Small Hotel Niches in The Bahamas: Small Hotels in The Bahamas taking a stand to mark...

Small Hotel Niches in The Bahamas: Small Hotels in The Bahamas taking a stand to mark...: Effective marketing almost seems impossible to the small hotel owner without the resources to operate with a: *Marketing Departmen...

Small Hotels in The Bahamas taking a stand to market their businesses on a Global Level.

Effective marketing almost seems impossible to the small hotel owner without the resources to operate with a:

*Marketing Department

*Technical Department

*Revenues Management Team

*Reservations Department

 Don't have to be a professional to BoneFish!

Small Hotels offer a unique experience for that someone wanting to getaway and explore a whole new paradise.

The collaboration of these strategies allows small hotels in The Bahamas to take advantage of a local opportunity which is geared to empowering other small business owners in the community and marketing their companies on a global level.  The result is community building and having someone accessible, who truly cares about their success and future endeavors.

Check out what we are doing:  www.beststaybahamas.com 

E-Marketing & E-Commerce Strategies for Small & Midsized Hotels: What is your Business known for?

E-Marketing & E-Commerce Strategies for Small & Midsized Hotels: What is your Business known for?: If you had to sell your business, what would be your biggest selling feature? Small businesses have their challenges but one of their stre...

What is your Business known for?

If you had to sell your business, what would be your biggest selling feature?  Small businesses have their challenges but one of their strengths is the ability to invest time and passion into their best product. Having many products but not maximizing its marketing strengths can bring in less revenue than having one product and conditioning it to perfection then promoting its selling features.

 Invest a little time and top it off with some passion and what you have is a recipe for success.

Boutique Properties Projected Income for 2012

The virtual sectors of online sales and marketing are slowly overtaking traditional buying and selling strategies.    E-tourism accounts for nearly 50% of the E-Commerce market in both the United states and Europe.  2012 is projected to be a very competitive year for Tourism, therefore it is needed for independent/boutique hotels to optimize their online business as it is guaranteed to raise revenue by large margins.  Large resorts and chain hotels are at the disadvantage of the overall decor and service having almost a cloning effect.  Whereas, independent/boutique hotels are ultimately different in all aspects of its operations and product.  This, I would say puts smaller properties at a grave advantage... 2012, the year for Quality, Personalized and Authentic accommodations.    

What Independent Hotels are saying...

Independent hotels express displeasure in The Ministry of Tourism and affiliate associations. Can they get organized and form a network that works for them?  Hotels that are not apart of an elite association or pay dues to promotion boards, are left to absorb the cost of marketing and advertisements. These cost add up to a hefty cost at the end of the day, cost that many small hotels can not afford. Networking/organisation is the obvious solution. How do we translate this into selling rooms?  Hoteliers....speak out.

The Issue

As the manager of an independent hotel along with other small, locally owned, hoteliers, we agreed and expressed our concerns about not being as visible online as some of the larger properties and chain hotels in the country.  The general consensus was that, smaller hotels in the country, with limited financial resources and e-commerce knowledge, are often lost in the shadows of the hotel giants when it comes to E-Commerce, E-Booking and overall on-line distribution and marketing.  For the majority of these hotels, their financial challenges have not awarded them the benefits of an IT department or staff, thus limiting them to fragmented knowledge from general and random online searches.

Not being part of the online distribution system is negatively affecting room occupancy and revenues of small hotels. Acquired data shows how Bahamian owned and independent operated hotels, unlike large foreign invested chain hotels and resorts in the country, have an average occupancy of 40% or less per annum with over 85% of these small hotels not making use of the online global distribution system. Most small hotels continue to depend on word-of-mouth and repeat guest which is not permitting change in the occupancies of these hotels.