Owning a hospitality business of any guide, be that a restaurant, a hotel or even a resort can be hard work, and ultimately rests on many more variables of success than a simple business selling a product. You are not only having to consider the value of what you’re providing on a consistent basis, but understand that many come to you looking for a lifetime, personal experience. This makes things much more intimate than other businesses may understand, because it’s in your venue that you can make or break their impression of you.
For this reason, we must clearly think as the guest does. This can be hard to do when you have a fundamental understanding of your business and how it’s supposed to function, as biases will always reign supreme. This is why mystery guests and anonymous reviews are often welcomed by such establishments.
However, if reopening your business after a long stint in lockdown and temporary closure, it may be that thinking laterally as your guest can help provide some much-needed insight. Here’s how that might work:
Weather Management
We can never fully predict the weather, at least perfectly, but we can prepare for it. This is why it’s important to have the right protections from the get-go. From gritting tools to deal with ice, or maintenance tools to help remove icicles from your lodge, to commercial shade applications to properly shade your guests near the pool, remember that the weather and exterior conditions can often truly designate how you prepare the day, what services you offer, and the shape those services take. This is ground zero for the success of your daily applications, so be sure you consider those practices well.
Understandable Promotions
After such a long period in lockdown, it’s not uncommon for hospitable businesses to use new promotions in order to encourage business and help people feel safer in returning to normal life. However, it’s important to make sure these promotions are clear, fair, and equal for everyone. Make sure your branding and promotional material is tight, and that your system is ready to accept coupon codes, bundle packages, or catered bonuses. The more you can make these promotions time-sensitive, clear, and simple, the easier you can encourage business to return, and the less you confuse your guest list.
Guest Management
Another essential component of making sure your business is reliable is to manage the guests in respect to one another. Training your staff in dispute resolution, observing the behavior of those at your bar, enforcing strict noise levels after a certain time and breaking up conflicts quickly is essential. Remember, people will be looking to blow off steam after such a long stint in lockdown, and this means that hospitable businesses must now, more than ever, remain aware of the less-than-ideal expressions of human nature. Furthermore, let guests know you reserve the right to refuse business in case these issues take place. This helps makes the experience better for appreciative guests.
With this advice, we hope you can think of your guests more easily, and from there enjoy a successful reopening.
