Hotel & Motel Management - May 19, 2008 - (Page 10)

10 Sales Clinic IN THE details Groups demand room deals Practice makes perfect Forecast expected business Consider long-term payout H&MM May 19, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Be prepared for negotiations with group sales n past years, we have seen many cases when hotel sales staffers have sold to groups and no negotiations had taken place at all. Quite often, in cases of small groups seeking conference space, sleeping rooms and meals, whatever a property sales person offered was accepted, and a contract was signed without any negotiations taking place. I By Howard Feiertag H&MM Columnist This also has happened when corporate travel managers accept an annual contract for a guaranteed rate on sleeping rooms for their traveling executives. However, with the continual room rate increases of the past few years, we see more and more group meeting planners and corporate travel managers seeking to make the best deal possible by asking for better rates and other considerations. This of course, puts hotel sales personnel into the position of having to negotiate to make the sale. Being a good negotiator takes practice; the more one does it, the better one becomes at the art. The whole idea behind negotiations is to end up with a deal, and the deal, of course, has Be family. When you join the Hilton Family of Hotels—a proud sponsor of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team—you’re investing in more than a property. You’re investing in a philosophy and a promise to be hospitable. And you’re backed by more than a powerful network of support; you’re backed by a family. So no matter which brand you choose, the entire Hilton Family will be there for you as we are for our athletes. For development opportunities, visit hiltonfranchise.com or call 1-800-286-0645. In addition to franchising, we also offer Hilton Management Services, providing strength in numbers and a family tied to performance. For inquiries, please visit hiltonmanagementservices.com. The Hilton Family. Nine distinct hotels ® one simple philosophy: be hospitable. to be satisfactory to both parties. From the hotel standpoint, the main thing to consider is: “How badly do we need the business?” Naturally, a sales person has to be well prepared, well in advance of the planned discussions with a prospect. With proper forecasting, the details will be obvious regarding what business already is on the books or is expected, and what revenue is expected to be generated already on the dates being requested by the prospect. If business coming in during that period is good, then the property does not need this business so badly, and the sales person would not be willing even to offer anything in negotiations to book the business. However, if expected occupancy is not so good, then the property may very well need the business very badly, and the sales person would want to make some offers in negotiations to get the business. What sales people then need to consider is how far they may have to go to get the business by giving in and providing more of what the prospect wants. This may come in the form of better rates on rooms, free or lower rates on space rentals or other considerations. If, during the dates requested by the prospect, the hotel does not need the business so badly, sales people need to further consider: “How important could this business be to the property?” Even though the prospect’s business is not badly needed, there could be some things that make the business important enough, such as: The make-up of the group expected would bring in highproﬁle executives that could bring other business to the property. This group would be heavy users of the property’s catering services. Attendees of a group would be heavy users of hotel’s profit centers. hmm@questex.com Howard Feiertag is on the faculty of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va. He can be reached at howardf@vt.edu. © 2008, HLT Domestic IP LLC CIRCLE NO. 114 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://hiltonfranchise.com http://hiltonmanagementservices.com http://hiltonmanagementservices.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - May 19, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - May 12, 2008 Contents Hotelier of the Year Leads Team to Victory Sheraton Builds on International Success Slower, Smaller Transactions in First Quarter Perspective Legal FAQ What Women Want Sales Clinic AAHOA Update Franchise Law Family Business Travel Trends Guest Column HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Cleaning and Maintenance H&MM's 2008 Franchising Fees Guide FACs Evolve to Meet Brand, Owner Needs The Importance of Branding When Buying Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - May 19, 2008

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