The tourism industry in the UK is never far away from the news with current affairs having such a huge impact on our local touristic businesses. Great news for touristic businesses are the major sporting events that the UK continues to attract. From the 2012 Olympics to Le Grand Depart of the Tour De France which starts in Yorkshire this July and of course the 2014 Commonwealth Games up in Glasgow; we are certainly making our mark upon the sports tourism trade.
So if you’re an Hotelier looking to take a hold of this influx of sports fans then how do you go about attracting them to your hotel over others? What exactly do you need to offer them and how do you need to prepare?
Back to Basics
Before you do anything fancy or particularly tailored for a specific market go back to basics and make sure that everything is in order. Check out all of your policies such as landlord’s insurance and public liability insurance and any certification for gas and electrical products. A company such as Ukinsurancenet will be able to give you a number of quotes based on different packages and will ensure that you are covered.
Refurbing
When all of your documentation is in place, then it is time to check over your current facilities and update, maintain or repair wherever necessary. If possible stick to a neutral theme for décor as anything sports based might be a bit much and has the potential to date and lose its value fast. Instead pick up on the sports theme through the room dressings and be creative to get that quirky individual appeal that tourists love. Think of sporting photographs or newspaper clips framed for the walls and instead of table flowers consider a centre piece of sporting memorabilia.
Offers
You will probably find that you don’t need to put on any special offers as such because your location will be enough to attract people initially however to score extra points, recommendations and repeat business go that extra mile and put on a “sports special†rate that includes an Olympic Breakfast for a certain price. It may not necessarily be an amazing amount of discount but the packaging of it makes it a much more appealing accommodation than a bog standard BnB or hotel.