite suggestions for dinners, wines or activities?
Or does it just say:
“Buy NOW!”, “Book HERE!” or “Give me your credit card number! NOW!”
For customers who are expecting luxury (and who you are expecting to pay extra for luxury) this one-dimensional approach to selling is not fit for the job.
Try to imagine your customer was sitting in front of you. What would the conversation be like? How could you introduce conversation to your online selling process?
It's the warm glow your customer gets from the interaction with your receptionists, porters and restaurant staff.
It's the standard of product provided by meticulous housekeeping staff and skilled chefs.
All levels of hotel, regardless of grading, share one vital characteristic - it's hard to differentiate one hotel from another on the basis of the hardware. A comfy bed is a comfy bed; a sirloin steak is a sirloin steak, a restaurant table is a restaurant table. If you want to have the same comfy beds as your competitors all you need to do is go out and buy them. You can easily copy hardware. If you want to truly differentiate your hotel business, you need to apply yourself to the software.
That means paying attention to the way things are done and to the people who will do them. Software is much harder to copy. Skills, knowledge, ability, attitude, savoir faire, esprit de corps, motivation – all “software”.
So, creating a luxury hotel experience is a mix of investment in the right hardware; developing the right method for doing things and training/motivating people to handle the hardware and to follow or fine tune the methods, adding their own dash of personality and panache to your service.
Creating a luxury selling experience needs to involve one more component. The customer. It's the only time your business process exists without the customer being in situ. They don't know how comfy your beds are because they can't see or touch them. They can't savour your fine wines or tender steaks because they haven't taken a seat in your restaurant yet. They don't know how friendly your staff are because (when they're online) they have no opportunity to interact with them.
Luxury is as much about service as it is about the physical product. The decision to make a purchase is often influenced by “how it makes you feel”.
You can't automate a sales experience selling luxury. Not if you want people to pay the prices you expect.
All around your hotel you have ambassadors for your business - you have people with the experience and skill necessary to provide the customer with the service they expect. You have head receptionists, head chefs, head waiters, wine waiters, housekeepers and concierges all dedicated to delivering luxury through service. Once your guest arrives at your door you can guarantee them a luxury experience. The people are part of that experience.
But what happens before they get to the door? What is that experience like?
My argument today is that if you want to sell luxury at a premium price, you need to give prospective customers the opportunity to be involved in the sales experience. You need a sales experience that offers interaction and service. Without these factors, anyone else can copy what you do. Without these factors, it becomes hard to differentiate your hotel from any other. Without these factors, it becomes harder and harder to justify your price premium. Without service, you become just another hotel – and if you’re just another hotel, why should I pay more to stay?
In the rush to cut costs through automation of the sales function, many hotels have forgotten a basic truth: The more you automate, the more distant your customer becomes. The more distant your customer, the less they can know about your service. The less they know about your service, the less they will be prepared to pay for it.
You can overcome this by adding interaction to your online sales processes. Encourage your customers to ask questions, provide the answers. Create a story or an image that’s all about them. Talk to them, listen to them, learn from them. Turn them into a profitable resource.
Customers who appreciate luxury are used to paying for it. No matter what they pay – they expect to get the service they’re used to.
Does your website or booking engine smile at your customers? Does it soothe them throughout their booking? Does it make polite suggestions for dinners, wines or activities?
Or does it just say:
“Buy NOW!”, “Book HERE!” or “Give me your credit card number! NOW!”
For customers who are expecting luxury (and who you are expecting to pay extra for luxury) this one-dimensional approach to selling is not fit for the job.
Try to imagine your customer was sitting in front of you. What would the conversation be like? How could you introduce conversation to your online selling process?
0 Trackbacks