13 Terrific Marketing Ideas for Hotels

A hotel is an essential component of many travel plans, but how do you become the hotel of choice for travelers within your community? It begins with your overall marketing plan. What makes your hotel better than any other hotel in your community? When you can show people the value that they’ll receive for their investment into your organization, you’ll increase your rate of bookings on a regular basis.

It all begins with your ability to provide a modern, clean experience. Although the average person isn’t going to take a black light to their room to search for stains, you do need to provide a level of cleanliness and service that is unmatched for the remainder of these marketing ideas to be successful.

Hotel Marketing Ideas to Increase Occupation Rates

1. Know Your Appeal
Although anyone can book a room at your hotel at any time, you will notice that there will be trends in certain demographics of those who choose to stay with you. When you can discover what appeals to this demographic, then you can provide a more complete experience that will bring in even more prospects because they’re all attracted to the great things you provide them.

2. Be Professional
There is nothing worse than a marketing plan that is based on negative components. Be positive with your comparisons, don’t speak badly about others, and make sure that any content you publish about your hotel is free from grammatical errors and typos. If you find something after you publish, then fix it.

3. Virtual Tours Are Awesome
One of the biggest barriers that people face in choosing a hotel is knowing what their room will look like. By providing a virtual tour, you’ll give your prospects an idea of what they should expect so that they can visualize the value of what you can provide immediately and have one more barrier removed from the purchasing process.

4. Video Interviews With Guests
A hotel’s experience just isn’t about a clean room with a flat screen TV. It’s also about the service that is received, the quality of the venue itself, the features that a hotel can provide, and even how accessible the parking happens to be. Interviewing guests about their stay will give people an honest perception of what you can provide and if you have guests that will go on camera, then offer them a discount on a future stay for their time.

5. Tell Your Story
Why are you even in the hotel business in the first place? Your story is the starting point for most people to be able to form a relationship with your business. If you create a compelling story that will help people be able to relate to you, then you’ll create the foundation of a relationship that will begin to build brand loyalty for you.

6. Be Different
What makes you different is what makes you stand out. That’s why people are more inclined to offer reviews about negative experiences than they are for positive experiences – it stands out to them. When you’re marketing in a different way, then your efforts will stand out when you have a positive attitude behind all of your efforts.

7. Solve a Problem
Providing a room is just the start of the problems you can solve for your guests. There are a number of additional needs a hotel can meet with very little effort. Internet access from their room can help your guests stay in touch with others. A business center can help guests get work done quickly and effectively if needed. Access to meeting rooms can facilitate a deal. The more problems you can solve, the more likely you will be to increase your bookings.

8. Build Links On Your Site
Word of mouth marketing is good for offline contacts, but link building is better for online contacts. When people link to your website naturally, it shows that you are being marked as a niche expert for your industry. Build online relationships to increase the chances of building links, but remember: building links isn’t the same as sharing links.

9. Be Definitive
Provide your prospects with all of the details they need to know about an experience at your hotel. If you have a microwave in their room, then let them know. If you provide free orange juice and a newspaper at breakfast, then say so. When you can provide the specifics about a definitive experience to potential guests, you’ll be educating them about how good a stay at your hotel really is.

10. Provide Transportation
Nothing is more difficult than trying to navigate around a community once you’ve flown in for business or a vacation. When you provide transportation to the key parts of your city, not only will you be helping local businesses find some mutual success that can translate to consistent occupation rates, but you’ll be allowing your guests some flexibility that doesn’t involve a taxi service they may wish to avoid. Even a partnership with a local ride sharing program is an affordable benefit to provide.

11. Be Fluent
You’ll have guests who speak a number of different first languages and a hallmark of good service is to provide fluent first language service. It starts with your marketing content. Don’t just settle for Google translate. Bring in someone who can provide a realistic translation that reads well. Having someone on staff who can assist in a native language will also provide that extra level of service that can set you apart.

12. Use Your Website
If you provide hotel guests for special events to have their own website, then they’ll promote your hotel for their special event and you’ll get people booking rooms through you because of it.

13. Check Your Facts
How up to date is your contact list? Are the recommendations of your restaurants, entertainment venues, or your television guide current? If you aren’t maintaining your databases, then a guest will likely believe you aren’t maintaining more important items as well – like those sheets they might be checking with a black light on their next stay.