Sales & Marketing – Menjual Pengalaman Sebelum Tamu Datang
Departemen Sales & Marketing hotel bekerja di wilayah yang unik: menjual sesuatu yang belum dirasakan. Mereka berbicara tentang kenyamanan kamar yang belum diinjak, sarapan yang belum dicicipi, dan pelayanan yang belum dialami. Dalam praktiknya, Sales & Marketing tidak menjual kamar semata, melainkan ekspektasi. Tantangannya, ekspektasi tamu hari ini dibentuk bukan hanya oleh iklan, tetapi oleh ulasan digital dan cerita tamu sebelumnya.
Secara akademis, pemasaran hotel modern sangat bergantung pada kepercayaan dan hubungan jangka panjang. Kotler, Bowen, dan Makens (2020) dalam Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism menegaskan bahwa industri perhotelan bergerak dari pemasaran transaksional ke relationship marketing. Data STR Global (2023) menunjukkan bahwa hotel dengan strategi pemasaran digital aktif dan konsisten mampu meningkatkan tingkat hunian hingga 18–22% dibandingkan hotel yang pasif secara daring.
Di Indonesia, survei Google Travel Insights (2022) mencatat bahwa lebih dari 70% tamu hotel membaca ulasan online sebelum memesan. Dian Pramesti, Sales Manager hotel bintang empat di Bandung (wawancara, 2023), menyatakan bahwa satu ulasan negatif bisa berdampak lebih besar daripada sepuluh materi promosi. Penelitian Vermeulen dan Seegers (2018) mendukung hal ini dengan temuan bahwa ulasan daring secara signifikan membentuk persepsi kualitas hotel, bahkan sebelum pengalaman aktual terjadi.
Kesimpulannya, Sales & Marketing adalah penjaga reputasi hotel di ruang publik. Mereka bekerja sebelum tamu datang dan tetap bekerja setelah tamu pulang. Di era digital, kamar terjual bukan karena kebetulan, melainkan karena kepercayaan yang dibangun secara konsisten melalui komunikasi, data, dan pengalaman tamu yang jujur.
TIM
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SALES & MARKETING: SELLING EXPERIENCES BEFORE GUESTS ARRIVE
The Sales & Marketing department operates in a unique space: selling experiences that guests have not yet felt. They speak about rooms that have not been entered, breakfasts not yet tasted, and services not yet experienced. In practice, Sales & Marketing does not merely sell rooms, but expectations. The challenge is that modern guest expectations are shaped not only by advertising, but by digital reviews and previous guest stories.
Academically, modern hotel marketing relies heavily on trust and long-term relationships. Kotler, Bowen, and Makens (2020), in Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, emphasize that the hospitality industry has shifted from transactional marketing to relationship marketing. STR Global data (2023) indicates that hotels with active and consistent digital marketing strategies increase occupancy rates by approximately 18–22% compared to digitally passive hotels.
In Indonesia, Google Travel Insights (2022) reports that more than 70 percent of hotel guests read online reviews before booking. Dian Pramesti, Sales Manager of a four-star hotel in Bandung (interview, 2023), explained that one negative review can outweigh ten promotional materials. Vermeulen and Seegers (2018) further confirm that online reviews significantly shape hotel quality perceptions even before actual experiences occur.
In conclusion, Sales & Marketing serves as the guardian of hotel reputation in the public space. Their work begins before guests arrive and continues after guests leave. In the digital era, rooms are sold not by chance, but by consistently built trust through communication, data, and honest guest experiences.
THE TEAM
