A few years ago we had this whole discussion on "added value." Our guests, however do not see the added value prior to staying, then they see all the extras and special treatment once here.
They would not know this from marketing or websites, in fact, I am one who does not want to list every little detail on the website like I have seen some do. It actually irritates me to see every detail of what is in a room layed out on a website, almost as if grasping at straws, instead of mentioning high end linense they print the actual thread count and brand names.
So in light of that, I find guests would rather see the money they are saving vs getting a gimicky gift or add on (if this is known upfront, not repeats like NWBB was speaking of).
So when this was the hot topic, we all racked our brains to ADD stuff to our rooms, packages, marketing to draw them in and it never seemed to make one bit of difference. Not for us it didn't. You know what I mean "Stay two nights and get a..." I did this a few months back with a dinner gift card and it was actually a royal pain to get it and the guests never even mentioned it. So I go back to the standby of cutting a few bucks off the booking which they seem to enjoy. The other benefit of this is they leave a gratuity when they see they have been treated this way, they do the same. Not all, but some..
Joe Bloggs said:
A few years ago we had this whole discussion on "added value." Our guests, however do not see the added value prior to staying, then they see all the extras and special treatment once here.
And unless they have stayed elsewhere, they often don't realize the added value even after they've gone home. Yeah, it was really nice, but wasn't it supposed to be? Isn't every place like that?
It's not until you get a few guests who have traveled quite a bit and who have seen it all that you get the comments about how much is done for them at your own place.
Sorry to say, but I have a few guests who RAVE about how wonderful the food is at a couple of other B&B's they regularly stay at. 'Oh, he's a real chef, he does cooking classes at the inn and they offer dinner!' I know they are just happy about where they have been, but it takes some getting used to because there ain't no chef here!
We've had 3 professional chefs stay here in 2 weeks. Not a one has even mentioned the breakfast here. Not a single 'very nice' or a 'thanks to the cook' not a syllable about the food. Now THAT can make you worry! And yet, today, with most of the dining room full of repeats it was 'Wow! Another great breakfast!' while the professional chefs just sat there.
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