Innkeepers Can Save Money While Increasing

Brand Awareness and Guest Loyalty

The biggest challenge any hotelier or innkeeper faces is how to differentiate themselves from the masses without impacting the bottom line. The age old question of marketability vs. profitability can paralyze even the most proficient managers, leaving them helpless and overwhelmed by the myriad solutions designed to help them reach their goals. Yet in the midst of the chaos, a simple solution is often overlooked: the in-room bath amenity.

In a world of luxury giving way to environmental pressures, the bath amenity gift has gone from anonymity to prominence and now banality. Many properties are turning to the ever popular "green" dispensers, but to what determent to the guest? In the not-so-distant-past of industry excess, guests came to revere the luxurious pampering provided by the finest shampoos, conditioners, and lotions, and were proud to show them off upon their return trip home as proof of sophisticated travel.

Instead of robbing guests of that distinct pleasure, is there an alternate way to focus on the environment, preserve the bottom line, and provide the highest level of service? By doing a little research, and following a few guidelines, there is.

The Environment

The greatest benefit offered by the soap dispenser is a limited environmental impact. Innkeepers can not only save on waste costs, they can avoid further overflow of their communities’ landfills. However, an alternative may be to contact a non-profit organization such as Clean The World. (www.cleantheworld.com)

This hotel-friendly company works with properties of all sizes to collect unused soaps and lotions, putting them through a rigorous disinfecting and recycling program. The newly-created soaps are then sent to disaster relief charities and third-world countries. The small fee involved is minimal compared to waste costs, and the property can stand proud knowing they’ve helped not only their own community, but those in need throughout the world.

Brand Awareness

Those guests who return home touting their newly-discovered bath amenity are actually doing a disservice to the establishment where they made the discovery by showing off the luxury soap brand, as opposed to the property’s brand, guests are more apt to re-create the soap experience at another property than to re-book the hotel whence they came.

Choosing an amenity that offers personalized, yet attractive, branding can be the key to building additional brand equity. With the property brand in front of them, guests will remember their experience more clearly, resulting in an increase of word-of-mouth advertising. And when it comes time for the next vacation or business trip, your property just may the first they turn to.

Guest Loyalty

Innkeepers who focus on the detailed aspects of the services they provide will gain an increase in guest loyalty. Consider offering a bath amenity product that also comes in retail sizes, offering the guest an opportunity to reexperience a piece of their vacation. Providing the same retail product as the in-room amenity will stimulate guests to buy since they will have already familiarized themselves with the product, resulting in a higher conversion of sales. Not only will the hotel make a profit, innkeepers can sell their branded products over the Internet. By encouraging repeat sales via the website, innkeepers can construct a distinct advantage over the competition.

The hospitality industry is awash with "must-haves" and "must-dos", and as a result individual properties are prone to following in the footsteps of the competition. Embracing the power of originality will effectuate a sense of artisan proprietorship, enabling innkeepers to flourish far more successfully than their derivative neighbors.

With just a little creativity, innkeepers can capture the essence of what is important to the community, the industry, and most importantly the guest, while still maintaining a uniqueness and quality of service that exceeds the expectations of all.