Renovations play a crucial role in improving a hotel’s occupancy rates and overall revenue. However, upgrading the interiors may have a minimal impact if you do not aim to impress guests even before they step through your front door.
Most owners typically prioritize decorating the lobbies, meeting areas, guestrooms, and restaurants, while overlooking the exterior appearance. This is unfortunate since your hotel’s outlook often determines its first impression. And once your guests take note of the hard work you put into making your space look fantastic, they will be more likely to trust you with their stay in the future.
What is curb appeal?
Curb appeal is the exterior outlook and design of any property. It refers to the level of attractiveness that the property has when someone views it from the street. The curb appeal determines the first impression guests have when visiting your hotel for the first time.
In other words, curb appeal is when guests question how appealing your business is from the curb. It refers to everything viewable before someone steps through your hotel’s front door. This includes exterior structures, layout, paint, landscaping, and paving. It can be comprised of large items, such as stairs, siding, and fencing, or small things, such as decorative elements like planters and attractive lighting.
Why Is Curb Appeal So Important?
Curb appeal greatly determines how anyone perceives your business. It has the power to convert someone walking down the street into a guest. As such, it is an ingenious marketing tool!
Human beings form reliable perceptions of other people within 33 milliseconds, per an article published in the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Sciences. If people can decide on an individual’s “trustworthiness and attractiveness” quicker than they can blink their eyes, how quickly are they making perceptions about your business?
Your property’s aesthetic and ambiance are just as important as the level of service you provide to your guests! The magic of a successful hotel business lies in creating an experience and atmosphere that guests will not only be willing to come back for, but also can’t wait to tell all their friends about.
5 Tips for Improving Your Hotel's Curb Appeal
Boosting your hotel’s curb appeal does not have to be a painstaking or expensive process. Examples of common areas and some simple tips that could ensure a great first impression include:
Building Facade
Power washing is a swift and easy way to improve the appearance of your hotel. It would be best to do it throughout your business’s property, including the sidewalks, parking lot, and other public spaces. You should also consider using it to maintain your building’s exterior and clean your packaged terminal air conditioning units.
Furthermore, you could improve your building’s facade by applying a fresh coat of paint or modernizing it to an updated color scheme that aligns with your business’s new
designs. This way, you can transform your hotel’s appearance without complex renovations. Paint coating, particularly, can hide imperfections like wall cracks, improve the aesthetic and value, and offer some protection against weather damage and ultraviolet light.
Exterior Lighting
You can use lighting thoughtfully to create an impressive and inviting atmosphere that will catch the eye of any passerby. Ensure that the lighting’s positioning accentuates your hotel’s best features, such as the main entrance and peculiar aspects. Ensure that it also enhances the safety and security of your hotel environment.
Additionally, you can use lighting to lower your energy costs. Modern LED lights, for instance, consume less power and can attract utility rebates and added labor cost savings. Ensure you repair burned-out or dysfunctional lights as soon as you notice them.
Signage
Great lighting can help make your signage more visible and readable, but you must also ensure that your signs are large enough for people walking by to notice them quickly. Another thing to do is clear out any small items that obstruct the view of your signs or other elements.
It is important to remember that signage plays a huge role in creating a welcoming environment for your establishment. Avoid negative phrases like “No Public Bathrooms,” as they can give the wrong impression. You can make your policies known in other thoughtful ways.
Parking Lot and Landscape
Maintaining a neat landscape and keeping your parking lot safe and clean is a great way to show your guests that you care about your property. You should have the essential maintenance products ready, such as curb painting, paint striping, pavement repair and sealing essentials. This way, you can quickly handle immediate issues and prevent significant hazards.
Having the right tools ensures you can perform quick touch-ups, repair any concrete cracks, and keep things looking crisp and new. Ensure that you also regularly manicure and hydrate trees, lawns, flowers, and other vegetation within or around your hotel so it looks fresh and inviting.
Seasonal Decor
Pumpkins, holiday lights, and flags are some forms of seasonal decor that can help improve your hotel’s appearance. It would help to have a seasonal flower at the entryway to add a fresh splash of color and catch people’s attention.
It is, however, essential to ensure that your seasonal decorations are timely and updated appropriately. Otherwise, you could end up spreading the wrong message. For instance, having your Christmas lights still up by Easter shows that your business is disorderly, overwhelmed, or totally closed.
Can Curb Appeal Affect Booking Reservations?
You can improve new and returning customer rates if you can maintain an overall great aesthetic and ambiance in your hotel, starting from the outer sections. If you are ever in doubt, drive by or walk by the property and consider how you could perceive it if you were a guest.
At NewGen Advisory, we have a team of expert consultants who specialize in offering tailored solutions for hoteliers all over the globe. From simple renovations to total conversions, we are ready to help you get your business in prime shape and advise on sustainable innovations that can help keep you profitable. Contact us today to speak to one of our consultants.