This year winter break will surely be quite different than all other past ones. Mobility restrictions, applied by pretty much every country, will limit movement range so, since public events will not be allowed either, we will all be forced to celebrate at home with a limited number of loved ones.
Nonetheless, despite everything, property managers still have a chance to analyze the situation and find sale opportunities. It will be extremely important, especially because of the limited range of action, to explore all possibilities to try and exploit any feasible opportunity.
If we were to brainstorm over the situation we will be finding ourselves in, inevitably influenced by those restrictions that are about to be applied and that we already know, at least in part, we can suppose that many potential clients will take advantage of the holes in the calendar, when movement will not be as limited, to probably go to a rural property and celebrate. This hypothesis therefore suggests that clients will most probably be national and reach their destination by land transportation.
Although it will depend on the laws each country will apply, some citizens may be allowed to move around at least a bit, so it will be very important for property managers to provide all possible information concerning nearby experiences.
If you wish to know a bit more about the tourist profile during the pandemic emergency go ahead and read our dedicated blog post.
The arrival will be extremely important just as mentioned in this other blog post, so it could be a good idea to decorate properties with a Christmas touch. The first impression, mostly emotional, may very well make a big difference. To enrich the guest experience property managers could prepare a welcome kit with some Christmas sweets and typical local products, or maybe be a bit more personal and prepare handwritten welcome letters to leave in the properties with some floral decoration.
Aside from decorations, another aspect which will continue to be fundamental will be hygiene. If hygiene was already important, today it is even more considering there are specific protocols to follow.
Finally, leaving traditional recommendations apart, this year the demand will surely need to be stimulated so it will be essential to exploit all the potential of social media with continuous publications to combine with some promotion in order to catch all the attention you can get. At the same time, now more than ever, it is the moment to get in touch with all past clients and invite them to come back, maybe helping ourselves with a discount.
In the hope that all these tips will help you finish this terribly tough year we wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year!