Event Info
The hotel and MICE industries have been through a turbulent time, but now we’re moving in the right direction once again. Travel restrictions are finally a thing of the past in most countries. Both leisure and corporate travel are seeing a healthy pick-up in many regions – much to the delight of hoteliers and event management professionals. In order to benefit from this positive trend and to overcome some of the post covid challenges I have gathered some of my best tips and thoughts for the year to come.
The MICE & Group sales process is still labor-intensive compared to room sales. Use this time of change to implement new technology that will help you to overcome staff shortage. With the right technology you can send proposals in seconds which will give more time for analysis and personal recommendations. You will also be less vulnerable as the sales team grows, or decreases, having all the demands and their evolution at one spot.
The rise of the direct bookings is one of the positive effects that we have seen from the pandemic. By implementing applications in synergy between departments you can use the traffic and marketing efforts done on the website to catch the incoming demands for events and groups. With technology that transfers information directly from the website, into a proposal, you will be able to respond fast.
We all know that response time matters a lot for conversion rates. First five respondents win a whopping 75% of RFPs. One of the key takeaways from covid is certainly that things can change very fast. Taking that in account it can be hard to make projections even for six months ahead. Each sale needs to be optimized to ensure revenue, but also guest satisfaction. You are the expert on your property, by making recommendations on additional services to the original inquiry you contribute to a positive experience. Systematic up-selling allows you to present your offering and for the client to get the most out of the experience. It's a win-win for everyone.
This was a selection of some of my thoughts and learnings from the first part of the year, I look forward very much to continuing the discussion in Helsinki in September. Until then, take care and enjoy the summer!