The Importance of Having a Killer Site Inspection

One of the essential steps in the sales process is conducting a winning site inspection. Getting it right means the difference between increased revenue from higher conversion levels and elevated labor costs due to more time finding and closing business.

Aside from the obvious benefit of giving the client a firsthand view of what the hotel offers, there are other critical benefits to a great site inspection:

• It differentiates the hotel from competitors.
• It tells the hotel’s story through a visceral experience.
• It shows off the hotel’s ability to customize and personalize.
• It enhances the relationship with the customer and uncovers more of their needs.
• Involvement from all hotel departments demonstrates that everyone, not just the sales manager, welcomes their business.

Like all programs in a hotel, implementing site inspections that wow requires advanced preparation with a site inspection journey map that guides the salesperson to highlight the best features of the hotel while providing the benefits to the customer.

Once this document is completed, the hotel general manager must embrace and champion their importance to the entire hotel. Components such as the GM greeting the client and using their name(s) go a long way in boosting the customer’s impression of the hotel. And don’t forget to activate the five senses throughout the inspection; they are an integral part of swaying the client and must be included in the journey plan. The inspection should also be adapted for online presentations via Zoom or Teams.

Whether you use an internal resource to develop a documented process or hire an external expert to identify every step necessary to showcase your hotel as a unique stand-out from the competition, it will take effort and attention.

How good is your hotel-site inspection? Do you regularly review the site-inspection conversion rate?

Curate a step-by-step journey through the property, tell the hotel’s unique story, highlight special places, and show how the hotel will be the customer’s best choice. Successful inspections don’t happen on the fly; they need a documented process that can be adapted for each opportunity. With a ‘template’ set up, the hotel will close more business (group, transient, and catering) and reap the benefits of increased revenue for years to come.

"The eye doesn’t see. The brain sees. The eye just transmits. So what we see isn’t only determined by what comes through the eyes. What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we’ve seen before." – Brandon Stanton

Take the Next Step Now

Need help identifying what’s missing in the site-inspection process? Contact Jo-Anne at
[email protected].

About Jo-Anne Hill

Jo-Anne is an industry expert who founded JH Hospitality Consulting to help hotels around the world dramatically improve revenue and profitability in creative ways. Her strategic thinking, skill, and practical approach to problem-solving come from hands-on experience at companies such as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group, the Dorchester Collection, and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.

Jo-Anne’s recently published book ‘Cultivating Leadership: How great leaders make a difference, one hotel at a time” dives deeper into the equation: happy staff = happy guests = more revenue.