Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Accommodation
When you get into a hotel room, you lock the door, and you know there is
a secrecy, there is a luxury, there is fantasy. There is comfort. There is
reassurance.
Diane von Furstenberg
Introduction
The aim of a culinary region should be to persuade the culinary tourist to
stay for at least a few days in a location and therefore accommodation is an
essential part of the promotional package. The challenge is providing what
the guests want.
We could dedicate a book to accommodation and the range of offers
available; the food tourist tends to have specific needs and will, if possible,
avoid the 'chain' accommodation if alternative accommodation is available.
Having said that, many larger hotel chains have identified the marketing
opportunity of attracting culinary tourists and have started to organize cu-
linary weekends where a celebrity chef is invited to either prepare meals,
speak to the guests or do both.
Tourists will search out suitable accommodation that enhances
the experience. This is where search engines such as Trip Advisor,
booking.com, Agoda.com and other accommodation search engines can
be a great help for both the tourist and accommodation provider. It is
also advisable for accommodation owners to monitor comments on these
websites and to react when necessary. These websites should not be a
one way process, they should encourage engagement between hotel team
members and potential and past guests.
