Running a hotel offers constant challenges. In competitive markets, you’re competing with your neighbors for bookings, and maintaining a building as well as the standards your users expect requires constant intervention. Fortunately, once you’ve got your marketing tools in place you can be sure the bookings will roll in – this lets you focus on the day-to-day of providing a great ex[erience for your guests. Here are seven essential hotel marketing strategies to get your bookings up.
1. Run A Blog
Blogs are a fantastic marketing tool and they function in two ways to increase bookings. Firstly, a blog provides customers and potential customers with valuable information that will help them decide to book with you – your blog can showcase your hotel as well as the facilities you provide, and the area your hotel is situated in. Simultaneously, a blog with great content will drive traffic to your website, increasing the reach of your brand and bringing in new bookings every day.
Show Your Best Side
Everybody needs to have a look at the hotel they’re staying at before they book – that means your promotional materials and your website are going to need to be packed with high-quality images that showcase your hotel in its best light. Too many hotels make the mistake of thinking amateur pictures snapped on smartphones are going to cut it – hiring a professional photographer who understands lighting can ensure your hotel is displayed at its best, and customers perceive this excellence through the images.
3. Make Reviewing Easy
“If your guests have a great experience, they’ll be inspired to tell others about it. Customer reviews are one of the main drivers of bookings as they reassure potential guests about the comfort and luxury they’ll find in your hotel,” says Martha T. Lamoreaux, a marketer at Write My X and NextCoursework. “Reducing the barriers that customers find when leaving a review will mean more evidence that your hotel provides an excellent stay.” Encourage customers to leave a review when checking out whether that’s on your own website or through sites like TripAdvisor.
4. Make Social Media Count
In this day and age, you can’t afford to ignore social media and there are so many ways your social channels can function as a marketing tool for your hotel. Building a strong following on Facebook or Instagram means that when potential customers look you up they see you’re the real deal, this “social proof” is extremely important in influencing the decision making of guests. Find followers and engage them in your posts with calls to action (CTAs) that get them liking, commenting, and sharing.
5. Sell Through Upselling
“Upselling is a valuable tool for increasing your hotel’s revenue as guests can often be tempted to upgrade their rooms or add extras such as breakfasts, dinners or spa access at the last minute,” says Bradley J. Bedford, a blogger at Britstudent and Australia2write. “Marketing these features to guests that have already booked rooms gives you a captive audience, and you can maximize your profit by targeting these users.”
6. Off-Season Offers
Every hotelier knows the perils of the off-season, and as the weather turns bad and the nights grow long, guests turn away. However, many people are happy to travel in the off-season as they avoid the crowds and experience places in new ways. Off-season offers can leverage this interest by making your hotel an appealing place to stay. People love a discount so you can boost your revenue over the off-season with special offers that give people great value.
7. Authority Recommendations
Whilst guest reviews and social proof reassure users that you’re the real deal, working with your local tourist board and getting certified as a quality establishment can sway many people when they’re making decisions on where to stay. Local tourist offices can also do the work of marketing your hotel for you and they often have a captive audience to place your hotel in front of.
Check It Out
With so many ways to market your hotel, from social channels, brick-and-mortar tourist offices, and your own blog, there are a thousand avenues to bringing in new bookings. Maximize your revenue by nailing these marketing strategies and you’ll have guests checking in like never before.
Katrina Hatchett, a blogger at Research Paper Writing Services and writer for Origin Writings, is involved in many business projects. She writes about hotel management and marketing and loves traveling and food, a perfect combination. She also writes for the Thesis Writing Service blog.
Related article: Digital Hotel Marketing A Paradigm Shift Towards Enabling New Travel Markets
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I need to let you all know that we are in on this together. If you need to vent, talk, cry, or just have some to talk with then I am here listening. Since I am working part-time at the local Kroger, I will to the best of my ability to work it out around my schedule.
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NOTE
We are starting to reopen some hotels again (Yay!!!). Make sure you follow their guidelines and say THANK YOU to those that now show a unique spirit to serve, and helps us all get through this!! #hotelstrong #hospitalitystrong
About Are Morch
Hi, I am Are Morch. Your Digital Marketing Coach and Customer Experience Expert that specializes in creating effective digital customer experience offer for hotels while growing and scale customer acquisition and revenue.
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