We brought GRANT#2 into position.

How can hotels increase their service value in the face of staff shortages and spiraling costs?

Starting at the beginning of the year, we at HQ revenue have conducted a spot check of more than 100 destinations around the world with regard to their price-value ratios. Everywhere, the same picture emerges: hotel prices keep rising, and are currently higher than ever. At the same time, the rating figures are falling relentlessly, and the trend is persisting. It includes 2- to 5-star hotels in equal measure. What is going on?

Inflation as well as the energy crisis are forcing prices to rise, and at the same time they are draining guests' incomes. Anyone who can still afford a trip now expects a perfect stay. At the same time, hotels are having a hard time finding experienced staff (a consequence of the Covid dislocations). As a result, service levels are dropping and guests are becoming more dissatisfied. What is to be done?

We will encircle the answer in GRANT#2 – it requires pragmatism and not a crystal ball. It reads: Position yourselves!

Interviews and features with experts from the hotel industry and the digitalization sector approach the problem from different angles:

• Hotel photographers Simon Bernlieger, Anja Hecker-Heimers and Oliver Heimers present how branding can work through attention to detail.
  
  
• Stephan Kohl from HQ revenue explains how to inspire the right target group with the right price. 
  
  
• Svenja Kassner, Social Media Manager at TORTUE Hamburg has the most important answers to central social media questions from hoteliers.
  
  
• Francesc Gonzáles of The Net Revenue reports how he increases direct sales of properties like Yurbban or Casa Bonay by up to 60%.
  
  
• Robert M. Nagel of Revard Digital explains the importance of a roadmap for digitization projects in the hotel industry.
  
  
• Teaming up with the hotelier couple Lea Oberhofer and Simon Leitner, Hannes Gasser of the hotel consultancy Brandnamic, use the Sensoria Dolomites Hotel as an example to show how a holistic approach to positioning works – with format and foresight. 
  
  

And furthermore:

In this issue, our column The Beauty of Data visualizes the task of HQ revenue's room type mapping algorithm: From an 11-digit set of room rates, it extracts the attributes of the room names, their prevailing room rates and typical occupancy. For comparison: The Oxford English Dictionary has a mere 300,000 entries.

And then there's this interview by Editor-in-Chief Bernd Pohlmann with Dana Galperin Elron, Revenue Director at City Park Hotels in Kiev: What does it actually mean to run a hotel in times of war?

GRANT#2 is available for Download as well as a free print edition and is also accompanied by the GRANT blog.