Every hotel marketer wants their establishment to be fully booked and brimming with holidaymakers. But with hundreds of hotels going for the same clients, this is easier said than done.
Competition in the hotel industry is very stiff and things will only get tough as hoteliers come up with innovative ways to entertain guests and show them a good time.
To beat the competition, you need to deploy the best hotel marketing techniques that will create awareness for your hotel with potential clients and increase the bookings you generate. However, without the right plan, it’s easy to use your time and resources without generating substantial results.
To help you increase your hotel revenue, I will be sharing clever hotel marketing techniques you can use to attract travelers and generate demand for your hotel.
Let’s dive in.
1. Be Easily Accessible Online
Of all the hotel marketing techniques you can use to increase bookings, none is as effective as SEO.
Most travelers begin their search for a hotel online. They no longer have to rely on travel agents to help them find a place to stay as was the case during the pre-internet day.
By simply performing a simple search on Google, a traveler is presented with a list of appropriate hotels they can consider for their travels. To make travelers aware of your hotel, you want to ensure your hotel shows up in relevant searches.
To do this, you should optimize your hotel website for SEO by using the following strategies:
- Use the right keywords in your website copy
- Ensure your website is super fast
- Earn backlinks from reputable sites
- Create valuable content to increase dwell time
- Embed Google reviews to build trust
This will see your website rank higher on SERPs and drive high-quality traffic to your website.
But you shouldn’t just rely on SEO to drive traffic to your site. The results pages for hotel-related searchers are heavily monetized.
To increase the visibility of your hotel online, you need to add search ads to your hotel marketing techniques. Bid aggressively for the right keywords to drive more visitors to your website and generate more bookings.
2. Invest in Video Marketing
There’s no better way for hotel marketers to demonstrate the guest experience to interested users than through video. Of course, you can write a blog post about it but won’t be as effective as a video.
For this reason, you want to add video marketing to your hotel marketing techniques. You can create a video showcasing guests having a great time at your hotel. Try and capture different experiences in your establishment to motivate travelers to book your hotel.
For example, one video can be of guests having a nice dinner in your hotel and another can be of guests sunbathing by the swimming pool in your hotel. These visuals will give potential guests a picture of what they can experience when they book your hotel.
To create your marketing videos, you can use Canva, iMovie, or Movavi Video Editor to trim and combine different video elements. Share the videos on social media and on your website to reach many people online.
3. Generate and Nurture Quality Leads
We cannot talk about hotel marketing techniques without mentioning the importance of generating and nurturing high-quality leads for your hotel business.
There are several ways to use the best lead generation software to generate leads, but you should only focus on those that bring impressive results. The best lead generation software post by Attrock can help you to choose the best tool for your campaign.
One of the best ways to capture quality hotel leads is through paid social media marketing. Travel content performs well on social media because of its visual nature. You can supercharge your social media marketing efforts with paid ads to reach a highly targeted user base.
Add relevant lead magnets to your social media ads to collect the contact details of interested users.
You can also use add social media contests for your hotel marketing techniques. Contests allow you to capture the data of those interested in your services. To enter the contest, users will have to provide their contact details such as name and email address.
For example, social media is a powerful place for the healthcare professionals and pharma companies get promoted in their post on different HCP engagement platforms to get better engagement and leads for their business.
When you get a lead, you need to nurture and build trust with the prospect until they feel confident to book your hotel.
Fairmont Hotels are always running contests on social media to capture leads, for example, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge has a contest where the winner gets free accommodation at the establishment.
4. Ensure to Target the Right Clients
What type of client are you targeting? Are you targeting business travelers who are in town for a short stay or families that want to enjoy an extended vacation together?
Your target audience will determine the hotel marketing techniques you will use to attract guests. For example, if you are targeting families, your messaging can focus on the child-friendly facilities you have at your hotel.
To get a clear picture of your target audience it’s also advisable to consult your CRM every now and then. Your customer relationship management tool will tell you which type of customers book your hotel and the best hotel marketing techniques to reach them.
For an example, SmallBusinessHQ Copper CRM review guide can help you to understand how you can use this tool in your sales management.
5. Incentivize Your Customers
Last on our hotel marketing techniques to boost bookings is to incentivize your customers. Incentives give travelers a reason to book your hotel and not stay at a competitor’s hotel. It also makes them feel special and this could result in a long-term relationship with your hotel.
Some of the incentives you can consider to attract travelers to your hotel include:
- Discounts
- Room upgrade
- A loyalty scheme that allows them to accumulate points they can redeem for cash discounts.
Conclusion
Marketing plays a vital role in helping hotels increase their bookings and grow their revenue. It’s the primary channel through which hoteliers connect with potential guests and get them to book their hotels.
I have shared the best hotel marketing techniques you can use to gain more visibility online and get more bookings. These strategies will help you stand out from the competition and convince travelers to stay at your hotel.
