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How can I attract families to my hotel?
- 01 Oct 2022
- Hotels
- 0 Comments
8 ideas to make your hotel a kid-friendly hotel! Gain visibility, build customer loyalty and increase the number of reservations in your hotel.
Furnish the rooms for children, provide professional furniture for babies and create a universe to welcome families, the actions to put in place to become a kid-friendly hotel!
Kids-friendly hotel, what does it mean for families?
Many of the guests who walk through the door of your hotel are usually alone, with a partner or a friend. But many travel as a family for shorter or longer stays. It should be noted, however, that family travel is a different experience. When a hotel is family-friendly, everyone in the group can enjoy it. Different facilities and features of the hotel can be offered and appeal to different age groups, from babies, to adults. In fact, it's easier to adapt certain elements to young children to make their stay enjoyable. Parents often expect hotels to be organized for the well-being of their children.
The term "family-friendly" is often synonymous with "kid-friendly. Most spaces, including hotels, are designed for adults, but for children, these spaces are not always suitable. Ultimately, a "kid-friendly" hotel does everything possible to make the space welcoming and attractive to children. So that the whole family can enjoy their stay.
Create a family experience in your hotel or resort
#1 Submit family room offers
In order to welcome families to your hotel for vacation, you need to be aware of the budget they are willing to use for the whole stay, between meals, accommodation and activities, parents will always try to optimize their vacation according to the budget provided. Lowering the price of your room is not necessarily necessary. You need to be attractive in other ways.
You can focus on additional offers. Additional equipment, especially for the well-being of children. It is also interesting to create family packages that will include the stay of parents and children, but also grandparents.
#2 Offer value-added packages
Offering packages is another way tohelp families save money and get the most out of your hotel. Present more comprehensive experiences that you can combine with family accommodations. You don't have to be an all-inclusive resort to create this type of offering, almost any hotel can find ways to create a package.
At many hotels, a simple and popular option is to include meals at the hotel restaurant in a package. You can also allow children of a certain age to eat for free or at a reduced price at your hotel restaurant. If you don't have a restaurant at your property, you might consider partnering with a restaurant within walking distance of your hotel and creating a package that includes a gift certificate to the restaurant.
Indeed, family packages have a strong value proposition, they can also include fun activities for families. You could partner with a mini-golf course, a game room, a zoo, an aquarium or a local museum.
#3 Make basic necessities available to families
Caring for an infant while traveling can be complex. Parents already have a lot to worry about, such as packing the children's suitcase, carrying lots of diapers, a change of clothes, bottles and other supplies. So it's important to provide whatever you can to make parents' lives easier. You can either provide these items for free upon request or rent them through a package deal.
Here are some essential items that can help families with babies:
- Cribs, cradles or playpens
- Strollers
- Changing mats
- Baby bathtubs
- Baby bottle warmers
The purchase of some of this equipment represents an easily amortized investment for your hotel, and can be a real draw for families. It is difficult to store larger items such as strollers, cribs next to luggage, this limited space in cars or even in different means of transportation is a real hindrance for families.
Ultimately, it is very important to be able to offer and give families the choice of this type of equipment. Therefore, providing these essential items shows parents that you care about their needs.
#4 Don't forget the necessities in the gift store
Traveling with children creates a packing list, but always forgets. Your hotel can become the Hero of this very likely scenario by stocking a few necessities and comfort items in a souvenir store or at the front desk of your hotel.
If you don't already have a store in your hotel, you can create one without complicating things or overburdening your staff. Keep it simple and place the store near the front desk so front desk staff can monitor the store and manage purchases.
Offer these basic necessities in your store:
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Sunscreen
- Toothbrushes
- Over-the-counter children's medications
- Snacks
Most of these items can also be offered in a vending machine if you prefer self-service. The key is simply to make these items available to families in a convenient way so they can get what they need without having to go to a store. This will improve the experience for families and all your customers.
#5 Offer child-friendly amenities in the bedroom
Creating a more kid-friendly hotel room is possible in many ways! For example, some hotels create themed rooms, with colors, designs and characters that entertain the little ones. It is therefore interesting, depending on the location of your hotel, for example if it is located in the mountains, to create a room in a design that recalls the forest and why not with mountain animals.
Think also of welcome gifts, like a coloring book with pencils, in the rooms, the little ones will be able to find stuffed animals representing your mascot. Small touches such as personalized bathrobes for adults and children are also a great way to include the whole family and perhaps generate a photo opportunity.
Note that a few amenities can be added to allow families to enjoy their rooms even more. The inclusion of a kitchenette in a corner of the room is often the trigger for booking, as it allows families with babies to easily prepare bottles and other snacks for the children.
Another tip is the connected TV, as travelers increasingly appreciate being able to connect to their streaming accounts from the TV in their room. This allows parents to ensure that younger children have access to their favorite shows and movies even away from home.
#6 A pet-friendly policy
Traveling with your pet is becoming more democratic. It is not just a trend, the percentage of travelers with their dogs has more than doubled. The pet is part of the family, so children and parents do not abandon their furry friend during their travels. Therefore, families are looking for hotels with pet-friendly policies in their choice of accommodations.
It is not easy to allow animals to stay with their owners. It is necessary to know how to adapt to the small inconveniences that they cause. In the end, the cleaning!
The solution: divide certain parts, certain blocks of your hotel and assign them to families with pets. This will keep the rooms neutral for people with allergies. The idea can go even further by providing pet owners with small beds, bowls or food for their pets during their stay. A special attention that can have a great importance on your impact and the loyalty of your customers.
#7 Offer childcare services
Family vacations are clearly a change from the daily routine, being together 24/7 can be tiring and especially not at all relaxing for parents with children. In order to offer parents a moment of relaxation, to allow them to recharge their batteries, it is necessary to help them take advantage of it.
To do this, you can set up a space in your establishment with a childcare service. A playroom that could gather the activities of the youngest under the supervision of authorized adults.
Many hotels and resorts that are more child-friendly have kids' clubs. They are set up to give parents time to rest, but also to make the children's stay better by putting forward different activities to relax and spend time:
- showing a movie on a big screen
- creating a literary nap
- propose a DIY session
- create a treasure hunt
- giving away goodies
- supervise an activity on the outdoor playground
This bonus service is a major selling point for families looking for a relaxing vacation.
#8 A playroom for children at the hotel
The best facility to offer families is a dedicated space for children. A free space to play and have fun without disturbing others. Children are often told to stay put, not to touch anything, not to shout, so a space where they can let off steam and let their boundless energy flow is appreciated by families.
For the older children, a video game room will be most appreciated. An indoor or outdoor playground, both have their advantages. Even with a limited space and a small budget, areas can be set up easily with a few small tools.
The advantage of being a family hotel
The benefits for the hotel
Thefirst benefit is to broaden your customer base. Families represent a large part of the travel market. If you implement a strategy on this sector and address them directly, you capture a larger share of the market. A way to boost your business considerably.
Second benefit, set yourself apart from the competition! A bit repetitive, but after some thought and analysis, 61% of families consider finding a child-friendly environment a priority when staying at a hotel. Ultimately, if your hotel is considered more kid-friendly than your competitor on the street, then their choice will be made!
Third benefit, become a brand with a caring identity. Showing that you care about families will cultivate your positive image. It is imperative that your guests have a sincere image of your hotel, so focusing your brand on family and empathy will only be beneficial.
The advantage of accommodating families, however, should not be at the expense of business travelers or couples. It is important to keep in mind how other visitors feel about families. The trick is to segment your hotel to have family rooms on one floor and business travelers' rooms on another for a quieter atmosphere.
Benefits for the family
For families, these benefits are invaluable to their hotel stay. Let's take a look at the things families are most likely to appreciate.
Amenities: Vacations can quickly become a bit stressful if things are missing. Traveling as a family requires a lot of organization, especially when it comes to bringing equipment for the little ones. That's why offering at least the minimum furniture can simplify the parents' vacation and allow them to enjoy a relaxing stay.
An attractive offer with lower costs: The quality-price ratio for families is the number one factor in choosing a hotel. Packages, discounts will help families enjoy their stay. By offering facilities and amenities on-site for families, you can help them avoid additional expenses elsewhere.
Get the whole family to enjoy: Child-friendly hotels are often the first to ensure an incredible stay for all family members. Quiet rooms for parents, fun amenities for kids, especially for those days when the family stays at the hotel to relax with no outside activities.
Choose Welcome Family products to furnish your hotel
Games, indoor or outdoor equipment, create your 100% family kit.
The development of a stay for children and their parents goes through several stages:
1. The welcome kit is the first impression you offer to families. For the compound, fun goodies, trendy, why not CSR, a goodie in the image of your hotel with personalization, without forgetting a fun game with which children can have fun throughout the stay.
2. The first impression upon entering the room. They will find furniture adapted to newborns and the youngest. An umbrella bed, a bottle warmer, and even more fun, personalized bathrobes with your image, in short, little touches to mark the entrance.
3. Special partnership offers at the front desk of your hotel. Why not discounts for the nearest aquatic center and various family activities.
4. Head to the playroom when you return from activities outside the hotel, slide, coloring, board games to be found in a fun space, personalized for children.
5. It's time fora bath, so head for the portable bathtub for kids, with bath toys and shower gel that bubbles.
A strategy to implement for the happiness of the little ones, for the positive image of your brand and for the loyalty of your family customers.
Create your family kit, request a quote with the form below!
