Other news from the world of Re:Guest
Perfect Profit Roadshow:The Most Exciting Takeaways 📌
Hot topics, hot tips💡
What really helps combat staff shortages? How can AI, of all things, enhance personal guest communication? And how can you achieve effective revenue management? Whether you were there or not, we've collected the most valuable takeaways from the Perfect Profit Roadshow for you!
Just in time for the start of spring🌸, the Perfect Profit Roadshow brought fresh inspiration to the hotel industry in Innsbruck (March 24), Reischach (March 25), and Merano (March 26). The participants were hoteliers with big ambitions 🔥, the speakers industry leaders in marketing (Zeppelin Hoteltech), revenue management (HotelPartner), strategy (Nussbaumer Strategie + Beratung), and hotel technology (ReGuest – who else?!).
Whether you joined us in discussions, toasts 🥂 and networking or not, these takeaways are not to be missed. The spotlight was on topics currently causing confusion, challenges and skepticism. But wherever there's a challenge, there's also a solution 💪.
STAFF SHORTAGES & HIGH WAGE COSTS: The solution is closer than you think 💸
A possible solution to the acute staff shortage is just one click away. By introducing a hotel CRM, you unlock automation and technical tools that relieve your team and potentially reduce the need for new hires. Most importantly, they free up time for your staff to provide personalized guest care and perform tasks that fulfill them and strengthen their long-term commitment to your business.
There are plenty of automation examples: from online check-in and check-out to automatically sent offers and AI-supported guest communication. A hotel chatbot acting as a virtual employee, provided with the right information from the CRM, can answer up to 100% of daily guest inquiries via messenger, email, and WhatsApp—under the full control of your team, who can confidently focus on other tasks.
Whether you joined us in discussions, toasts 🥂 and networking or not, these takeaways are not to be missed. The spotlight was on topics currently causing confusion, challenges and skepticism. But wherever there's a challenge, there's also a solution 💪.
STAFF SHORTAGES & HIGH WAGE COSTS: The solution is closer than you think 💸
A possible solution to the acute staff shortage is just one click away. By introducing a hotel CRM, you unlock automation and technical tools that relieve your team and potentially reduce the need for new hires. Most importantly, they free up time for your staff to provide personalized guest care and perform tasks that fulfill them and strengthen their long-term commitment to your business.
There are plenty of automation examples: from online check-in and check-out to automatically sent offers and AI-supported guest communication. A hotel chatbot acting as a virtual employee, provided with the right information from the CRM, can answer up to 100% of daily guest inquiries via messenger, email, and WhatsApp—under the full control of your team, who can confidently focus on other tasks.
RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES & DIGITALIZATION: Excitement instead of frustration 📲
It's the pace of technological and digital changes that troubles you most, isn't it? Feeling unable to keep up can lead to frustration, but you should view the increasing technological possibilities as an opportunity. While it may sound contradictory, personalization has never been as crucial or easily implemented as today, thanks to AI. Personalized guest communication is now indispensable, and marketing, aided by CRM data and smart automation, becomes more targeted, relevant and profitable.
Even your website can now be personalized, from greeting guests by name (Hello, Thomas!) to offering customized additional services before arrival (Thomas, would you like to book a tennis lesson again?) or displaying open offers and previously booked rooms.
DEPENDENCY ON OTAs & DIRECT BOOKINGS: The golden middle 📈
High commissions and rigid pricing are among the biggest drawbacks of OTAs like Booking and Expedia. Although using OTAs as a sales channel isn’t fundamentally problematic, knowing when and how is key. Use OTAs primarily during low-occupancy periods and remember they attract a more international clientele, often less price-sensitive, allowing you to offer your higher-priced rooms.
The key to increasing direct bookings lies partly in smart newsletter marketing, re-engaging guests after their stay. Here again, the keyword is personalization. Using guest data from your CRM allows you to define precise target groups and tailor content specifically. Leveraging WhatsApp, your guests' favorite channel, can multiply newsletter-generated revenue more than twelvefold—this is what data from all ReGuest users practicing newsletter marketing via WhatsApp has shown.
It's the pace of technological and digital changes that troubles you most, isn't it? Feeling unable to keep up can lead to frustration, but you should view the increasing technological possibilities as an opportunity. While it may sound contradictory, personalization has never been as crucial or easily implemented as today, thanks to AI. Personalized guest communication is now indispensable, and marketing, aided by CRM data and smart automation, becomes more targeted, relevant and profitable.
Even your website can now be personalized, from greeting guests by name (Hello, Thomas!) to offering customized additional services before arrival (Thomas, would you like to book a tennis lesson again?) or displaying open offers and previously booked rooms.
DEPENDENCY ON OTAs & DIRECT BOOKINGS: The golden middle 📈
High commissions and rigid pricing are among the biggest drawbacks of OTAs like Booking and Expedia. Although using OTAs as a sales channel isn’t fundamentally problematic, knowing when and how is key. Use OTAs primarily during low-occupancy periods and remember they attract a more international clientele, often less price-sensitive, allowing you to offer your higher-priced rooms.
The key to increasing direct bookings lies partly in smart newsletter marketing, re-engaging guests after their stay. Here again, the keyword is personalization. Using guest data from your CRM allows you to define precise target groups and tailor content specifically. Leveraging WhatsApp, your guests' favorite channel, can multiply newsletter-generated revenue more than twelvefold—this is what data from all ReGuest users practicing newsletter marketing via WhatsApp has shown.
PRICE PRESSURE, COST CONTROL & RISING OPERATING COSTS: More than just a matter of price 📊
Effective revenue management involves offering the right price to the right guest at the right time. It goes far beyond just two dynamic prices per season. Factors like weather, competitors’ pricing, implementing minimum stays during peak season or timing a price increase must be considered. For instance, structural changes like expanding your spa area should always trigger a direct price increase, clearly linking quality enhancements and price increases for your guests. A professional partner equipped with the right tools for analysis and planning helps you manage price pressure, cost control, and rising operating expenses sustainably.
“In the end, it all comes down to mindset. Being open to change is the true lever for lasting success.”
…as David Reissenegger from HotelPartner puts it. He also emphasizes choosing tools and partners based on their openness to innovation and integration with other systems. Daniel Bernard from Zeppelin Hoteltech adds, “Usually, quantity isn't what matters most. Those who fully utilize a tool's capabilities are already ahead of the rest.”
Effective revenue management involves offering the right price to the right guest at the right time. It goes far beyond just two dynamic prices per season. Factors like weather, competitors’ pricing, implementing minimum stays during peak season or timing a price increase must be considered. For instance, structural changes like expanding your spa area should always trigger a direct price increase, clearly linking quality enhancements and price increases for your guests. A professional partner equipped with the right tools for analysis and planning helps you manage price pressure, cost control, and rising operating expenses sustainably.
“In the end, it all comes down to mindset. Being open to change is the true lever for lasting success.”
…as David Reissenegger from HotelPartner puts it. He also emphasizes choosing tools and partners based on their openness to innovation and integration with other systems. Daniel Bernard from Zeppelin Hoteltech adds, “Usually, quantity isn't what matters most. Those who fully utilize a tool's capabilities are already ahead of the rest.”
