What is the Boost Occupancy Report?
The report was written by Matt Landau, a member of the Association for Place Branding & Public Diplomacy in 2011. Its name and objective derives from the one common ambition of all hotel owners, which is to acquire more sales and increase annual revenue without investing in costly marketing infrastructure. The report is dedicated to analyzing and sharing techniques gathered over a period of 6 years as well as sparking new creative ideas in the pursuit of increased hotel sales.
The principles of the Boost Occupancy Report: With hotel occupancy over the past few years reaching Great Depression lows, my report is designed to fuse your existing marketing with innovative, inexpensive, and highly effective techniques. It will (1) teach you how to increase the quality and volume of leads, (2) explain how to convert more of those quality leads to actual bookings. Once you “get it” and (3) identify the formula that works for your hotel, you’ll (4) start seeing higher occupancy and more revenue.
Who should read it?
Many think the hospitality industry is a glamorous one, which it can be. But not reaching your full potential occupancy – feeling helpless with empty rooms – is a bitter pill.
The Boost Occupancy Report is a highly collaborative project culminated over almost two years of research. It represents an attempt to arm hotel operators with enough secret weaponry to combat (or at least hold their own) against larger, richer chains.
This Report is a must-read for any level of hotelier: from those who are new to the industry and struggling, to experienced veterans who know there’s always room for improvement. Suffice it to say, if these techniques worked for us, they will definitely work for you.
Who wrote it?
My name is Matt Landau and I’m a writer, online marketer, and have owned a boutique hotel in the historic district of Panama City, Panama for almost 6 years. I studied international economics at the University of Richmond, Virginia and Spanish at the University of St. Louis in Madrid, Spain.
Ever since I bought the business, it has been a crash course in hospitality. The business was not born with four aces. I came in lacking experience, deep pockets, and probably a healthy amount of restraint.
A business major, I have always appreciated statistics. So when I began marketing the business in 2006, it seemed only natural that every bit of marketing experimentation be documented, analyzed, and either improved (if it worked) or tossed out (if it didn’t). The successful fruit of the past 6 years’ findings – what to do and what not to do – is documented in this report.
Learning the industry also inevitably meant meeting others on the same journey. As I travel frequently, I formed something of a fellowship of men and women who owned or operated their own hotels. Many long meals have been spent venting each other’s experiences (and horror stories) and heeding each others’ advice.
Many hours have been spent trying to collectively solve everyone’s common goal: how to increase hotel sales and make more money.
After years of accumulating tidbits that read like a who’s who list of guerilla marketing tactics, I decided to get a little more scientific about it and coordinate some research – including 9 leading accommodations around the globe – over a period of 18 months. The valuable, innovative, and hugely unpublicized techniques that emerged from this research are contained in this report as well. Here are several of the things I learned in putting together all this information…
5 Facts You NEED To Understand If You Are Going To Increase Your Hotel Occupancy:
1. You must CRITICALLY analyze your reservation rate (aka the amount of inquiries that turn into actual reservations)
2. Relying solely on organic SEO or PPC campaigns leaves you VERY vulnerable
3. Tracking your marketing decisions and their results is the ONLY way to book rooms
4. Exercising some expertise in your town or city can work TREMENDOUSLY to your advantage
Before you get to #5, be sure to sign up for my Newsletter. I don’t send out tips very often. But when I do, they’re really good!
5. If you’re not getting any bookings, there are some IMMEDIATE steps you need to take. Increasing your hotel’s exposure is a slow process but there are some very effective changes you can make right now.
Adam Lee was around the 41% occupancy mark when he bought the report. He implemented a large majority of our recommended techniques and started seeing an improvement after about 2 months. Now, his hotel calendar is booked solid and he attributes it exclusively to the report. “Matt’s report is hands-down the best investment I have made for our hotel. It literally changed the way we operate.”
How will the report revolutionize your hotel marketing?
Biblically speaking, the battle of David versus Goliath is remembered as a lesson in the miraculous: an anomaly. But political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft tends to disagree. His book, How the Weak Win Wars, examines over 200 years of conflict between strong and week opposition. The Goliaths, according to Arreguín-Toft, won 71.5% of the time as expected.
These were conflicts in which one side was more than ten times more powerful (measured by armed might and population) than its combatant.
As the story goes, David initially prepared for his battle against Goliath with a conventional sword and clunky armor. But then, realizing that he could barely maneuver, David discarded the armor and sword and picked up five smooth stones and a slingshot. We all know what happened next.
Harping on this, Arreguín-Tofts chose to explore what happens when underdogs approach competition with an unconventional strategy. Reanalyzing his data, Arreguín-Tofts finds that David’s winning percentage jumps amazingly from 28.5% to 63.6%. Which is to say, when less-endowed powers choose not to play by conventional rules, they tend to win.
From research, we now know that such is very often the case in the hospitality industry. Scrambling to arm themselves against competitors and larger chain hotels, boutique accommodations – besides just providing personalized accommodation and services – must also use innovation and flexibility to maintain high occupancy rates. It is not easy, but substituting effort for ability is (sometimes) all us independent entrepreneurs have.
My report will reinforce the idea that creativity and persistence can turn the less powerful enemy into a formidable foe. When it comes to beating out your big-money competitors for bookings, consider this report like David considered the slingshot.
Mike Beardsley was a huge fan of statistics so when he saw his traffic 4x after 6 months, he issued the following warning: “Matt’s report is not rocket science but it’s not commonplace either. I guarantee most hotels have never even thunk of the stuff inside.” And its a good thing they haven’t, because Mike was able to fill his hotels in Mexico even in the low season.
And now for a list of findings revealed in the report…
- What feature of your website are you forgetting that’s preferred by 67% of web users?
- Reasons you are you getting plenty of highly targeted traffic but no reservations
- How a $5/month service can save your hotel time, energy, and cash
- The weird sales technique that increased our hotel occupancy by 38%
- Ways to convince your guests to stay twice as long
- How you can utilize awards nominations for your hotel to increase web traffic and exposure
- The story of one property owner that made $74k in referrals
- Special offers that don’t cost much yet boost your bookings
- My absolute favorite wacky offers and why they do more than just stir up great press
- Best ways to get your hotel featured on travel blogs
- Free press release websites: how to use them to your hotel’s advantage
- Guest reviews: my special formula that has resulted in 160 “Excellent” reviews without anything less
- Features your personal website unequivocally needs
- 7 awesome email correspondence tips that improve rapport and increase bookings
- The hotel website feature that influences 87% of travelers. Do you have it?
The Report’s Disclaimer
The fundamental basis of this disclaimer is that you should not rely on the information in this report. Instead, you should use what you read here as a starting point for ideas, collaboration, and independent experimentation, then judge for yourself the merits of the material consisted below.
As you plough through the torrent of expensive PR services, industry hit words, and terribly persistent email spammers promising to increase your occupancy (for only three easy payments!) one thing should be abundantly clear: no amount of tricks or insider marketing techniques are ever a substitute for substance.
This guide is written based on a number of assumptions, the most overarching of which is that you already run an honorable business and that you are prepared to dedicate your time to improving it.
The old adage “actions speak louder than words” rings especially true when it comes to a successful vacation lodgings. Everyone in the age of global competition needs to promote themselves, but it can be easy to forget that the most important facet of any marketing initiative is the quality of your product. Which is to say that if you do not already offer an accommodation that meets acceptable standards, the remedy for your problems is probably far more complex than 50 pages of advice.
