When marketing your hotel, you need to consider the times. The current state of the world caught everyone, including the hotel industry, by surprise and you need to adjust to survive. For your hotel, that means you have to adjust your marketing campaigns. But that’s only part of the puzzle.
Spring and early summer in the hotel business usually mean graduation robes, matching wedding bands, and a variety of reception hall bookings. This year is different, but what will next year bring?
Whatever the future brings, you have to be ready, and staying engaged with your client base is key.
When Is That Time?
As the world begins to open, you might want to turn on your marketing campaign full blast, but first, look at your hotel. Hopefully, you’ve kept in touch with your clients. If you haven’t, now is the time. Let them know about your efforts to keep them safe. Your goal is to make them feel comfortable staying with you on their travels. When people start to travel again, you want them to think of you.
That said, don’t use your full marketing budget until your hotel is ready to receive guests. If you have your full staff and safety protocols in place, that might be now. But if you’ve had to lay off staff, concentrate on bringing your employees back before you actively seek bookings.
Travel Engagement Ideas
Your long-term goal is to at least bring your guest level back to where it was before the pandemic. Right now, people are beginning to step foot into the world again and most are not ready to travel. So, you need to adjust your goals to match your clients.
Currently, your goal is to keep your brand name in the minds of your potential guests. Make them feel at ease staying at your hotel. Reach out to past guests and let them know how you’ve changed for their safety.
In addition, adjust your rules to include a generous cancellation policy to encourage bookings.
Your goal is brand awareness and to get your bookings flowing again, even at a slow pace.
Consider these travel engagement ideas for your guests:
- Have your chef share recipes from your hotel kitchen
- Create a scavenger hunt for your area, even if it’s virtual
- Stay apprised of your local events’ reschedule dates and show your guests how you’ll accommodate
- Encourage current guests to share their vacation photos and tag your hotel
- Create a virtual tour of your hotel and your town
- Promote your destination and policy changes through email
Meeting Your Guests
Your priority, no matter what stage your region is in, must be staying in touch with your customer base. You’ll find most of your past and future guests are on social media, so that’s where you should also be.
Engaging with your customers where they are puts you in a position to adjust your campaign strategy whenever you like.
You can immediately see the engagement on social media and assess whether your current efforts are working. The activity will also tell you when the climate is ready to receive an increase in marketing and when your guests are ready to travel.
Returning to Normal
The travel industry will recover and when it does, you want to be ready. Continually engaging your client base and making them feel comfortable is essential to your bottom line and the future of your hotel.
You want to meet your guests where they are and show them you’re still there. When they’re ready to travel, they’ll remember you. So, keep your eye on the pulse of your community and bring them into your hotel before they even arrive.
