Often clients approach us with real concerns about where they should spend their money in refurbishing their Motel? A lot depends on location, target markets and property.
A motel on a highway, for example, will usually be catering for a traveller with different expectations to those expected by a tourist in a resort area. A motel may rely on passing trade and a good street appeal while others have very limited street frontage.
Below are some of the standard questions raised when looking at refurbishing a motel.
Bathroom
Should I install a bathtub and a shower (separate or combined) or just a shower? Should I install more mirrors?
Kitchenette
Should I install a kitchenette? What equipment should I include in the kitchenette?
Is a microwave oven sufficient or should I install a stovetop and regular oven? How do I deal with cooking vapours and odours?
How can my concern over strong cooking smells being absorbed by the furnishings and grease accumulation on surfaces be addressed?
Furniture and Fittings
Will a coat of paint be enough or will I need to replace the fitted furniture?
If I remove the fitted furniture what freestanding furniture will be needed? Should I install fitted carpets or an alternative e.g. polished floors?
Space
How do I create the appearance of space when my units are quite small? Points are awarded in the AAA Tourism Motel Guidelines for ‘free floor space’.
Seating
How do I create the space needed to provide a sofa as well as making a second bed available?
Would a sofa bed be satisfactory?
AAA Tourism Motel Guidelines suggest there is a trend away from queen size configuration and a move toward a king sized bed with sofa and occasional seating.
Lighting
How much lighting should I provide?
How can I control the use of electricity if I provide extra lighting?
We assist our clients address all of their concerns whilst factoring in location and target audience.
Access for the disabled is also an important aspect of any refurbishment. Not only does the law require it but it may also provide a marketing aspect for your property.
When it comes to finding motel accommodation in Australia, travellers usually have a choice. Except for the occasional peak period such as a holiday weekend, there are regularly more rooms than travellers to fill them. Supply exceeds demand on most occasions and operators are aware of this.
They also know that if they are to have sustainable, profit-making businesses they must provide the type of accommodation that will attract both first time and repeat customers.
This means that the range and standard of facilities offered by motels must keep pace with the changing needs of consumers and this requires constant investment.
Knowing your target audience is so important to capture prior to embarking on any refurbishment program.
Groups
Groups staying longer than a single night and place more emphasis on price than anything else. They also display a preference for comfortable furniture.
The longer the stay the more this sector preferred the freedom of flexible furniture. If they were staying only a single night, however, the bathroom quality is the feature that most will enhance their satisfaction.
Business people
Corporate travellers certainly factor in the element of space over price when selecting a motel.
Corporate travellers generally request a strong preference for space, and comfort. They want a welcoming feature chair, and other free-standing modern furniture. Lighting can also be an important factor for these guests.
Leisure
Leisure travellers tend to place more emphasis on price along with importance of the addition of a sofa bed.
Gender
Whilst males are generally more concerned about the price, females are generally more concerned about comfort, seating in particular.
As the level of funds available to undertake a refurbishment program is usually a major constraint, it is important to prioritise the refurbishment options. In order to do this, once we identify your key target market and potential target markets we can start to look at the areas which need to have the most importance placed with a refurbishment program.
We find that rather than spreading their limited refurbishment funds across all units, some moteliers elect to renovate a smaller number of units extensively, which often results in having a property with units at two different star levels.
