Hotel Kansas City Taps Knowland to Prospect Group Business Ahead of Grand Opening

Opening a new property requires not only the right environment and the right location, it also requires industry-leading prospecting tools to help sales build out their group business pipeline. Knowland, the leader in group hospitality analytics for hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, conference centers and other meeting venues, was selected by the newly opened Hotel Kansas City, part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, to help increase group business for its 20,000 sq. ft. flexible event space.

Located next to the Power and Light District, Hotel Kansas City is a 144-room boutique hotel in the city’s Central Business District. The hotel’s vintage touches and modern comforts provides guests with a history-rich travel experience for independent-minded guests looking for something different without sacrificing quality. By implementing the Knowland platform following its grand opening earlier this month, the hotel gains the advantage of tapping into local group business opportunities.

• Quick access to competitive data – As a new hotel, Hotel Kansas City needed an efficient way to prospect and start building a loyal customer base. They plan to use unlimited access to Knowland’s historical data to find accounts both in their market and in competitive markets to build relationships and drive new business.
• Proactively source “hidden gem” accounts – Through Knowland’s SmartSearch Tool, the hotel is proactively searching for highly relevant prospects that fit the property to help prioritize the most-likely-to-convert leads.
• Verified planner contacts and qualified opportunities – With 144 rooms, seven versatile event venues and four restaurants and bars, hotel event staff can optimize room, F&B and meeting revenue by connecting directly with the meeting decision maker. Prospecting into accounts that meet the hotel’s defined criteria provides the sales team with a clear advantage of qualified opportunities scored against the property’s fit for value and experience.

“It is an exciting challenge to open a new property during these times; however, the financial incentives are compelling,” said Gary Rodgers, director of events, Hotel Kansas City. “Along with that excitement comes the expectations to conduct extensive outreach to fill the sales pipeline. During our pre-opening cycle, we relied upon Knowland to ensure we had the proper sales tools to prospect new business and introduce meeting planners to our new property. We see Knowland as a prospecting enablement platform that provides our sales team with a distinct advantage over our competitors.”

Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) report that despite some project cancelations, postponements, and delays, there has been less impact than expected on the U.S. hotel construction pipeline. Contrary to what is being experienced with hotel operations, the pipeline has sustained as interest rates are at all-time lows. The U.S. accounts for 38% of projects in the total global construction pipeline with 5,582 projects/687,801 rooms.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have the Hotel Kansas City join the Knowland family,” said Robert Post, CEO, Knowland. “It is important that hoteliers implement the best sales and prospecting tools available, particularly when opening a new property. We are happy to be part of their opening strategy and look forward to helping them grow towards ongoing profitability today and into the future.”