SURVIVE RECESSION: CRISIS DISCOUNTS AT LUXURY HOTELS??

Slashing prices as a reaction to the recession is never good for business in the long run, and could also erode its brand image. Instead, hoteliers need to take an aggressive approach to keep paying customers happy. Market share is more important than ever in a slowdown. That means holding the line on extra fees and complementary services, and maintaining investments in service recovery and loyalty program is the need of the hour. A good luxury hotel does not need to discount. Customers would be coming up irrespective of whatever your rates are. It is these 2nd /3rd best hotels that are however affected and need to take up certain innovative strategies.
Increase Offerings Of Packages, Spa And Food/Beverage Complimentary Vouchers, And "Get The Fourth Night Free" Incentives. Instead of reducing the room charges ,the hotelier may offer complimentary fourth night for the customer booking for four nights.The customer may also be offered spa packages and complimentary meals to keep him happy.This is a win-win situation for both the hotelier and the customer.It could also offer added bonuses such as complimentary airport transfers, free car parking and free internet access.
Customization As A Key Aspect Of Luxury Service At The Normal Cost In Times Of Recession.The customer could be given an option to get the room customized to a certain extent according to his liking and get food menu decided prior at the time of booking.The customer must be intimated regarding the same if his request has been accepted or explained the reason for being unable to process his request.
Offer Meeting Packages To Lure Meeting And Business Travel Customers. The hotel can provide meeting space in the hotel or could tie-up with a banquet hall to arrange for the place.The guests could be welcomed with a glass of wine upon arrival. There can be a certain percentage of discount offered on all banquet food and beverages for the meeting group. Finally, this package could include one upgrade to a suite for every particular number of room nights contracted.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE : THE KEY TO CUSTOMER LOYALTY

To survive in the times of recession and otherwise to survive competition in the next decade, it becomes imperative for hotels to provide quality service to their customers. The most important function for a hotel is to align its internal operations with the customers’ needs and expectations. Listening to customers and understanding their needs is critical to building a successful business solution. Measure of customer satisfaction and service quality ,however becomes difficult because all customers have different perception of what constitutes a “good quality service".
The most important tool to know what customers really think about your services and what you ought to offer them as a part of their service quality parameter is by obtaining customer feedback for your services. The way you design your feedback form decides the importance and relevance of the information gathered from customers that could be used to move up the value chain.
It is not just enough to gather feedback, it is equally important to analyze the same and take up a suitable course of action based upon the findings. The questionnaire must include an option where the customer can include attributes important to him and rate hotel services on those attributes. The hotels can provide complementary gifts to customers filling the feedback form.
The forms must include open ended questions as well and provide plenty of space for comments so that customer is free to express his views and is not just restricted to options available in the form. The food parameter must not be restricted to just quality and taste as attributes. It is also necessary to ask the customers to rate their satisfaction level with respect to the portion size, menu variety and value for money and provide suggestions if any.
There must be an option to gather quantitative data from the customer so that it can be analyzed properly. For example a customer dissatisfied with the price of food must have an option to mention the price he is willing to pay for that service.Also, the customers must be informed of any changes that have been implemented by the hotel based upon their feedback and suggestions.