Philadelphia, PA - Hotel and spa businesses in Philadelphia face an incredible native advantage: that of being located in a hotspot for a steady stream of diverse tourists in every season. It’s a city filled with history buff tourists, couples seeking to stroll through the city’s extensive gardens, as well as business travelers - located as it is, strategically in the center of the NorthEast corridor.
However, hotels in Philadelphia also face a unique challenge: the high level of competition endemic to such an attractive destination. In this blog, we’ll explore three effective strategies to manage a hotel and spa business in Philadelphia - and stay competitive in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Offer Top Notch Products And Services
The first - and most basic - requirement to effectively manage a hotel and spa business in any city is ensuring the highest quality of products and services to stay competitive. Which in this day and age means much more than clean rooms, good food, and a welcoming and well-trained staff. Staying competitive today means utilizing cutting-edge technologies that help reduce manpower, maximize profitability, and improve the guest experience.
It’s not enough any longer to simply ask about the guest’s stay when they stop by the front desk or to offer value-add recommendations when the guests inquire at the concierge. Nowadays, it’s critical to use a hotel guest experience software perhaps even one that leverages artificial intelligence to anticipate and answer frequently asked questions or use guest data to forecast their wants and needs before they’re even voiced - for example, offering a relaxing massage after they’ve got off a long flight.
Similarly, it’s no longer enough to offer just the traditional, cumbersome check-in process. To stay competitive, hotels need to utilize technologies that enhance the guest experience at every step - for example, offer online or automated guest check in tha means a tired, jetlagged guest no longer has to wait at reception, provide information and scan documents at 3:00 a.m.
Understand and Cater to Your Chosen Market Segment
The first step to effectively managing your hotel and spa business in a city that attracts a diversity of traveler segments is to understand which segment exactly you’re seeking to attract - and then cater your product and service offering to this niche. In a city that’s constantly brimming with travelers, there’s enough demand within each segment for a hotel and spa business to effectively capitalize on catering to a specific demographic.
For example, if you’re catering to the business travelers who frequent the city on their way between New York and Washington DC, you’ll likely want to ensure your hotel offering includes things like express laundry, or limousine transfer options between your property and the airport or railway station.
Your spa offering meanwhile, could make sense to center around the needs of business travelers - for example, an express 20-minute massage service that’s easy to squeeze in between meetings, a specialized massage neck and back massage for “laptop fatigue”, or a “professional look” hair and makeup service for female business travelers to look and feel great before their meeting.
Alternatively, if couples are your primary segment, you’ll probably want to ensure room decor has romantic touches such as rose petals on the bed and a complimentary bottle of wine and services such as a couples massage and couples cooking classes.
Offer Experiences that Bring Guests the Best of Philadelphia
The modern tourist is one that’s increasingly driven by unique experiences, and the advantage of being in Philadelphia is the wealth of cultural activities and historical experiences you can offer your guests.
This could, for example, include a cooking class with a local chef showcasing Philly's famous cuisine, a workshop with a local artist, or a Philadelphia history lecture given by a local historian. For the spa, this could include embracing Philadelphia's culture by using locally sourced ingredients in your spa treatments, such as Pennsylvania lavender for aromatherapy or Philadelphia honey.
Or you can pay tribute to the First Nations history of Philadelphia by incorporating the wellness practices of the Lenape people, who were indigenous to the Philadelphia area, by incorporating indigenous healing herbs in your spa treatments or a sauna experience inspired by the sweat lodges used by the Lenape.
When highlighting these elements, it’s important to respectfully acknowledge the source of this tradition, which also helps guests add to local knowledge on a deeper level. You’ll also want to offer curated experiences outside the hotel to help guests truly experience the city. For example - and depending on your key segment - you could offer an all-in-one family package with tickets to the Philadelphia Zoo, a stay including a romantic getaway featuring a private dinner cruise on the Delaware River, or an art lover’s package with access to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
