The travel industry is reeling from cancellations being attributed to fears surrounding coronavirus. To help offset some of the lost revenue, I’ve put together a few marketing tips to help hoteliers drive immediate leisure bookings.
1. Use your data to get hyper-targeted with your marketing budget. Go to your PMS/CRM and look for not only local and drive market feeders, but specific zip codes within those markets to target. Hone in on these areas for your digital efforts/geo-targeting. (If you don’t know how to run geo-targeted social ads, there are literally dozens of Youtube videos that will show you how.)
2. If you’re not sending emails to your past guest database or targeting to your social followers, now is the time to start. Your past guests/people who know and love you are going to be an easier sell/lower hanging fruit.
3. Revenue Managers: Offers need to be added to the special offers page of your website – not just the booking engine. I see this over and over again. Not everyone who comes to your website makes it to your booking engine. The SO page is typically among the top 3 viewed pages on your website. If you’re not adding it there, you’re limiting visibility of your offer.
4. For ancillary, consider geo-fenced social ads. (Again, Youtube is your friend.)
5. Especially for resorts: Ask your F+B Directors to review the agreements/contracts with soda, alcohol or other vendors/partners. In order to get the contract with the property, many times vendors will throw in free marketing like local/regional radio, etc.
6. Use all of your databases. Often, the contact info for those who stayed at your property for a wedding or group event from the local market are not going to be found in your PMS. Pull that data and re-market a leisure offer to them. Likewise with OpenTable or other platforms used for generating ancillary spend.
7. Use your partners. Reach to your CVB to learn what they may be doing to combat the downturn and see what marketing initiatives you can get in on for added reach.
8. Likewise with home office. If you have a home office with their own emailable databases and social channels, ask them to support your property with added social and email initiatives. Many properties don’t use this resource enough.
9. For Revenue Managers and property-based Marketers, if you’re not already working together on the daily, take a quick scan of an article I wrote with Lily Mockerman from Total Customized Revenue Management for Lodging Magazine on why and how we need to be working together to drive immediate revenue.
10. Proactively share your wins with your General Manager, Asset Manager and Ownership. Doing so helps you hold onto as much of your budget as possible.
Remember in your messaging that people book with their hearts before their wallets. It’s not just sappy, it’s fact. If your messaging is strong and on point for your audience, you shouldn’t have to rely on major rate reductions.
11. Contact me if I can help. [email protected] 843 475 1778
