I often come across hotel owners who insist that their hotel is performing well and as such, they see no need for a marketing strategy or a dedicated sales effort. If your hotel is reaching target with little or no sales or marketing, then you are sitting on a perfect 10!

But – and it’s a big BUT – after further conversation and some quiet digging on my part as to what channels the guests are using to book rooms and where the business is coming from, the truth is revealed: often, a large percentage of bookings stem from third party websites such as booking.com, TripAdvisor, safarinow and lekkeslaap. If this is not managed carefully, this can result in a precarious predicament! This reminds me of the best lesson I learned at varsity – own the client.