Small (micro) urban hotel
Assignment
Above & Beyond Hospitality were appointed to support the final stages of pre-opening activities of this new property and take full responsibility for the successful launch of the hotel on a highly competitive market.
Scope
We were tasked to take over the property operations towards the end of the pre-opening process, to develop and implement SOPs, define the organizational structure, develop job descriptions, select, hire and train the members of the team.
As part of the assignment, our consultants provided full sales support, including building and ongoing management of the hotel profiles in the OTAs, developing rate structure, implementing revenue management system and distribution, etc. The project also involved positioning of the hotel on the market and ongoing management of marketing activities.
In addition, Above & Beyond team provided assistance with the guest satisfaction management. Our consultants implemented a range of best practices, which led to an outstanding score after the first 4 months of operations - 9.0/10 (Booking.com), 9.6/10 (Expedia) and 4.6/5 (Google).
Outcome
As a result of the successful launch, Above & Beyond Hospitality were awarded a permanent operations monitoring role, including sales & marketing as well as revenue management functions. This ensures an ongoing attention and professional approach towards operations, adapted to the particular property in order to maximise returns for the owners and benefits to stakeholders.
Mid to large-sized city hotel with elements of a leisure property
Assignment
Above & Beyond Hospitality were engaged in re-branding and re-positioning of a distressed hotel with a poor image following a change of ownership, with a primary focus on marketing and sales and increasing revenue.
Scope
The project required a strong focus on the work of the Sales and Marketing department - first of all, attracting the right people to the team and training them well in line with the best industry standards, incl. communication, organization of the daily work of the department, strong internal coordination of information, preparation of major documents templates - contracts, offer letters, as well as reporting files for tracking of key performance indicators.
During the project, our consultants changed the hotel’s team overall approach, perception and understanding of sales and customer service, prepared a rate structure, developed a strategy for all segments, explained priorities and implemented a sales policy for MICE (as the hotel had a significant capacity). Above & Beyond Hospitality optimized the presentation of the hotel in all online channels, introduced distribution with a channel manager in accordance with the new rate structure and yielding rules, as well as active revenue management.
Our experts developed a new marketing plan with detailed activities by periods and started managing the hotel’s social media profiles for promoting the hotel’s features with specially curated content. The hotel's front office team was trained and engaged with a system of activities for improving customer satisfaction, leading to an improvement of the hotel’s Booking.com rating from 8.3 to 9.2 over a period of 1,5 years. Some of the newly attracted frequent guests of the hotel were renowned business executives and celebrities, who were also treated as per newly introduced protocols.
Outcome
Thanks to the outstanding motivation of the hotel team, the results of this project were visible quite fast – over a period of 4 months the average monthly occupancy rate increased from 30% to 85%, the revenue increased proportionally and allowed for even higher rates, which also drove the investors to consider renovation and expansion of the property.
The growth of the hotel's KPIs continued over the following few years.
Small to mid-sized city hotel
Assignment
The expectations of the investors in this project were aimed at improving the hotel's KPIs and increasing customer satisfaction, as both metrics had deteriorated over the past 2-3 years.
Scope
As part of the project, Above & Beyond Hospitality identified and implemented effective tactics to improve the operations, tailored to the specifics of the property. In line with our advice, the hotel started specializing in a few selected segments with a very strong focus and personal attention towards individual guests. Above & Beyond Hospitality changed the distribution strategies, expanded the hotel’s portfolio and introduced a channel manager with a very active revenue management in place. The experts prepared and adapted a pricing policy for the chosen market segments and the corresponding rate plans.
Part of the strategy included measures to achieve a more engaged and efficient functioning of the Front Office department, with the implementation of strict rules for communication with guests, structuring and tracking of daily activities and strict accountability and reporting, which provided comfort to the investors, the hotel team as well as the guests themselves.
Above & Beyond Hospitality identified and introduced the use of appropriate marketing tools to support the project's objectives.
Outcome
Within a year, the hotel’s occupancy rate increased, but a more tangible growth was registered in the average daily rates, with the cumulative result amounting to a 30% higher EBITDA compared to the previous year. In parallel to the revenue growth, however, the hotel managed to reach a significant and sustained improvement in the overall customer satisfaction, combined with an increase in the pay levels of the hotel’s team. That strengthened the motivation and led to a serious overall improvement in the hotel’s bottom line.
Mid-sized leisure hotel
Assignment
The owners and management of this property were concerned that due to the Covid pandemic they had not been able to position the resort well on the market and commissioned Above & Beyond Hospitality with a one-off project - a consultation, analysis and preparation of a plan to introduce the hotel on the market, optimize its presence and give advice on strengthening the hotel operations and increasing revenue.
Scope
First, our experts focused on analyzing the destination's potential, the competition and the traffic of the nearby airports. Based on this information, we prepared a 360° sales and marketing plan with an analytical part and a plan of activities by segments and periods, with special attention to introducing a loyalty program.
Second, Above & Beyond Hospitality audited the contracting status of the hotel and offered specific recommendations for diversification of its portfolio by nationalities and segments. In addition, the team provided advice on the seasonal pricing structure with regards to the varying demand.
Furthermore, Above & Beyond Hospitality held trainings for Marketing & Sales, Front office, F&B & Housekeeping departments on customer service, good practices, communication, negotiation with partners, handling different types of guests and upselling. During these sessions, the loyalty program was also presented to the team in oder to become its ambassador.
Finally, we provided general recommendations on revenue management and online presence.
Outcome
Following the active trainings and the committed core team of the hotel, as well as the introduced recommendations on how to increase its market share, the hotel registered a 34% increase in revenues compared over the following year. The hotel satisfaction indexes also improved, e.g. by 0.6 points at Booking.com, 0.3 points on Google and 0.2 points on Expedia.
The hotel successfully implemented a loyalty program that continues to build and develop.
