Running a hotel is a bit like playing football, don’t you think?! During the World Cup, with football all over our screens, I thought it would be fun (and interesting!) to develop the metaphor. So here’s my theory…followed, hopefully, by yours!
Strategic Positioning
As to the game, the coach needs to ask himself the right questions, followed by the answers with which to make the strategic choices necessary before his team enters the pitch.
- What are the opportunities and threats on the pitch?
Football popularity and fan base? Favourable weather conditions? Corrupt refereeing? Effects from time zone differences? - What are the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team?
Their performance averages? Their history? Their players? Their fans? - How are we going to make the most of our strengths to stand out?
Player selection? Team spirit? Strategic placement on the pitch?
Does the metaphor seem clear to you?
Replace the words: game for global market, pitch for local market, fans for guests, opposing
team for the competition, players for employees, Football Club for your hotel and coach for hotel
manager; and hey presto! We’re almost there, right?!
Memorable Experience
A whistle blows, our players are on the pitch, as are the opposing team. The ball is ready to be kicked about from one end of the pitch to the other. The whistle blows once more and the 90 minute match has begun! But what makes a simple match a great one, one that will be remembered in the long run?
Talent and…
According to my cousin Bertrand, an avid football player and fanatic since he was a small child; firstly, the players need to exhibit some serious technical knowledge (no messy passes), physical commitment (give it all, right to the end!) and have a lot of opportunities (otherwise the spectators would get bored).
It is thanks to the training and the coach’s leadership, to the team’s cohesiveness and to the material means given by the club that the team can deliver once on the pitch, give their all and exploit their talent, needs and potential.
In effect, how could the client of a hotel have a memorable experience unless all of the hotel’s employees showed professionalism (by accomplishing their tasks with seriousness), rigour (with precision from beginning to end) and with opportunism (by adapting to changing circumstances and then taking the opportunity to do better, to anticipate clients needs before they need express them).
It is thanks to the training and leadership of the manager, to everyone’s teamwork, and the material means given by the hotel (infrastructure and quality work materials) that the team can deliver their best, exploit their need to please and their hosting, to welcome the client and allow them to enjoy a wonderful stay.
I would like to underline the importance of positioning your hotel coherently towards your market. A football club that shows off, behaves all powerful and then loses to a ‘small team’ is always a bit of an embarrassment. In this sense, it is important that the hotel (via marketing strategy, star rating and pricing) targets clients whose expectations can be fulfilled by the offer presented to them. As such, it can be better sometime to be a great 4* than a mediocre 5*. It is important to
know how to stay objective and also modestas to the levels of commodity proposed. To have a bad reputation in modern times (with the ever growing importance of social media) would be a dangerous strategy in the mid to long term.
…Emotions
Talent is a precondition for a “technical” game quality, but technical quality alone is not enough to make neither a football match not a hotel stay memorable. I’m talking about legendary matches, such as the World Cup 1998, with France vs Brazil (at least for us in France!), which became a bitter memory for many, and is still talked about amongst friends over a beer of families over dinner even now.
You need emotions! And to win the hearts of new fans, it’s not about choice, but about positive emotions: Joy, Laughter, Pride, Surprise, Pleasure, Generosity… If each player each employee (I don’t really like the word ‘employee’, would you mind if I used the word ‘ambassador’? It is the term used within the Sofitel Hotel brands and I find it is much better suited) acts with this idea in mind, they can transform a simple match amongst many, one more hotel stay, into a long lasting memory, one that people will want to share. For that the players need to give their best to succeed, not just for themselves, but because they want their team to win, to no let down their fans. In the same breath, the ambassadors must have the deep and sincere desire to welcome clients as if they were friends, it must come from the heart; then the experience becomes rich with
emotions, each stay can become a unique experience which will be remembered for a long time!
High Visibility and Support
The most popular Football Clubs (and the most profitable…as football is also a business…and not a small affair) use powerful communication tactics to be visible and to boost their popularity. When I see French youth who have never stepped foot in Spain, yet are huge fans of Barca I am stunned. If no one knows your little hotel deep in the Amazonian jungle actually exists, how do you expect them to book their next holiday there? Give your hotel a boost, as does Barca, to make it visible, Yes, but how? You are unlikely to have the spending power of Qatar to pay for flash TV advertising and billboards across the globe (no, I am not exaggerating 😉 ); so I am going to let you in on a little secret: There’s a great thing going on at the moment, that hardly costs a penny (aside from taking the time and energy to spend on it), and if you fulfill the two criteria aforementioned (strategic positioning and memorable experience) you could become an “explosion”!
My other cousin, Fabien, has talked to me about the importance of the fan’s passion. A football club without a fan base does not exist! Even the small village club from my home town has fans! My mention of passion, it is to explain that it is not quantity that counts but the level of commitment. The “explosion” I mentioned earlier consists of all those passionate fans, the clients that have enjoyed their stay so much (in your hotel) that they want to shout about it to the world. So of course, encourage them, engage them in conversation during and after their visit via…social media, Twitter, Trip advisor, Facebook…There are plenty of opportunities. I will explain all of this in an upcoming article about how to gain visibility online by maximizing the amazing communication tool that is social media.
Success!
Here we are, at the finish line…cheers! I mean, Success! (forgive me, it’s 4pm and the sun is shining outside, I could do with a drink on the terrace, so I will wrap up quickly!)
You should now have a pretty good idea of which are, as in football, the main essential ingredients to the success of your hotel! But be realistic, the point in question will not be explained in 1200 words. I suggest ‘stay tuned’ to my blog and I promise I will go into more detail on each of the three points mentioned very soon. Also, maybe you or a hotel manager you know in Latin America, would be happy to meet with me?
I leave on the 1st of July to embark on a great adventure from Mexico to Argentina, with the project of sharing my knowledge in hotel management in exchange for accommodation along the way. So do not hesitate (as a ‘passionate fan’ of the project) to share the information in front of you and to ‘like’ The Hospitality Tour on Facebook. I’m counting on you!
And you ?
Would you like to share your thoughts on this metaphor?
Where are its limits?
Do you have another comparison with which to illustrate hotel management?
Translated by Holly Cooper Chima