Who says that the job of promoting hotel sales or that of building a fire wall around a guest is the job of the hotel sales manager only? Increasing sales and promoting business are obligations that must be placed in the hands of all the employees of the hotel, especially the ones who get to be in the direct contact with the guests, i.e., the people who pick you up from the airport, the doormen, the front office staff, the bell staff, the housekeeping and the food and beverage staff and the people engaged at the swimming pool, health club and the recreation services.
Vatel Hotel & Tourism Business School, Sushant University, Gurgaon, besides primarily touching upon the operational areas of the hotel, giving to its students all inputs in Front office, Kitchen, Food and Beverage and Housekeeping, also teaches them the tact of service marketing and enhancing the level of their guest interaction through classes on Soft skills and etiquette in practical classes.
All employees have to be taught and trained about the fact that the selling and promoting of the services of a property has to be part of the responsibility of all the staff, irrespective of the job assigned to them or of the function performed by them. Everyone is obliged to participate in the task of promoting hotel sales. The laundry and housekeeping staff, who though might appear to be working in the back-of-the house areas also get ample opportunity to work as salesmen – it is their work and their care which the hotels guest appreciates and develops confidence, assurance and self-reliance in the professionalism of the hotel. Similarly, a Commis is the kitchen, who but follows the laid down recipes and obeys the chef’s command, is the person who is best suited to please the hotel guests.
The best hotels of the word are not necessarily the best looking hotels of the world. Three of the most important things to get a customer to extend a repeated usage to you are indeed very simple ones. A) Give the guest recognition and respect. B) offer a clean, comfortable and a quiet room c) make sure that he or she looks forward to coming back to your property.
People talk a lot about recognition. What is it actually? It is merely the act of stepping into the guests’ shoes, understanding them better, getting to know closely their needs, wants and desires and making all efforts to try to fulfill them. This simple act shows the personalized service, the warmth, the care and the concern that all the guests look for and these little things are the easiest ones to do.
With the opening of new hotels of domestic and international brands offering
a vast range of the categories of hotels suiting the different types of clients and their pockets, guest houses, no-frill hotels and home stays, the competition and the fight to run for business has become rather aggressive and fierce. These are the times in which the need to secure and protect the business that you already have has become far more important than seeking for the new and fresh business. As long as the guests are kept motivated, inspired and interested, they will themselves perform your marketing manager’s activities and will spread the good word and influence business by being your true Ambassadors of Goodwill.
Happy and contented guests always tend to ignore small faults as they do understand that your staff is trained and efficient and that the systems and procedures of your hotel are well designed and oriented towards extending a warm and a personalized service. This positive attitude is the result of a series of encouraging past experiences that drive him or her to confirm deeply the high standards of service that the hotel holds and the respects that it has towards maintaining its standards.
My conclusion is that each and every member of the hotel team, irrespective of whether he or she is in direct contact with the guest or not contributes tremendously towards safeguarding and protecting the guests, which, in itself is one of the greatest marketing activities that a hotel can ever imagine of.
