Almost everyone needs the services of a hotel at least once in a lifetime, but there are a vast number of hotels for guests to choose from. Make sure your hotel stands out with these easy and effective hotel marketing ideas.
Start by focusing your marketing communications to create a strong digital presence in 2021. Digital marketing is much faster, less expensive, and more effective than traditional marketing. By targeting the right audience through a wide range of channels, you can drive traffic to your hotel’s website. Here are five effective hotel marketing ideas to maximize your revenue.
1. Understand your target guests.
First and foremost, your guests must be at the center of your hotel marketing strategy. We recommend creating guest personas and tailoring your marketing messages to them based on their needs and expectations. Research from PWC showed that 86 percent of guests are ready to pay more for great customer experience with up to 18 percent for luxury and indulgence services. Listening to your guests and adapting your services accordingly can differentiate your hotel from the competition and build customer loyalty.
2. Develop a content marketing plan.
Do you think that your target guests are just going to stumble upon your website, out of the hundreds to thousands of other hotel websites, take one look, and book a stay? Unlikely. So how do you attract attention? Content. Do you have a hotel blog? Get one. You need content, but not just any content – strategized content. The content is one piece of the strategy you need to plan out. A solid content marketing plan helps you engage your guests at every phase of their travel planning journey. We recommend using a monthly or quarterly editorial calendar to ensure that you are consistently publishing valuable content.
3. Build a mobile-friendly website.
It’s one thing to have excellent content, but it’s another to display it well. How’s your hotel’s website looking these days? If it doesn’t look state of the art, and more importantly if it isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re overdue for an upgrade. There’s too much competition to risk loss of attention due to a stone-age website.
In 2021, prioritize a visually appealing website where people can quickly find everything your hotel has to offer and easily book their stay. All the investment you put into enhancing your digital presence is sure to pay off. Here are a few tips for designing your refreshed site: leave plenty of space for the eye to relax and be drawn to important parts of the site, include high-quality pictures, feature an easily accessible content section, and be sure that the mobile version works properly.
4. Promote on social media.
Use tools such as social media and paid ads to spread the good word. Armed with your beautiful new website and killer content, now it’s time to cast the bait line and reel in the revenue. Social media is an extremely effective marketing tool to generate website traffic that leads to conversions. Your social media strategy should include thoughtfully curated content that is socially relevant in 2021.
Like organic social media, paid ads can also be used to build a compelling brand narrative. With new ad formats available, we recommend increasing your paid campaigns across multiple social media channels to increase engagement and drive your booking funnel.
5. Be easily searchable online.
According to Hospitality Net, 76 percent of the total revenue in the hotel industry will be generated through online sales. Since most travelers start their travel plans on search engines, SEO continues to increase direct bookings, with 40 percent of travel and hospitality revenue attributed to organic search.
Creating high-quality content and refreshing your website regularly are critical to developing a competitive digital presence. It’s also important to remember that not everyone will be searching on the same platforms, so your hotel listing must be optimized on popular travel websites like Travelocity, Airbnb, Orbitz, Priceline, and more.
A recent study showed that 81 percent of travelers always read reviews before booking a hotel. Make it easy for guests to leave online reviews by making links accessible to specific review sites like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. This will help you collect positive reviews that build trust with potential guests.
Don’t wait to apply these hotel marketing ideas to your strategy. Contact us today for a complimentary professional opinion on your hotel marketing strategy. Take steps to ensure your hotel stands out and becomes a top choice for travelers. With a little effort and a lot of strategy, your hotel can and will experience new levels of success.