Value for money in tourism – are we ready for the new game?

Value for money plays an ever more important role in our tourism. We are no longer a cheap destination and our competitors are no longer Greece and Turkey. However, I have always said that Turkey and Greece are not and never should be our competitors because they are a completely different tourism product, which we cannot and should not aspire to.

Today, guests compare us to France, Italy and Spain. And that is our realistic position.

We have raised the bar, which is excellent and the result of many years of development of our tourism, but have we also raised the value we deliver?

We must be aware that we are now playing the game by different or new rules.

Raising the price while maintaining the same (or even lower) level of service is not a strategy and is the exact opposite of understanding philosophy. value for money or less is more – that is the path to losing trust.

We cannot charge a premium price per night, and deliver an average experience and low quality of service. Reduce costs as much as possible and raise the price - it looks nice in an Excel spreadsheet, but In the long run, this is the most expensive mistake. This is how we lose the trust we have earned through price and marketing messages.

As we know, building a brand is a long-term and expensive process, and we can lose it with one wrong move, in one day, even with one post or bad review from a guest.

Also, fphilosophy “less is more” doesn't just mean raising prices or introducing a tourist tax - it means increase the quality of experienceThe key question is: Have we fulfilled the promises we make to guests through marketing or, rather, as a goal - to even surpass them?

But if the hotel also delivers value for money, the question is whether it has the same value for money and destination.

In order to be a destination of higher quality and thereby attract guests with higher paying power, this cannot happen by simply raising prices, but only by the quality of the destination (services, products, experiences...) Emphasis on the destination.

Everyone would like to be “Monte Carlo”, but without investment and change and everything remaining the same. It simply doesn't work that way. The key to everything is to look beyond your room, because the hotel or bed is not the reason for coming, but the destination. Destination management is what makes the difference or Catch22.

France, Spain, Italy – that's the new benchmarking.

Finding balance it's very complicated, and the most important factor is managementAnd we all need this, because the destination is not a circle but a circle.

The question is simple: how many hotel managers have visited these destinations last year and this year? Travel and experience firsthand the experience they deliver. Have they seen firsthand who we “compete” with and where Croatia stands in that relationship? What is the level of the destination’s overall product – not just hotels, but also infrastructure, gastronomy, service, experiences?

Compare their service, standards and approach to the guest with what we offer in Croatia. Where are they stronger, what do they do differently, where are there opportunities for improvement here, and where are they still lagging behind?

The market is, as always, the best judge when it comes to price. And that's all we need to know in the discussion about prices in tourism.

Understanding the market means properly managing expectations – of guests, but also of your own development.

Are we ready for the next step?

Author Goran Rihelj

PS Log in to thinking aloud newsletter to be up to date

Speaking of value for money…

Uz subscription to HrTurizam, like added value you receive the first business tourism newspaper in Croatia - HrTourism Newspaper to your address 4 times a year.

With access to the portal for a year and the Croatian Tourism newspaper, you don't just get information – investing in a subscription is an investment in knowledge, not an expense.

Jer The right decisions start with the right information.

Become part of the Hrturizm family at: SUBSCRIPTION TO HRTURISM

Photo: hrturism