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Featured in the DAYTONA BEACH NEWS JOURNAL!!! READ the News Journal Article about SMALL INNS! http://www.news-journalonline.com/business/local-business/2010/04/22/small-inns-use-service-for-success.html
Posted: 23-Apr-10
Small inns use service for success
By BOB KOSLOW, BUSINESS WRITER
Originally appeared on News-Journal Online at
http://www.news-journalonline.com/business/local-business/2010/04/22/small-inns-use-service-for-success.html
DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- Debby and Joe Kearns of New Market, Ontario, Canada, are regular spring visitors here, staying a month at a time after visiting family
through the winter in South Florida.
They often stayed in large hotels like the Palm Plaza, but have found smaller inns and motels more to their liking.
"The people are nicer, friendlier, in the smaller places. You get to know who runs it and the other guests, too," Joe Kearns said this week while lounging poolside at the
Atlantic Ocean Palm Inn. "This is a beautiful spot and very clean. This is our second year here after staying in another smaller place that's now run down. We told some
friends back home about this place and they were here a couple of weeks ago. They plan on coming back next year."
It's a trend a hospitality association says shows why many small, family-owned and operated establishments have survived the tough economic times despite occupancy
declines and rate reductions, and will lead the hospitality industry to better times.
"People are tired of staying home. We see people taking more shorter staycations, closer to home, and looking for more moderately priced accommodations," said
Donna Boucher, executive director of Florida's Superior Small Lodging Association. "Smaller lodges are in a better position to serve them because they are more familyoriented,
allowing pets and having kitchens so guests can cook and eat in their rooms, and save money over eating out."
For the Obrochta family, owning and running the 49-unit Atlantic Ocean Palm Inn for the past 12 years is all about the family.
Stanley is general manager. Wife, Anna, is customer relations manager. Daughter, Erica, is assistant general manager and daughter, Pamela, is assistant manager while
also attending Daytona State College.
"We are a hands-on operation," Stanley Obrochta said. "If something breaks, we go out and fix it. If the phone rings, we answer it, and try and sell a room."
The business goal is to provide a family-friendly vacation and it all begins in the office that offers brochures and information on many local restaurants and attractions.
"We had some spring breakers here, but we tell them if they act like adults, they will be treated like adults, with respect," Obrochta said. "We don't allow spring breakers.
We have spring guests. We have the advantage of knowing our guests and treat them like family. We refer them to local places and not the tourist traps and help them
create a great family memory without spending a fortune."
Additional Superior Small Lodge success keys are to provide a feeling of being a "home away from home," provide traditional services, be pet friendly, have hands-on
owners and build guest relationships to ensure repeat visits.
"You'd be amazed at the following of some of these small properties," said Tangela Boyd of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau, a founder of the
Florida Superior Small Lodging Association until it withdrew a few years ago to create its own small-inn designation with the same standards.
"They generate their own crowds, and some people come back year after year. They provide more personal services, but some people like the chains because they
know what they will get no matter where they go."
No matter the size of the hotel, motel or inn, are all struggling to survive.
Occupancy rates in Daytona Beach accommodations fell from 59 percent in 2004 to 48 percent in 2008, according to Smith Travel Research. It's the same around the
state where occupancy fell from 68.4 percent in 2004 to 56 percent in 2009.
As the recession hit and gas prices skyrocketed in 2008, local hotels were forced to drop room rates to attract guests, but it also reduced revenue.
Average daily room rates in local hotels fell more than 7 percent to $95.62 in 2009 from a recent high of $103.11 in 2007. Florida's average daily room rate climbed to
$118.10 in 2008, but tumbled 10.5 percent to $105.70 in 2009.
The recession also took its toll on the number of hotels.
There were about 230 hotel properties in the Dayton Beach area in 2004. That fell to less than 200 at the end of 2005 and has held steady between 180 and 184 since
the start of 2007.
Many of the lost smaller properties were sold to condo developers rather than closed due to the economy, Boucher said. That's true for the two small hotels that were
next to the Atlantic Ocean Palm Inn. The Palma Bella condo was built in 2008.
On the bright side, seven months in 2009 showed higher occupancy rates than the same month in 2008 in the Daytona Beach area. In 2009 statewide, only December
saw an occupancy rate increase over the same month in 2008, but both January and February occupancy were higher in 2009.
However, room rates have not seen the same kind of short-term rise.
"It's been tough competing with the larger chains and overcoming the Bray and Gillespie properties that went bankrupt and have caused such a depression," Stanley
Obrochta said. "We've made some improvements here like two rooms with Jacuzzis. We've also seen an increase in European guests from England and Germany,
France and Italy. We're advertising in AAA and on our Web site. We just have to just hang on and hope the area comes back."
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