The marketing department in a hotel has a crucial role in increasing revenue.
NB: This is an article from Bookboost
It not only has to do with creating initiatives to attract new guests but also with communicating with previous guests and making them come back. In an industry with so many different brands competing for the same people, this is a hard task.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and stay up to date
It is very easy for guests to simply go to another brand, especially as they may tend to go to a different country or city where you don’t have a property.
This means one thing: your communication efforts need to be extremely efficient.
Hotel marketers send out campaigns to all guests with a goal: make them book again or sell some extra services.
According to McKinsey, 76% of consumers are more likely to consider purchasing from brands that personalise their communications and 78% are more likely to repeat purchases.
That means there is a big opportunity when you hyper-personalise your approach to each guest as it will increase the likelihood that your campaigns are successful.
The way to do this is by using all the guest data you have laying around in all your platforms to tailor the communication you send to your guests. That means different guest audiences will receive different campaigns.
In this article, we are showing you nine examples of audiences so that you can hyper-personalise your campaigns to each of them.
9 audiences for better hotel marketing campaigns
1. High spenders VS low spenders
If you use the data on how much a guest spends in total on their stay as well as how much on average per day, you are able to evaluate and define two different audiences: those who spend a high amount and those who spend a low amount.
By having these audiences you can offer different messages, services and events to each of them. If they spend more, you can share services that are more expensive and if they spend less, focus on more practical and essential services that they may need and want to have.
Campaigns in practice
First of all, you need to define what level of expenditure means high spenders and low spenders. From then, you can send campaigns according to those values.
If you are sending an offer for guests to come back, send a discount to the low spenders on the range they usually pay and send a special package with unique services to high spenders within the range they usually spend.
If you are selling different types of massages, send the regular €20 and less expensive massage to the low spenders and the €80 special massage to the high spenders.
2. First-timers vs returners
People who have never been to your hotel need to learn everything about it for the first time while returners already know what to expect. That may not seem so relevant, but it is.
Returners came back because they were happy with their experience the last time they stayed in your properties, while with first-timers, you still need to prove yourself. That is relevant for the focus you have on campaigns for each.
Campaigns in practice
For first-timers, you should focus more on sending all the relevant information they need to get around the hotel and all the services you know can be relevant for them according to the guest data you have access to.
However, since it’s the first time they stay with you, the data you have on them is much more limited than the one you have on returners. Thus, for returners, you can focus on optimising the selling of the products/services you know they liked during their previous stay.
While with first-timers you can send a campaign with a video explaining how the hotel works or asking if they want to add a tour guide to their stay; with returners, you can focus much more on upselling extra services much more directed to who they are.
They already know about the basics, so now you need to enhance their experience to the next level so that it’s impressive.
3. Families
Families mean there is at least one child in the booking, which will result in specific needs during the stay. Families will not be interested in receiving an invite to a party or to go on an adventure only applicable to adults.
Thus, if you have an audience only for families, you can direct your campaigns accordingly, both not to send irrelevant offers and also to send offers specifically for families needs.
Campaigns in practice
For example, if there is an activity group for children in the hotel with caretakers, you can send an offer for the guests to pay an extra fee to be able to have their child there. Or you can even offer a children’s meal package. There are a lot of opportunities when it comes to campaigns which will increase the chances of success for this specific audience.
4. Short-stay/Long-stay
A guest who stays for 3 days will not want the same as a guest who stays for 2 or 3 weeks. If you offer to a short-stay guest a cleaning fee for the room to be cleaned twice per week, it is not gonna be relevant. For a long-stay guest, that’s a different story.
Campaigns in practice
Send a campaign to the short-stay guests showing the highlights of how they can make the best out of their experience with you in a short time. Send a campaign to the long-stay guests offering meal packages for their whole stay.
These are examples of the different approaches you need to take to maximise the experience of these two very different types of guests.
5. Regular guests
Regular guests know you much better than others. They already know how to move around your hotel, which services you offer, how the processes work, and what they can expect. Who can be a regular guest? A business traveller that stays at your hotel every time they visit their company’s office in that city.
For you, it means that you also know them much better than you know others. With them, you can use the information on their previous stays and focus much more on offering surprises and delightful experiences they are not expecting.
Campaigns in practice
First of all, you need to set up how many times they need to come back and in which frequency to be considered regular guests.
From there, you can send campaigns referring to the previous stays. If it’s a leisure traveller, you could say something like: “Hi, Guest X! We know you enjoy a lot our vegetarian meatballs so why not join our special cooking workshops this week and learn how to make them?”.
If you want them to come back, you can also refer to the previous stays, for example, “Hi, Guest X! We are used to having you around, so we miss you already. You haven’t visited in a few months now. Are you ready to come back yet?”. And then you can add a specific offer tailored just for them to attract them to come back.
6. Returners who booked again already
Returners are the guests who come back, but for those who have already booked their next stay, you already know when that booking is and you also know for sure they are coming. Additionally, you know in advance the details of their reservation and you can prepare yourself for their arrival, selling more personalised services and appreciating them for their loyalty.
Campaigns in practice
Send them personalised offers according to what you know about their reservation. For example, ask if you want to upgrade their room to the one they had last time or simply ask if they want to have a room with a nice balcony instead.
You can also send them offers on what they had and enjoyed about their previous stay and ask if they want to have it in this one as well.
Thank them for their loyalty and show how happy you are about them coming back. Ask what they would like to experience that they didn’t the last time, and even tailor your offers around that. “We launched new events since the last time you were here and we thought you would like to join our late-night comedy show, do you want to take a look?”.
7. Leisure vs Business
The goal of someone who travels for leisure is completely different from those who travel for business. Leisure travellers want to have fun and make the most of their time to do so, while business travellers are there to work.
To optimise your campaigns, you need to tailor the information and offers you send according to that.
Campaigns in practice
To a business traveller, you can focus on offering meal packages for the whole stay so they don’t need to worry about it, a co-working space if you have one, and after-working hours relaxation moments such as a time at the spa or a yoga class after a long day looking at the computer.
On the other hand, to a leisure traveller, you send tour offers, and experiences throughout the whole day at the hotel, among other leisure-related activities.
8. Loyalty program
Having a loyalty program means you give guests within that program special access to offers and services. Overall, you give them access to a more exclusive experience than other guests, and it is important to highlight that in your communications so they feel it is worth it.
Campaigns in practice
Let’s say within their loyalty program, guests have access to a special discount or service if they book 6 times per year in one of your properties. If you get to the middle of the year and they only booked once or twice, you can send them a campaign mentioning that and personalising an offer with, for example, the type of room they usually like to book.
You can also send them specific information on services that they subscribed to. And you can even send them a campaign with a form asking about what they would like to have in their next stay and make it happen. The possibilities are endless.
9. OTA bookers
Did your guests book from an OTA, directly from your website or somewhere else? With that information, you will know you have access to different data. If a guest booked on an OTA, you will not have as much information about them as you do about the guests that booked directly on your website.
At the same time, if they booked via an OTA, it may be the case that they did not see everything you showcase about the hotel on your website.
Thus, you can build campaigns tailored to enrich the data of guests coming from OTAs and also adapt the information you send accordingly to show them what they cannot miss.
Campaigns in practice
Send guests coming from OTAs a campaign asking them to fill in some extra information or showing them the key amenities and services of your hotel, which they probably did not have access to in an OTA. After they leave and when you want to send them an offer to come back, showcase the benefits of booking directly with you and add the link to the booking page directly.
The best of this is that you can draft all these audiences with your own data and create even more! When you have the right CRM (a multi-channel one, of course), the possibilities are endless!
The results
By hyper-personalising your campaigns to specific audiences, you are able to increase your conversion rates, powering your upselling, and at the same time increasing your guest loyalty.
You build a relationship with guests based on who they are and you show them you care about them and you want their experience to be great.
