By Frances & Ariela Kiradjian
Founders & Partners of BLLA, StayBoutique and Boutique Money Group
In a world filled with uncertainty, there comes a time when like-minded people must band together to save their industries and everything they believe in. Take a look at 8 tips BLLA, the official organization for the global boutique hotel and business community, suggests.
Communicate with your staff
Your team will appreciate getting up to date on what is going on, even if it is bad news. Leaving them in the dark will cause more harm than good.
Resources:
How to Best Communicate with Your Team in Uncertain Times
Considering Raising Money for Your Team
There are a lot of people out there who truly love boutique hotels and will donate money to help your team. A great platform is GoFundMe (Urban Cowboy and The Bowery Hotel have begun to raise money). As an owner or manager, figure out how much money you need to survive the next year personally then consider donating some of your salary to your staff.
Resources:
How to Contribute to #SaveBoutiqueHotels
Stay Positive & Prepare for Recovery
Take a deep breath and remember to not act without thinking of short term and long term effects. Remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is important to take this time to be ready for it.
Resources:
How to Boost Hotel Employee’s Spirits During COVID-19
Continue to Market Your Boutique Hotel
Do not stop all efforts of marketing your hotel because remember, people will be traveling like crazy again soon. Travel has become one of the most powerful industries in the world and there was a reason for that – people love to create memories and that will never change. Just make sure that your tone matches the current global climate.
Take Advantage of Social Media & Other Platforms
What is everyone doing right now? They are on their phones on at least one social media platform. Take advantage of this knowledge and communicate with those that love your hotel, your ethos and your team.
Make Sure You Are Applying for Government Aid
For small hotels, apply for SBA loans. We will be coming out with a list of government aid for boutique hotels.
See How You Can Help the Front Line Fighters
Doctors and nurses are the heroes of our time and they need our help. Strategize how you can be a resource with this war.
Resources:
Boutique Hotels Helping Efforts on Global Pandemic
Be Transparent
We live in a world where “bragging” is the worst quality one can have. Our world values authenticity and transparency. With this in mind, we urge our boutique hoteliers to humanize your hotel. Make a video on your phone about what is happening – the real and even the ugly. Be honest with your community.
The ultimate goal here is to lessen the number of layoffs as much as possible and to prepare our sector for recovery. The Boutique Hotels of the world are resilient and we will fight this together.
#SaveBoutiqueHotels
#BoutiqueStrong
