In 2005, hotels in the United States generated $100 billion in revenue, primarily from the foodservice sector. Luxury hotels also did brisk business, with smaller hotels also generating additional revenue through value-added services. Since the hotel industry is booming, it is a great time for providers to take advantage of this boom and market themselves to industry representatives.
Hotel planners:
If you are planning to showcase your products and services to the hospitality industry, you should approach hotel planners. There are more than 70,000 hotel planners in the US and their ideas and initiatives have generated $44 billion in revenue for the hotel industry. To market your services in the hotel industry, you need to know the hotel planners and executives.
How to market to the hospitality industry:
To sell your services to the hospitality industry, you need to reach hotel planners and managers. However, they are not easy to contact as they place a high value on your time and have probably been approached by dozens of vendors before you.
1) Identify the industry sectors where your products will be most useful. If planners think your products are useful, they’ll definitely want to know more.
2) Plan your marketing strategy before approaching people in the hospitality business.
3) Internet, emails, direct mail, print media are all good mediums to get your message across to people in the hospitality business.
4) Be a member of any association of vendors or related in the hospitality sector. This will lead to more exposure of your services to people in the hospitality industry.
5) Provide hotel planners with information about your products and reduce sales talk. Planners are pressed for time; And they won’t be too happy if they take the time to listen to you, only to find that you don’t have much to say.
6) Use innovative marketing strategies to get the attention of planners. Program calendars, calculators, graphing software, etc. they are always in demand within the hospitality industry, so you can demonstrate the use of such innovative tools to hotel executives and planners.
Hospitality: Growth Sectors.
High-growth areas of the hospitality industry include food and beverage and full-service hotels. Food and beverage departments in major hotels have been given more autonomy, so you can communicate directly with the department manager for marketing purposes. Vendors and suppliers of food, beverages, cookware, cutlery, linens, and furniture can greatly benefit from this.
With so many opportunities for providers to take advantage of, it’s no wonder they want to serve the hospitality industry. With proper planning and the right marketing strategies, you should be able to get ahead of your competitors and get lucrative deals from hotels.