The amount of traffic to your website can make or break your hotel business.
There is no way around it. If you don’t have a strong presence online, you “don’t exist”. That may sound dramatic but is a fact.
But how do you make visitors aware of your hotel?
It’s actually not that difficult if it weren’t for the mental barrier of many hoteliers, that hotel marketing is a complex and costly affair.
You only need three things to attract visitors to your hotel website:
- Personality,
- the courage to show yourself and
- a little perseverance.
Forget about intrusive, loud advertising, buzz words and empty promises. Everyone has heard this about a trillion times and will forget you instantly.
Connect with your audience by providing valuable information and entertaining and uplifting content: Through articles, blog posts, videos or free downloads.
Answers the burning questions of your target audience and you’ll attract attention.
Do you regularly host weddings in your hotel? The “perfect guide to wedding planning” is available at every corner, but you might help a stressed-out bride with answers to these questions:
- “What do I do with my wedding dress after the wedding?”
- “How does my bridal bouquet stay fresh in the summer heat?”
- “How do I keep Aunt Anni from arguing with Uncle Herbert at the reception?”
Package this information into attractive formats and make them available for downloading or reading on your website:
- A funny guide on what you can create from the material of a wedding dress,
- a checklist about wedding flowers,
- or a blog post with psychological tricks….
Let your content reflect the personality and brand of your hotel so you stand out from the crowd.
Make sure your topics revolve around the questions your favorite guests have.
Blog regularly and don’t forget to mention and talk about your posts on social networks! Meet your favorite guests where they are hanging out and share diligently. If you stick with it, you’ll soon see first results.
Sounds too easy?
Well, once you sit down to write your first blog post, you’ll see that there is a bit of work involved… The good news is, the more often you do it, the easier and faster it gets!
And once you’ve overcome this initial hurdle, you’ll see that marketing can even be fun! Creative juices flow and great ideas pop up.
Check it out for yourself:
5 brilliant hotel ideas that draw attention
An unusual offer will get you noticed
Sometimes a unique offer gets people to look closer.
The Evian Resort Hotel Royal in France, for example, has “forest bathing” on offer. A kind of meditation in the forest to unleash the healing powers of nature. A fascinating concept that originally came from Japan.
Hotel Royal has positioned itself as a place of luxury and excellence, but it’s their forest therapy that pulls visitors in and gets their interest.
Get noticed by the press:
Virgin Hotels does a fabulous job doing this. They get mentioned regularly. From Travel Magazines to the New York Times – Upbeat and sassy, Virgin Hotels know Journalists love delightful stories and are always on the lookout for material…
Use famous brands and set the scene for your hotel
The Hotel Imperial in Vienna had a wonderful idea. Vienna stands for the Vienna Philharmonic, Waltz and the State Opera. Terms that immediately evoke lovely images, feelings and ideas. So, Hotel Imperial made one soloist of the Vienna State Ballet dance to waltz music through the hotel and introduce the premises.
A video that beautifully sums up everything the Imperial stands for …
Turn something familiar into something special
Events in your city and the surrounding area are always hot topics but being different matters. Instead of talking about the usual tourist places and events, have a different chat with your ideal guests:
- “Do you know who is currently visiting Seattle?!”
- “What bizarre exhibition takes currently place in Soho?”
- “Have you ever sat under that old oak tree by the entrance?” and then tell them a delightful story ….
Or how about inviting well-known personalities or people with interesting backgrounds for a get-together? Discuss engaging and riveting topics and make it really special.
Fascinate your guests and allow them a look behind the scenes
Even the posh Ritz Carlton does it: “We are no different from anybody else” is the message and it helps create trust and connection. Visitors have the feeling that they “know” the Ritz a little better. The result? They come across as less aloof and distant and people connect easier.
Mingle with interesting people and talk about it
Hotels G has come up with a brilliant concept: “Events around the globe” targets the interests of their audience: design, fashion, music, and culture. They are meeting with influencers around the world to inspire and educate their target audience.
You have to work on partnerships and friendships – relationships with potential guests are no different!
If you regularly upload good content, your target audience will find you, because search engines are only looking for one thing: to offer their users high-quality content.
Every post you upload helps you reach more people. With the right content, you can turn your target audience into a fan base, and suddenly selling is not that difficult after all …
