Customer Care and Communication

Hotel Database Cleaning for Marketing Use
Cleaned and Prepared for Use.
We all know the state that databases get into: the coding not done, the zips left out , no consistent first names- it's a long list of little failures that collectively add up to a sense that the database is no longer of value.

Our job is to get the database back into useful shape and then make use of it - not just let it sit. That data can be a gold mine of value, it just needs to be used with effective and consistent customer communication.

Investment: $55 per hr

Repeat Guest Care Program

The 4 Point Touch System

1. Pre -arrival letter or e-mail sent to welcome and solicit special needs - accompanied by a bit of personal news about the hotel and its staff.
   
   
2. Post -departure - 1 to 2 weeks after departure letter ore-mail - soliciting comments ( link to blog) , appreciating the stay, offering discount for booking a return visit within the next 3 months.
   [ Useful as a guest card comment system as well as active Customer Care ]
   
   
3. 10 month anniversary letter, e-letter. Sending an invitation to return two months before the guest made their last reservation. Welcoming the guest back with an appreciation by offering a special discount or value added offer if they book within a certain time frame. The offer can be targeted to the past behavior of the guest, i.e. if they used the spa, there is a spa offer; golf, a golf offer, etc.
   
   
4. Heritage Club: identify guests who have stayed three or more times and offer more particular news of the hotel every quarter and a Heritage offer for their next return.
   

Investment: will vary substantially on what part is done by e-mail and what by post. An average is $2.00 per contact for parts I, II, and III, while part IV will be less detailed and will therefore be at about $1.25 per contact. As much personalized data is inserted as the CRS and Res departments can gather. We can help with parameters there, as well.

E- Newsletters Written, Designed and Delivered
Harness the power of talking honestly with your current clients and potential clients - as assembled by the Co-Op team and its broad knowledge of what works for you.

E-Postcards that are thinly disguised advertisements don't do it. We know. Yes, they are quick, but they are just as quickly deleted. Advertising is best left to print and web banner ads. Advertising is intrusive and almost an insult in the e-mail world. It is easy to confuse the two.

A bare, bald offer e-blasted to a whole list barely moves the needle.

What does work is information that is human and engaging. That which feels like real communication and not just an ad.

What does work is information that reveals, does not tell, that the reader will have a unique engaging experience that will reflect their own needs and their own personality.

Investment: $2500 per issue - each issue that has up to seven full articles linked to and lodged on your own website which include at least 4 small "engagement" short pieces - and that's four short pieces for each market that you want to talk to - so the total number will be determined by your databases - by the nature of your current and potential clients. We also include an article which focuses on your staff.

Then we craft the actual e-mail piece for whatever markets can best be defined from your databases: travel agents, meeting planners (inquiries, meeting planners with booked events), past guests, guest inquiries, weddings, wedding inquiries, etc . . .

Then we arrange the e-mail piece to be tilted in its language and articles - it's ability to communicate - for each defined market.

Most hotels who have good e-mail lists don't have them separated by type of guest or client - therefore one issue can talk to many clients at the same time- and also cross-market what you have to offer. Perhaps a meeting planner's daughter is getting married and never thought about your property until they saw a newsletter with a wedding article and photos? Perhaps a prior business or conference guest never thought about bringing her family to your property for vacation until she saw the newsletter with a focus on family fun or romance bent?

But first you really need to get your staff focused on collecting e-mail addresses at the point of reservation or at check-in. Need training help: ask us and we'll give you some pointers or even come out to train your staff.

That's how e-mail newsletters can work for you.

Do you have a limited e-mail list but a more extensive list of hard postal addresses where you would like to send a printed newsletter? We can use the same information and articles compiled for the e-newsletter and turn it into a printed piece- either four color or two color.

Investment: The cost for us to design this for you, artwork it and make it printer-ready is just an additional $1500. The printing and postage cost will depend on the number you wish to mail.

Your Own E-Mail Blast Composition and Delivery System
With all the metrics - who opened, who clicked on what link.

E-mail your own updates, newsletter, targeted missives to travel agents, past guests, etc. We have set up this web based system and it is ready to go for you. No limits to the number of your databases, no limit to the number of e-mails sent out, no limits to the number of attachments. But most importantly: no limit the help from us in designing, in composition, in getting your databases loaded up to the central server (by the way, it's easy).

Investment: $75 a month - for the whole web based system including, all help and whatever we've learned to make it work better for you.

The system is all yours to play with and send as many e-mails as you like.
When you like.
As you like.
No limints.

E-Mail Templates

We design them for your needs and it's yours to use as an individual template on your own e-mail client program such as MS Outlook or Thunderbird individually or as your own blast resource.

You simply fill in offers and news as these things change, using the same or a small variety of templates. Remember we don't recommend using postcard formats but we'll design templates that will be read by the recepient, not deleted.

Investment: $350 for the first template and then targeted ones based on that one at $125 each.

PBS and NPR Affiliate Donation Program for Target Market Communication

We have found National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System to be excellent and cost effective media to use as communication tools for your local and target niche markets.

We also believe in and would like to further their mission, therefore, we are delighted to help you put together a media program that uses these tools.

Facts: A catering business with which we work uses this tool to secure an allocated $133,000 of new business yearly through just one local affiliate station. All this new business comes in while current clients smile and say " I heard you supporting WHYY!". The cost of this campaign on just one NPR affiliate was a retail $6,500. So the hard actual cost was/is in the $2,800 region.

The math is good.

Example: Say you want to communicate with an educated market in San Francisco about a property in Hong Kong - a Belle Epoque property that has history and character behind it. The fit could work. The copy could work.

The hotel donates a trip for two to Hong Kong and a 5 day stay in a suite. This is used as part of a fundraising campaign. Therefore the gift and the hotel with associated colorful copy about the hotel will be run repeatedly.

Investment: $0 -- Our time to set it up for you is FREE.
Our discoveries of what works for what markets are always freely available to members.

Hard Copy Newsletters
4 page, quarterly - printed and delivered by mail and reformatted for e-mail distribution: the writing , editing, and art working all taken care of by the Co-Op team.

Each issue has up to seven full articles which include at least 4 small "engagement" short pieces - and that's four short pieces for each market that you want to talk to - so the total number will be determined by your databases - by the nature of your current and potential clients. We also include an article which focuses on your staff.

Then we craft the actual piece for whatever markets can best be defined from your databases: travel agents, meeting planners (inquiries, meeting planners with booked events), past guests, guest inquiries, weddings, wedding inquiries, etc .

Then we arrange the newsletter to be tilted in its language and articles - it's ability to communicate - for each defined market.

Most hotels don't have the funds to print a newsletter for each target market - but this is ok and actually better for cross-marketing. Oe issue can talk to many clients at the same time, speaking to them with an individual article and also cross-market what you have to offer. Perhaps a meeting planner's daughter is getting married and never thought about your property until they saw a newsletter with a wedding article and photos? Perhaps a prior business or conference guest never thought about bringing her family to your property for vacation until she saw the newsletter with a focus on family fun or romance bent?

Print is full color or two color as you wish and our printer is extremely cost effective as we have an on-going realtionship.

Bulk mail of the newsletter runs approximately 9 cents per unit plus the actual mailing costs to the US Post Office , which will range from 18 cents to 29 cents per unit.

Investment: $3000 - conception, writing, editing, design - to printer

Want us to re-format it for e-mail distribution?

The investment here is just an additional $1000 and then all delivery methods and databases are covered.