Hotel Brokers Advice: Should You Tell Customer About the Sale?

In a previous blog, we discussed telling your employees about the upcoming sale of your hotel, but what about your customers? Should you tell them about the sale? The short answer is no, but there are good reasons for this. There are several issues that telling customers can cause, which could affect the sale going through. Today, in the Southeast International Hotel Brokers blog, we’ll go over some of the primary reasons. Remember to sell through our expert team of hotel brokers for the best selling experience possible.

Why You Shouldn’t Tell Customers

So, we’ve made it pretty clear that telling customers isn’t the best idea for selling purposes. Here are some reasons why.

If the Sale Falls Through

Not all sales are guaranteed to go through. If you tell customers about the sale, they may choose to stay at a different hotel. If your sale doesn’t go through, you’ve lost those customers, which affects your numbers. You want to present good numbers to potential buyers and a decline in room reservations is not helpful.

If You Have Property in the Same Market

Here, at Southeast International Hotel Brokers, we sometimes have sellers who own other properties in the same market as the property they’re selling. The problem with telling customers in this situation is that it can indicate to potential buyers that you are trying to divert those customers to come to your other properties. This would certainly deter buyers from wanting to do business with you.

It’s Unnecessary

Another common situation our hotel brokers see is owners who don’t operate their properties directly. If this is the case, customers would not necessarily know there was a change of ownership. Notifying them of the change would be completely unnecessary.

Additional Burden

Another question you have to ask yourself is, why give yourself more work? Many buyers fully expect to take on the responsibility of retaining customer when they buy the property. Informing customers of the sale can possibly endanger their efforts and also take extra time out of your day. The sale of a hotel can be demanding, and your efforts will be more effective directed toward the requirements of the sale.

Confidentiality

Ideally, at least some of your staff members have developed a rapport with your regular customers, and a customer informed of the sale could easily mention it to an unknowing employee in the course of casual conversation. At it’s worst, this can cause your staff count to drop rapidly, when you still need every employee on every shift until your sale is complete. If you are compelled to notify your most loyal guests, it’s best to do so once the sale is complete.

Trust Southeast International Hotel Brokers

Southeast International Hotel Brokers has extensive experience with hotel sales. If you’re selling your hotel, do it through us for the easiest and most stress-free experience possible. Our vast network means you reach the most eligible buyers without any extraneous effort on your part. For more information, contact us today, or view the Southeast International Hotel Brokers website.