Dealing with the stresses of Q4

Finish your last quarter of 2017 on a high note and overcome the stresses associated with Q4! With the upcoming holidays and holiday travel, you can maximize your revenue and entice travelers to book to strongly wrap up Q4.

Continue marketing

This should be a no-brainer but you must continue online marketing efforts. That includes publishing or revising content on your website, updating keywords and keyword phrases, posting on social media channels, and emailing your guests to remind them about that getaway they’ve been thinking about.

Offer deals and last-minute bookings

Everyone loves a deal and by offering discounts, new packages, or reduced rates for last-minute bookings, you could increase your occupancy rates for the end of the year. Tie these discounts into the holiday season so guests know they’re only for a limited time or even offer BOGO deals where guests buy a room night now and get an extra room night in 2018.

Relax policies

If you really want to open your property for holiday travelers, you might think about relaxing policies like minimum night stays, pet, and children policies. You could compensate with additional fees for these relaxed options as well.

Have gifts

You should already be offering gift certificates for your guests but you could expand on the gift idea by offering mugs, sweaters, robes, or branded soaps and shampoos for sale on your website or at the front desk.

Hire additional staff or rely on new resources

There are many people looking for seasonal or holiday jobs and why not let them handle some of the front desk work or housekeeping duties so you can focus on business operations?

Up-sell packages and POS items

Encourage your guests to enhance their getaway with a package, POS item, or even upgrading their room. You can easily set these emails to be delivered automatically two or three weeks prior to their arrival date.

Run audits

While your seasonal staff is manning the front desk, it’s time for some audits. This is the perfect time to review your internal operations, your tools and channels, as well as a general property audit to ensure everything is in tip-top shape. Whether you need to invest in new lightbulbs for your guest rooms or negotiate your commission for an OTA that’s underperforming, it’s better to go into the new year with an active plan instead of being reactive later in the year.