Catering Scotland

Megan Johnstone

While many holidaymakers face crowded hotels this summer, others have learned to dodge the inevitable price rises by taking an off-season break. From the operator’s perspective, hoteliers must be creative in order maintain a consistent stream of reservations. Megan Johnstone looks at some of the tactics used to keep the check-in desk busy during the off-peak season.

Create an experience

With guests looking for an entire experience during their stay, hoteliers need to provide attractive food-and-drink offers, immersive experiences that take in the local culture. Guests are looking more and more for ways to break from the convention on their holidays, and an off-season break can sometimes require a bit of prior planning to fill up those quieter days. If a hotel can offer guests excursions to local markets and historic attractions, they are essentially providing a further incentive for customers to book, along with the appeal of decreased tourist congestion.

Capitalise on your location

Cities like Edinburgh, Newcastle, Cardiff and London play host to a wide range of sporting, music and other cultural events throughout the year. Tourism faces some inevitable peaks and troughs across the calendar year, so hoteliers should incorporate any relevant events which are held throughout off-peak months.

As an example, The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh looks just as attractive with a coating of frost on a bright January morning as it does in the middle of summer. Meanwhile, London is known for its constant hustle and bustle but plan a trip for the start of the year and enjoy off-peak rates during one of the quietest times of the year. Attractions across the UK’s major cities generally experience a shortfall at this time, so hotels looking to increase their occupancy during these periods should factor this into their nightly rates.

Flash sales

Customers these are meticulous when it comes to getting good deals, and are more reluctant than ever to part with their hard-earned cash. While some turn straight to online comparison sites, the true deal hunters also seek out the book-direct deals using the hotel’s website. Many hoteliers, on the other hand, choose to target the quieter months of October and November with flash sales.

The Cairn Collection owns the Cairn hotel in Edinburgh.