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36 Confidential. For use by Hospitality Softnet Staff only
Intelligence Reports (Shops on a Competitor)
Occasionally hotels which have us conduct a shop call on their competition rather than on their own
hotel.
Please follow these guidelines when conducting these calls and writing the reports
:
Prepare for and record the call as normal.
In the space where you insert the management company on the top of page one, insert the words
Intelligence Report.
No recommendations are offered. Instead word what they did not do from a different
perspective. We want them to know the strengths and weak points. We just don’t word as
suggestions.
Therefore we need to be as
detailed as possible in the comments.
Here is a sample of how an Intelligence Report is written:
Manager successfully uncovered Caller's inquiry details including basic requirements, Caller's date flexibility
and when the final decision will be made on where to place the room block. However, by not inquiring into
the history or budget of the event prior to quoting pricing, the manager missed out on important indicators of
the type and caliber of hotel used in the past. The manager seemed knowledgeable about her hotel and the
surrounding area. While the manager was able to discuss some hotel features, she did not pair them with
benefit statements. Leaving out the many benefits the hotel offers was a missed opportunity to persuade
Caller that Manager's hotel is the best fit for the group. Manager did not try to uncover potential buy factors,
a crucial step in the sales process After identifying the caller's needs, the manager did not offer a
presentation that is tailored specifically to suit the needs and wants of the client. Leaving this step out
impacted the manager's ability to convince the caller that the hotel can easily accommodate her needs.
Manager seemed knowledgeable of her competition.