There are over 700,000 hotels and resorts worldwide, and 52,000 of them are in the United States. Whichever way you look at it, that’s a lot of competition even before you consider vacation rental brands such as Airbnb.
So how do you stand out from the crowd when trying to attract more visitors? One thing’s for sure, you don’t want to fall prey to the most common hotel marketing mistakes around.
But what are these errors and how can you avoid them when devising a hotel marketing strategy? Let’s take a look!
1. Not Investing Enough in Marketing
Many hotels make the mistake of trimming their marketing budget in the hope of saving money. But marketing isn’t an expense, it’s an investment that will more than pay off if your strategy is good.
From establishing a brand identity to following the SEO and hotel marketing advice outlined in this link, marketing is a 360-degree approach to business success.
2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
A huge part of a successful marketing strategy is making sure that your message is targeting the right audience. This means looking at guest data and trends to form a true picture of who your guests are and what they want. Trying to appeal to an audience who isn’t even listening is the quickest way to waste money you could be investing in your hotel’s future success.
3. Failing to Cultivate Repeat Visitation
Selling your hotel to a new guest can be more expensive than selling to a guest who has already experienced and enjoyed your hospitality. It’s vital to devote a portion of your marketing budget to email campaigns, discount codes, and the like aimed at encouraging loyal guests to visit again
4. Overlooking the Importance of Social Media
On average, SEO might drive 300 percent more traffic to sites than social media. But a lot of the hospitality sector is visual, which makes it very shareable and appealing on social media.
Many hotels treat social media marketing as an add-on, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, it can be one of the most powerful digital marketing tools at your disposal. But only if your social media strategy is consistent, relevant, and engaging.
5. Ignoring Guest Feedback
Guest reviews can make or break a hotel’s reputation. This means that review management is a key part of marketing hotels online. And, that censoring negative reviews or replying with a sarcastic comment is a huge error.
Instead, you should offer an apology and take the criticism on board. Likewise, when you receive positive reviews, taking the time to thank the guests who left them is good manners and good PR.
6. Refusing to Adapt
Plowing on with the same old campaigns and ideas can soon leave your hotel lagging behind the competition. Remember, successful companies do whatever they can to adapt their marketing strategies in an ever-changing climate.
In the hotel business, that might mean thinking outside the box to market key services or embracing new social media trends.
The Biggest Hotel Marketing Mistakes
Have you and your team made any of these hotel marketing mistakes before? Perhaps you slipped up with review management in the past. Or maybe you often let social media marketing slide.
But, now that you have a better idea of what not to do, it should be a lot easier to devise a successful hotel marketing strategy and ensure that your room occupancy rates are always sky-high!
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