Last week, our local business paper published an article describing how tourists don’t stay very long or spend very much in my city, compared to many others. In our case, I assume most tourists are just spending a day or two here before heading up to Niagara Falls, but many other cities are in the same boat. Either they’re upstream from a bigger destination, or they just don’t have much tourist draw to begin with. Is it just plain bad news for hotel and B&B operators?
The thing about articles like these is that they’re just printing averages, and individual businesses can still do a lot to make sure they end up on the right side of the average. For example, a hotel that caters to conventioneers is very much tied to the duration of the conventions. On the other hand, a small bed-and-breakfast that goes to great lengths to publicize and promote area attractions and tours can have a real impact on the length of time a guest stays.
I would go so far as to say that I think small hotels and B&Bs have the advantage in this situation. Nobody really considers Holiday Inn as an important and memorable part of their trip (no offense meant to Holiday Inn!). It’s just someplace you sleep. But people do go out of their way to stay at a classy boutique hotel or a charming B&B, and often these sorts of places are in fact major elements of the entire travel experience for them.
It’s all about providing something unique that attracts guests, and then finding creative ways to show them how much there is to do in town, so that they’ll stay a few days longer. This may be harder work in cities that don’t sell themselves as well as they should, but I would suggest that there are lots of things an individual hotel operator can do in any city that will have a positive impact on their occupancy rates and the experiences of their guests.
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