Business Travel News Online recently reported that in an economy that has seen a drop in business travel by almost 10% in the past year (source: NBTA), extended stay hotels are aggressively constructing new hotels. Richard Flores, marketing director for Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants, was quoted as saying , “In 2006 and 2007, you could get away with having one major account, and you were running 80% occupancy with a good rate. You can’t count on Google to fill them up anymore.”
This brings up a number of interesting points. One is that internet referrals, when gleaned from a single source, will fail us in this economy. What is needed is a more innovative way of bringing in internet referrals, and that’s where Shop Corporate Housing comes in. The website allows all providers to compete for a single lead, which in the end means that the prospect is more likely to find the niche provider who is best able to serve their needs.
The other quote from the article that caught my eye was this: “Robert Radomski, vice president of brand management for InterContinental Hotel Group’s extended stay brands, said the down economy also has increased certain types of business travel to extended stay properties. ‘We are seeing growth in liquidations, and those liquidation teams are the sort of thing that brings more extended stay business,’ he said.” Liquidation teams are teams of consultants who are asked to manage the liquidation of large inventories, such as when Circuit City liquidated its inventory across the country earlier this year. What this means to me: now is a time to pursue new markets, and to open up sales into a new clientele. Liquidation teams could be one of them.
Providers take note: Business Travel News Online maintains a Black Book as a free resource for corporate travelers and human resource professionals to download. The Black Book has a special category for corporate housing, and there are a dozen or so providers listed already. The magazine has an excellent Google rank for the keywords “business travel” and seems to have a broad reach in terms of audience. It would be a good idea to list in their Black Book and see what business it drums up.
Tampa Bay Online recently published an article about an army reservist who was forced to plead guilty to housing fraud. The article states that the reservist set up a trust for his home, and then rented it to the provider Apartment Express. The man then turned around and rented the house from Apartment Express under his own name. He charged the rental expenses to the Department of Defense. (more…)
It’s a common question that comes up these days, especially when it comes to housing interns. More and more, people have been requesting two twin beds in one bedroom as a way of cutting costs on corporate housing. CHPA has a discussion thread on the topic and The New York Times has an article on the subject. What are your thoughts?
There’s been a lot of talk about providing healthcare for employees these days. One of the many versions of the new healthcare reform bill creates a tax credit for small businesses that provide their employees with health insurance. But it’s hard to weigh the cost-benefit analysis of providing that health insurance. (more…)
Joe Girard is in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling 1, 425 cars in 1973 alone. In his book, How to Sell Anything to Anybody, he describes what he calls “birddogs” as a simple referral process between himself and people to whom he has sold cars. He offers a small reward in exchange for a referral to his office. (more…)
In a recent discussion thread on CHPA’s group on LinkedIn, Jim Drass discussed negotiating lower rents with your property. As discussed in a previous blog, hotels are slashing their rates by as much as a third, and in order to keep up the corporate housing industry had better adjust to the current market as well. The New York Times reported that as the real estate market has cooled, many buildings are seeing more vacancies and making more concessions to attract tenants. As Drass says, it’s an excellent time to negotiate a drop in rent or an increase in concessions.
AHRN, or Army Housing Referral Network, is a new website that caters to military personnel in search of apartments. It’s a free service, and it’s easy to sign up, but third-party providers beware: I attempted to sign up for a Fort in the Midwest and was told I needed to have an actual physical address in order to participate in the website. I passed my contact info along to the project manager and asked to be contacted when the website reached a stage of further development. So unless you carry long-term leases in the area you want to list in, you’re going to get kicked off of the site.
The BBC recently reported that home construction is on the rise in the United States. This means that a powerful segment of your sales–the group of people who use corporate housing while their home is being constructed– will once again begin to flourish. As the housing market loosens up again and people regain their faith in the economy, the relocation segment of your sales will also begin to see improvements. The end of the recession may finally be near.
In a previous blog, I discussed upcoming trade show conferences. I chose to list the obvious ones you may want to attend (SHRM, NBTA, Worldwide ERC, and CHPA). But it doesn’t hurt to reach out to your target market and attend their trade shows as well. For example, if you attend the Travel Medical Professionals Conference in Las Vegas from September 21st-23rd, you may be the only provider with a booth there. The website allconferences.com offers a comprehensive list of conferences across the country, organized by trade.
