There are hundreds of types of travelers in the world — lovers of comfort, corporate tourists, families, groups, backpackers*...

*backpacking (from the word backpack) — travels with little money, usually without contacting a tour operator. For the most part, these guests are staying in hostels.

In the chain of Friday hostels, which is part of the Ribas Hotels Group, a hotel management company, this type of travelers takes 94% of guests.

You can read more about how we work with this group of travelers here.

According to forecasts of skeptics, the most vulnerable group in terms of travel will be business tourists, as employers have already significantly reduced the cost of travel. However, top management and first-level businessmen will not travel less on business. Moreover, overall business travel spending is expected to grow by 7% over the course of the current year. Of course, it is necessary to have knowledge on how to attract customers to the hotel.

With the dynamic development of technology and increased comfort, even business travelers expect hoteliers to provide easy, fast, and at the same time amazing service.

Why should hotels attract business travelers?

Attracting business travelers will increase the hotel's occupancy, especially during these difficult times.

In addition, according to USA Today, 80 percent of guests at top hotels such as Marriott and Hilton are corporate clients.

Most business travelers choose hotels where you can hold corporate negotiations and business meetings. At the same time, along with providing guests with such opportunities on a regular basis and at a high level, this aspect of the industry allows you to increase the occupancy of hotels, offer a refined menu and other services that reflect the individual style of such travelers.

In addition, it attracts new guests and increases the number of regular visitors to the hotel.

So we offer 7 ways to attract corporate clients to the hotel:

Special rates and destress packages

Business trips are a part of the job of business people. Therefore, they want to experience positive emotions by staying in a hotel. There are also cases when entrepreneurs extend their stay at the hotel due to unplanned meetings or for personal reasons.

With a busy work schedule, the workload of business meetings and travel can cause stress and a feeling of frustration. Therefore, if you are questioning how to find customers in a hotel — identify the main criteria by which they will choose your hotel from the list of others.

This segment of the business audience always pays attention to corporate rates with leisure opportunities. Many large hotels or chains have implemented a so-called destress package. It may include:

This method allows you to turn a business trip into a stress-free trip.

Be visible

With the current heavy use of the Internet, social media is in high demand not only among those who enjoy a comfortable stay, but also among business travelers.

They use social networks to stay in touch with experts, keep up with business trends, and find out what their competitors are doing this time.

Facebook, instagram, LinkedIn and other resources are used to search for information about hotels. This is the answer to the question of how to attract customers to the hotel. Communicate with them on the platforms they are on.

Experience of Ribas Hotels Group: Communication with subscribers is not interrupted, even if we are talking about resort hotels that accept guests from May to September. Social networks publish news about hotels, updates, menus, new offers and, of course, congratulations on holidays. Thus, the specialists of hospitality facilities show their potential and present guests that the hotel is functioning, developing and waiting for its guests.

Advantages of email

Most corporations actively use e-mail. This is almost the only category of travelers who simply need to interact with via email. Make it a point to send them emails before they arrive at the hotel, after they check in, and after they leave. This will help the hotelier perfectly interact with guests and inform them about the main and additional services of the hotel, about promotions that are available.

Let them know about business forums and exhibitions that take place in the region. You can even recommend places where guests can relax after a busy day.

Experience of Ribas Hotels Group: In the hotels of the chain, such as Wall Street Hotel, Bossfor, Ribas, Bortoli, etc., guests are offered a special map of the city, which shows attractions nearby, restaurants with local cuisines, cultural events: festivals, concerts, etc.

Entrepreneurs usually come for business reasons. Therefore, your email sent to guests before their arrival will introduce you to a list of services that will help travelers work productively and efficiently. For example: “Would you like to rent a meeting room? Reserve a table at a restaurant?” etc.

At the same time, emails sent to guests after departure should be tailored to their specific needs, such as offering special business packages and discounts that they can use on their next visits. As you can see, in this case, the query "How to attract corporate clients to the hotel?” quite logically resolved. You just need to give them that set of utilities.

More information about the service details that the company successfully uses can be found in the expert material "hotel management: service begins long before the guest checks into the hotel".

Transfer service

According to research, more than 45% of tourists positively assess the possibility of a transfer service. The first and most suitable service for guests at this stage is delivery to the hotel from the airport or railway station. Waiting for a taxi or taking public transport can be frustrating for business travelers.

Foreign experts in the hospitality industry have even developed a special technical term that means a close connection between business and leisure — Bleisure = Business (business) + Leisure (leisure). So, if you turn your guests' stay at your hotel into this very bleisure, they will return to your hotel again and again to repeat their positive consumer experience.

Use the opportunity to make a good impression on the corporates — offer them a convenient and hassle-free transfer from the airport (and then from the hotel to the place they need). This is the best way to create a friendly atmosphere for hotel guests.

Fast check-in/check-out

For business travelers, time is the most important thing in their profession (and in our business, too!). This is why they always prefer to stay in hotels where all procedures are quick and easy.

So, the most important factor in attracting business tourists to the hotel is to speed up the process of check-in and check-out. The absence of paperwork at check-in and check-out avoids misunderstandings and saves time. Today, hotel terminals and Internet portals for guest registration are in high demand, especially among millennial travelers.

Healthy food and grab and go

Business travelers work long hours during their trips, so they usually don't have time to choose the food offered in hotels.

On the contrary, they operate on the grab and go principle. But here it is important to transfer them from the category "on the run" to the category "stayed at the hotel". If the hotel has a menu that the guest likes, then they will not seek to eat somewhere outside of it. On the contrary, he will even try to hold some business meetings in the hotel restaurant.

For this category of guests, it is very important to stay energetic and fit during the trip. So make sure that the menu is gluten-free and vegan. Guests will also appreciate the availability of healthy food such as toast, cereals, yoghurts and fruit.

Loyalty programs

Hotels launch loyalty programs not only to increase sales at the hotel, but also to attract guests to the hotel. These programs will help you increase your brand value and improve your reputation in your niche. When combined with other advantages (such as having a group of hotels), they can attract business travelers to the hotel and retain these customers by offering what they like-for example, free nights at the hotel or discounted accommodation.

Guests also appreciate steps that make trips less troublesome — free transfers, drinks at the hotel's expense, and discounted Spa services.

These programs are not only the best way to attract corporate clients, but also an opportunity to create a customer base. To provide you with a personalized service afterwards.

To properly serve business travelers, it is important to focus on convenience, efficiency, and technology. Such guests will not only bring new customers to your door by making verbal recommendations and leaving good reviews. They will also help attract a different type of audience to the hotel, even during low seasonal tourist activity.

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Marketing promotion of hotels with Ribas Hotels Group. More details follow the link.

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