Focus on your value proposition
A value proposition articulates the unique promise a hotel makes to its guests. It is not a slogan nor is it a positioning statement or a catch phrase. It’s more than that. It’s the ‘why’ and ‘how’ your hotel should be the traveler’s choice – because by reflecting its core identity it becomes the hotel that provides the best solution to the customers’ needs.
The majority of hotels today however, are what some would describe as ‘Settler’ hotels – offering more or less the same value to buyers as the rest of the industry. Your customers are out there asking themselves, “Why should I spend more?” or “Why should I choose this hotel that’s no further away from the other hotels to where I’d ideally like to be?” A lot of product / service offerings are perceived as commodities in the mind of the customer. When everything is perceived as equal, the cheapest option usually wins, in the short term - because in the long run, it is a race towards diminishing revenue.
The value proposition of a hotel is to make a customer book with the hotel. Hence, a strong value proposition is important. If it is weak it is of no use; leaving the would-be customer to only lean, if at all, on any price point advantage. Most customers though, may simply overlook or bypass it and move on to checking out other hotels.
For example a hotel might claim to provide comfortable, clean accommodations, convenient location, exceptional guest amenities and services, great dining options and customized travel packages – which may appear attention-grabbing. The problem is that many hotels online claim commonly similar value propositions. There is no hook that differentiates one hotel from another! No short and snappy statement that retains and engages the ‘shopper’ by powerfully conveying what your brand has to offer over that of other competitor hotels.
To differentiate one’s property, the offering must be unique – something different than what one’s competitive set has deployed. Some hotels employ exaggerated claims and hyperbolic statements that are far from genuine to create an illusion of superiority to entice customers. Phrases such as “unparalleled luxury”, “best-in-class service” or “most exclusive” are outdated value propositions that lack specificity, fail to differentiate one property from another and no longer resonate with today’s discerning travelers. A plethora of “dinner for two with champagne” packages in today’s hotelscape will also not drive a meaningful value proposition or additional bookings – unless it is a very cheap offer!
This is where marketing steps in. Unfortunately, many go overboard in pursuit of nailing that attention grabbing hook line. That’s when disconnects between marketing and operations occurs. Where a mismatch between guest expectations heightened by marketing and operational deliverance diminished by poor staff training or outdated technology comes into play. Bluntly put; while marketing teams may craft aspirational promises about personalized service or cutting-edge technology, operational teams are often ill-equipped to deliver. A hotel’s offering needs to be carefully crafted – not only to ignite a call to action for the buyer, but also have the operational capability to walk the talk.
All the players in the hospitality marketplace recognise and accept the existence of persuasive information to a certain extent. The problem is that this type of information can go from puffery to objectively false claims. Hotels should leverage legitimacy and credibility by designing purposeful value proposition marketing campaigns in the right way.
A lot of businesses struggle with the process of coherently defining their value proposition. It can feel like an epic challenge to define exactly what makes you unique. It need not be. An effective value proposition is clear, expressed in easy to understand language (not industry jargon or clever slogans), and is understood very quickly – in a few seconds… because that’s realistically how much time you’ve got to grab your customers’ attention.
Here’s a good example; Betterhelp is an online professional therapy service for adults, teens, and couples. The company uses a simple phrase “You deserve to be happy” as its value proposition to encourage website visitors to start the process of getting online therapy. It works - because in only five words, Betterhelp tells potential customers exactly what they can expect when they choose the service: to be happy.
Hotels need to think about what they really want to become known for and then put their focus on it.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Customer Service Trainer and Ex-Hotelier
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