Hoteliers Reveal Their Tips for Attracting Foreign Guests (Plus: Surprising Must-Have Amenities for Europeans)

With an expected slowdown in US travel, some hotel managers are making the most of it by catering to international guests attracted by a weaker US dollar.  Leon Stafford from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shares one example:

When [Atlanta] W Hotel general manager Marylouise Fitzgibbon played host this month to a French meeting planner, she could have settled for learning a few quick French phrases or sought help from Atlanta’s French Consulate.

Instead, Fitzgibbon assigned four members of her leadership team to conduct the entire pitch in French. From running down the hotel’s features to explaining the prevalence of Peachtree in the city’s street names, W Buckhead went Gallic in an attempt to land the business.

“It goes beyond making them feel like home,” Fitzgibbon said. “It’s about services and experiences.”

Intentionally hiring multilingual and multicultural staff is a great way to ensure positive experiences for your foreign guests.

“For guests, if you can speak their language, it puts you heads above the rest,” said Ronen Nissenbaum, regional vice president of operations for InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. Languages spoken at the company’s flagship InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district include Hebrew, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Polish, Arabic, Mandarin, Swiss-German, Malay, Turkish and Russian.

Having a diverse staff with international experience also raises cultural awareness and sensitivity. “The reason I worked in so many countries is that I wanted to be more culturally aware,” said John Reilly, who has worked around the world – from Aruba to Tunisia. As general manager of Twelve Centennial in Atlanta, he notices that German guests appreciate precision and efficiency, while Americans prefer lots of communication.

A new study by J.D. Power revealed air conditioning as the top “must-have” amenity for the more than 13,000 European hotel guests it surveyed. In North America, that’s usually standard so you’re probably off to a good start there. Other top amenities included free breakfast, wireless internet availability, soundproof windows and free parking. The study also showed a trend toward smoke-free room preferences, and lower hotel brand loyalty compared to North American travelers.

Let me ask you this: What are you doing to attract international guests?