You do your best to provide clean, comfortable and well-maintained rooms and suites, enticing amenities, and value-driven rates for your hotel guests, but that may not be enough to drive repeat business, let alone expand to new markets. How can your hotel group optimize repeat business and enter new international markets and be successful?
One way to expand to new markets is to focus on international group sales.
If this is a different angle for you, don’t worry. International group sales techniques really aren’t that different from what you’ve done before. Here are three sales strategies that will probably sound familiar, but can help you bring more guests to your hotels.
Tell Them You Have What They Need
One way to attract international group sales is to offer deals targeted to the respective market. Every business is on a budget, so when you can provide what a corporate group needs for a discounted price, they’re usually happy to oblige. You can create specific group packages or offer to create custom deals, always offering a discount on the combined price of the rooms and spaces they book. Remember that international markets have different needs than your local market the majority of the time.
Offer Cross-Promotionals
Anytime there’s a large national or international event in your area, the demand for hotel rooms goes up. This is a prime opportunity for your sales team. Look ahead at the year’s events and plan promotions around them. You can offer discounted rates with proof of attendance, a limited-time-only deal, or group discount rates if there’s an event that attracts professional or organizational groups who will book together. Let your sales team research exhibitors and attendees of these events.
Timing is everything with this strategy. You know there will be a lot of people looking for rooms, so offer your promotion to this market at the time they are making travel plans.
If you really plan ahead, you can even pitch your hotel as the ideal spot for event planners to host their event in future years.
Build Partnerships
You might already work with travel agents or other tourism and hospitality partners. Great! But can they help you with your international group sales? If they haven’t before, ask. If they cannot, broaden your network.
To find new partners, we recommend focusing on tradeshows and familiarization trips. When your sales team attends a tradeshow, ask them to focus on connecting with potential partners who work with groups. Companies and agents who organize group tours and trips always need hotels willing to give them a good deal on a package of rooms.
You can also invite potential partners to join you on a familiarization trip. Treat them to a visit and invite them to stay at different locations to get a taste for what you offer guests. This is a great way to help partners see how perfect your hotels are for the travel groups they cater to so they can recommend or book you for their clients.
Still looking for more hotel sales strategies and a variety of people to increase bookings and revenue? Not sure how to effectively tap into a new market?
The team at connectworldwide can help. Our sales solutions extend internationally with a local touch and can help you to develop the custom strategies you need to grow your hotel brand.
Best of all, you can save big in travel expenses when you work with a local office at considerably less cost compared to market specialists. We’re proud to be a local extension to act as your entry door to new source markets. Contact us to learn more and get a custom proposal today.
