Resorts in Germany: A Recipe for Success

Let’s talk about resorts. A recently published report by Engel & Völkers investigates this little-explored property type in the hotel branch.  So, how’s the situation looking?

We have chipped in with our data to help understand the national resort market in Germany.

According to the report, the German market can rely on 30% of people (that’s about 25 million) to spend their holidays in their own country, while the rest 70% of Germans travel abroad.

Not too shabby a start then, yet numbers alone are not enough to manage a resort to success.

What data can tell us about resort success

Looking at the data, it’s clear that there is a great number of other factors to be taken into account in order to create a unique and successful product. This is normally made up of:

• location
• seasonality
• type of market
• the business concept behind the resort

A good resort manager should be able to find the right balance between all these variables, as little and trivial as they may seem.

Let’s look at resort destinations and compare them on a price-to-review basis:

• Sylt
• Sankt-Peter Ording
• Timmendorf Beach
• Rügen
• Winterberg
• Oberhof
• Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Apart from the fact that everyone should ditch Sylt to go on holiday to Oberhof instead, it’s also clear that even such a small variable as the relationship between LAR and rating can greatly affect the customers and the location scouting for new resorts.

Below, the average lowest available rate (LAR) between June-August, 2018.

Note: The data is based on information from online booking platforms.

How to stand out from the crowd

According to Engel & Völkers, segmentation is key.

This means finding and listening to the needs of a specific market segment, which can make a real difference.

So how can you be sure to catch the eye - and loyalty - of your customers?

By matching your clear positioning with:

1. Unparalleled service (taking great care of guests during their stay)
2. Typical products (like regional cuisine that your visitors can only get locally)

It's simple, but the approach is great to start with.

Do you have other secret ingredients to resort success?