The hospitality industry moves at a rapid rate. As a hotelier, you always have to come up with effective strategies to stay in the competition.
One of the strategies is to collaborate with the local community. In this blog, we will learn how you can enhance the hotel’s success with the local community.
Before diving in let’s understand the need for this collaboration.
Collaborating with the local community adds a piece of local culture to your hotel. You can showcase the heart and soul of the destination.
Also, this collaboration involves strategic partnerships. By joining hands with the local community, you can enhance your hotel revenue and also support the local economy, creating a win-win situation for both.
Promoting sustainable tourism can always be beneficial for your brand image. When hotels engage with local businesses, they are open to more ways to contribute to the environment.
You can get help from local businesses for eco-friendly products and services, that will reduce your dependency on third-party suppliers and save you on cost.
For example, you can partner with your local farmer or distribution partner for fresh and local groceries, reducing the need for long periods of shipment.
By working with the local communities, hotels can initiate sustainable practices such as waste reduction, water conservation, saving energy and turn your property into an eco-friendly hotel.
Engaging your hotel with local businesses can provide an authentic experience that you can’t replicate with fancy items. Collaboration with the local community allows hoteliers to showcase the cultural richness of the community.
You can serve the regional cuisine to your guests which is prepared by the local chef. With this, your guests can experience the authentic taste of the community.
Moreover, you can improve the guest experience as the local community in your hotel can provide your guests with insider knowledge. This can help guests to plan their itinerary more effectively.
Hosting events for the local community can boost your relationship with the community. You can host local events in your hotel and invite local people who can interact with your guests.
You can organize entertaining events such as live music performances or art exhibitions that provide fun and engaging experiences for the attendees. Or, you can organize community-focused events such as charity or workshops that are relevant to local interest or just celebrate any local holiday.
Just by simply planning events in your hotels, you can build a strong relationship with the community.
The locals live near your hotel premises. So they can be more loyal to you than your out-of-town guest. For instance, they might visit your bar every weekend, or have a meal at your restaurant very often. There are good chances that they refer your restaurant or hotel to their contact very often, which can increase your sales.
To attract more locals and make the most of this, you can create a loyalty program to keep engaging with your hotel services. You can provide discounts at your bar or attractive deals on your meals at your restaurants, which will make them visit again.
Do you offer additional facilities and amenities at your hotel? If you do, share them with the local community as well.
Many times the local community is not aware of your hotel’s facilities such as gyms, spas or the amazing rooftop bar.
You can market these facilities among the locals and welcome them to use them. You can also implement this for digital nomads and remote workers.
If you have a great lobby or a simple cafe, advertise it among the local remote workers. This not only builds a strong relationship with the community but also increases your hotel revenue.
If you own a hotel, you must know the importance of having loyal employees. Your staff is the key element for your hotel business, so you need to be extra careful before hiring them.
You can hire people from the community as bring several advantages with them.
The local employees have a deep understanding of the local culture and attractions which can be invaluable when assisting guests and providing them with recommendations.
If your hotel is located in an where a specific language is spoken, hiring the locals can be very beneficial for you. The staff can act as translators between the guests and other locals and can help with the guest’s needs. This can ensure effective communication and improve guest satisfaction.
Hiring the local can also be cost-effective. The local employees don’t need relocation assistance or additional financial incentives to work at the hotel. This can significantly reduces the operational cost and also make the hiring process more smooth.
One of the major benefits of a local as an employee is the long-term commitment. The local employees are easy to retain and can stick with you for many years.
So, in this blog post, we have learned about the potential of the local community. This collaboration can create more local employment, and contribute to the local economy.
Collaboration also promotes tourism and preserves the authenticity of the community. By leveraging the community’s ability, you can easily build your brand image and climb the stairs of hotel success.
Go Vocal for Local!
Thanks for reading my article on How to enhance hotel success with local community.
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