SOURCE: HotelEPacket.com
January 28, 2009 13:13 ET
According to HotelEPacket.com Data, Hotel Industry Set to Save Between $600M and $1.2B Annually by Organizing Its Virtual Sales Policies, Procedures and Training
PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwire - January 28, 2009) - Louis Godin of http://www.HotelEPacket.com
officially released data today showing that the hotel industry is losing
millions of dollars each year through unorganized virtual sales procedures
and a lack of virtual sales and catering staff training. The data also show
that the hotel industry must incorporate traditional selling techniques in
its virtual sales procedures. The organizational data supporting these
findings is based on 18 years of sales management and customer service
experience in the hospitality industry and 10 years of hotel Internet
marketing, sales and advertising research.
Based on a 2002 census of 46,295 hotels and motels in the U.S., with each
lodging facility and event facility providing two virtual sales calls per
business day annually, at an average estimated cost of $25 per call, the
industry would save over $600 million each year. At four virtual sales
calls per business day annually, the industry would save over $1.2 billion.
This estimate does not include wasted productivity or the thousands of tons
of material added to landfills each year by paper-based sales materials.
According to Godin, there should be no need to access snail-mail, faxes,
e-mails, attachments, word documents, Web links or PowerPoint and PDF
brochures once an inquiry or sales call is complete.
"The Internet offers many cost-effective resources and tools to forward
virtually unlimited sales information that will capture prospective
business," said Godin. "Web sites are good marketing tools, but they do not
provide hotel and event planning sales professionals with the resources and
education needed to streamline the service sales call. The hotel sales
industry must start analyzing its cost-effective virtual options, organize
its virtual sales procedures, train its sales staff and begin distributing
and presenting sales information to include traditional sales standards to
ensure an increase in profits and a decrease in annual marketing budgets."
To review additional findings, visit: http://www.HotelEPacket.com