Having the best of both worlds
"Anybody who does not endeavour to have his cake and eat it every day of his life is a wet." These bons mots have been delicately carved, by my twin brother, on to a writing stand in my flat at the Goring Hotel.
But given the choice of A or B, and that you do not feel obliged to take one or the other, you ask yourself how can I wangle things in order to achieve the benefits of both?
We apply this principle to the art of overbooking at the Goring Hotel. A good manager will know exactly how much to overbook to fill those last vital rooms every night without suffering the embarrassment of having to book one of your best customers into another hotel.
Fortunately, we have a long list of regular customers who will willingly accept a night in the personal flat of George Goring or general manager William Cowpe when times get tough (which is most weekdays).
The most important function of a hotel manager is that of maximising bedroom occupancy percentages and yields. This should come before any thoughts of eating, drinking, sleeping or sex, as the very existence of the hotel and the livelihoods of the hotel's employees depend on this.
But filling bedrooms at the right price is not as easy as marketing executives would have you believe. Undercharging is equally as destructive as overcharging, especially when practised side-by-side.
The lists of "don'ts" is endless, so how do we fill our bedrooms at a fair price? The recipe is different for each hotel. People pay only for things that they need or want. So all we have to do is create an insatiable lust for our hotel in the minds of as many people as possible.
The way not to achieve our "fantasy" is to blindly follow the examples set by successful competitors or neighbours. Why not do the opposite? Why not be the only person to do something completely illogical? Why not give your customers their cake and watch them eat it?
We have no secrets at the Goring Hotel. We remain predictable; our room occupancy in June is 89% with an achieved room rate of £133. Our annual room occupancy since 1 April is running at 83%, with an achieved room rate of £132.
