Guest blog posted June 6, 2008 by ABA member Don Meador, Director of Sales and Marketing for The Landmark Hotel Group in Virginia Beach, author of the "Get A Room!" blog
The summer travel season is here and your "wait and see how the economy" strategy keeps you, well, waiting... and possibly worrying. Not only about this season, but the fourth quarter as well. Gas prices are up, the dollar is down, and even though Uncle Sam's stimulus checks are out there, would-be travelers are utilizing that money to pay on existing debt or fill up at the pump.
What can hoteliers suggest to that wannabe vacationing family or group?
Take. A. Bus.
The American Bus Association has done an excellent job of demonstrating to the travel industry (and anyone who will pay attention!) how motorcoach travel is not only less stressful for vacationers, but also a far "greener" travel option in that it reduces the number of cars on the road. It's the right message at the right time: motorcoach travel is not only more economical, but ecologically responsible.
But have we, the supplier members of ABA, done a good job of sharing that information with existing and potential customers?
Hotels have an opportunity to help the motorcoach industry drive this message home by suggesting to groups who would otherwise travel individually that they check into chartering a coach. While we see our share of bands, choruses, and other school groups arriving at our hotels on buses, have we even thought to suggest to sports teams that they look into traveling together to that city-wide tournament instead of driving their individual cars? Think about the groups that typically travel from the same location to yours. Do they really need all those cars?
Now would be a good time for hotel sales managers to consider referring business back to the motorcoach industry by suggesting the services of their operator clients. They get new business, you get the rooms and an opportunity to provide catering, we burn less gas, dodge fewer cars, cause less damage to the environment, and make a bunch of penguins happy.
Hoteliers have spent years building relationships with tour and motorcoach operators. Here's our chance to literally create that two-way street by not only selling to them, but for them.