Email is a valuable communication tool that will improve guest experiences (and possibly increase revenue).
NB: This is an article from Fuel Travel
Your hotel welcome email is one of the most important messages you can send. It will set the tone of their stay, and is a unique opportunity to provide information in an increasingly contactless world. There are at least 15 triggered emails your hotel should be sending to your guests before, during, and after their stay.
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PRE-STAY CONFIRMATION EMAIL
We recommend sending at least two emails before they arrive. The first one must be a confirmation email.
The booking confirmation email should be simple, but don’t forget: this email has the highest open rate of any email you will send to a future guest. It must include basic transactional details such as reservation number, room type, check-in/out times, and so on. But you should also use this email to generate excitement for their upcoming stay!
In this example, the hotel has made use of two key factors from their email marketing platform to create an impactful hotel welcome email. First, a guest messaging solution that connects to their PMS to pull in essential transactional information, as shown in red text. A generic, non-hotel specific GMS will not be able to pull this data at all.
Second, they’ve used an email platform that has easy to edit templates. An easy-to-use editor allows them to change up the marketing messaging alongside their confirmation details, based on current happenings or specific things you want to promote. We recommend routinely modifying your confirmation email as needed.
In this example, the hotel has chosen to showcase their restaurant and local events. By using a system like Fuel GMS, they can easily edit titles, photos, and links to promote seasonal restaurant menus or newly opened patio.
The booking confirmation email should be informational and straightforward. Do not overload this email with up-sell information.
The layout of this email should be:
- Relevant transaction details at the top of the email, as this is what guests expect to see.
- Some additional information to get a guest excited stay at your property
- And that’s it! Don’t overwhelm them just yet
FOLLOW-UP HOTEL WELCOME EMAILS
We don’t want to over-communicate with your guests and have your email marketing come off as pushy. We recommend sending one, and at most two, emails after the confirmation email and before their stay. Any more and your open rates will start to decline.
Send welcome emails 3-5 days before your guest’s arrival. This is now your opportunity to really stand out. At this point, guests are excited about their stay with you because their arrival is no longer a far-off plan, it’s just around the corner.
With their trip just days away, this email is an opportunity to drive additional revenue. Some general best practices for your hotel welcome email:
- Put your best foot forward with beautiful imagery
- Keep it specific with local recommendations and insider tips
- Be seasonal and timely—for example, don’t promote a nearby ski hill in the middle of summer
This is where an easy-to-use website builder shines. Your email marketing system should make it easy to build and update templates that you’ll use for many email sends across a whole season. Just like your confirmation email, it should be timely and relevant.
What you should include in your hotel welcome email will vary by property, and location, and so much more. We recommend focusing on the amenities that are most likely to drive revenue in each season.
Not sure where to start? In one up-sell report, industry analysis shows that wellness services drive the highest revenue for up-sells, followed by room upgrades, and then restaurants. And there is seasonality to this: during the summer room upgrades and restaurants sell better than the rest of the year.
What’s more, according to the report above, small upgrades like mini bars and flowers just don’t sell as much anymore. Instead of little perks, use your welcome email to focus on the overall experience. In addition to on-site amenities, your welcome email is a chance to underline the level of service your hotel is there to provide.
Remind guests to contact you and provide them with the tools to do so, such as with a phone number or link to a live chat option. These pre-stay emails are your chance to start providing amazing hospitality before they arrive.
KEEP YOUR CONTENT FRESH WITH BEAUTIFUL TEMPLATES
Don’t make one hotel welcome email template and expect to use it all year. The content in your email should be timely and relevant to guests throughout the seasons. The best way to create impactful emails is to use hotel specific technology, that connects to your tech stack and makes marketing easier.
