by Steve Short | Sep 10, 2023 | Frictionless Innkeeper Posts
Photo by RDNE Stock project
Lodging providers typically do an excellent job of delighting guests with their comfortable accommodations, quality food offerings and luxury amenities. However, what guests experience during their stay isn’t limited to their on-site time at your property.
What happens off-site is a very important component of the entire guest experience and enhancing it is essential to improve ratings and increase new and recurring bookings.
To help guests have truly memorable off-site experiences, lodging professionals must partner with local businesses who will provide their guests with special offerings and attention. Curating these experiences starts with choosing the right partners and working with them to determine the unique offerings they will provide to your guests.
Curating Exclusive, Unique Offerings
Lodging providers should identify and arrange for activities that allow guests to experience the destination in a way that goes beyond what’s typically found online. For the best results, thorough research is needed before settling on partners.
Find unique local places for your guests to eat, shop, and have fun. Approach the business owner or manager and ask if they are willing to treat your guests to a special experience if you recommend them. From there, you can discuss and refine an offering that is exclusive to guests of your property.
“Anybody can make a recommendation, but when we recommended an activity, we wanted it to be unique to the guest and something that nobody else offers. For example, we had a package to visit the aquarium next to one of our hotels, and to make it exclusive, we worked with the attraction to have our guests not wait in line. Or at selected restaurants, guests at our hotel were given a free glass of wine when they arrived.”
~Ken Conklin, Owner and General Manager of Short Stay Florida, former manager three Baltimore Harbor Magic hotels
It’s About the Experience, Not Making Money
In most cases, lodging providers don’t directly make money from establishing local partnerships, but the experiences leave a positive, lasting impression on the guest which helps with repeat business and referrals.
Monique Greenwood, owner of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns, says there is so much outside of her urban properties for her guests to do, that they don’t usually need extra help in finding events and activities. For this reason, she invests time in discovering new places that are off the beaten path and often curates packages which are exclusive to her guests.
“Making money from the package doesn’t matter to me because I know the guest is going to get more out of their stay from the experience. This way they come back again and again,” said Monique. And they often post on social media about the fun they had, which spreads the word about Akwaaba and brings in new guests.
For former Vermont Inn owner Megan Smith, local business partnerships helped to build future occupancy for her property.
“I had a partnership with a local hospital which was always recruiting doctors, so we would host them and get them down to the hospital and provide anything else they needed. Then when they started working at the hospital, those doctors always came back to our inn to host holiday parties or to refer guests.”
It was a win-win situation for all involved.
Choosing the Right Partner
Choosing unique local places is an important starting point for determining potential partners but perhaps more pressing is for owners of those places to provide a level of service on par with your property. Monique refers to this as being “on brand” with your offering and this is her primary criteria selecting business partners.
“Are they hospitable? Are they as professional as you are? The goodwill gets passed down onto to you, but so does anything bad that happens. Be thoughtful of who you are picking because they are a reflection of you. Also, determine what’s the win for the partner too. They can’t just be doing you a favor,” says Monique.
In addition to choosing partners who are on brand with your property, it’s always helpful to look for partners that will mention you on their social media platforms and in their newsletters. Sometimes a partner will tag your property when talking about a guest experience there. This can add thousands of additional eyeballs to your reach and is good for both businesses!
Letting Guests Know About Your Unique Local Partner Offerings
Guests want to feel like VIPs. They want insider information and fantastic off-property experiences when they stay with you.
For guests to truly feel special, only they should have access to your insider recommendations and curated guest offerings. Enticing prospective guests with some local recommendations on your website may be necessary but only your true guests should have access to the valuable insider information and experiences you provide to them.
The Frictionless Guest App is a digital concierge that helps your guests live like locals and is a fantastic way to let only your guests know of your local recommendations and the curated VIP experiences you offer to them.
The App helps you connect with guests like never before, saving you time and allowing you to curate the guest experience both on and off the property.
Go to frictionlessguest.com to book a demo!
by Steve Short | Sep 8, 2023 | Frictionless Innkeeper Posts
Professional lodging conference time will be here before you know it. Which ones will you be attending?
Starting in late October, the Frictionless team will be packing their bags and hitting the skyways and the roadways.
Oct 30th – 31st Michigan B & B Association Conference, Grand Rapids, MI.
Not only will we be exhibiting, Frictionless Founder & CEO Steve Short will tell the story of how to “Live Like a Local” by utilizing local partnerships that boost your bottom line.
Nov 1st – 3rd New England Inns & Resorts Association Conference, Rockport, ME
Steve will make his way to Rockport where he’ll introduce the Frictionless App to a host of independent lodging professionals.
Nov 7th – 9th Midwest Association of Independent Inns Conference, Galena,IL
Diann Turner will travel to Galena and participate in a panel discussion spotlighting Midwest innkeepers, showcasing how local business partnerships magnify guest experiences and increase income.
Nov 12th – 15th Mid Atlantic Innkeepers Conference, Lancaster, PA
Diann will attend the Lancaster conference and delve deeper into how the Frictionless app transforms guest stays and skyrockets your profits.
Are you attending any of these conferences? If so, be sure to stop by our booth! We’re excited to assist lodging providers in redefining their businesses, increasing profits, and saving time.
After this whirlwind, we’ll be craving some turkey-time to refuel. See you there!
Steve Short, Frictionless Founder & CEO, and Randy Bangs of the Stewart Inn and Get Heads in Beds at the 2023 ALP Conference in Phoenix, AZ, discussing how the Frictionless App saves Randy lots of time.
Dr. Chris Gordon and husband Isaac Gordon, Owners/Innkeepers, of Go Getaway Bed And Breakfast in Munford, TN, explaining to Steve how excited they are to be using the Frictionless App.
Monique Greenwood, President & CEO of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns, stopped by the Frictionless booth at the 2023 ALP Conference to provide a testimonial about the power of partnerships and how the app helps her guests Live Like Locals.
by Steve Short | Sep 7, 2023 | Frictionless Innkeeper Posts
Do you ever find yourself wondering how to use certain features in the Frictionless App but can’t remember or aren’t sure where to start? Or do you simply want to reach out and say hi to fellow lodging professionals? Well, we’ve got some great news for you!
Join us for the 2nd Cup series of pre-scheduled Zoom calls, where you can get your Frictionless App questions answered.
The series kicks off on Tuesday, September 12th at 11:30 AM until noon ET.
Diann Turner will be there to assist and give instructions on how to utilize your app to enhance the guest experience and save you time! No sign-up required, the calls will be held monthly, so mark your calendars and set a reminder for the 2nd Cup Series!
It’s not only a fantastic opportunity to get your questions answered but also a way to learn from other lodging professionals who are creatively using the app.
Grab your favorite mug for that 2nd cup of coffee (or maybe even 3rd!) and hop on Zoom to connect with the community.
Whether you’re a seasoned user or a new one, you’ll find the 2nd Cup series a welcoming and informative space to enhance your Frictionless App experience. Diann is here to support you every step of the way.
So don’t miss out! Join us on Zoom for the 2nd Cup series and make the most out of the Frictionless App for your innkeeping needs.
See you there!
by Steve Short | Oct 10, 2022 | Frictionless Innkeeper Posts
Partnering with local businesses to enhance your guests’ stay is a must in today’s experience-based economy. Travelers want more than just a place to stay. They want to connect with a destination, and live like a local, through genuinely authentic experiences.
Lodging providers, to gain repeat bookings, need to identify and develop mutually beneficial offerings with local businesses in order to provide guests with high-quality local experiences.
Why it is Important to Have Partnerships
Since it will take an investment of your time to commit to partnerships with your fellow local businesses, it’s important to understand why you need them in the first place.
The ability to differentiate your property is vital in order to attract (and keep) guests.
It’s not enough just to have beautiful amenities and food on site. Complimentary amenities like breakfast and Wi-Fi have become commonplace and expected.
Partnering Enhances your Guests’ Experience
Guests want more these days. They desire high quality, curated experiences both on and off property.
Guests look to their lodging provider for ‘insider information’ about the local community. They want recommendations and tips for what to do, see, and where to eat. They want to know what’s special about your community and experience it in unique ways. They’re counting on you to help curate their experience during their stay.
Your business benefits greatly with increased ROI when you curate and customize off-site experiences for your guests that match the quality of what you provide on-site.
Forming partnerships with local businesses that can provide a unique experience will give your property the edge you need to compete with other lodging providers in your area.
“It is so critical we have relationships with our local business community. It works on two fronts. One, it helps to create a memorable experience for the guest because they are not going to stay in your property the whole time. They want to get out and discover the neighborhood where they are staying and live like a local. Second, it’s good for the local economy as well.”
~Monique Greenwood, Owner of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns
Partnering Increases your ROI
When you enhance your guest experience off-site you’re increasing the likelihood of repeat bookings.
Simply put, repeat guests are more profitable.
- Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by more than 25% (Bain & Co)
- It is 6-7X more expensive to attract new customers than to keep existing customers. (Kolsky via Huffpost)
- A 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75% (Bain & Co. via Forbes).
“The partnerships we made with local businesses made staying at our inn special. They were my guest enhancement and my sanity. The relationships I made were not only beneficial for the guests, but they also really became relationships that I grew and made my life more fulfilled.”
~Megan Smith, Lodging Consultant and Former Owner of a Vermont Country Inn
Helping you Partner Effectively
The Frictionless Guest App is a digital concierge that helps your guests live like locals. It allows lodging providers to give guests their recommendations for the best local places to eat, play, and shop during their stay.
The App helps you connect with guests like never before, saving you time and allowing you to curate the guest experience both on and off the property.
Go to frictionlessguest.com to book a demo!
