Your hotel marketing plan is a critical piece of your business. If you want to drive your marketing strategy forward, you need a checklist of action! You have just established an independent hotel or looking at enhancing your hotel marketing strategies to fit and rip in the ever-demanding travel industry. If you’re reading this you might be like, how will this help me?” Well, today you’ll learn how to land more bookings from your well-curated marketing efforts.
Optimise your website for direct bookings
Make sure your website is free of technical issues that can affect your website’s crawlability and indexability (and hence visibility in Google search results). By following this guide, ensure that your website meets all the technical requirements of Google and other search engines.Adopt the best on-page SEO practices: conduct keyword research before creating your content and measure the performance of your pages afterwards. Use tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Google Keyword Planner to find the most relevant keywords for your website.
Create listings on the most popular OTAs
In addition to having a direct booking website, it’s essential to reach travellers through online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, etc.Research the popularity of OTAs depending on the geographical location of your target guests to invest only in those that will attract your target guest segments.Create eye-catching listings with great photos and detailed descriptions of your hotel amenities and hotel perks.
Send special offers and add-ons as part of your pre-arrival communication. Use software solutions to automate and maximise the effectiveness of your pre-arrival upselling.Send monthly newsletters to stay on top of your guests’ minds and generate more returning guests.Share important news and developments about your hotel (for instance, new services on offer and refreshed facilities).
Create a strong value proposition — think about how your hotel stands out from the rest. (who your ideal guest is, and which unique hotel features you can harness to attract them).Align the tone of voice, visuals, font and the look and feel of your website with your story.Distribute your story via all possible channels where your target audience is (showcase this on OTAs, your website, social media, etc.)
Keep track of your guests’ feedback on review platforms to continuously improve your guest experience.Encourage your guests to leave reviews — you can do so in the post-departure email or when guests check out.Incentivise guests to share their positive experiences with family and friends — provide a discount for referring a friend (use referral links).Collaborate with influencers to promote your hotel — aim for finding micro-influencers from the relevant domain and engaged audience. Micro-influencers are more trusted by their followers and charge less for their services.
