The hotel industry has an overwhelming amount of competition, which has been exacerbated by the growing popularity of platforms, such as Airbnb. In fact, the number of bookings with Airbnb alone has almost doubled in the past five years, according to research.
Because of this, the importance of hotel marketing strategies is undeniable. To stand out among the increasing number of competitors, it’s essential to have effective techniques in place.
There are numerous benefits that can be achieved from successful marketing, from increased reach to improved customer retention. These results can significantly impact your success and increase your bookings.
To ensure you are able to harness these outcomes, it can be advantageous to work with marketing experts, like our team at VerriBerri. Working with us will provide your hotel business with a strategy that’s tailored to your specific branding and goals.
Here are some of the key components of hotel marketing strategies.
Make Your Business Visible Online
The first point of call for the majority of travelers is social media or search engines. If your hotel isn’t appearing within these results, you’re missing out on a great number of potential bookings.
SEO
Increasing your presence among these search results can be supported with effective search engine optimisation practices. SEO involves a number of techniques that improve the visibility and credibility of your business. This includes keyword and website optimisation. All of these practices will, ultimately, better your chances of getting more bookings.
Social Media
Sharing content is crucial in hotel marketing strategies to expand your reach with a reputable brand image. With multiple platforms and forms of content available, the values and identity of your hotel can be authentically illustrated. As well as this, the measurability of this technique is highly beneficial. Analytics can allow you to keep track of your views and engagement. This will allow you to create content that’s tailored and effective to enhance visibility, and increase your bookings.
PPC and Paid Advertising
SEO and social media are key marketing elements within hotel marketing strategies. However, search results pages often present monetised options first. If your business isn’t paying for any adverts, you could be omitting thousands of potential customers. To guarantee the exposure of your hotel, consider integrating this form of marketing into your operations.
Build a Strong Reputation
Another likely way that potential visitors may hear about your hotel, is through an existing customer. Recommendations are an immensely popular way for individuals to refine their options. Considered more reliable, a good review from another customer is invaluable for a business.
Customer Loyalty Programme
Encouraging repeat customers is a vital way to increase your bookings. Once visitors have discovered your hotel, and engaged with your business, retaining their custom is key. A great technique to accomplish this is by implementing a customer loyalty programme. Incentives, such as discounts or complimentary items, can help to ensure guests are likely to return. Additionally, loyalty programmes can also deter customers from competitors and encourage them to recommend your business.
Local Co-Branding
Partnering with other companies can be an effective way of enhancing visibility and building a positive reputation. Co-branding involves a collaboration between a smaller local business and a national brand. For larger businesses, this can support an expansion of marketing, targeting a specific area. Meanwhile, for smaller brands, the association with an established, national company can enable exposure to a wider audience. It can also provide credibility that benefits the reputation of a smaller business.
Reviews
When creating hotel marketing strategies, it’s integral to recognise the weight of authenticity. With constant marketing content being served to customers, it can be advantageous to stand out with reliable and authentic material. Sharing customer reviews is an effective way of doing this. Your company can prompt reviews from guests in various ways, for example, sending invitation emails.
User Generated Content
As well as sharing customer reviews, it can also be beneficial to share user generated content on social media. This can provide a trustworthy form of promotion for your hotel. Increasing the volume of content being made can be achieved by providing incentives. For example, featuring the post on your story or feed, or running promotional competitions. When holding giveaways, or other forms of promotional events, you can prompt followers to enter by sharing content from your hotel. Additionally, general interactions with posts, such as liking or commenting, can also encourage users to generate content.
How VerriBerri Can Support Your Hotel Business
If you would like to elevate your brand’s visibility, improve your reputation and ultimately, increase your bookings, we can help! Specialising in all of the aforementioned marketing channels and more, including PR, influencer marketing and graphic design, we can effectively assist your brand. Our team is made up of passionate experts, with a wealth of experience, supporting companies in reaching their goals.
Fill out our contact form to get in touch and find out more about how we can help your business to thrive!