If there is one challenge that is common to all hoteliers across the globe, it would be the seasonality of the hotel business.
NB: This is an article from Hotelogix
Not everyday is a sunday, and not every season means business! Especially, during this time of the year.
“How to attract tourists on Black Friday”.
“Black Friday marketing strategies to attract guests”
“Hotel occupancy strategy for Black Friday”
Sound familiar? Are you guilty of having used any or all of these search phrases? For a small or medium-sized hotel owner, these are probably the most searched phrases on google this season. And rightly so. First comes Thanksgiving, where everyone wants to spend time with family and loved ones, closely followed by Black Friday and then Cyber Monday! It isn’t the most lucrative period for hotels, or accommodation solutions of any kind. But does this mean that you just sit back and hope for walk-ins to grace you with their room requests and help boost your hotel revenue? No. Not at all. Not in this day and age.
Today, technology has empowered us to such an extent that any inaction is only reflective of our lack of knowledge. There is a hack, a solution and a work around for almost everything today. Especially when it comes to marketing a hotel. There are countless ways to connect to your potential bookers that regardless of seasons, property types or location, increasing hotel occupancy is a cake walk with technology.
With less than a month to go, you can still attract your potential guests to come stay with you over the holiday weekend. Here are three quick ways to help boost your hotel revenue this black Friday.
Before that, let’s take a closer, deeper look at the situation you have at hand. It is the season where everyone would rather be spending an intimate time with loved ones. So, you can pretty much rule out the leisure travelers, with the exception of the handful that might want to travel as a family. But chances are, they may have been planning this for weeks now. This leaves us with business travelers who are, most likely travelling against their will.
Having it narrowed down to this, let’s now take a look at the three hotel marketing strategies this Thanksgiving and Black Friday:
1. Go for a ridiculously tempting offer
Considering that most of the odds are against you, this is time to bring out you’re a game when it comes to making your audience an offer they cannot refuse. Get bold and clever with your offer- whether you are offering a discount or adding value to their stay. Give a massive discount on your most luxurious room type, but in the back-end you can restrict the inventory. Promote your offers on all channels- online, offline everywhere. This low season is a great time to come up with a special discount for corporates which can, in turn, turn into a long-term association. Considering that any revenue is better than no revenue, you can design an offer that could make for a great memory for the guest as well as a great review online for you!
2. Pay special attention to inbound traffic
While the previous point discussed how you can reach out to prospective bookers, this one will look into how you can nurture the people coming onto your website, your newsletter subscribers, etc. These are people who are already familiar with you, your hotel and your brand. You can use this to your benefit and personalize a package exclusively for them. This can go beyond business travelers too. Think about it- these are people who came looking for you and not the other way around.
It’s all about the opportunity cost and how well you work around it. If done right, this can be a great way to increase your hotel room occupancy. Create a package that caters to your target audience, and you know who they are. Be sensitive and empathize with them such that they will consider spending thanksgiving away from home. Make a compelling case about why they need to revisit your property and spend their quality family time with you. The devil is in the details, here and it can really work for families that are more outgoing and willing to change things up. Give them a reason to, and they just might!
3. Cash in on the upcoming Christmas excitement
This much is clear to everyone- customers love a good deal. What’s better than a great hotel deal is counting down for Christmas. What if you club the two? Bring our your most ostentatious promotions stating that your hotel is Christmas-ready and you can’t wait to share the excitement with travelers. This is also a great way to promote your hotel for the Christmas period, which again is traditionally a low season for the hospitality industry.
These were a few quick ways to get the last-minute traveler to bring their business to you. But by pumping up your guest experience strategies, there are also other benefits of hosting people during this period. For those who cannot afford the comfort and luxury of their homes during this special period, you have the chance to make your hotel their home and to provide them with the comfort they seek.
