The goal of most Hotels is to maximize occupancy of their beds and rental rates. This means their marketing efforts tend to focus on attracting people to stay at the Hotel, promoting rooms, the Hotel’s amenities, or the general area. Yet your Hotel restaurant may be one of its biggest amenities, and it can earn money from those who aren’t going to stay at the Hotel. They can also serve as a way to promote the Hotel and get more guests as a result. Let’s talk about how to promote your Hotel’s restaurant.
Create an Online Presence for the Restaurant Itself
One strategy is to create a separate webpage and social media presence for your restaurant. What you want is for the restaurant to truly exist as a separate entity. This allows the restaurant to garner reviews like any other restaurant. It lets you promote the restaurant to locals, generating a steady stream of paying customers.
But you don’t have to use your social media page as a glorified billboard. The separate social media page can reference music groups performing at the restaurant, or wine tastings held there for instance. Or you could use it to advertise a charity event or gala. All of this builds your reputation with residents, and it can lead to referrals when they send out-of-town visitors there to sleep. By having separate web pages and social media accounts for the Hotel and restaurant, you can cross-promote as appropriate.
Take Control of Your Business on Local Listings
Local listings remain one of the go-to sources of information on restaurants and Hotels by visitors. You should differentiate your Hotel and your restaurant from each other by giving the restaurant its address. Then the maps that rely on local business directories to determine what business is at your Hotel address aren’t confused. If this happens, it downgrades your Hotel and restaurant in location-based searches.
Give the restaurant and Hotel separate phone numbers to prevent confusion by callers and search engines alike. Post the link to the Hotel on its business directory page, and put the unique link for the restaurant on its page. A side benefit of this strategy is that it allows you to apply different keywords to your Hotel and restaurant business directory entries.
Suppose you’ve set up a local business directory listing for the Hotel and restaurant. Now replicate it across every business directory you can. Repetition is key. Use the same format for the business name, address, phone number, and website. When you have set up dozens of business directory links back to your business, it ensures that your restaurant comes up in local searches no matter what directory potential diners are using.
One benefit of this tactic is that you can experiment with deals and coupons offered through various local business directories and learn what offers to lead to the greatest increase in sales. You can also use these platforms as another way to reach potential customers. For example, reference your restaurant’s location as next door to your Hotel. You may end up with a few people researching their dinner options and booking a room.
Seek Reviews
Customers use reviews to decide where they want to eat. By breaking your restaurant from your Hotel in online listings, you’ll be able to separate negative reviews for your breakfast menu from the positive reviews for your Hotel’s room service. You want to generate reviews for the restaurant so that locals are more likely to visit it.
Respond to reviews to show that management appreciates its customers. Also, make sure that you move in the right direction. If they complained about the service or food quality, then you have to address who or what is responsible and fix the situation. This could mean hiring a better chef or considering buying better ingredients. Reputation is everything nowadays, and your restaurant won’t survive for long if it keeps getting bad reviews left and right, so make sure you work on keeping your profile as clean as possible.
Combine Restaurant and Hotel Promotions
Send a drink voucher to people who booked a room, and you’ve dramatically increased the odds they’ll order a meal as well. Give Hotel guests a discount on restaurant meals during their stay. Experiment with “packages”, making free meals and discounted drinks at the restaurant a reward for those who rent a block of hotel rooms or book a luxury suite.
A side benefit of setting up separate online presences for the Hotel and restaurant is that you can experiment with flash deals with one or the other and learn what works best for your business. You can set up a campaign for one or the other. You can run a Facebook and Instagram promotion for the restaurant knowing that it will affect Hotel occupancy. You could work with an agency to learn what online advertising strategy works best for you. Some even use AI to create smart ad campaigns, targeting different types of ads and deals at prospective visitors so that you can maximize your ROI.
Be Careful with Bookings
A successful Hotel restaurant will become a profit center in its own right. However, you should book tables for your Hotel guests so that they’re never left waiting. Many Hotel restaurants offer mediocre food at a high price, but making someone who paid to stay there waiting for that meal is considered poor service. However, if you can make the Hotel restaurant its profit center, you may break the mold by offering high-quality food at a decent price. Then you’ll get rave reviews from Hotel guests who love the restaurant. Moreover, recognize that negative restaurant reviews can end up hurting Hotel bookings. For example, if the restaurant isn’t serving patrons as well as expected, they can’t expect much out-of-room service either.
Running Hotels and restaurants are both demanding jobs, and trying to run both at the same time is a complicated task. Marketing the restaurant in addition to the Hotel is equally challenging, but it often pays off.
Unleash the hidden potential within your Hotel team
In my articles, I often talk about the importance of technology, Social Media, and New Media. But in today’s modern Hotels their most important assets are their team members.
Some research has shown that team members’ efficiency and talent determine the pace and growth of the organization. And your Hotel team member’s skills account for 85% of the organization’s assets.
So, for the modern Hotel today the most valuable asset will be its knowledgeable and productive team members.
The bottom line today is that team members need to continue to grow to remain engaged and productive.
Team happiness has increasingly become an imperative for Hotels.
Several types of research and data show the importance of inducing happiness in your Hotel.
Studies have found that happy team members are up to 20% more productive than unhappy team members. And organizations that have induced happiness also experience a positive impact on revenue and team members stay longer with them.
Over to you
The hotel industry is always changing, especially during a time of crisis. Make sure to future-proof your business and continue attracting new guests by investing in these solutions.
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I need to let you all know that we are in on this together. If you need to vent, talk, cry, or just have someone to talk with, I am here listening.
Where to reach me
Email: hotelblogger@aremorch.com
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We will get through this unprecedented event together! #hotelstrong #hospitalitystrong
For any specific information on COVID-19, I recommend going to CDC, WHO, AHLA, AAHOA, and HSMAI. Also, follow information from your local authorities.
NOTE
The hotel industry still is facing some uphill challenges. Make sure you follow their guidelines and say THANK YOU to those that now show a unique spirit to serve, and help us all get through this!! #hotelstrong #hospitalitystrong
About Are Morch
Are Morch is a digital transformation coach helping hotels open their digital gateways, reimagine their processes and culture, and transform experiences in a fast-paced world while earning more direct bookings without competing with the OTA!
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