By Ivan Luna, General Manager, Best Western Plus Addis Ababa. As Hotel General Managers in today’s dynamic and transforming world, we do not have time for crap. The crap and the excuses are the raw material for the mediocracy. Same as … Read More
Blog & Events
BLOG & EVENTS
Excuses Designers
As Hotel General Managers in today’s dynamic and transforming world, we do not have time for crap. The crap and the excuses are the raw material for the mediocracy. Same as the consistency and modesty are the raw materials for wisdom. Read More
Procrastination
I was so lost in the world of procrastination, which I myself procrastinated while creating this post for you. There are many reasons for Procrastination. Overwhelming, fatigue, stress and the resulting reluctance to complete tasks directly are not uncommon today and happen to everyone. In our fast-moving, digitized and dynamic world, we are dealing with sensory overload: crowds of people, screens, images, information, Read More
The reason for the "haggling" of customers with hotel receptionists.
As Hotel General Manager I reflect on this question because of the obsession of many customers to “haggle” the price of the room, impulsively as if they were in a Souk or Market. (Merkato in Addis Ababa). I can see my reception staff looking sometimes as if they would be working in a Souk or street market.
If guests already know in advance through OTAs, Metasearch engines, own websites with booking engines … and the walk-in with the best available rate after consulting us.
The prices of the rooms are not random, there is a previous work behind that due to market studies, hotel characteristics, location, and dates.
They are not susceptible to being changed, not even with that obsessive-compulsive bargaining.
But there we are as in a Souk, given the rate, the haggling begins, that if some friends were and paid much cheaper, that I am Genius God level, and surely I get it for less than half. That I am a repeat customer and your colleagues make me a better price than you. OK the BAR (Best Available Rate), if you include a free upgrade to Suite, with a terrace, pool, and Jacuzzi …
When these customers go to Zara, McDonalds, Starbucks or Victoria’s Secrets, a good restaurant, or a local drink, they do the same given a Rate…
A lot of technology, a lot of information, a lot of mobiles but in the end, they return to ancestral times, and in the end, they end up haggling, and we hotel receptionists, it seems that we wear a turban in our uniform…
One more task that we deal with is the “receptions-souk” of our hotels.
How do you carry the haggling in your business? Do you have a settle fixed rate strategy? or do you allow the client/customer to set your prices (margins) based on their obsessive-compulsive bargaining attitude? LET US KNOW!
Hope it helps
Greetings and Thank you.
Ivan Luna
General Manager
Best Western Plus Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Meet Our New International Executive Chef
If you know the Best Western Plus Addis Ababa Hotel, you know that we are all about bringing genuine service with fresh ingredients, passionately inspired dishes, and a love to do things a little bit differently to give guests an … Read More
The Mother Teresa of Africa
Abebech Gobena (1938 – 4 July 2021) was an ethioian humanitarian , and the founder and manager of AGOHELMA, one of the oldest orphanages in Ethiopia. She was often called the Mother teresa of Africa. Abebech was born in 1938 in a small rural … Read More