Many in hotel management are worried about the coronavirus pandemic shutting down their businesses. With large gatherings being canceled, tourists are no longer checking in. Guests are changing plans, or outright canceling them. How should you respond for your best chance at hotel survival?

Here are 8 ways for hotels to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Have a Plan

Set up a standard procedure for operating in a recession- this will also apply to the pandemic. The plan should be based on the long-term. Make sure you are keeping the image of your hotel up by keeping customers and employees satisfied.

When it comes to long-term goals, you need to be patient. One day, everything will be back to normal. You just need to follow your plan until that time comes.

2. Stay Calm

Your first reaction may be to panic- do your best to stay calm! You make your best choices when you are level-headed. Panicking will only make the situation worse.

Always think in the long-term for making sure your hotel survives. Remember, your good periods should not be compared to now. The situation is completely different. When you are calm you can come up with better solutions.

3. Be Careful With Discounts

Discounts seem like a great way to get customers to come back. However, you might be digging a hole for yourself.

Do not drop your retail rate, instead use it as a guide for how to price your discount packages.

Reducing your rate would undo a lot of hard work and ruin potential earnings. This is because after the coronavirus pandemic has ended, you would need to build back up to your original rates.

If you need to do discounts, be smart about it and make sure you are not doing more harm than good.

4. Keep Marketing Up

Hotel survival relies on the state of your marketing. Hotel management should realize you need to keep current guests coming back, but also should take the time to attract new guests. You can do this with marketing plans. Promotions and packages would not be possible without a marketing budget, so make sure not to cut it too much!

If you need help coming up with a plan, look into a hotel management company. MBB Management could assist you with anything you need for your hotel to survive, plus they can help you improve your business in the long run.

Learning how to market during a recession is important to draw new guests to your hotel, plus keeping guests you already have aids in keeping money for hotel survival. It may be tempting to hack all of your marketing budget away, but realize this will hurt you in the long-run.

5. Change your Market Approach

Speaking of your marketing campaign, how much are you spending? For the pandemic, you will need to carefully assess where all your money is flowing and adjust accordingly.

Work on developing smaller and less costly marketing ads. They can be just as effective as more expensive ones, if done right.

Start exploring new ways to market and make new promotions that are slightly cheaper- this can get the attention of guests.

 6. Branch Out

Do not be afraid to branch out into other sources of revenue. Giving customers access to activities where they do not have to spend the night is a good way to bring in extra money and foot-traffic.

Set up a restaurant or cafe in your hotel. Food and beverage could bring in curious, hungry guests. A day spa also could start attracting attention- do not be afraid to get creative when it comes to the survival of your hotel. You can come up with all kinds of ideas for small events or stores!

Keep in mind that any incoming revenue during the coronavirus pandemic is good. Your business will come out stronger and more prepared for recessions from this experience.

7. Rate-Obscuring

There is a difference between your public and privates rates, use this to add value for the customer (without costing the hotel a lot). Your special promotions could focus on added extras, like a massage from your spa.

Keep your specials unique. Many hotels offer free nights, but what can your hotel offer that others can not? Try to figure out your strengths and use them as much as possible.

Think about what your customers want- and then give it to them. Without giving out so much that it hurts you, of course. Find balance with what you can offer and how much you need.

8. Keep Service Up

Do your best not to cut service levels. Maintaining quality service is important for keeping guests happy, and you would not want to hurt your image. If customer satisfaction is hurt by cutting costs, you will get hurt too by new guests avoiding your hotel.

You want guests to have only good impressions of your business during the pandemic, so they return after it is over. If you respond poorly to the pandemic, it is likely customers will remember that forever, damaging the image of your hotel.

What to Keep in Mind

Remember, you can always talk to a hotel management company for help. They can give you advice and steer you in the right direction.

Make sure your plan is based in the long-term, then calmly follow it through. Be careful with cutting your rates and make sure discounts are as beneficial to you as they are to the guests. You want your hotel to survive without having to dig it out of a hole later on.

Keep your marketing running and change your approach, plus do not be afraid to branch out your services. Figure out what unique services you can offer and keep your service levels up to make sure guests are content.

If you try all the items on this list, it is almost guaranteed that your hotel will survive the coronavirus pandemic. Stay strong!