How to get a package sold successfully?
Good question, in general it will never amount to more than a small fraction of the overall leisure business generated, in fact it depends on the accompanied marketing strategy if a package is successful, as one in general reaches only niche audience that specifically look for special themed packages or offers. Possible tools to market packages are:

• listing on hotel website
• blog listings
• third party website listings
• distribution via on-line press releases
• advertising
• distribution through social network sites like Facebook, LinkedIn or XING
• listings in hotel newsletters and hotel magazines
• hotel internal promotions
• distribution via flyer

One should focus on its core mission to market a specific package, also look at the items/services included to decide which marketing tool fits best. Good examples of packages that are special and sold successfully are:

Omni Hotels, which do offer a socalled “Retail Therapy” package, a girlfriend getaway package that does include shopping elements. Omni Hotels market this via their own hotel websites as well as www.hotelchatter.com.

Babymoon packages, pre-baby vacation packages for expecting parents, a real “hype” for resort destination hotels but also a package that becomes very popular for city hotels. One can market these via various third party websites like www.babymoonguide.com, www.babymoonfinder.com or www.baby-moon.eu, a few good examples of babymoon package can also be found on these sites. A nice babymoon package is the “Luxury before Birth package” offered by The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel, more details on www.theringhotel.com.

Numerous hotels offer “pet-friendly packages” as many guests prefer to travel together with their dog, a nice example of a “pet-friendly package” is offered by the Hotel Pere Marquette, have a look: www.hotelperemarquette.com

Pretty new on the market are the socalled “green travel packages” or “ecofriendly packages”, websites like www.greenhotels.com do explain “green travel” very clearly, for hotels as well as for guests and hotels like Kimpton Hotels & Resorts do explain their mission statement and “earthcare program” (www.kimptonhotels.com) on their website, a nice example of an eco-friendly package is the package of the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco (www.theorchardgardenhotel.com).

How about “dynamic packaging”? In this way a hotel offers simply accommodation and next to that their guests a large variety of booking additional services like breakfast, lunch, dinner, limousine services, spa treatments, museum tickets, fruit baskets, flowers and many more items. Hotels can act fully flexible as to their selling strategy and promote specific services/items. Also the guest can act fully flexible and can decide if he wants to book specific services beforehand or at check-in.

Looking for a creative, trendy, extraordinary or themed hotel package? Just use the well known search engines and type in the different themes and the words “hotel package“, it is amazing what comes up.

The requirements for the young hoteliers attending this event, are, that they don’t work within a management position and that they are younger than 25. This year’s event counted 14 motivated ‘young hoteliers’ who all had to answer this year’s theme-question:

“How should a green hotel look like, and how to bring it alive?”

Presenting their point of view, in English, took place in Imperial hotel on the 26th of February.

Thomas Eder, Barbara Eckmann (Winner) and Martin Fuehrer

In the jury, who had a long day judging all the presentations, director of Wien Tourismus Norbert Kettner, Manpower-manager Katharina Münchmeyer, Johnson Diversey director Martin Führer, hotel owner Michaela Reiterer, Hilton Vienna Plaza director Michael Reinhardt, Christophe Bergen from Cornell University and consultant for the hotel project Hotel im Palais Schwarzenberg and chairperson Thomas Eder of the GMC were represented.
Johnson Diversey is the main sponsor of the event, who also realised the first price which is a summer-course at the Cornell University in Brussel or nearby New York. Not only was the course sponsored, but the flight and accommodation as well.

Manpower organised two days of training in presentation skills for the young hoteliers. These training days took place in November, where the young hoteliers were trained and prepared in giving presentations.

On the 26th of February the event took place in Imperial hotel and already started at 08:00 hours in the morning, with the first candidate. On the next day, the 27th of February, the winner of this event was announced and a small after-party was organised. This took place in the Imperial hotel as well. The young hotelier, who answered the theme question the best and convinced the jury of her presentation skills, was Barbara Eckmann of Le Meridien. She won the summer-course at the renowned Cornell University, including the flight and accommodation worth of around € 4.000.

Second best was Caroline Winter of InterContinental Wien, who won a course at the Chamber of Commerce, worth of € 500. A difficult decision for the jury was the third place, on which two Young Hotelier Award candidates ended. Thorben Thiemann of the Radisson SAS Palais Hotel and Angelique Piquer representing Grand Hotel Wien and The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel.

So what exactly is a green hotel?

Green travel is based on travelers who consider the environment whilst they are traveling, and try to waste or disturb the environment as less as possible. A green hotel considers the environment and community as well, as in taking responsibility for the impacts of the hotel’s activities. Taking this responsibility can be done in many ways, for example with energy efficient lighting, installing solar panels to win alternative energy, offering the guests a linen program, making use of biological and regional products in the kitchen, using chemical free cleaning solutions or only treating your guests with natural spa products. These are not the only solutions, but some general examples, as there are hunderds of solutions to implement when taking responsibility.

Why are hotels taking the responsibility?

The main advantage for companies to take the responsibility is creating a win-win situation. When implementing ‘green’ solutions, the environment will benefit, but the company as well. Some of the main advantage for these companies could be; improving their financial position by decreasing costs, improvement of brand image, increase of guest loyalty and more satisfied and motivated employees. Besides the win-win situation which is created, more and more companies are forced into taking the responsibility, due to the increase of costs of resources, the overall opinion about the climate change, and governmental institutions and other organisations developing new rules and regulations for companies and hotels to follow, in consideration for our environment.