Anthony Melchiorri, host and creator of Travel Channel’s Hotel Impossible and Five-Star Secrets, loves dishing out advice. From sharing best practices to tackling operational issues, he’s here to answer your questions.
How can I make my hotel stand out from the branded competition?
We know that our “job” in this industry is to serve others. However, we must also keep in mind that we are the ones who decide how to best do just that. Each day we are making a host of decisions that will, in time, define our brands.
And I don’t mean brand in the sense of what flag you fly out front. Your brand is the sum of all the experiences people have with you and, ultimately, becomes what you are known for. In order to stand out, identify what’s unique about you and underscore it, because that’s what separates you from everyone else. Facebook and Twitter were just two websites out of millions, but their creators were passionate about offering something different.
Your property has to be on par with your competition, but to stand out, you must excel in the areas you can control, offering a better value to those seeking your services. That’s value, not price. People will return if they see value in their decision to stay with you. Every interaction builds a support structure around you. People will advocate on your behalf if they know they can rely on you. Don’t borrow other people’s ideas or reinvent the wheel. Rather, look at something that’s good and find a way to make it great. Passion is defined as an intense desire or enthusiasm for something, and I believe that the passionate creators of today are the standout legacy builders of tomorrow.
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Send it to AskAnthony@lodgingmagazine.com
I totally agree Anthony! Passion and enthusiasm will make a much larger impression upon your guests than anything else. If you want to truly be different (better) than your competition, you have to have engaged, passionate staff that love serving your clients! Great article.
There was an article recently published on Hospitality confirms your advice, its about customer experience being more than a pretty lobby: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/column/global/154000392/4076488.html