Four steps to recession proof your luxury hotel

On the surface it may look like the disruption and uncertainly of the pandemic are behind us and that travel, and the luxury hotel guest, are back in full force. 

However (you knew there’d be a ‘but’), with the travel chaos being caused in key hubs like Heathrow by the war in Ukraine, inflation rates and the cost of living and travel soaring in almost all wealthy economies, expert commentators and analysts have begun dropping strong hints that a global recession is looming.

You are probably seeing the signs, too. 

A quick browse on LinkedIn shows that the Great Resignation is manifesting as skill shortages, not only in the luxury hotel sector but across hospitality in general. 

Echoing a survey by PwC, General Managers and Revenue Managers aren’t optimistic.

If tomorrow’s headlines continue to scream disaster and luxury travellers' booking rates fall through the floor, what would happen to your hotel? 

Would you be optimistic about the opportunities that could emerge? Or worried about whether you would survive the crash?

We understand that for the independent luxury hotelier the idea of a recession is cause for concern. 

At Aró we’re confident that there is a successful way to navigate these concerns. To help hoteliers get ahead of it, we've got ideas and strategies on how you can prepare yourself and your luxury hotel for an economic downturn, namely:

Be confident in your focus: lean into direct bookings. 

Simply put, they achieve the highest margins of any bookings.

Analytics: a 5-star website and booking engine needs to be complimented by analytics driving effective actions.

Digital marketing: carefully targeted campaigns when done right can generate an outstanding return on even the smallest of investments.

Trusted expert: it may not be easy to get the right trusted advisor to focus on your revenue, but when you do find that expert it can be the secret sauce that brings together the booking focus, analytics, and digital marketing in just the right mix!

We offer a free audit of your hotel's online booking performance.