Today, it is no longer just the facade of the hotel that attracts travelers, but all the communication deployed around it. To face the competition, the window of a hotel goes well beyond the street on which it is located. It is directly displayed on the screens of potential customers, on its website, on social networks, at online travel agencies, etc. The hotel marketing strategy , essential and complex , requires reaching the right targets and equipping oneself with the best distribution tools. But be careful: in the hotel and catering sector, it is easy to fall into certain traps…
How to avoid common marketing mistakes for your hotel? What strategy should you adopt to increase your bookings? Here are our tips.
Hotel Marketing Mistake Neglecting Social Media
The influence of social networks on hotels is no longer in doubt. Tourist destinations are directly suggested by the images posted on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. By posting your photos and videos on these platforms, you make potential customers want to visit and can interact with them.
According to a 2021 Hootsuite study, 46% of time spent on the internet is dedicated to social networks , and 50% make their purchases based on the recommendations of their favorite influencers. You would be wrong to neglect their impact by betting everything on your web page to attract people, especially when you know that massive OTAs will overtake you in Google searches. But taking advantage of online travel agencies is not enough either, because the competition has already been established there. Your hotel must therefore integrate social networks into its hotel distribution strategy, by first studying those that are most targeted by its customers. It must also benefit from the advantages of a CRS (central reservation system) to relay its hotel data to the different communication channels.
Hotel Marketing Mistake : Not Knowing Your Guests
It is no longer up to the customer to adapt to the offer, but up to the offer to adapt to the customer . In the era of all-digital and big data, the hotel trend is rather towards hyper-personalization . It is not by standardizing its products and services, nor by imitating competing hotels that your company will stand out from the crowd. You have too much competition on the web, especially on online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking or Expedia.
Like many sectors, the hotel industry must adopt demand marketing, that is, identify customer needs in order to adjust the offer and communication strategy. You can go so far as to segment the clientele and determine target traveler groups, or even create offers per individual as seen in luxury hotels . Each traveler will have the impression of receiving a unique and tailor-made service, enough to boost their satisfaction and praise your establishment.
To improve the guest experience by personalizing it, you absolutely must know your clientele. Only a data analysis software like Mews Business Intelligence will allow you to be efficient and precise. This solution collects information from travelers in order to optimize targeting, between profiles, habits and expectations. It presents automated dashboards and generates reports on all your hotel operations , all while adapting to the hotel’s marketing strategy.
Hotel Marketing Mistake : Skipping Technology
We have talked about marketing hotels online (social networks, OTAs, etc.), but technology will not only increase your revenue and serve as a hotel reservation system . Many travelers refuse to stay in a property without Wi-Fi. They will hate waiting half an hour at the hotel reception upon arrival. You need to digitize your reservation processes , but not only that! Hotel management software like Mews PMS facilitates all your hotel reception operations and connects guests to your services . They find all the information they need on a tablet or smartphone, and create their own tailor-made customer experience.
Be careful not to make the opposite mistake, that is, forget the human dimension in the company. If the customer is excited by an online check-in and by the restaurant reservation on your application, he also appreciates dealing with a human in certain specific situations. In the event of a request or problem, put your hotel staff at the service of the customers when they need it with the connected messaging of the Mews PMS … and only when they want it!
