Your Lodge is Just Like All the Others (Yawn!)

by Andrew Larsen & Richard Aldous

Andrew Larsen has a vision to see SME’s reach their full potential and contribute to a better and prosperous South Africa for all. He is passionate in helping SME’s leverage off emerging technologies to improve customer experiences and make more money.

Andrew is a Chartered Accountant by background with experience working in Europe, USA and back home in South Africa.

Richard Aldous is an experienced, dynamic and energetic professional who focuses on creative solutioning to assist organisations in remaining relevant and future-fit.

He ensures business strategies are implemented in a sustainable way delivering demonstratable impact.
Richard’s background in engineering, finance and continuous improvement helps him to constantly deliver superior results.

We know you don’t have much time to read this article. So, this article hopes to function as the best example of ‘low hanging fruit’ advice to help boost your occupancy quickly, so let’s get straight into it...

The same ‘stunning’ website

Your Lodge is special - just like all the others.

It’s true, though. There are specific and unique things your Lodge has that no other place can offer or compete with.

Unfortunately, however, your website doesn’t do a very good job of communicating those unique qualities.

You have a ‘lovely’ website with ‘spectacular’ pictures and expertly crafted copy describing the ‘picturesque’, ‘tranquil’ and ‘relaxing’ characteristics of your ‘sought-after’ accommodation. But so does every other Tom, Dick and Lerato, on their equally ‘stunning’ website. Your website may just end up being another needle in the holiday-accommodation haystack.

You need something on your website that will set you apart from the rest. A feature that will indicate to your potential clientele exactly what it is about your accommodation that sets it apart.

The same anxiety

You need to look no further than the dramatic drop in tourism-spend in the last few years to know that people have less money to spend on a holiday these days.

People are going on vacation less so they cannot afford disappointment or bad experiences during this rare and much-needed downtime.

During these challenging financial times, it is essential that Lodges can provide their clients with the peace of mind they crave. They need to know that the money they spend on a rare getaway opportunity will meet their expectations.

You can achieve this for your Lodge if (without needing a commitment from them) you can guide the interested person through an experience that really reflects what it may be like to stay with you.

The same brochures

Remember what I said about your website? Well, pretty much the same thing applies to your brochures. They’re gorgeous and glossy but I’m guessing they’re also generally generic were you to put one of them side-by-side with your competitors’ brochures.

They’re well-written, I’m sure, but they’re a far cry from knowing what it would be like to walk into one of your rooms or amble around the edge of your ‘crystal clear’ pool.

Most will be binned and, if you’re lucky, others will be reincarnated as the occasional bookmark.

Wouldn’t it be great if your brochure had something on it that could take a potential client through an immersive experience that would show them just how fantastic your offerings would be to experience?

The same distrust

We all know that a picture speaks a thousand words, but sadly, some of the pictures being shared by many Lodges have been photoshopped and ‘modified’ so much that some would argue that they speak a thousand lies. No wonder clients have trust issues and keep booking the same old venues instead of giving your accommodation a try.

Holidaymakers don’t trust what they see on websites, billboards and brochures any more, so it’s vital that the really good and reputable Lodges find a way to communicate a more trustworthy representation of their sensational offerings.

More trust will obviously result in more bookings.

The same occupancy?

When your occupancy numbers are low and appear to be on a gradual downhill trend, that can be heartstopping.

However, even if you’re regularly fully-booked, life happens, trends change and your ‘firm-favourite’ Lodge may suddenly experience a drop in occupancy when another type of accommodation becomes all the rage. Also, many people like to tick places off on a list and then move on to the next place.

In the constantly shifting landscape of tourism trends, relying on legacy bookings and return customers is not enough to ensure healthy future occupancy. You will always need to keep baiting new, first-time clients.

Websites and brochures used to be enough back in the good old days, when ‘seeing was believing’. A colourful website or brochure with decent photographs used to be enough to entice people to make bookings.

But these days it doesn’t quite cut it. Now, ‘feeling is believing’, is the way to go to gain trust and secure those bookings.

Get in touch to learn how your potential clients can “touch/feel/experience” what you have to offer without even leaving the comfort of their own homes.