sun city- how could anyone be unhappy in this vacation paradise where tanned natives and sunburned tourists basked on white sand beaches all year round? but Gregory Earle, general management of the 122-room sun &surf inn, was unhappy as he gazed out of his office window. why aren't those tourists at my hotel, He wondered as a sleek, silver tour bus cruised past his property. "headed for the beachcomber, I'll bet, "though Greg, picking up the latest sales report from his desk. Tour groups made up only five percent of the sun & surf's business, and occupancy was down eight points from budget. Greg couldn't help but think two were somehow related.
Greg had been general manager of the sun & surf inn for only thee months. This was his first position at a travel destination property; the other hotels he'd managed in this nation chain drew most of their business from commercial travelers,not tourists.His predecessor left for a new opportunity,followed closely by the resignation of the hotel's sales director, who took with her a couple of profitable accounts with tour operators and wholesalers.Now,greg's sales staff consisted of his new director of sales,Kendra wilson,who was promoted from the sales position she held with the hotel for the past two years. Greg called Kendra to his office,hoping she could help him get a handle on their sales picture.
"Kendra,why aren't we pulling in the tour groups the way the beachcomber does?" Greg asked."Our rates are comparable,we've got the same amenities,and we're actually closer to the beach than they are.So why are we only doing five percent in tour group business?"
Kendra looked uncomfortable."well,we lost a couple of key tour accounts when the director of sales of sales left,and she had to work hard to keep them before then.The last general manager was not always real good about paying commissions to the tour companies on time.That,and we haven't sent anyone to the pow wow or Florida huddle for a while.we were always arguing over whether trade shows were worth the expense,"she said.
Seeing greg's confusion,Kendra explained that trade shows like the pow wow and florida huddle,as well as the notional tour association(NTA) trade show,were good places to consider for soliciting business from tour companies and wholesalers,which contract with a hotel for a certain number of room nights which they build into tour packages.
It sounds like we need to get back on the trade show circuit if we're going to boost to boost our occupancy rate,"said greg."Kendra,i'd like to have you look into those shows and spend some time meeting with tour operators and wholesalers as part of your marketing plan. That should get us back on track.
kendra shock her head. It's not that easy Greg.It takes time to build Strong relationship with tour operators and wholesalers. Besides,these folks book their business a year in advance. Even if I start now,we won't see the results on our books until sometime next year.I'm willing to take on the challenge but we'll neea to look at some other marketing strategies that will show results sooner than later.
Greg rolled up his sleeves. All right,where do we start ?
Kendra showed him her marketing plan. She met regularly with the local convention and visitor's bureau to keep on top of events that were bringing group into town.she read the business pages of the daily newspaper to find new businesses that were coming into the area,and called on them to make them aware of the hotel and to ask for their business.The hotel was listed with two local colleges that recommended,as well as to visiting athletic teams.
Kendra had also recently updarted the hotel's two billboards which were located in prominent positions along the two major highways leading into sun city.we're listed in the AAA book too kendra said.
that's great said greg. How big is our ad? I didn't say we had an ad: I said we were listen, Kendra repiled. Oh, well, how about any of the coupon books for our low-demand dates? At my last property, we were in a couple of travel club programs,like Entertainment Card. No? Maybe you should look into that, said Greg.Okay. I've tried to put together some attractive packages to bring in people during out low demand times,but they don't seem to work very well, said Kendra. Greg asked if the reservation agents were actively selling those packages, and of their chain's central reservations office had an updated listing of the hotel's special rates. I don't know, said Kendra. I gave the information to Luis. I never thought to check out what happened after that. Thank, Kendra, said Greg. Why don't you meet with Luis about those packages, and we'll all get together to discuss this further.