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"Make me care" is a famous Disney philosophy, which is one of the foundations of tourism, or should be, because it is about service and taking care of guests.
So at breakfast before the trip, i.e. before leaving Arena Hospitality Group Park Plaza Verudela in Pula, I received a free coffee as a token of appreciation with the sentence: “As you set off on your journey, we'll treat you to a coffee to keep you awake and better able to follow the traffic. Have a safe journey and come visit us again.. "
This is not about free coffee or money, but about a sign of attention. A sign of attention that I didn't expect. They bought me forever with one "regular" coffee. Purchased for the "cost" of one kuna, if not less. Now that's what I call effective marketing.
The people on the front line of defense are the hotel's brand, not the management. From receptionists, waiters, maids, etc., they are the true brand of any hotel. And this example is proof of that thesis. That's why this whole situation about the lack of workers in tourism is both funny and tragic. I wonder how we in Croatia got into a situation where people fell to the bottom of the value scale. The entire tourism system not only tested the last limits of elasticity, but consciously, with all the alarms and warnings, pressed the gas to the limit. The worker, i.e. the person who is the most valuable resource and the key to success in tourism, was at the very bottom of the value scale.
This is precisely why the workforce problem arose. Due to poor working conditions, lack of respect for workers, people, and low salaries. People are the key to success in tourism, and in Croatia they are still a cost, so it is imperative to find the cheapest possible workforce. Preferably Filipinos, Indians... since we don't have robots to replace people in hotels. The working atmosphere, respect, and working conditions are more important than the salary, but here too we have failed at all levels. People are the key to success, and their performance can exceed expectations if they are satisfied and happy with the working conditions and salary. Also, if employees are satisfied with the working environment and atmosphere, they will not go to the competition for a "100 kuna" higher salary.
Most hoteliers would view that famous coffee as an expense, not an investment. Of course, if we look at an Excel spreadsheet from an office in London, then in accounting terms that coffee is certainly an expense. However, an Excel spreadsheet has no emotions and experiences, and that is a big difference from the tourism and real estate business, i.e. the tourism industry, which looks at and extracts profit to the limit, and then resells the properties and moves on to a new location.
The best marketing is people
To make matters funnier, they bought me a regular coffee.
Last year we achieved over 100 million overnight stays, we had customers in our showroom, did we buy them? Did we meet or exceed their expectations? Did we sell them a story, i.e. give them a motive to come back in the pre- and post-season? This is how the season is extended, our guests are here, in our controlled conditions. We just have to tell them a story and wrap it up nicely. Also, this is how tourist spending increases, you know the story about why there are chocolate bars and those "little things" right next to the cash register in supermarkets. When you've already spent hundreds of kuna, you don't see those few kunas as a big expense.
It is cheapest to return a strict guest, and that is imperative. Have as many returning guests as possible, i.e. who are loyal. They are free, there are no marketing and commission costs, and they are also our brand ambassadors. Of course, it is a long-term process, to wrap up the whole story, not necessarily a return on investment in two or three years. But it is also a question of what kind of investors we want in our tourism or what kind of tourism and tourism product we want to have.
A sign of attention, the "Make me care" philosophy must be the basis of business in tourism. Take care of your guests. Make them feel like people, not numbers. This is exactly the message of this story. It is the best possible marketing, the cheapest and most effective. People make the difference, while the quality of accommodation is understood according to the hotel's categorization.
And finally, as life sometimes tells strange stories that are incredibly similar and complementary, just yesterday a friend called me to recommend where to spend his summer vacation in Pula. You know my answer – Park Plaza Verudela.
Thus, an investment of one kuna multiplies, all thanks to the people who are on the front line of every hotel's defense and the most important resource in tourism.
