Local residents are now Florida tourism’s bread and butter
The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “The march of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
That’s quite a juxtaposition. On the one hand, you have a massively daunting task. On the other, you have an easy and simple first move. Lao Tzu wrote this phrase more than 1,500 years ago. But it seems especially appropriate today as South Florida beaches and hotels are set to reopen from the COVID-19 lockdown.
Rebuilding hotel occupancy and the ancillary revenues in restaurants, shops, parks and attractions to pre-pandemic levels will feel a lot like a thousandmile journey — by foot.
Hotels have been busy getting ready to reopen. They’re implementing new deep-cleaning protocols, experimenting with touchless check-in and check-out, and issuing gloves and masks to all employees.
But still the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website says, in bold letters, that “staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick.”
Despite rallies and protests demanding that the government reopen the economy, most people are staying put — to the tourism industry’s ruin.
After more than 100 years in business, Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors. Hotels chains like Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt have laid off or furloughed millions of employees worldwide. Air travel is off by 90%, and airlines are repurposing passenger jets to carry cargo.
International arrivals to the U.S., which account for 15 million high-spending annual guests to Florida, is all but banned by government order.
This is all especially bad news for Florida, where tourism is the No. 1 industry, generating nearly $90 billion in overall revenue and $12 billion in state and local tax revenue.
So how do we begin the very long journey back? We flip our typical market segmentation upside down by working to attract locals first.
In normal times, a South Florida resort operator’s favorite guest is a business traveler with a fat companypaid expense account. After that, you’d prefer guests from far away, like Brazil or China or even Chicago or Seattle. For these guests, Florida is a faraway, exotic location with coconut palms, sandy beaches and exciting nightlife — in other words, a special trip worth boarding a plane and splurging.
Historically, Florida residents would be your last choice. Because Florida’s not a change of scenery for Floridians and they rarely visit local resorts unless the price is too good to resist. As such, Floridians fit into the local tourism industry’s plans-to-fill at the end, after higher-spending guests have already booked and a relatively few last-minute rooms remain.
All that’s changed for now. Instead of the gravy, local residents are now Florida tourism’s bread and butter.
Business and international travel will be back, but not yet. Domestic U.S. leisure guests don’t have much appetite for navigating airports and sitting for hours on airplanes.
So, Florida residents go from the bottom of the pecking order to the top.
Loews Hotels understands this perfectly. “Treat Yourself to a Staycation,” they suggest on the website for their Miami Beach property. And to sweeten the deal, they’re throwing in free breakfast, valet parking and Wi-Fi.
Instead of a “staycation” being something you settle for because you don’t have the time or money for something more exciting, Loews is positioning a staycation as a well-deserved treat.
These days, that’s a pretty compelling marketing proposition. No airports. Constant cleaning of doorknobs. Hand sanitizer everywhere. Social distancing. Someone else to cook and clean and make the bed. Plus ocean, sand and sun.
Sounds like a dream to this Floridian, and the first step on the long road to recovery for our tourism industry.
Adam Snitzer is a revenue strategy expert and president of Peak Revenue Performance, a consulting firm that specializes in designing and executing innovative pricing strategies to increase revenue and generate cash. adam@ peakrevenueperformance .com.