The Hotel Marketing Channels You Must Use to Compete in 2019

The hotel industry is fiercely competitive. In order to survive, your marketing strategies have to be effective. You can’t waste time and budget on marketing channels and technologies that are not going to yield results. If you do, your competitors will quickly take the lead, and you’ll be fighting to keep up.

The most successful hotels and resorts know how to combine the right marketing channels with the right messaging to engage their target guests and secure bookings.

Hotels like Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott have discovered how to maximize their online presence and make the most of direct communication with customers through channels like text message marketing.

Do you have what it takes to build a solid marketing strategy using the most effective channels? As an industry-leading text marketing provider, we know what channels work and which ones don’t. To help you gain an advantage over your competition, check out these top marketing channels.

5 Hotel Marketing Channels You Must Use to Compete in 2019

Secure your competitive edge by creating a powerful marketing strategy that utilizes these five top performing and proven marketing channels.

1. Official Website

Secure your competitive edge by creating a powerful marketing strategy that utilizes these 6 top-performing and proven marketing channels.

The most effective hotels and resorts deliver unparalleled booking experiences via official websites. An official website should be well-branded, organized, and informative. There are some fantastic website examples out there, including Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons, and Hilton.

Unfortunately, hotels of all sizes miss out on valuable bookings due to poorly designed, unoptimized websites. So how do you boost your website’s curb appeal and increase bookings?

Follow these quick tips to maximize the effectiveness of your official website:

1. Make sure that your site allows for online bookings. Try to make the reservation process easy and intuitive. For example, offer a “quick reservation” option for frequent guests.
2. Use images that speak to the experience guests can expect. Images should include things like on-site amenities, hotel exterior, rooms, events, and any other areas that guests find appealing.
3. Provide information about the local area as well as any connections that you have with area attractions — such as offering shuttle service, reservation service, or discounted tickets.

2. Paid Search and Display

Paid search and display ads are incredibly beneficial for hotels. They offer a measurable and affordable way to ensure that your hotel gains and maintains its competitive position in search engines.

Google AdWords gives you an expert level of control, allowing you to deliver results quickly by reaching an audience that is actively searching for a hotel similar to yours. Even on a smaller budget, paid ads cost less than traditional advertising methods because you have the option to only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

The granular reporting that you are able to see gives you a lot of actionable insights into the effectiveness of your campaign. You can make quick, data-driven decisions about where to spend your budget to bring in the most bookings.

3. Online Review Sites

97% of travelers read online reviews before booking a room at a hotel. When nearly every guest is scouring your online reputation, you can’t afford to skip over building a solid review marketing strategy. The good news is that almost 70% of people will leave a review if you ask them directly. But how do you maximize that and build a strategy?

1. Start by making sure your process is simple and quick. TripAdvisor is one of the most popular websites in the world for online hotel reviews, so you can encourage guests to use their platform for leaving a review.
2. Before guests check out, send a quick text message to them and ask them to leave a review.
3. Offer something in return for the review. This can be as simple as something like 10% off their next stay or a free room-service meal when they come back. This helps to encourage the review as well as inviting them to come back again.
4. Finally, take the time to respond. Show your guests that you appreciate the time they invested in leaving a review by responding to it and thanking them.

4. Social Media

The hotel industry is a highly visual one. People want to have an understanding of the experience they will have before they even book a room or make travel plans.

Your hotel has many photographic opportunities around every corner — including the outside facade, entryway, amenities, on-site events, and the rooms. Social media gives you the opportunity to share photos and videos as well as tell the story of their stay.

Your hotel can share its personality with potential guests. Travelers typically have a general concept around what they want from their vacation, but they have trouble picturing the subtle details. It’s your job to help them picture it.

5. Text Message Marketing Tool

Text message marketing makes it easy for guests to communicate with your staff. They don’t need any third-party apps and don’t have any special websites to remember.

Guests aren’t forced to decipher complex extension directories or use outdated in-room phones. They can simply respond to your messages using the technology they already have — their cell phone.

Text marketing isn’t just convenient for guests, it’s also powerful for you. Our studies revealed that recipients read 98% of the messages sent from our platform (compared to only 21% of emails.) Other research shows that people read 90% of text messages within three minutes of receipt.

You can use text messaging to conduct customer satisfaction surveys, invite guests to on-site events, allow them to request room service, make reservations, and ask questions.

Get Ready-Made Text Message Strategies You Can Implement Today

As a hotel owner, you have a lot of competition. It’s more important than ever to attract new guests and build customer loyalty.

SMS marketing is a great way to build a connection with your customers. From easy bookings and reservations to loyalty and satisfaction, the personalization and immediacy of texting will help you more than other channels.

At EZ Texting, we have helped hundreds of hotel owners use SMS marketing to deliver game-changing results and build strong relationships with their guests. We compiled all that knowledge into a Text Marketing Playbook for Hotels and Resorts that you can download and begin implementing right away. Download your copy today.

Photo: Adobe Stock/Jacob Lund