What is Value?

By Rupesh Patel

How does your business offer value?Do customers think value is in the ultra plush beds and soft, comfy linens our hotels provide? Is it the branded toiletries or bathrobe? Or could there be value in the scrumptious breakfast offerings? What does value mean to your customers?

Value is a term that is loosely used in the hotel industry and is often used interchangeably with price.

Here’s to straighten things out once and for all. Value in the hotel industry – or any industry for that matter – is not synonymous to price. So, if you call your property a “value hotel” because you’re offering low price points for your rooms, it’s incorrect. The term “budget hotel” could fit you better.

So, what is value?

At the very basic sense, value is about providing your guests with a unique experience that is not see in other hotels. In short, value is whatever it is that they are getting and the reason that they choose you over your competitors.

In order to demonstrate this clearer, here are a few examples of great value propositions outside of the hotel industry:

- Papa John's Pizza – Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.

- Zappos – Powered by Service

- Publix Grocery Stores: Where shopping is a pleasure

The same concept of value applies to the hotel industry in the sense that your value proposition should answer why your customers should choose you over the hotel just one block away.

The Different Types of Value You Can Offer To Your Guests

In the hotel industry, there are different types of value that you can offer to your guests. The most common are:

Value of guest reviews. Do guests choose your hotel over your competition due to your exceptional online presence?

Value of location and/or convenience. Is your hotel close to a certain tourist attraction or is strategically located at the heart of the city?

Value of uniqueness. Is what your offering extraordinarily different than others? You may have more expensive price points but people looking for exclusivity wouldn't mind paying more.

Value of getting more for their money. Are you offering more to guests, for the same room or price as your competition?

Why Having A Value Proposition Is Important?

Just like any other form of business, your hotel cannot possibly target anyone and everyone. For a hotel to be really profitable, you should target one primary segment and several secondary segments. Ritz Carlton would have a very different target market compared to a boutique hotel in New York. This is why your value proposition should resonate with your target market.

If your value proposition does not resonate with your target market, they won’t book with your hotel. In short, you can’t pretend something you’re not because travelers would say right through it.

Different travelers have different preferences and you value proposition would allow them to choose whether your property is a fit to what they’re looking for or not.

Guest Experience As An Expected Value

That said, there is one value that every guest expects from every hotel and every hotel owes all of their guests.

This is the value of delivering exceptional guest experience through five-star customer service.

A few years back, hotels were battling it out in terms of tangible offerings such as amenities, room features, and other hotel facilities. Now, almost everyone is offering the same thing and the real differentiating factor is customer service. It’s more emotional than functional and it’s the only way that you can build long-term relationship with travelers.

Delivering exceptional service as a value is a non-negotiable if you want your hotel to succeed and it should be consistent and at the same time, guest experience should vary based on the individual needs of your guests.

Before you end your workday today, think about what value your hotel offers to travelers and if you’re communicating this value/s properly. Also, think about how you’re delivering unforgettable guest experiences in your hotel. Put yourselves in your guests’ shoes and ask yourself: Will I choose this hotel over everyone else over and over?  Have a successful day! -Rupesh Patel

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