As the summer season rapidly approaches, hotels around the world are gearing up to welcome eager travelers in search of a blissful escape.

NB: This is an article from The Hotels Network, one of our Expert Partners

With travel demand on the rise, it’s crucial for hotels to embrace creative marketing techniques that captivate potential guests and motivate them to book directly. Let’s explore the power of personalized messages throughout the user journey, helping your hotel enhance its online presence, boost conversion rates, and create a memorable summer experience for every visitor.

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Ignite the Spark: A Captivating Homepage

The homepage is the gateway to your hotel’s digital realm, where the magic begins. Embrace the summer vibe with vibrant visuals, showcasing sun-kissed beaches, lush landscapes, and stunning sunsets where guests can create memorable moments at your property. Craft a compelling headline to display to visitors searching for summer stay dates that encourages them to explore further, such as “Indulge in Unforgettable Summer Escapes at Our Beachfront Oasis.” By setting the tone and igniting curiosity, you’ll inspire summer holiday hopefuls to delve deeper into what your hotel has to offer this season.

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Welcome Layer displaying summer direct booking perks

 Tailor the Experience: Personalized Messages

Take your guests on a personalized journey by creating messages tailored to their preferences. Leverage data insights to segment your audience, allowing you to target specific groups and cater to their diverse interests. For example, if your hotel offers both family-friendly amenities and romantic couple getaways, create messages that will only appear and resonate with each group and target those messages specifically to them. Or why not appeal directly to local visitors? Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club aimed to fill their available rooms on weekdays by displaying a staycation message appealing to website visitors detected as local users, which you can see in the image below. By personalizing the message to be hyper-relevant to these potential bookers, they are increasing the likelihood of conversions.

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Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club’s tailored message targeting local visitors

Amplify Anticipation: Compelling Special Offers

To incentivize direct bookings, be sure to provide irresistible summer offers that enhance the excitement of staying at your hotel. Develop exclusive packages with enticing discounts or persuasive summertime perks, such as a complimentary water sports experience. Highlight the value guests receive by booking directly, such as complimentary breakfast, spa vouchers, or late checkout. By amplifying the anticipation, you’ll entice visitors to choose your hotel over competitors. Inliners are a great way to integrate your message seamlessly, with the design displaying perfectly on any device. 

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Summer offer displayed as Inliner within the Booking Engine

Trust and Transparency: Client Reviews and Best Rate Guarantee

By prominently displaying client review summaries on your hotel website, potential guests can gain valuable insights into the experiences of past visitors. Showcase positive feedback, particularly from the summer season, to highlight the exceptional service, amenities, and overall satisfaction your hotel provides. Emphasize the importance of booking directly on your website by addressing price disparities between online travel agencies (OTAs) and your own rates. Clearly communicate that the best rates and exclusive offers can be found directly on your website, ensuring guests get the most value for their summer holidays. By highlighting this advantage, you not only encourage direct bookings but also foster a sense of loyalty among guests who appreciate the transparency and benefits of booking directly.

Review Summary and Price Match reassuring visitors

Review Summary and Price Match as Inliners reassuring visitors

Urgency and Excitement: Countdown Messages to Booking Engine

To create a sense of urgency and prompt visitors to take action, strategically place countdown messages throughout your website to display to users that are interested in traveling during the summer months. Capture attention with phrases like “Limited Availability: Book Your Summer Stay Now!” or “Counting Down to Unforgettable Moments: Reserve Your Spot Today!”. These messages will evoke a sense of excitement and compel this specific group of visitors to make a direct booking before time runs out. Enhance the impact of a countdown by pairing it with captivating visuals, such as a ticking clock or a sun setting against a mesmerizing backdrop. By incorporating this element of urgency, you’ll seamlessly guide visitors to your booking engine, increasing conversion rates and ensuring a summer season filled with delighted guests.

Countdown Layers creating a sense of urgency

Countdown Layer creating a sense of urgency

As summer dawns upon us, hotels have a tremendous opportunity to capture the imagination of potential guests and increase direct bookings. By crafting personalized messages throughout the user journey, from the homepage to the booking engine, hotel brands can create a seamless and memorable online experience. Embrace the power of tailored content, enticing offers, and streamlined processes to maximize conversions and leave a lasting impression on every potential guest, all summer long.

Read more articles from The Hotels Network