Pack your swimming trunks - hotels, holiday apartments and campsites can reopen

It's finally that time again! The sun loungers at the pool can be reserved again with towels. The corona figures in Germany are falling and the situation is slowly calming down. How long have citizens been waiting for this news? Falling numbers of new infections and a stably low 7-day incidence mean that they can finally go on vacation again. Holidays in their own country were a real discovery for many German holidaymakers last year. Now - after the long months of lockdown with travel and contact restrictions - they are possible again. Hotels, campsites and holiday apartments are opening their doors again - hurrah!

We'll show you how you can easily master the reopening.

Preparing employees

As a hotel operator, campsite operator or holiday home owner, it is important for you and your employees to prepare. In order to be able to answer your guests' questions about current rules and regulations, you should always keep your staff up to date. This is because the rules can change suddenly depending on the infection situation. For example, do a short briefing with your employees before each new shift. Take into account the specific areas of work and responsibilities of your staff. You should absolutely ensure that the correct use of mask protection and general hygiene regulations is implemented. Employees with COVID-19 associated symptoms are not allowed to work. Check that personnel consistently comply with the operational protection and hygiene concept.

In order to be able to ensure the safety of all guests, you should also train your staff in how to deal with so-called corona deniers. For guests who do not comply with the regulations, all options for early termination of the contract are consistently used.

Reopening checklist

After the months-long compulsory break, you can finally reopen your accommodation business. In order to be optimally prepared, you should consider a few points. We have put together a small checklist for you.

1. Get your house, complex or apartment back on track! This means: ventilate all rooms well, remove dust, check the technology and let the taps run everywhere to prevent legionella infestation.
2. Use protection products! Hygiene protection walls offer additional protection at reception etc. Hands-free door openers on frequently used doors allow hygienic opening and closing. In addition, you should always have disinfectant available in public areas.
3. Optimize your staffing plan! Hygiene requirements increase cleaning costs in individual rooms. Your staff is therefore likely to take longer to clean rooms and cannot clean as many rooms in the same amount of time as usual. So that there are no problems here, you should plan well beforehand and increase staff if necessary.
4. Schedule extra staff to clean the public areas of your accommodation! Elevator buttons, stair railings, door handles: All of these things must be thoroughly cleaned several times a day. The same applies to publicly accessible toilets and staff areas.
5. Be flexible when it comes to bookings and cancellations! In the current situation, long cancellation times scare off guests. Be accommodating to your guests — there's nothing wrong with planning a stay in your house.
6. Work off bacon deposits from fixed costs! Even in the supposedly rationalization-resistant fixed costs, there are always “bacon pads” from good years that make a company nicer and leaner when you train them off. It therefore makes perfect sense to open every single fixed cost account in accounting and check item by item for their use and use based on a simple traffic light system. Ballast marked in red and accumulated over the years can be thrown off. However, be sure not to screw anywhere that your guests feel. Lowering the pool temperature from 32 °C to 29 °C may seem like little, but your guests will immediately notice and reflect negatively.
7. Digitalization! As a result of the corona crisis, digital solutions are experiencing an ever increasing upswing. In addition to online check-ins, digital room service in particular has become established.
8. In spite of everything, remain personal and individual! Despite all hygiene measures and requirements, you should ensure that your stay is not too clinical and sterile.

Customer-oriented communication

Open communication should take place in order to give your guests the smoothest and most enjoyable vacation possible. It is difficult to keep a complete overview of all the different requirements and regulations. For this reason, you can provide your guests with the local rules applicable to your district or district-free city using displays or flyers. On your website and/or social media channels, you can also provide information in advance about the protective and security measures taken by your company. There are no limits to your creative spirit here. Fill this bland topic with some life and spice up your Instagram story or Facebook post, for example.

Despite the joy that holidays in their own country are now possible again, many people regard the current situation as still very critical and want safety during their vacation as well. Therefore, offer your guests the necessary service, give them a good and trusting feeling so that they can switch off and fully enjoy their vacation. Then they will certainly not have been your guests for the last time. Speaking of existing guests: With a newsletter, you can always inform them about your safety and hygiene measures.

Customer loyalty and marketing

In order to successfully complete the start of the reopening, generate as many new bookings as possible and, ideally, retain guests in the long term, various short and long-term marketing measures are required.

The offer of promotions and vouchers proves to be very useful, especially in the first phase after opening. These have proven to be a successful tool for long-term customer loyalty. Whether it's a voucher for a drink at the bar or breakfast in the apartment — your options are almost unlimited here too, and can be individualized and adapted. The Socialwave voucher tool is ideal for this customer loyalty measure. You decide when and how the guest receives a voucher, whether by email or directly on site when he or she logs into the existing WLAN. Detailed information about using vouchers as a marketing tool can be found here.

Referral marketing is also important for attracting new guests. The WLAN marketing package is particularly suitable for holiday apartments. This allows you to increase Facebook reach and Google reviews, among other things. Read more about this here.

Assessment management

Pay attention to your reviews on Google, TripAdvisor and Co. Be sure to use Google My Business. When looking for a hotel, an apartment or a campsite, most people today turn to search engines such as Google. The better your Google reviews are, the higher your lodging establishment appears in search results.

With the WLAN marketing package from Socialwave, collecting positive valuations It's never been easier. Positive reviews from your guests are forwarded to a review portal of your choice, such as Google or TripAdvisor. The reviews from dissatisfied guests are emailed to you as feedback. This gives you the opportunity to constantly improve without damaging your reputation.

conclusion

The current situation is certainly far from being what we imagine normal. But with the gradual easing and the long-awaited opening of hotels, holiday apartments and campsites, you and your guests are getting a break from the exhausting last few months full of restrictions and lockdowns. With sufficient consideration for the existing corona related requirements and measures, nothing stands in the way of a successful holiday season! With our WLAN marketing package, your customers/patients/guests advertise for you, are happy and recommend you to others.