Intellectual capital

SALES AND MARKETING – ALIGNING WITH WHAT HOTEL GUESTS WANT

We recognise that for us to compete sustainably, we must differentiate our brands, publicise the quality and value of their offerings, and maintain a large and loyal customer base who regard our hotels as their home away from home. Our sales and marketing department manages vital intellectual capital aspects: maintaining a positive brand reputation, innovating constantly, and leveraging client feedback to improve operating efficiencies.

We offer four brands to accommodate every type of traveller and budget:

Courtyard Hotel

Designed to impress

City Lodge Hotel

Comfort in the little things

Town Lodge

A little extra can mean a lot

Road Lodge

Basically brilliant

Our marketing position:

Given that we are in a highly competitive sector, continuously finding new ways to win market share is crucial for us as a group. Our pricing strategy strikes a balance between affordability for guests and covering the group’s operational costs and, as several smaller competitors exit the market, we expect the revenue model to ensure we recover faster as demand returns.

We rely on public relations and social media channels for brand exposure. The group’s participation in several online webinars and virtual events, supplemented by the availability of CLHG executive management to interact with the media and provide input into articles relevant to the industry help to bolster the brand. We are exploring traditional above the line advertising once again, including print, radio and billboards.

CLHG is well placed to be the first choice for safe accommodation as travel restrictions ease. Our well-known strict hygiene protocols and contactless solutions, from check-in to check-out, are an advantage during times of heightened safety awareness.

We recognise the importance of maintaining visibility at prominent hospitality platforms, such as Africa’s Travel Indaba, World Travel Market and Meetings Africa. These are important platforms for us to continue promoting CLHG and gain a better understanding of how the market is evolving.

Our sales team regularly visit travel agent clients to hold fun, educational activations. We also host travel agents at our hotels to showcase new offerings, such as the newly available Eat-in menu at all Town Lodges and Road Lodges.

In addition to this, we are ramping up our visibility on online travel agencies (OTAs) platforms – such as: booking.com, Expedia.com, Agoda.com, LekkeSlaap.co.za, Safarinow.com as well as GoogleHotels. com. These OTAs are crucial as we expand our leisure market and place ourselves in the consideration set of international tourists who may not be familiar with the brand. This investment is also contributing to international brand recognition and guest conversion.

PRICING STRATEGY AND PREDICTION OF DEMAND

The group’s performance depends on its ability to generate revenue by maintaining or improving occupancy at an optimal price. We are currently operating in a recovering mid-occupancy environment that is shifting pricing and promotions. Coupled with the discounting already prevalent throughout the hospitality industry, pricing cuts exert downward pressure on the group’s revenue and profitability.

The group has made a fundamental shift from fixed room rates to a Best Available Rate (BAR) philosophy which will yield the right price according to demand. In simple terms, yield management is a strategy based on selling to the right customer, at the right time, for the right price.

Case Studies:

Promoting meetings, incentives, conferences and events in 2022
With the restrictions of masks falling away in June 2022, CLHG saw an opportunity to target the meetings, incentives and events industry – a substantial source of revenue.

Most of the group’s Courtyard Hotels, City Lodge Hotels and Town Lodges feature meeting rooms and boardrooms and are the ideal place to hold business and leisure events – whether it is a potjie competition, games night, VIP function, product launch, panel discussions with live video feed, or announcing a company’s results.

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, chief operating officer, says: “We are delighted to welcome even more of our meetings and events business back with the scrapping of restrictions. With the strong trend in ‘bleisure’ tourism – a mix of business and leisure travel – we also attract guests keen to take time to enjoy their surroundings while travelling for work. Our hotels are centrally located and close to a range of entertainment and leisure hubs, while meeting guests’ dining and relaxation needs in-house. If you are travelling by car, we have plenty of free, secure parking, and our fast and reliable Wi-Fi, restaurants, comfy beds, dry cleaning and laundry services, and friendly staff round off a positive and affordable hospitality experience.”