Small hotels must constantly find innovative ways to increase their occupancy rates in the competitive hospitality industry. One approach is to capitalize on local events that attract additional guests, such as conventions, major company gatherings, and citywide expositions.
NB: This is an article from Knowland
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These events generate high demand for hotel rooms, presenting small and select service hotels with an opportunity to maximize their revenue.
To successfully capture overflow business, small hotels need to monitor local event calendars and market trends closely. By doing so, they can identify prime opportunities to increase occupancy and tailor their strategies accordingly. Let’s explore how hotels lacking traditional meeting space can become the go-to accommodation choice for overflow business.
Leveraging Local Event Data for Strategic Planning
An effective strategy for small hotels to capture overflow business is to leverage local event data. Tools like Knowland provide valuable insights into annual or recurring events in specific sub-markets. By utilizing such tools, hotels can anticipate spikes in demand and tailor their outreach campaigns to attract overflow business.
Competitive calendar analysis and event impact assessment are crucial for identifying key events and their potential impact on a hotel’s occupancy rates. Analyzing historical attendance figures and economic impact helps hotels gauge the potential overflow business. Additionally, conducting market analysis to assess the capacity of nearby hotels is essential for identifying competitive advantages and potential overflow opportunities.
By effectively leveraging local event data, a small hotel can proactively identify overflow opportunities, tailor their sales efforts, and become the preferred choice for event attendees. This strategic approach can significantly boost occupancy rates, increase average daily rates, and enhance the hotel’s reputation within the local market.
Forming Strategic Partnerships with Event Organizers
Apart from leveraging local event data, small hotels can form strategic partnerships with event organizers, local Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), convention centers, and partner hotels to capture overflow business during major events. These partnerships enhance the hotel’s visibility, reach, and seamless overflow management.
These partnerships offer several key benefits:
Enhanced Visibility and Market Reach:
Partnering with CVBs can give a small hotel greater visibility among event planners and attendees. CVBs often maintain extensive databases of local accommodations and can recommend small hotels as overflow options. Additionally, joint marketing campaigns can help promote the region, driving more visitors to the area and increasing the demand for accommodations.
