Does your hotel struggle to get more guests to book rooms? In today’s digital world, having a great online presence is key to attracting customers and staying ahead of competitors. With so many accommodation options just a click away, potential guests will simply look elsewhere if your hotel’s website or online marketing effort falls short.
The good news? Using smart digital marketing strategies, you can reach more potential guests, provide a better user experience, and ultimately get more bookings and boost profit. An effective digital marketing plan allows you to showcase your property, highlight unique features, and connect with your ideal customers meaningfully.
This guide will teach you proven tactics to get your hotel noticed online, engage guests on social media, nurture relationships through emails, and create an outstanding online brand presence. Are you ready to unlock a world of new guests?
The Key to Skyrocketing Hotel Bookings:
Benefits of a strong online presence:
In today’s online world, having a great online presence is key to getting more people to find you and book rooms directly. With most travel planning happening online now, your website and online marketing are the first impressions that shape your brand if potential guests pick your hotel. A strong online presence allows you to get in front of ideal customers when they are actively searching for places to stay.
But just being online is not enough. Personalizing your marketing using customer data is a game-changer for increasing bookings and keeping guests happy. By understanding data on behaviours, preferences and needs, you can customize your messages, packages and communications for an exceptional personalized experience. From tailored packages to targeted emails, this personal touch guides customers smoothly through booking.
It’s also important to recognize that different types of hotels need unique online strategies to truly unlock their full potential. The tactics for marketing a fancy luxury resort will look quite different from those for a budget family hotel or boutique inn. By developing customized approaches specifically for your property type and offerings, you can laser-focus your efforts on the ideal audience and what they need. This level of customization gives you an advantage over general marketing.
Whether through increased visibility, data-driven personalization, or tailored strategies by hotel type, unveiling the right online secrets will skyrocket your ability to attract quality guests and get more bookings.
Attract Your Ideal Guests with Precision Targeting:
Detailed personas:
Understanding your target audience is the first step to effective online marketing for hotels. Creating detailed imaginary personas allows you to connect with the exact types of guests you want. These made-up characters represent your ideal customer groups, bringing their motivations, likes/dislikes, and needs to live.
For example, your persona for the luxury guest might be a wealthy couple like “Sarah and Michael” looking for an exclusive romantic getaway. They want top amenities, personalized service, and a sophisticated experience. Their persona highlights how this group values privacy, pampering, and having their high expectations exceeded.
In contrast, your family persona like “The John’s is looking for very different things – adjoining rooms, kid-friendly pools and activities, affordable pricing, and convenience. Developing a distinct persona for this group ensures your marketing hits the right notes.
By really understanding what makes each of your target personas tick, you can strategically create marketing that breaks through and resonates on an emotional level. Highlight the unique benefits and experiences your property offers to fulfil their specific wants and needs. This relevance is what drives not just bookings, but long-term loyal customers.
Whether luxury guests, families, business travellers, or any other key group, precision targeting through personas empowers you to speak directly to their motivations and expectations. This personal connection makes it much easier to attract your ideal guests.
Five Profit-Boosting Digital Marketing Tactics
- Get Found Online and Get Direct Bookings with SEO:
Being at the top of search engine results is an extremely valuable marketing tactic. When potential guests search for something like “best hotels in Lagos”, you want your hotel to be one of the first listings they will see. This prime spot drives direct bookings to your website from travellers actively looking to book a stay.
The first step is keyword research to identify exactly what words/phrases your target customers use when searching. For example, a small boutique hotel in Lagos might want to show up for searches like:
“Unique small hotels Lagos” “Romantic luxury getaways Calaber” “Best places to stay in Abuja”
Once you know the right keywords, you can optimize your website’s content to rank higher for those terms.
On-page SEO includes:
Title Tags – Like “Unique Luxury Small Hotel in Abuja, Hotel Name” Header Tags – Using keywords in the page titles/subtitles Descriptions – A short keyword summary in the search snippet
Body Text – Naturally incorporating those keywords throughout website pages and blogs
Local search optimization ( local SEO) on Google Business Profile is also important for hotels. Claiming and enhancing your listing with photos, accurate details like amenities and contact info, and managing reviews can increase visibility in local map results.
Additionally, getting listed on trusted online travel websites and listing sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and niche hotel booking sites helps reinforce your online presence.
Another powerful tactic is developing your website as the go-to local travel guide. This involves creating helpful blog content like:
“Top 10 Can’t-Miss Activities in Lagos” “Guide to Enugu’s Best Neighborhoods for Foodies” “Experience Makurdi like a Local: Hidden Spots”
This type of content ranks for broader travel search queries. While not directly selling, it draws in qualified visitors who may book later. Your website can then guide them towards booking through special offers, calls-to-action, and an easy booking experience.
So in simple terms, strategic SEO helps your property get found online through the right keywords and content. This increases direct bookings from travellers seeking the type of experience you offer.
2. Engage and Inspire with Social Media Marketing:
These days, social media apps are a powerful way for travellers to find inspiration and decide where to go on trips. Apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook that use a lot of photos and videos are perfect for showing off the unique experiences and amenities your hotel offers.
For example, let’s say you’re a nice beachfront resort in Delta State. You could create Instagram videos or TikToks that give viewers a sneak peek of your stunning ocean views, fancy pool area, and impressive suite rooms. By posting high-quality photos and videos highlighting your most impressive features, you’re inspiring wanderlust and getting on the radar of travellers dreaming of their next vacation.
But it’s not just about pretty pictures – you also need to have a consistent voice and personality across your social channels. This could mean using a certain filter to unify the look of your photos, or developing a fun, conversational way of writing captions that fit your boutique hotel’s vibe.
Working with influencers can also be powerful for hotels on social media. Influencers are individuals with a lot of followers. Identify ones whose followers match your ideal guest profiles.
Let’s say you’re in a family-friendly hotel near an amusement park. You could collaborate with mom/dad influencers or family travel bloggers whose followers are mostly parents looking for great family vacation spots. Offer them a free stay in exchange for creating content that gives their audience an inside look at what your hotel offers for families.
An influencer might post fun photos and videos highlighting the kid-friendly pool, big family suites, restaurants with kids’ menus, and how close you are to a park through their views. This user-generated content serves as an endorsement from someone their followers look up to.
The key is finding the right influencers, giving them an amazing experience worth sharing, and letting them creatively show off your hotel through their own authentic voice and storytelling style.
By using compelling visuals, a consistent brand personality, and influencer partnerships, you can inspire travellers through social media and get more hotel bookings.
3. Nurture Relationships and Make More Money with Email Marketing:
Email marketing is an extremely effective way for hotels to make sales and build relationships with potential guests.
The first step is making it a priority to build an email list. You want to collect email addresses from past guests during their stay, as well as get emails from prospects and subscribers on your website by offering things like:
- Sign up for our newsletter with travel tips/deals
- Download our free vacation planning guide
- Enter to win a free night’s stay
With this list of people who said it’s okay to email them, you can nurture valuable relationships through personalized email communications.
Separating your lists is key for relevance. You may have separate lists for past guests, local prospects, and luxury/family/business travellers. This allows you to customize your messages and offers based on where they are in planning their trip.
For past guests, you can get them to book again with exclusive “welcome back” or loyalty member deals. An example could be “Kayode, we missed you! Book again and get 20% off.”
For new prospects, your emails could focus on getting them excited about the local area and your hotel’s unique amenities or experiences. Maybe a “Lagos Insider’s Guide” video series or “Top 10 Shopping Plaza Near Our Resort.”
In addition to promotions, email allows you to enhance the guest experience through timely emails like:
- Pre-arrival tips, directions, room upgrade offers
- Check-in and check-out reminders
- Post-stay surveys for feedback
- Had a bad experience? Let us make it right
You can even set up automated emails that trigger based on guest actions. Someone who doesn’t complete their online booking can get an email encouraging them to book with a special offer. Or promote on-site amenities like spa packages to guests a few days into their stay.
Email also allows you to run flash sales or promote for a less busy period of he hotel by sending exclusive offers to your subscriber list. “End of Summer Sale – 48 Hours Only!”
The data and personalization capabilities make email powerful for making direct sales. But it’s about more than just bookings – it’s about building relationships through helpful, valuable communications that deepen the guest’s connection to your brand.
By building a strong, segmented email list and using email strategically, your hotel can drive bookings, revenue, loyalty and better guest experiences.
4. Boost Reputation and Get More Bookings with Reviews:
The majority of travellers look at online reviews before booking a hotel. So it’s critical to pay attention to reviews across major sites like Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Yelp, and other popular review sources.
You’ll want to have a plan for responding to reviews. For positive reviews, respond promptly with a personalized thank you that points out any specific details the reviewer mentioned about their great experience. This shows you value the feedback.
For example: “Thank you for the wonderful review, Sarah! We’re so happy you enjoyed the newly renovated poolside cabanas and our staff took such good care of you. We look forward to having you back soon!”
For negative reviews, it’s important to respond professionally, and solution-oriented. Don’t get defensive, but do acknowledge the issue, apologize and explain how you’ve addressed it or how you’ll improve.
Like: “Thank you for your feedback about the noise issues during your stay, John, we regret this prevented you from having a restful experience, and we’re now looking into adding more soundproofing for those guest rooms. Please give us another chance to make it right…”
Having a track record of responding transparently shows you’re an attentive hotel that cares about guest satisfaction.
In addition to managing your review responses, you’ll want to highlight your best reviews as third-party proof across your marketing. This could include:
- Testimonials page on your website
- Sharing positive reviews on social media
- Including review quotes in email promotions
- Displaying your overall review score averages
For example, a hotel may showcase its best 5-star reviews from happy guests on its website. This provides powerful validation for potential bookers researching the property.
You can also run campaigns aimed at boosting your visibility and rating on the most important review sites like Google, TripAdvisor, and travel sites your target audience uses.
Tactics could include:
- Emailing past guests with a link to leave a review
- Offering incentives like free nights or credits
- Promoting your review links on social media
- Making it easy to leave a review during checkout.
By proactively managing reviews, responding authentically, showcasing your best reviews as proof, and running visibility campaigns, your hotel’s online reputation will shine – leading to more bookings as a result.
5. Craft an Engaging Online Brand Presence:
Your hotel’s brand is more than just a logo and colours. It’s the entire experience and emotional connection you create with potential guests across all your online channels. Having a unified, compelling brand story is about engaging customers in what makes your property unique.
Let’s say you’re a boutique hotel in Kano. Your brand story might be about combining modern amenities with the historic Art Deco building’s legacy of hosting famous Nollywood celebrities back in the day. This story shows up throughout your online presence:
Website descriptions use engaging language like “step back into the glamorous golden age and experience a world of curated luxury.”
Photography focuses on Art Deco design patterns and plays with light/shadow to highlight those details.
Videos have a cinematic, vintage Nollywood editing style.
Your colour palette of black, white, and rose gold instantly conveys that timeless, high-end sophistication.
Your social media voice strikes a polite, calm tone projecting modesty expected at an exclusive experience, showing carefulness.
Every piece of content and creative expression builds an environment that engages potential guests in the unique experience you offer.
But visuals and storytelling are just one part. The actual experience of your website and booking process is vital too. Your website design should be visually appealing yet insightful, seamlessly guiding visitors from browsing to booking.
For example, at a beach resort, the calming colours, beautiful photos, and elegant fonts set a relaxing tone. Content highlights amenities like the beachfront pool, spa, and dining in an engaging way.
As visitors view room details and pricing, the experience stays neat, tidy and luxurious – no disruptive pop-ups or ads. The booking process is modern and streamlined, making it easy to select dates, rooms, and packages in just a few clicks.
Video tours provide an engaging way to explore the property and envision their stay. Clear calls-to-action guide guests to complete booking seamlessly.
The brand is the experience – and your online presence shapes that from the first digital interaction all the way through booking. By combining captivating branding with a website and easy booking, you inspire interest, provide great service, and ultimately get more bookings.
By combining these five online tactics into one unified, brand-focused plan, you can cost-effectively increase visibility, connect with your target customers on the channels they prefer, and build relationships that turn initial interest into bookings and return visits. It’s a step-by-step guide for mastering online marketing that allows you to grow revenue and profits.
FAQs
How can hotels with small budgets do online marketing?
Many effective online tactics like SEO, content marketing, and email nurturing are low-cost compared to traditional marketing. Prioritize strategies that drive direct traffic and bookings over paid ads to start. You can also partner with complementary local businesses for co-marketing.
How do hotels measure online marketing success?
Set up tracking to monitor website traffic, engagement, leads, and bookings over time. Calculate your cost-per-booking for each online channel by revenue made. Regularly check what’s driving the best ROI to guide your plan.
Why are website design and user experience important?
Your website is the online storefront representing your brand. Having an appealing, mobile-friendly design with easy navigation and fast load times is crucial for converting visitors into bookings. Optimize the booking process through techniques like testing different designs.
How can hotels use online marketing for need periods?
With targetable online channels like search, display, social ads and email, you can laser-focus campaigns around boosting bookings during need periods. Build automated remarketing campaigns that re-engage previous visitors with tailored offers.
Conclusion:
The hotel industry has gone digital. A smart online marketing strategy is now essential to outperform competitors.
Leveraging SEO, social media, influencers, email and review marketing elevates your online presence and connects you with travellers. This nurtures them into bookings through personalized storytelling.
You’re delivering exceptional guest experiences that breed loyalty, not just filling rooms.
Don’t get left behind – implement these proven strategies to drive transformative booking and revenue growth. Limitless new guests await you.
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