Hotel Sales Blog

Another Hotel Sales Success Story

I want you to think for a second about which states in the country had difficult economies prior to this crisis and that now have horrendous economic conditions.  If the State of Michigan comes to mind, you are right on!

I worked with the Lansing MI CVB in the past and conduct sales seminars for their hotel partners once or twice per year.   If anyone had an excuse for poor bookings, this team did.  Shari Berger, the leader of this awesome CVB sales team, deserves a bucket full of credit for keeping her team motivated and focused.  Listen to this:

We did end up finishing our year with 10,000 additional room nights over
2007. (Can you believe that?!) We are starting 2009 with 25,000 room nights in our pipeline too.
Needless to say we are excited. Michigan does have so much doom and
gloom. We are thrilled to be hanging in there. Your selling seminars
have helped us get there too. (Okay small plug for me).

Congratulations to Shari and her team  — I am in awe!

The link on the last post to the demo for Sales in a 2.0 World — the online sales module developed in conjunction with Newmarket/Delphi was incorrect.  Here is the good one.

http://hotelearning.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/sales-in-a-web-20-world-by-carol-verret/

Also, sign up for the abolsutely free Weekly Shots of Sales & RM Caffeine — small blurbs of sales and revenue management tips and motivation that arrive in your Inbox each week.  Just send me a blank email carol@carolverret.com — your email info will be used for nothing else.

Hotel Sales Success Stories

I was doing a coaching call with the team at the Lied Lodge and Conference Center center two weeks ago and they were getting a little discouraged.  We had a chat and they are going to realign their sales office responsibilities based on the market realities as well as allocate one additional person to internet prospecting — smart move.

About a week alter I received the following email from Denise, their DOS/M:

I was just looking at the New Tentative groups we have booked since the first of January to date, compared to last year same time.  In January 2008, we booked 26 New Tent groups, 695 rooms, $64,526.  This January 2009, we have booked 1589 rooms, $151, 988!!  Our ADR for newly booked group business is us nearly $3.00 compared to the selling time same time last year.  I can’t wait to share this with the team tomorrow!!

The moral of the story — make it a point to monitor and share positive numbers more often to give every one the uplift in morale.  If you think it can’t be done — this is a conference center not at all close to a primary market and if they can do it — so can you!

EXCITING NEWS!  Newmarket and I have developed an online sales training module Sales in a 2.0 World.  Check out the link bleow to Blip for  a preview.  Keep checking back for the link to the ‘real deal’!