Hotel Marketing Often Requires ëThinking Outside the Boxí by Heather Nalbone Charles Muldoon was ranked among the top 1 percent of the worldís polo players until about two years ago, making him an unlikely candidate for work in the hotel industry. As it turned out, the varied interests of Muldoonówho also loves U.S. history and enjoys trips to Gettysburgówork to the advantage of the Madison Hotel, where he now serves as diplomatic sales manager. Today, in the competitive world of hotel marketing, creativity and originality are necessary ingredients to stay ahead of the pack. And for Muldoon, marketing one of the countryís most elegant hotels has been easier for someone who stands apart from the conventional hospitality crowd. How a hotel markets itself depends largely on each individual type and target clientele. In the diplomatic community, where customers hail from all sorts of cultures and time zones, maintaining a customer base is about creativity, oróas Muldoon puts itó"thinking outside the box." Although Washington, D.C.ís chain hotels benefit from a wide-spanning customer base, marketing teams at local establishments, including the most elite and established properties, face the challenge of finding inventive ways to entice the thousands of international travelers visiting the metropolitan area every year. "The big thing is bringing them in and keeping your hotel in the forefront of their minds," Muldoon said. "Being creative in this day in the hotel world is what makes a difference." Muldoonís creative thinking is combined with his focus on building successful, professional relationships with local embassies, law firms and other companies that commonly book meeting rooms and guest beds for out-of-town employees. The resulting sales approach is anything but conventional. During a recent discussion with The Washington Diplomat, he was found preparing for a Sunday polo match with clients on the National Mall, a golf outing with members of the U.S. Secret Service, and a special trip with diplomats to ride trails near Pennsylvania battlefields. "Itís become a much more complex landscape for sales and marketing teams, which need to be specialized in a variety of ways," said Robert Gilbert, president and chief executive officer of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). "To be successful, you really have to get back to the basics. That means knowing your target audience and developing relationships with them." A recent survey of HSMAIís 7,000 members, he added, revealed 10 issues facing the hotel and travel sales industry. At the top of the list were a lack of time, increasing competition, staff retention and budget cuts. Factor in the nationís changing economy and the need for inventive sales strategies swells. In D.C., the techniques are as varied as the regionís hotels and inns themselves. Especially unique is the Mansion on O Street, a magnificent inn that has run a successful business for more than two decades without ever investing in advertising. "We rely purely on word of mouth, and we are really busy because the quality of our food and service is so high," said supervisor Beth Ihrag. The Mansion, where employees share responsibility without assuming professional titles, never solicits business or press. Yet its customers have been so satisfied with its originality and pizzazz that it continues to attract chief executive officers of major international companies and high-profile Hollywood stars, even once charming a writer from National Geographic Traveler magazine. The hotelís strict policy on ensuring anonymity for all guests has led to an "enormous" increase in business in a post-9/11 landscape. Like the Mansion on O Street, devotion to loyal customers is high on the list for many hotel marketing managers. Marriott, which owns more than four dozen hotel properties in the Washington area (including surrounding suburbs in Maryland and Virginia), offers up to seven nights free based on a rewards point system similar to those used by airlines. The Fairmont, Washington, D.C., offers a "gold" package with one nightís free stay and complimentary town car service for anyone booking three days or longer. Other luxury hotels offer weekend and extended stay packages with imaginative extras such as private sedan monument tours, spa facials, and even stuffed toys and storybooks for children. For the areaís Kimpton boutique hotelsówhich rival both the Madison and the Mansion in style and classóincentives through an InTouch Loyalty Program include unconventional awards such as complimentary massages and gift certificates to Sur La Table cooking classes. "Whatever weíre doing, we always try to make it unique and creative," said Paige Dunn, regional director of marketing and sales. Being imaginative, she explained, extends beyond reward incentives to include initiatives such as partnering with Haagen-Dazs to provide free pints of ice cream for visitors booking rooms through the chainís Endless Summer package. The hotel group often offers special rates to those referred by embassies, maintains a popular Yoga program for guests at each of its six area hotels, and has staff members hand out coffee and donuts on occasion to attract potential patrons. The marketing teamís newest addition is kimptonlife.com, a magazine-style Web page dedicated to customers who enjoy the boutique hotelís focus on wellness, design, dining and travel. Kimptonís use of the Internet reflects a larger trend in hotel marketing that has exploded within the past decade. "The Internet has created a lot of exposure for smaller, independent hotels otherwise not accessible to the individual customer," Dunn said. "Those who before wouldíve flagged only familiar hotels can now easily research the style of other independent hotels." Dunnís sentiments are echoed by basic searches of some of todayís most successful online booking agencies. A request to expedia.com for a listing of hotels in the "four star and above" range takes less than 10 seconds to produce a lengthy list, including niche lodgings such as the Mandarin Oriental, the Hay-Adams, the Morrison House and the St. Regis. The online company provides access to 45,000 hotel properties nationwide and offers discounts through its online corporate travel agency. Although the Internet has opened a floodgate for public relations, on the flipside is a new challenge for hotel marketing teams. Laptops and servers are the norm for business and diplomatic relations, making business travelers a particularly challenging sector to reach. This is especially true in Washington, where marketing and sales representatives say work-related trips make up the majority of sales. HSMAI tells its hotel-sector members that business centers are no longer amenities, but a minimum requirement for attracting those traveling for work and at times even leisure. "The lines that differentiate the business traveler and personal traveler are blurred," Gilbert said. "People want to work as if they are in the office when on the road. No matter how nice the beds are, attention to this detail is a must." The areaís Marriott hotels pay close attention to this detail, as does the Grand Hyatt. Both companies feature support servicesówhich include everything from desktop publishing to office suppliesóon their Web sites. The Jurys Washington Hotel also completed a complimentary center in January that includes state-of-the-art printing facilities and Internet access. "The main thing is to have a good relationship with an embassy and provide good service," Muldoon said of the Madison. "If you provide what they need and cater to clients, theyíll use you." Heather Nalbone is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.