Top 10 Intelligent Hotel Marketing Strategies to Increase RevPAR
March 1, 2021|Hotel Marketing

Marketing hotels is not easy. In recent years, the playing field has become more and more aggressive, and because of the stiff competition, getting bookings can be quite a challenge. So how do you make your hotel stand out to potential guests and increase your chances of getting booked? Here are ten ways:

1. Be easy to find

Unlike before, travelers can now learn about accommodation places in their destination even before they start the trip. With a few swipes and clicks, guests can now do a quick research and make comparisons between hotels before booking. This is good news for travelers but makes the competition harder for hotels. The guest's experience starts with a simple online search. When a customer searches for accommodations on Google or looks up hotels on booking sites, the first things that come up are ads. So, make the most of Google search, third-party booking sites, and even social media platforms. This is a perfect window of opportunity for your business to be noticed. Make sure that your hotel is visible to any potential guest that is actively searching for similar facilities. To make this possible, optimize your site, use common keywords, and don't limit your business to a single platform. Assess all your collected data to determine where you get the most successful bookings and boost that campaign.

2. Target the right audience

There are different hotel types because there are different kinds of customers. Each customer group travels, behaves, and spends money differently. And because each hotel is different, hotels must employ various schemes to target each slice of the market. This is why budget inns and luxury hotels exist. This is also why hotels offer rooms at different price points. It again proves how income targeting is important and why each customer must be pursued separately and differently.

Even hotels under the same chain can be very different from each other. This is because one hotel's location may be more appealing to a particular group of customers than another. For this reason, you need to set up different campaigns to send the appropriate messages to your various target groups. This is where modern tools like Facebook's targeting options can be beneficial. Targeting the right audience is not only about putting out highly attractive ads and getting noticed; t is also about offering different alternatives to the market.

3. Offer incentives to build interest

Your business should offer something exciting to potential customers to have the edge over your competition. Offer your customers a good reason to pick your hotel over other hotels in the area. e noticeable enough to set yourself apart from the competition. Highlight your property's strengths like the lowest prices or stellar reviews. Or, if it's not possible, consider giving out unique erks and other forms of rewards. If you haven't received enough reviews yet, it may be a good idea to offer discounts for first-time guests. It is an excellent opportunity to impress new clients because they will likely book again if they are. Limited time promos are also a good idea because people are more likely to book, creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity.

4. Build local partnerships

Establishing tie-ups with nearby businesses is always an excellent idea because it benefits everyone. Having affiliates help increase bookings because it improves the customers' experience through added perks and convenience. You could offer customers discount coupons for a local afé or restaurant or perhaps a massage spa. It creates a positive impression that everything about their stay had been well thought of, creating a win-win-win situation for all parties.

4. Build local partnerships

Establishing tie-ups with nearby businesses is always an excellent idea because it benefits everyone. Having affiliates help increase bookings because it improves the customers' experience through added perks and convenience. You could offer customers discount coupons for a local afé or restaurant or perhaps a massage spa. It creates a positive impression that everything about their stay had been well thought of, creating a win-win-win situation for all parties.

5. Market the location, not just the hotel

Marketing your hotel is not only about selling rooms and accommodation. It should include the whole experience, including other attractions that they can find in the area. Location is a significant factor why customers book a hotel. It is best to let future visitors know what makes your hotel location interesting, rather than concentrating on the hotel itself. In promoting your business, always consider targeting travelers who have not made up their minds about where to go and stay. The goal in highlighting your location and presenting the best things in the area is to attract travelers. Once they are convinced, that's the perfect opportunity to make your sales pitch for your hotel.

6. Concentrate marketing budget in peak booking times

As previously discussed, you may need different campaigns to reach each specific target group properly. In targeting your audience, it is vital to study and know who they are so you know their behavior and booking patterns. If you understand your market's behavior and preferences, you can adjust your marketing budget and focus on which platforms and times work best.

You can boost or scale your campaign depending on the time of day or week that your target market makes the most bookings. Read and interpret your analytics to better understand how to adjust your schedules and make the most out of your marketing budget.

7. Remarket abandoned online bookings

The abandonment rate for online hotel bookings is relatively high. Around 7 out of 10 customers who initiate an online booking don't complete the transaction. Customers abandon their bookings for different reasons, such as being distracted by ads and other offers, being overwhelmed by too many options, or simply having too many other tasks to complete. Remarketing is essential for hotels because having abandoned bookings only means there are already interested customers and are probably going to make a booking at one point and that they need further convincing to proceed. In remarketing, you can target recent site visitors and offer booking incentives to encourage them to complete the transaction.

8. Ensure your website is simple but stunning

Your website should give guests a preview of the kind of experience they can expect in your hotel. It should be clean, crisp, simple, functional, but beautiful. All the necessary information a customer needs should be easily accessible, along with high-quality photos and videos, and the booking process must be seamless and straightforward. It will not create an excellent first impression if your site takes too long to load or if it is not optimized for all types of devices. This may disappoint potential guests and abandon the idea of booking altogether. It reflects poorly on your business as a whole.

9. Superior customer service

If a customer has to choose between two very similar hotels, excellent customer service can spell the difference. It is easier to pick a business that knows how to take care of its customers. That's why your staff must be well-trained in providing exceptional customer service and are knowledgeable in addressing various possible scenarios professionally in the hotel setting. To ensure that your hotel provides the best customer service, the organization should follow a customer-first policy. It won't harm the hotel to upgrade a customer's room if they're unhappy with the view, or perhaps send a complimentary breakfast to compensate for any inconvenience they might have experienced during check-in. Not taking these small but significant steps can cause the guest never to return and share undesirable feedback online and with other people. Putting the customer first can be pretty challenging. There are limitations to it, but making this central to the business will increase customer satisfaction, improve client feedback, and eventually, more business as they share their positive experiences with other people.

10. Build a customer loyalty program

A loyalty program can make customers feel that they are valued and appreciated. It is a great way to encourage past guests to make repeat bookings. One reason why you should always go the extra mile to make a guest's stay memorable is that satisfied guests make loyal clients. If they had a great experience, it would not be wouldn't want to come back if you had such a great experience? Even more so if you are to get extra perks and bonuses as a loyal customer.

If you need help marketing your hotel, give us a call at 888-999-8086 or visit us at Bezla.com.

Bezla.com LLC

Website: https://Bezla.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bezla
Phone: +1-888-999-8086
1800 JFK Blvd Suite 300 PMB 91649
Philadelphia, PA 19103