Know-How Exchange : Strategy

"What are the optimal times during the year when a hotelier should TARGET vacation travelers? When it is absolutely TOO late to begin a campaign that is designed to bring in spring and summer traffic?" The answers to these questions depend on your location in relation to the source of customers. If the customers will need to make serious plans and pay a lot of money to get there, then in general it will take weeks or months between when they have their first idea for the trip and when they go. But if you live within relatively easy commuting distance of a source of customers, then you could have a much shorter time.

I'll use my example. I live near San Francisco, CA. I could do last minute trips to Napa Valley (~1 hour drive) or Lake Tahoe (4 hours). But I would plan further in advance (probably more than 3 weeks, so I could get the cheapest airfare) for a trip to Hawaii. Take me even longer if I was flying to another country and needed to get a Visa.

You probably want to think through everything a customer would have to do/pay to get to you, and figure the time based on the costs. If there isn't much, you could get last minute folks. If they fly, are there discounts for early reservations?

"What should hotels do to make sure that they are getting traffic during the shoulder season?" - provide off-season discounts, try to draw special events (such as conventions, business meetings, organization meetings, etc. - if you have the facilities), and promote to other countries who have different holidays/travel times (lunar new year for many Asian countries, Golden Week at beginning of May for Japan, etc.) are some that come to mind.

Something that would be more invovled would be to work with an event promoter to make the location a destination during the off season - work with a Marathon promoter, a bike race promoter, etc. Make a reason for people to go there (and pay full price) during the off season.

Depends on the target:

1. Some organized people prefer to plan their vacation with one year in advance and save the appropriate money.

2. The families with young children have to organize their vacation according to the school schedule (June, July, December, January). It is difficult for them another alternative.

3. Older people, maybe prefer low occupation, and can select the appropriate time.

But, I think that in tourism like other business, you will need to plan one year in advance (minimum), and do monthly reviews. You will need to pre-sell more than your real occupation, depends on your daily and history experience (information, databases, statistics), give a date to confirm, and of course promote discounts and special attractions in low months.

Bye,

Juan Carlos