They Travel For Sightseeing For Tourists
Tourists. They travel for sightseeing, recreation, visiting and non-business activities. They want to learn about the customs, the history and the language of every place they visit. They usually travel in groups. We have to provide them with any information that may need about the area, the transportation, any local events that may take place in the surround area etc. and to make them feel at home. They are looking for recreational facilities, food and beverage services and interior design. That kind of guests are usually very price sensitive.
Families. They usually travel on weekends and they want a short break from their everyday routine. They are looking for a quiet place to relax and enjoy their time. They are looking for recreational facilities, food and beverage services and the hotel should offer baby-sitting facilities, special meals for kids and an animation team.
The elderly. They can’t look after themselves as the years pass, so they are looking for a hotel with pleasant and friendly environment. We have to be kind and patient with them and to look after them without giving them the impression that we behave on them like children.
Business travelers. They are almost the most important travel market for many city hotels and this is the reason why the hotels who target this market have designed specific products and services to cover their needs such as a quiet environment. Most of business travelers do not like to stay in hotels because after a hard day they prefer to stay in a quiet place to rest and to relax rather than a noisy room in a hotel. Another thing that they worry about is their messages and how well the hotel can handle this. We have to offer them facilities such as: meeting space, computer services, internet access etc. Business travelers are usually not very price sensitive and often utilize hotel’s food (especially room service), beverage and recreational facilities. They considered desirable and profitable market and is an important segment because of its steady level of demand at high room rates.
Delegates. Meeting and conventions usually attract hundreds of people and this is the reason why we have to convince the meeting planner to choose our hotel. They are looking for fast service and they don’t like to stay in queues. Meeting and conventions have to do with people who attending seminars, trade association shows etc. The length of stay for meetings ranges from 3 to 5 days. We have to provide them a conference center for the meetings, computers services, internet access and when we have a large group some discounts are necessary because in this way we can attract them to visit again our hotel as leisure travelers. We have also to provide them in house banquet and cocktail receptions.
Describe the importance of welcoming a guest and the techniques that should be used.
Always the first impression plays the most important role when a guest arrives at the hotel and influences the rest of his stay. The receptionists should always be warm and friendly when they checking in the guests to make them feel comfortable like at home. A good greeting can make a guest feel better. A well-spoken receptionist by giving a smile of welcome from a charming succeeds to create a warm and friendly atmosphere also has to be able to recognise the guest’s personality and to adapt in order to satisfy the guest’s expectations. Some techniques that should be used are: keep eye contact and smile, be clear in your speech and use a pleasant tone of voice, avoid speaking too fast or too slow, use the guest’s names, always be polite and kind, always start and end with a positive note, always be: friendly, interested, helpful, never mechanical, never different and never impatient. There is a big possibility that when a guest leaves from the hotel with a good impression he will come back and he will be a good advertiser for our hotel.
Describe the guest registration process and explain its importance.
We have to follow several steps for the registration process. The guest registration process begins with the pre-registration activities which accelerate the registration process, guests can verify personal data and the time of the check-in the guests have only to sign the registration form. When the guests arrive we greeting and welcoming them and after we create the registration record and verify the guest’s identity name, the permanent address and the telephone number, the date of arrival and the departure, number of registered persons, method of payment, passport and signature. After this process we assign the room rate and we establish the method of payment. We continue by issuing the room key and ask the guests for any special requests. When all these finish we escort the guest to his/her room.
The guest registration is important because by completing this form let us know who stays in our hotel, especially during in an emergency situation. With guest registration we can also learn if a guest is a repeater, if he has already visited another hotel of our company. Also with this form we can find some information about the guest needs (in case that he is repeater), such as smoking or non-smoking room, allergies, any special requirements that he use to have.
Explain what guest history files are and why hotels keep them.
Guest history files are files in which the management records important information of all his regular guests and show any special requests and expectations that a guest have in case that the guest has stay once at the hotel. Hotels use to keep guest history files because these files help the management to improve the guest service and also to remind personal data of its repeater guests. These files contains details of credit cards, the date of the first stay, how many times a guest has stay at the hotel and how many nights, how much the guest spent in the different departments, how much he has spent on each stay and the room types that he prefers to stay. Also these files record any special needs (newspapers) and preferences that guests might have.
Explain up-selling and the techniques that can be used
Up-selling is the use of specific words and phrases that will lead the guest to buy something he would not otherwise have bought. We can succeed in up-selling if we think that is a way of helping out the guest by offering him a satisfying solution to cover his needs. Some techniques that we can use when we selling a room are:
Qualify the lead. Asking questions and try to understand exactly what your prospective guest is looking for, keep an eye contact and let him talk without interrupt him. Built a relationship and make your guest feel comfortable. By doing this you create a friendly atmosphere and gives you the advantage for a better sale. Make a presentation of your property. Provide brochures and prospects for what you offer and convince your guest that you know what you sale. You have to know your product inside and out and also to know your market area and your competitor’s rates. Close the sale by asking for the sale. Don’t be in rush for giving any discounts that probably your guest will ask, just focus on value. Follow up the sales visit by sending questionnaires. This is a good way to find out if your guest left satisfied from your hotel and gives an indication that this guest might return in the future and also bring and other guests with him. A satisfied guest is an advertisement for our hotel.
