Is it time to bring your new hotel project to market? To launch it in style and make a big splash? Then this blog post is for you, because you never get a second chance to make a first impression!
At MAp Boutique Consultancy, we have supported hotel developments and new hotel projects since the founding of our hotel agency, and so we share with you our top recommendations for success and pitfalls to avoid when launching a new hotel. #onwards
1. Create a hotel opening strategy starting at least one-year pre-opening
Having a hotel opening strategy in place early is crucial! At MAp, a hotel opening starts at least one year before the hotel opens and involves a wide range of areas, topics and tasks to consider.
The earlier your hotel opening strategy is in place, the better! There’s a lot of work to be done!
2. Create an action plan:
What, Who, When, How Once your hotel opening strategy is in place, make it as tangible as possible and define clearly:
Make sure all partners are briefed accordingly and everybody has the tools and resources needed to make it happen.
3. Monitor, optimise, push
During hotel openings, often our role at MAp consists of aligning all partners, monitoring results, optimising processes, and above all, pushing through so that things happen when they are supposed to per the hotel opening plan.
Why is it crucial to have that one person or responsible party closely monitor the process? Because the closer the hotel opening comes, the more we can compare it to finalising a puzzle. And if one puzzle piece is missing, the other parts aren’t able to do their work.
After sharing with you our top three recommendations for opening a new hotel, let’s wrap this blog post up with the pitfalls we encounter most often during new hotel openings.
1. Running out of budget
Oh yes! You have budgeted well, but then, the closer you get to the hotel opening, the fewer the funds. Now the problem is that this hotel opening phase, the launch, is your only chance to make a first impression. So, if you’re not anymore able to run the campaigns, invest in the stylish website or bring on other partners, you truly miss a big chance, and this will hurt you in the long-run.
2. Required material is not available
How can you promote your hotel, if no renderings or photos are available? Or your key messages and pitchlines haven’t been created? We do agree that no hotel launch will be perfect and there will always be some missing pieces. But if essential basics, such as visual material, are missing, you won’t be able to push your new hotel in the market. Therefore, make sure to identify early enough what basics you need to launch your new hotel project successfully.
3. Construction gets delayed
We end this blog post with the most common pitfall when talking about new hotel developments. You’re set to open on date x, but construction gets delayed and all your great hotel opening ideas are becoming a mess. Therefore, we always make sure that we announce a concrete opening date as late as possible. For example, start by communicating Spring 2024, and communicate the concrete date of May 1, 2024 only when you know it’s an air-tight realistic and achievable date.
What else comes to your mind when talking about hotel openings? What are the pitfalls you have encountered during new hotel project launches? We are looking forward to reading your insights in the comments.
And if you are in the process of launching a new hotel and need some support, let us know – we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Through our hotel marketing services, we position your independent and boutique hotel on the global MAp – in a unique, sustainable and authentic way.
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