From the Bottom Up

I have had something on my mind for days, and I had not shared it because I could not find the right words for it. Necessity is the mother of invention, and stagnation, insofar as it awakens the need for low-cost innovation in the hotel sector, will lead to new and effective measures geared towards maximum returns.   My own crystal ball tells me that this effect will move from the bottom up; in other words, starting with lower-category, lower-priced hotels and gradually moving up the ladder over time. It makes sense: low demand is affecting high-end hotels, which, in order to survive, are being forced to compete with lower-tier establishments whenever their operating costs allow it. The latter, in turn, are doing the same, and so on, leaving the lowest-category establishments alone and exposed, unable to gain market share from anyone. From the guest’s perspective, it also makes sense: if a five-star hotel competes on price with a four-star hotel, guests will generally prefer the five-star over the four-star, just as they will prefer a four-star over a three-star, and so on. In fact, there is already price competition between four-star hotels and low-cost hotels. As time goes by, I realise the following:

• There is no such thing as New Marketing; there is simply the marketing we have always known, to which we have added new concepts and ideas.
• There is no such thing as Social Internet; rather, we have come to understand that the Internet has evolved towards an enormously active level of social participation.

Hotels will take careful note of the importance of the overall positioning of their websites, their customer focus, and effective marketing based on current models. I do not mean that the social approach, which until now we have been endlessly discussing, is meaningless; rather, it will form part of each company’s strategic approach. What will happen? I do not know, but the battle to compete and win guests is leading hotels to seek innovative formulas and position themselves in front of the customer with lower intermediary costs, pursuing maximum profitability booking by booking. Let us see what happens. Unfortunately, some hotels and destinations had become too accustomed to easy times; now that it is time to really sell, we will see who had lost the habit. Good luck!