Does the thought of hundreds of guests descending on your property, filling the rooms, restaurant, halls and lobby sound like a dream, or a nightmare? On the face of it, it can seem like a wonderful opportunity for meeting targets, but small cracks that may appear during the day-to-day running of a property can spread and break under the pressure of MICE
Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (or MICE) are fantastic ways to up your bookings, particularly over quiet seasons, and can generate income year on year when managed successfully. But it is the feedback that you receive year-round, together with the feedback received at such events, that will make sure that your offerings are adequate and ready for MICE.
What MICE can bring to your hotel
As a growing industry, with a global projected value of over $1,245 billion within the next five years, MICE present a perfect opportunity for venue and accommodation providers who are able to offer the whole-package and exceed expectations for lodging, dining and entertainment to make the most of the expanding market.
Properties that find success hosting MICE will not only benefit from the immediate income generated, but will have the opportunity to benefit repeatedly in the future if they meet or exceed delegates’ expectations. This may come in the form of repeat business from companies organising their private functions or those responsible for hosting a variety of public events.
And it’s not only the organisers who will be impressed either. A property that is not only able to accommodate hundreds of guests at a time, but still provide excellent service and facilities to each of them in turn will benefit from the best that word of mouth can offer. Delegates will be likely to return not just for the next year’s event, but for trips of other natures as well.
How can guest feedback (and a guest feedback partner) help?
When done right, MICE can be an excellent form of income, repeat direct bookings and the loyalty of hundreds of guests all in one fell swoop. But when filling your property to capacity, there is also the potential for small issues that may have gone unnoticed during regular operations to become stumbling blocks, and result in less-than-impressed delegates, and another venue being booked for the following year.
This is where feedback is instrumental in establishing delegate’s preferences, finding out what your property’s strengths and weaknesses are, and making improvements backed by data.
Personalisation made possible through pre-stay questionnaires
No one wants to be treated as just a head in a bed, however, providing a personalised experience to hundreds of guests at a time can be challenging to say the least.
The feedback that you can receive from pre-stay questionnaires will be invaluable in this instance — providing you with details about the delegates before they arrive, and the opportunity to accommodate preferences from the start, rather than learning them during the course of their stay. This makes accommodating meal preferences and food allergies much easier, for example, as arrangements can be made in advance.
Accommodation providers also have the opportunity to provide a more personalised experience for delegates of similar MICE events in future, as they can garner a better understanding of the particular needs for each event. For example, if a hotel were to host an annual art exhibition, each year they would be likely to encounter similar enquiries regarding lighting, installation and equipment. Though the staff may not be well versed in the world of art, they can have answers for such questions prepared before the delegates arrive.
