Running a boutique hotel can be a complex task.
Along with regular upkeep and employing staff, you’ll need to invest massively in keeping competitive. From luxury lighting to premium bedding, every effort matters. Your attention to detail shapes the guest experience – and determines your reputation too.
Whether you’re based on the coast or in the city centre, here’s how to keep new guests coming and incentivise them to return, too.
- Highlight unique experiences
No matter where your hotel is located, don’t forget that it will offer authentic local connections.
Many guests prefer personalised stays with an emphasis on community. You could leave suggestions for local art exhibitions, rural walking tours nearby, or perhaps organic, farm-to-table dining at a local restaurant.
For high-end hotels, you could leave a list of your favourite fine dining establishments nearby. If you have enough time to provide tailored lists for each guest, your efforts will be massively rewarded with positive feedback. Every guest appreciates a certain level of personalisation.
- Embrace sustainability and wellness
Eco-friendly measures help to reflect your commitments to sustainability as a business. Choosing renewables over single-use alternatives – for example with toiletries in guest bathrooms – also demonstrates that your hotel takes a proactive, responsible approach to waste reduction.
Wellness offerings could incentivise your guests, too. Whether you choose digital detox zones or spacious facilities for stretching and yoga, encouraging your guests to stay active could help you to stand out from your competitors.
- Invest in trending hospitality tech
Harnessing modern technologies could propel your business in new and unexpected ways. Contactless check-in, for example, is increasingly sought-after in urban areas, where safety and hygiene are often prioritised.
But technologies can benefit the rooms too. AI concierges and smart room features boost appeal, especially when they’re incorporated within a balance of professional, personal service.
Smaller, high-impact upgrades like professional coffee machines help to elevate guest satisfaction and could boost your revenue too. And when they’re placed in the lobby or breakfast area, they become a conversation starter too. Just remember to use gadgets in keeping with your décor style.
- Leverage marketing, branding and booking strategies
Finally, savvy marketing strategies can help boutique owners to enhance direct-booking shares. While third-party booking platforms can facilitate faster mobile bookings for some customers, directing bookings to your own site or platform will help you save on commission fees and other costs.
Make the most of social media to boost your marketing campaigns. You’ll find plenty of boutique influencers to support your campaign, and with 2 million businesses already connecting on Instagram, it’s a great place for your networking efforts too.
Ready to take your boutique hotel up a notch? With tourists and holidaymakers in the UK seeking great quality above everything else, now is the time to upgrade for comfort, convenience and luxury.
