Hotel & Motel Management - August 2008 - (Page 23) www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition HotelMotel.com | H&MM August 2008 What Women Want relates to her interests and needs. Get emotional. Women are shoppers, and they like the feelings associated with buying. Be real. Women don’t have the time or patience for baloney. Know that if you lie, they will find out and talk. “Women talk” is expensive to your bottom line. ucts and services for both home and business. Get them as a business guest and they will become a social guest. Women use the Internet to buy. Use research to connect with them through the channel. Keep the message and purchasing process simple. Don’t nickel and dime. Make fees clear and establish value, or they will challenge why they are paying $300 per night. Someone once said talk was cheap. I promise you it wasn’t a woman. hmm@questex.com Renie Cavallari is CEO and chief inspirational officer for Aspire. Contact her at (602) 392-0700 or renie@aspiremarketing.com, or visit www.aspiremarketing.com. 23 Women talk—It’s more business than you might think IN THE details Targeting women over 40 Purchasing power of women Understand your audience “Women talk” can help, harm By Renie Cavallari H&MM Columnist ace it, women like to communicate. We talk, we listen, we talk some more. We want to know the truth. When we buy, we expect the exchange for our hardearned money to be consistent with the promise made of F personal value and with care. Women are loyal; and when you deliver, they are a dream come true. If you want a customer for life, start targeting women. To discuss women as a market audience, you have to understand that women are different. The women segment is huge and there are generational differences that reflect in their buying. One thing is for sure— women over 40 are the fastestgrowing buying segment. Women will drive farther if they trust the product. Recently, I drove past four jewelry stores to visit the one I trust, just to have my jewelry cleaned. A friend of mine thought I was crazy and asked “who cares?” I care, and I remember how they helped me before—how they connect with me during each visit and how nice they are to my 7 year old when she is with me. Women care, and women talk. They take the time to visit TripAdvisor, share their experiences and alert others. Understand that your reputation is a big part of their buying decision. How do you get your marketing message to stick? Know your objective. Are you trying to create awareness, stimulate trial or increase intent to return? Move her emotionally. Important marketing tips Women care about who they buy from—your reputation, community involvement and connection when serving them is monumental. Women look beyond the product. How you deliver service and what service recovery you provide when things don’t work out as planned is vital. Women use the same prodIf practical, you may consider having a group handover where the various departments sit with the night manager and download information or a similar meeting where the night manager convenes all the overnight staff to review pertinent issues. The right individual, properly trained and girded with information, will be an invaluable asset to your operation. hmm@questex.com Christopher R.J. Knable a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (www.ishc. com), is a principal with Elysian Development LLC of Chicago. He can be reached at cknable@ elysianhotels.com. What’s important to her? What makes your hotel better, unique or of more value, and how will she experience that? Connect, connect, connect. Show how your hotel or package Night shift managers Continued from page 8 many difficult situations could be mitigated by having someone who comes across as compassionate and understanding as part of your service staff. ment so he or she understands how that department functions during daylight and how that affects the overnight shift. A proper risk-management orientation is essential, as many dicey situations occur overnight, from intoxicated guests returning after dinner to all manners of vice. The risk management and/or security manager should make a list of all situations that the night manager may encounter and, with senior management and local counsel, establish clear procedures for how each situation should be managed. Knowledge is the answer Overnight, there is no such thing as too much information. Often, the night manager is left to resolve issues that remain from earlier in the day, and too often they must undertake these issues without information germane to the situation at hand. Another matter of common sense is to take steps to see that a proper handover occurs between shifts, out of public view, where a proper recounting of the open issues can be conducted. The more information that can be passed along, the better your overnight team will be positioned to make decisions and resolve open issues. Business Boosters The Langham, Boston, created three packages in partnership with the new Chuan Body + Soul, which opened at the hotel in June. The packages are the Couple’s Ultimate Escape, Reflex Relax and Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Each package features treatments at Chuan Body + Soul, which incorporate the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. Compiled by Elaine Simon, esimon@questex.com Training, training and more training! Over the years, I have met many night managers whose training consisted of a two-minute briefing and a “rat’s nest” of keys, most of which probably don’t open anything. It is critical that your night manager receives cross-training in each depart- Capitalizing hospitality. It's what we do. For more than 15 years, RockBridge has been directly capitalizing the hospitality industry and building lasting relationships. With our experience and insight, it’s clear why many industry leaders choose us as their partner of choice. So when you need first mortgage, mezzanine or equity tailored to your needs, give us a call. ROCKBRIDGE CAPITAL www.rockbridgecapital.com Jim Merkel 614.246.2505 Ron Callentine 614.246.2520 CIRCLE NO. 168 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.aspiremarketing.com http://www.ishc.com http://www.ishc.com http://www.rockbridgecapital.com http://www.rockbridgecapital.com
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