More and more, hotels are looking forward to a confirmed date that they can re-open their doors.
NB: This is an article from Hotelchamp
However, for most hotels, the re-opening does not mean that everything will be straight back to normal. Most likely, they will have to re-open with reduced capacity as well as comply with new, stricter hygiene measures. Some hotels in Spain are likely to be able to open again for leisure travellers on the 11th of May. In Austria, hotels are preparing to resume business on the 29th of May.
But next to the relief and happiness that comes with this positive development, something else is in the air—uncertainty. When will business be back to normal? How big will the impact of the pandemic be in 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years? What is a strong re-opening strategy to increase revenue as quickly as possible?
Some questions will definitely be left unanswered for all of us. But with others, we will be able to help. If you’re ready to re-open again, here are our three top picks for clever campaigns for a strong re-opening.
1. Set-up a Staycation campaign
Most of us are familiar with “support your local business” campaigns that companies around the world have run in the past couple of weeks. These campaigns encourage locals to buy vouchers or support their local business in other ways during these difficult times. While keeping that focus in mind, experts are predicting something that is especially interesting for you as a hotelier. Predictions have been made that domestic travel will pick up again faster than international travel. It is also being said that due to the longer-lasting restrictions on international travel, people will be more likely to plan a trip in their own home country.
It is obvious that hoteliers need to plan how they can successfully convince domestic tourists to book a vacation in their establishments. One way to do so is by setting up a domestic Staycation campaign with Hotelchamp. The focus is to think about what locals might appreciate most about your hotel and want out of their experience. Do you, for example, offer free parking facilities? Or, do you have great wellness facilities that are perfect for a weekend getaway?
This is a great time to offer direct booking benefits that, under normal circumstances, would come with a bigger operational effort or opportunity costs. Some examples that are easier to execute now are:
- Late check-out (worth **€)
- Early check-in (worth **€)
- Free priority room upgrade
- Free secure parking lots
- Late breakfast
- Free room service
In the example below, the campaign has been set-up as a welcome overlay tool and is targeted to domestic users entering the website. The button links to either a landing page where the user can easily book this offer or to the respective booking engine URL.
2. Enable your instant purchase offer
The average attention span of a human being is 8 seconds. And yes, with 9 seconds, even a goldfish has a higher attention span than us. So remember: keep it simple. Given the hectic time we are currently in, two major things are important for the guest who is visiting your hotel’s website: one, that they can instantly find the information most relevant for them and two, that the booking process is trustworthy and straightforward.
With that in mind, Hotelchamp has developed an Instant Purchase solution. As shown in the video below, you can set-up a compelling message showing the most important details of your offer. For instance, this includes:
- The offer name
- The key benefits for the guest
- Highlighting that the exact booking dates don’t need to be selected now (and any other relevant flexibility terms)
It’s important to give the visitor the option to decide on the exact stay dates at a later point in time. Even though your hotel may re-open again soon, they might still feel a little uncertain about the future and do not want to fully commit just yet. What if there is a “second wave”? What if regulations differ depending on the region? Having a voucher offer that the guest can book instantly and risk-free, will help to generate revenue now.
The second part of the tool is the instant booking option through a secure payment page. This bypasses the multi-step booking process and allows the user to book in only a few clicks, coming through the Hotelchamp tool.
When setting up your campaign, be precise and clear. If you need to add additional information, add a read more function, as shown in the example below. Click here for more detailed information about the benefits and set-up of an instant purchase-offer!
3. Keep your guests informed
This might be obvious but is often forgotten. Your website is the main source for guests that want to find out what is currently going in your hotel. Is the hotel open or closed? When is it re-opening? What are the measures taken to ensure safety onsite? What do I need to know before booking or starting my trip?
You might also want to come up with a strong re-opening offer to celebrate with your guests. The most important thing is to make sure, the information is immediately visible to the visitor. That could be on entry on the website or by placing a message on the homepage, where most of your visitors are arriving on your website, like in the examples shown below.
