Your Hotel Marketing Plan for Travel Recovery

by Jana Johnson | Dec 16, 2020 | Marketing

For the better part of 2020 most people have been in quarantine and dreaming of better times. With all of that down time, many people are scouting out destinations and making their next travel plans.

Luckily, there are numerous ways to reposition your hotel and prepare for recovery.

Even though travel as we know it has changed, you will still need to make strategic marketing decisions to boost your bottom line. To turn customer reluctance into bookings, you will want to increase awareness of your brand and market your hotel with a rebound focus in mind.

With so many different options for marketing it can be overwhelming. So what should a struggling hotel owner do? Once you have an idea of what the travel triggers are, then it’s time to make a plan of action to help get your hotel noticed!

First, Watch for Trends and Patterns to Help Prepare

Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact travel. But with news of effective vaccines in the near future, plans to travel in 2021 look more promising. Key findings in a survey by Traveler and Consumer Sentiment Survey Results show over 60% of American travelers said Pfzer’s promising vaccine announcement made them more optimistic that they can travel safely in 2021.

Most likely you already have a pulse on travel restrictions, at least locally. To help you forecast and plan for the initial rise in travel, you are going to want to pay special attention to a few indicators:

· Government restrictions on travel are easing and people are no longer staying at home

· Restaurants are starting to reopen with limited capacity

· You’re starting to receive more inquiries and future bookings

· Your website is seeing increased organic traffic

Once you see that a few of these areas are starting to pick up, then it may be time to connect with your past and future guests and tell them why they should choose your hotel.

Increase Brand Awareness

Brand awareness means spreading the word about your hotel consistently. Nowadays, you do not need a big budget to promote your brand. First identify what your hotel has to offer that sets it apart from the rest of the pack. Then set in place simple yet effective ways to promote your hotel such as:

· Post regularly on social media across multiple channels

· Try out a mail promotion to those in your city

· Paid social advertising on Twitter

If your hotel is not already active on social media, this will be a prime opportunity to build your online presence and solidify your brand.

Make Your Website Simple and Searchable

Remember, people will be leery about traveling at first. Adding key content to your website will be the first place your future guests go to find out more about your operating procedures, booking procedures and what amenities are still available.

Guests will feel more confident about booking stays if they know the protocol up front.

Check out your competitor websites and see where you can improve your website for a bit of leverage. Focus on ways you can communicate operations efficiency such as:

· Adding guest content that highlights memorable stays during COVID-19

· Posting quality images focusing on outdoor amenities and open, indoor shared spaces

· Promoting a flexible cancellation policy to help incentivize potential travelers on the fence about booking a future stay

Keep these new priorities in mind when showcasing your brand so that your hotel first comes to mind when customers are making their travel decisions.

Boost Brand Awareness with Online Ad Campaigns

Coming out of the travel slump you are going to want to show off your property and let travelers know what you have to offer! A great way to do this is reallocating some of your budget to social media advertising.

If you have the ability to reallocate part of your budget to advertising, you will see just how quickly you can reach a large, targetable audience.

First consider who your target audience is and your peak booking season.

Having a good understanding of these two key elements will help you to determine which platform will yield the best results and the time of year to run your ads.

Is your hotel a perfect destination for weekend getaways or weddings? If so, you are going to want to focus on scheduling ads on the weekends. You might also consider Pinterest or Instagram for to reach wedding planners and travelers planning vacations.

Perhaps the majority of your bookings are weekday business travelers. This group is most likely booking travel during business hours, so that is when your ads should run. LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter may be your priority platforms, especially if you are considering using a targeted email list.

Once you’ve determined your target audience, ad schedule, and platform, you should then be able to calculate your ad budget.

After that it’s time to create simple, mobile-friendly ad content for posting. Keep this part simple! With certain platforms you will even be limited to three mobile lines of text, which is not very much. In your content include select keywords based on what applies to your hotel such as “skiing” or “business travel.”

Experiment on one or two channels of advertising and focus your content on amenities and local events that will draw travelers to your hotel.

Create a Plan for Direct Bookings with a Focus on Local Guests

Your best option for affordability and controllability is to target guests that are rebooking, or that already have familiarity with your hotel.

Besides listing your new operations standards on your website, you can also try to appeal to the local market focusing on the concept of staycations. Here are some additional tips for marketing success:

· Consider partnering with local business and restaurants around you to offer a discounted meal with a discounted stay at your hotel.

· Marketing your offerings on social media platforms, can be the perfect sales tool to reach customers in your backyard. From there they can click on your website for seamless booking.

· Look for ways to incentivize those looking to say somewhere safe during uncertain times. Past guests can also make the best new customers. If they enjoyed their stay in the past, they would consider your hotel before staying somewhere new.

· Hotel loyalty programs encourage customers to return, but with added perks. Consider rewarding your loyal guests with rewards such as a purchase one night get the second night discounted.

With a bit of creativity, launching a few of these ideas could help increase bookings at your hotel. Just remember there’s never one solution. Flexibility will be key moving forward based on new data and changing travel trends that emerge over the course of the next year.

How a Marketing Strategy During COVID-19 Can Generate Future Revenue for Your Hotel

by Jana Johnson | Dec 9, 2020 | Marketing

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down consumer and business travel dramatically. It’s changed our lives and there’s no doubt the hotel industry has been one of the hardest hit industries. This has affected the way we think about our hotels and how to market for future business.

Even though travel is slow, this is not the time to go dark when it comes to your sales efforts. Building a solid marketing and content strategy now, can ultimately be your ticket to your hotel’s future success. This can be done by creating engaging, entertaining, and informative content across multiple platforms in order to maintain a strong brand image.

So, if you’re interested in how to effectively market your hotel during this slow time, here is all you need to know.

In a three part series we will discuss in detail how you can take steps that will see your hotel through the slow times to backed to booked.

Communicate with Past and Future Guests

While people are not traveling, your ultimate goal is to connect with a personal touch. Your messaging will need a nice blend of optimism and sensitivity.

Your communications won’t be what they were pre-COVID-19. You will have to first acknowledge that things have changed. Talk with your customers and see what their own unique experiences have been so far.

Phone Calls

Give all of your inquiries the white glove service. Phone calls are a great way to stay connected to your top national and local clients and it adds add a personal touch.

Written Notes

Do everything you can to make your previous guests feel special. Write hand-written notes to let them know you appreciate them and their business. Also, reach out to your high-volume clients, brand representatives, meeting planners and community leaders to gain a better understanding of their current and future needs.

Lobby Ambassador

Be a presence at your hotel. Talk to your guests in the lobby to gather information. It’s helpful to know what brings guest to travel during the pandemic. Are they local guests enjoying a staycation, or are they traveling out of necessity for work?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

Use your existing CRM Software to grow relationships and stay connected. Reaching out via email gives you the ability to create deeper relationships with previous guests, groups, and corporate clients.

Since people are more likely to stay at hotels they recognize and trust, these connections will come in handy and give hotels a huge advantage, and is therefore worth the time investment.

Connect Via the Digital World 

Writing and posting content on tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is a valuable strategy most businesses use today. Most likely you already interact with this type of content on a personal level every day!

Writing strategic content in the form of blog posts, videos of your hotel, repurposing guest reviews, is known as attraction marketing. It’s highly effective and it’s what your future guests prefer!

Content writing is a long-term marketing method that is used to:

· Build brand awareness:

· Attract and retain a defined audience

· Spread knowledge to potential guests 

· Drive profitable customer interaction

Social Media Posts 

You can start by putting out content that will add value. For example, your future guests are interested in how your hotel is responding to COVID-19. Make social media your tool for connection and way to spread useful information through your hotel’s Facebook page, LinkedIn, or Twitter feed.

Here are some examples of what COVID-19 content your hotel can post to make your guests more comfortable: 

· Critical information on openings/closures 

· Traffic flow through busy areas of the hotel

· Hotel cancellation policy during COVID-19

· Frequently asked questions page built around top COVID-19 questions

Website Blog

With people sticking closer to home and finding ways to recharge without getting on a plane, they will be looking for ideas on how they can create a staycation experience in their own backyard. 

Ask yourself what your hotel has to offer in terms of location, and what outdoor activities can be enjoyed nearby. 

Head out on an afternoon and take a few pictures that will help inspire bookings based on what your city has to offer. 

Need some ideas? We’ve got you covered:

· Highlight local restaurants that deliver 

· Map out how to explore your city on foot 

· Beer hopping to local outdoor breweries (weather permitting!)

· Nearby day hikes, skiing, or bike rentals

Update Your Hotel Website Photos and Reviews

An essential part of dealing with the pandemic is showcasing how your hotel is dealing with COVID-19 cleanliness. One strategy is to show pictures on your website that show 

and tell your future guests how your hotel is sanitized and disinfected. Reassure them of how you are keeping their safety in mind. Ideas for this include: 

· Hand sanitizer stations: Show that you are dedicated to a new level of cleanliness, and make your guests feel secure by setting up stations in the common areas of the lobby. 

· Food service areas: If your hotel has changed buffet-style services, you may want to describe how you’ve switched to prepackaged foods to remove food prep, or how you’ve added sneeze or cough guards. 

· Contactless check in/out: Allowing guests that desire less face-to-face contact to check into your hotel with minimal interaction.

· Guest Rooms and Housekeeping: Define your new disinfection commitments that make for a clean, comfortable stay. 

· Share favorable guest stories. Did your guests leave a recent comment about their clean room, or how they felt safe during their stay? This is definitely something worth promoting!

Now more than ever hotels must communicate to guests and help them feel more confident at a time that’s uncertain. The hotels that succeed will be the ones that have been thoughtful, informative, and communicative. Communicating to your past and future guests and promoting your hotel’s identity can help to increase your chances of future business.