4 things independent Hotels should learn from Big Hotel Chains

The independent hotels are noticing a boom in their business these days courtesy of a hike in tourism overall.

But trends have an erratic nature and we should overwhelm with the current scenario.

As owners of independent hotels, we should have the vision to stay in the business and keep our growth maintained over the course of time.

Big Hotel Chains have done this beautifully.

They prosper for years facing all the challenges. So there is a lot the independent hotels should learn from Big Hotel Chains.

Let us check some of them.

Develop Brand Equity

Having a brand reputation does not just means that you have a name in the market.

It means that people put their trust in you and you have a strong client base and this is what we call brand equity.

There are many benefits of brand equity and some of them are:

• You can play with your rates and do the business on better margins
• Your brand gets a solid client base that is loyal to you. And they are not only your clients but also a source of marketing
• With great brand equity introducing a new service has more chances of success

Big hotel chains spent a lot on their brand equity. And they take great leverage also from it also.

So independent Hotels should learn this from big hotel chains and start building their brand equity.

Inventory Distribution

This new digital age has given hotels many channels to distribute their inventory. You can sell your rooms online through your websites, OTA, and metasearch engines and offline too through various ways like direct on-desk booking.

But the availability of so many options also put the hoteliers in a dilemma that how much inventory should be allotted to each of the channels.

If you over a lot of your inventory to OTAs then you will end up giving more commission and if you keep it for yourself then you can end up with vacant rooms.

The big hotel chains masters smart inventory distribution and independent hotels can learn it from them.

Adopt the latest technology

Big Hotel Chains adopt the latest technology as soon as they can. And this keeps them fresh. A guest never feels the services are outdated.

Whenever you visit them you will find something new.

Now the introduction of IoT, AI, and other technologies will enhance the guest experience even more.

I do not suggest investing a fortune to adopt the latest technology. The independent hotels obviously cannot match the budget big hotel chains have.

But what I suggest is that we should be influenced by their intent to be updated.

At least adopt that much which can be afforded. Implement the latest hotel software like QloApps which allows you to take and manage the online bookings by launching your website.

Set Service Standards and stick to them

According to the Institute of Customer Service, the service can be defined on the basis of three factors timeliness, accuracy, and appropriateness.

If we talk about timeliness then it means that in how much time the service delivers.

How much time do you promise your guest to fulfill their needs and then when the clock starts and how successful you are with that time span.

Then it comes to accuracy which means did you deliver what you promised.

To what extent do the information which you gave to your guests and the actual service you delivered match with each other.

In the end, your services should also be appropriate. This basically means that are your services answering the needs of the customer.

Big hotel chains are very particular about their standards. They set them high and then follow them strictly.

Conclusion

It is evident that those multi-hotel brands have their name in the market due to a reason. People trust them due to a reason.

They must be doing something special. The independent hotels need to learn that.

We aspire to serve the hotel industry with our product QloApps and in that process, we have taken a step forward by launching the QloApps Forum. So please raise any of your issue on our Forum.

For any kind of technical assistance, just raise a ticket.