The emergence of third-party planners, as well as the migration to apps and digital RFP tools, has revolutionized the way hotels make their sales today, especially the hotel sales pipeline.
Yet, most leaders in the hospitality business still seem to be unsure about how they can outsell the competition.
Consider this: research shows that 72% of sales managers regularly review their hotel sales pipeline in monthly staff meetings – but despite this, 65% of sales reps are still not able to meet their quota.
The best way to combat this issue is to focus on capitalizing group demand, book as many meeting spaces as possible and get more revenue from each booking with the help of Big Data and the Cloud.
Remember, today’s digitally connected world gives your sales and marketing team unprecedented data-driven insights for identifying and connecting with quality prospects.
Here, we will delve into the nuance of hotel sales pipelines, laying out three essential ways to grow sales for your business.
1 - Improve Hotel Lead Management
Growing group demand, along with the ability to book more sales, leads to a never-ending flood of RFP leads that very few venues and hotels are equipped to deal with.
About 75% of proposals are won over by the first five properties, i.e. the ones that respond the fastest, so you have to optimize your lead intake, qualification and reaction times.
Even with an influx of RFPs, it can be easy to lose track of opportunities without putting in place a smart lead scoring system.
To do this, look at your hotel’s internal processes and systems, optimize response times through intelligent processes, create multi-user systems that make it easier to follow up on inquiries, etc.
2 - Capture Opportunities For Better Hotel F&B
People usually choose their hotels and event venues depending on the location and price. Additionally, as per a recent IACC Survey of Event Planners, a hotel’s Food & Beverages department is third-highest determining factor in site selection.
Perhaps this is why 60% of hotels are planning to expand their catering department; you can grow the efficiency of your F&B by using an event & catering management technology that enhances your output.
On-premise restaurants and catering kitchens alike can benefit from software tools that help manage event orders and other details. In fact, the right CRM software can also help discover more opportunities for upselling and analyze data to deliver relevant information on the potential future of your F&B sales.
Overall, it’s important to make your hotel’s F&B a more substantial part of the sales strategy; this way, you can get more prospects moving through the funnel.
3 - Focus On Nurturing And Loving Your Customers
One of the most important things that sales teams often forget is the due follow-up process; it is mostly a sporadic and half-hearted attempt at engaging old customers.
Automated responses can help you overcome this dilemma, while also boosting marketing results, enhancing guest experience and growing customer loyalty. All of this ultimately has a great impact on your sales and revenue.
For instance, did you know that targeted emails generate 58% of all digital revenue? This is a powerful medium that can remind your clients of your brand and offerings.
Automation apps can be programmed to send out triggered emails to your clients when they check-in, check out or to remind them of upcoming events they may have signed up for. Send out new offers to old clients to recapture their business or help expedite the booking process.
However, make sure you target your email lists carefully so recurring customers don’t get the same introductory email as a first-time guest. In short, the idea is to tailor your message according to the guest profiles you are working with.
In Conclusion
Hospitality sales managers are under more pressure than ever to take a proactive approach to managing hotel sales pipelines – this includes creative lead nurturing techniques, combining social selling with traditional marketing tactics, automating the sales system, etc.
Hotel and Venue CRM from Event Temple can make it easier than before to create a hotel sales pipeline that helps you stay on top of your business and enhance its profitability like never before.
Want to learn more about our hotel & venue management software. Get a demo of EventTemple now.
