the patterns and new booking methods to get their fair-share of the business .
IDENTIFYING AND PLANNING FOR A NEW BUSINESS MIX REQUIRES THINKING AND ACTING DIFFERENTLY . Most hotels had to pivot to find new business , which created the opportunity to attract previously untapped segments . It ’ s critical that operators review all resources to ensure the deployment is aligned with these new opportunities . Is the sales department set up to target and capture the new segments ? Is the operations team prepared to deliver the right service that meets the expectations of the new type of customer ?
New segments bring different customer types and different customer expectations . Is the hotel servicing to the new customer expectations ? Understand where the hotel may need some improvement . Listen to what the customer is saying . Speak with the operations team to understand the gaps from their perspective and map out a plan of action to close these gaps and address the needs .
A common desire for many hotels continues to be shifting from a previous group focused segment to the luxury leisure customer . This type of shift requires an entirely new way of thinking and servicing . The hotel sales team should be made up of individuals that understand and have experience in luxury leisure and have the right contacts to ensure hotel awareness . A full assessment of all the critical leisure programs will be needed and decisions for investments into these programs will need to be made .
Servicing the luxury customer is very different from servicing group customers . Their expectations are by far much more demanding compared to the group customer . It is critical that operators ensure proper customer service training to prepare the entire team throughout the hotel for the new type of customer . And be prepared that this will not happen overnight .
DYNAMIC POLICIES ARE AN EXPECTATION . The pandemic forced most hotels to be nimble with reservation policies . However , there is an opportunity to look at policies on a more granular level . Be sure
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