Being fully booked without any vacancies is the dream scenario for any hotelier. However, in reality, the situation is rarely perfect. The hospitality industry is highly competitive, and as a result, guests are more discerning than ever before when choosing between hotels to stay in. To combat this, there are various strategies you can employ to help your hotel stand out from the crowd, even in a highly saturated market. Here are some tips to help you bring in new clientele without sacrificing revenue in your hotel.
Use Emotive Marketing
Sure, offering attractive discounts or special offers to prospective customers might appeal to them from a financial perspective. However, the most effective marketing strategies seek to strike an emotional chord with their target audience.
Begin by considering what services you offer in your establishment and how these can be marketed to resonate with your target audience. For example, if your business aims to attract customers seeking luxurious and relaxing experiences, then your marketing strategy should seek to establish an emotional response in this regard. Creating a moving experience that generates tangible emotions within your prospective guests is an excellent way to promote your business and build long-term relationships with clients.
Hotel marketing is an intricate and complex affair, so for more suggestions on building an emotional connection with your guests, check out this guide to hotel marketing.
Use Marketing to Tell a Story
Telling a story with your marketing content is a brilliant way of establishing an emotional connection with your target market. Bringing your business’ unique story into your communications with prospective guests is a clever way of showcasing what makes your hotel different from the competition.
Using photos and videos of the luxurious services you offer in your establishment is helpful to catch the eye of potential guests. However, there is more to marketing than simply grabbing someone’s attention. Telling your story in your marketing communications will help convert views into bookings as it will establish what makes your hotel unique in readers’ minds. Whether your unique selling point is the friendliness of staff or the high level of hospitality and care you provide for customers, putting these offerings front and centre will help bring in new customers.
Promote Your Compliance With Covid-19 Protocols
The hospitality industry was disproportionately affected by the restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Many people are wary of travelling and staying in new places due to concerns surrounding hygiene and transmission of the coronavirus.
This has led to a new form of competition in the industry. Advertising cleaning protocols and strategies to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 has become a growing trend for hoteliers. Therefore, if you haven’t adopted such an approach yet, you should look to transition from a behind the scenes cleaning approach to an open and transparent strategy.
You should advertise your cleaning policies and standards in your marketing communications so guests know that you are doing all you possibly can to promote safety in your establishment. Clarity around cleaning should be maintained during your guest’s stay to give them peace of mind that they made the correct choice by picking your hotel.
With the current public-health concerns, ensuring that your clientele is aware that you will not compromise their safety is essential for bringing in new bookings.
Offer Guests Value for their Money
While there is something to be said for adjusting room rates depending on industry conditions and trends, providing value for money isn’t necessarily a purely financial endeavour. Therefore, you should avoid marketing your hotel as a budget-friendly option (unless this is a crucial selling point of your services).
Instead, think about what activities and attractions are available to guests when they stay at your hotel. You can then incorporate travel suggestions, practical guides for business guests or the speciality foods available in your hotel or the surrounding areas. This will help your prospective customers feel like they are getting more value for their money, as they will be investing in an overall experience rather than just a bed for the night. Ultimately, this will help those who see your ads remember your hotel and build a positive connection with your marketing messaging.
The Takeaway
Overall, these suggestions represent a brief overview of ways to advertise your hotel business. You must attempt to evoke an emotional response within your target audience when advertising your services. Ultimately, this will help bring in new customers and help establish a long-term connection with your guests, so they come back time and time again. The internet and other technologies have facilitated effective marketing through multiple channels in the hospitality industry. However, competition has never been higher, especially since many struggled with attracting customers during the pandemic. Following the steps outlined above will help your establishment to stand out in a crowded market.