"Marketing means more business" was the theme of this year's National Hotel Marketing Conference, which took place on Feb 17th at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London, and it certainly lived up to its title.
The conference organiser, Martin Evans, kindly invited me to speak about the general issues facing hotel marketeers and my amateur slot was followed by an impressive range of expert speakers, all of whom gave hard, practical advice to their audience of hoteliers and travel industry professionals. We came away with lots of ideas - I'll be implementing some of them at Pride of Britain straight away - to stay ahead of the competition in our fast changing world. Much emphasis was placed on the digital marketing tools of course but we also learned about customer care, selling over the phone and even a success story that still relies on good old print and paper.
This was the first time I had attended the NHMC. It will not be the last!
So, the Government is to withdraw its support for the Quality Assessment Scheme - stars to you and me.
Does it matter? We still have the AA which has managed the job for a hundred years without troubling the chancellor and, as many have commented, Tripadvisor is to some extent taking the place of official ratings anyway. But hang on a minute...aren't hoteliers all up in arms about the "unfair" reviews people can so freely post about their businesses?
From conversations with quite a lot of owners and managers I have noticed most are surprisingly relaxed about all this. Sure, the odd caustic comment gets them rattled but so long as the majority of posts are favourable, which they should be if a hotel is well run, no real harm is done. As to stars, the concensus seems to be that they are fading in importance in the eyes of customers. For that we can't entirely blame Tripadvisor. The star rating systems are of limited value in terms of telling customers what sort of experience they are likely to have - think of the massive variety of establishments that display 4 stars - whereas a brand name such as Hotel du Vin, Best Western or Relais & Chateaux gives more than a hint about the style, price and level of luxury you can expect. In the case of Pride of Britain Hotels we hope our customers associate the name with outstanding hospitality, whatever the star rating.
Anyway, the plot thickens! Because guest houses and B&Bs can also now qualify for up to 5 stars they often appear among the top results for locations on Tripadvisor, ahead of fully fledged hotels that offer more and charge more but may have fewer stars. Some say this is misleading and shows that an imperfect rating system is now compounded by the way these ratings are applied to third party review sites.
One thing I can guarantee. The most highly rated establishments will continue to refer to their "five star" status long after any schemes are scrapped - it's part of their identity. We'll see their light for years after the stars themselves have ceased to exist. Just like the real thing, in fact.