Yes, invest in marketing. Whether that be creating a slogan, a theme, or a specific look. These are all aspects that contribute to your brand’s identity. However, most importantly, your brand’s identity comes from your relationships with your guests.
You can invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in your marketing and in your brand, but if the product does not speak for itself, then all of that money goes to waste. Your brand’s identity is how you market yourself, but more so, it is how you treat your customers and how you leave them feeling after their stay with you. You and your team are an important piece of the product.
Great relationships create great reviews:
Just think about how much TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Reviews play a role in your own planning when going on vacation. You see a terrible review, and immediately decide to look at the number of other hotel or restaurant options available in whichever location you are traveling.
So how do you get good reviews and keep the bad ones away? People, generally speaking, won’t leave a review if their stay was okay. If their stay was terrible, they will leave a review. To be honest, even bad reviews are better than no reviews in terms of SEO and exposure for your brand. Bad reviews give you an opportunity to showcase that you care in your responses. However, giving your guests a subpar experience and leaving them with no reason to speak about your brand and product can be extremely damaging for exposure.
An extraordinary experience could mean an extraordinary review. If you are confident in the relationship you and your staff have established with a guest, don’t be afraid to ask them to leave a good review.
Great relationships create brand loyalty:
We must make sure we are establishing emotional connections with our guests. We should be going out of our way to serve each of our guests on an individual level specifically targeting their needs.
Guests recognize when staff goes above and beyond for them. They also recognize when it’s clear that you’re trying to establish a personal connection. Those who feel connected to both your establishment and your staff will feel connected to your brand. Thus, remaining loyal to your brand.
The work, however, does not end at the end of their stay. Once your guest’s check-out, ask if it is okay if you can stay in touch. If they agree, ask them about their stay in an email. Invite them to come back with various incentives like a free appetizer at your hotel bar or a bottle of bubbly during their next stay.
Great relationships create guests for life:
I’ve been in the hospitality industry for a long time. I can’t tell you how many friends and colleagues I know (including myself) who will stay loyal to one hotel establishment or one hotel brand because of how much they love the staff. I’ve touched on this in one of my past blogs.
Consistency is everything. If you consistently treat guests as if they were friends or family, they will return the favor in more stays at your hotel. Like any type of relationship, the one between you and your guests it requires effort and nurturing.
It’s 100% worth the time and work.
