Now is the time for hotel marketers to shift focus from price to value

It is known that Hotels lead in recession and lag in recovery, the same situation as for the airline companies. The last 2 years have been tough on hotels because of the worldwide economic crisis. Companies had to cut off their expenses which meant reducing a lot their travel expenses. Therefore it was difficult for hoteliers to fill in their hotels. In order to be competitive, they to sell off their room rates. During this period, value had no importance compared to price. A interesting room rate was a big value.

But today, hotels are slowly starting to recover from the economic crisis, and the low occupancy rates. They are willing to increase their prices, and add more value to a guest's reservation and stay. Indeed, as Wyman Roberts, president of Chili’s Grill & Bar said: "There are other ways to provide value than just price". Hotels need to increase their prices, stay competitive and focus on value.

The impact on the hotel business would be beneficial as it would increase the room revenues, but also the additional revenues of the industry. Hoteliers can add value by applying the dynamic packaging on their websites, which is proposing some special offers to guests, including many different things that would attract them, and invite them to book. Dynamic packaging should be place on the booking engine of the hotel, while customers are making their bookings. In addition to the room, they can book other services of the hotel that they would probably not have thought about. I believe dynamic packaging is very important for hoteliers as it is a real source of additional revenue. Hoteliers should also take great care of their websites as it also adds value to the hotel. A hotel website is a brochure, a business card, a link to share with other friends,... It is everything that can add real value to the hotel, and encourage customers to book, regardless of a higher rate.

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