The hospitality industry is highly competitive, with every hotel striving to differentiate itself from others. To attract guests and increase revenue, effective marketing and promotions are crucial. In an era of fleeting attention spans and screens stuffed with adverts, what better way to stand out from all the noise than through an exciting game of chance? Adding an element of fun and competition to your hotel marketing strategy makes securing your audience’s precious gaze easier and can help your business distinguish itself from the competition. In this article, we’ll discuss how hotels can strategically market themselves to gain a competitive edge and provide some tips for successful hotel promotions.
Understanding Hotel Marketing
Effective hotel marketing is crucial to differentiate your business from competitors and create a strong brand image that resonates with your target audience. However, with so many marketing channels available today, it can be challenging to determine the best strategy for your hotel. To create a successful hotel marketing plan, it’s important to identify your target audience and understand their needs and preferences. Once you’ve clearly understood your target audience, you can tailor your marketing messages and choose the right channels to reach them.
For instance, if you’re targeting Gen Z or Millennial guests, you might want to focus on social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram, whereas business travelers may respond better to email campaigns and LinkedIn posts. By understanding your audience and selecting the right marketing channels, you can maximize your marketing efforts and ultimately achieve more bookings for your hotel.
Effective Hotel Marketing Strategies You Can Implement Now
1. Understand Your Audience:
Knowing who you’re talking to is the key to any successful marketing strategy. Take the time to figure out your potential guests’ demographics, preferences, and behaviors. Shape your messages to resonate with what interests and fulfills their needs.
2. Get Social:
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X are fantastic for connecting with your audience. Establish a strong presence on these platforms. Share visually captivating content, top-notch images, and videos highlighting your hotel’s facilities, amenities, and local hotspots. Engage with your audience through comments, direct messages, and polls to foster a sense of community.
3. Craft Compelling Content:
Post engaging and informative content on your social media platforms. Develop high-quality written blog posts and videos that shed light on the unique aspects of your hotel, special events, behind-the-scenes moments, and local partnerships. The key is to ensure your content remains professional and inspires the right responses from your audience.
4. Optimize Your Website:
Your hotel’s website often serves as the initial contact point for potential guests. Make sure it’s user-friendly, visually appealing, and search engine optimized. Provide clear and concise information about your rooms, amenities, rates, and booking options. Incorporate high-quality images and easy navigation to boost the user experience.
5. Implement a Loyalty Program:
Encourage repeat business by introducing a loyalty program. Offer perks such as discounts, exclusive event access, or complimentary services for returning guests. Highlight the advantages of joining your loyalty program in your marketing materials to attract both new and existing customers.
6. Collect and Display Customer Reviews:
Positive reviews wield significant influence over potential guests. Urge satisfied guests to share their experiences on platforms like TripAdvisor, Google, or Yelp. Flaunt these testimonials on your website and social platforms. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, shows your dedication to customer satisfaction.
7. Collaborate with Local Businesses:
Forge partnerships with local businesses and attractions to create enticing packages for your guests. This will add value to their stay while elevating their overall experience. Highlight these collaborations in your hotel digital marketing campaigns to underscore the unique offers available to your guests.
8. Leverage Email Marketing Solutions for Hotels:
Craft personalized and engaging email campaigns to stay in touch with your audience. Share updates about special promotions, upcoming events, and exclusive offers. Segment your email list based on customer preferences and behaviors to customize your messages effectively.
9. Highlight Health and Safety Measures:
Health and safety have become a top priority for many travelers in recent years. Communicate the measures your hotel has taken to ensure your guests a comfortable stay and peace of mind. This could include enhanced cleaning protocols, contactless check-in/check-out, and other safety initiatives.
10. Stay Adaptive and Innovative:
The hospitality industry is continuously evolving. Stay on top of industry trends, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences. Embrace innovation in your hotel marketing strategy through virtual tours, augmented reality experiences, or other cutting-edge approaches. Always be ready to adapt and evolve!
How to Level up Your Hotel Marketing Game With Gamification
Gamification is becoming an increasingly popular marketing strategy for hotels looking to engage with their guests in a fun and interactive way. Gamification integrates game elements into non-game contexts, providing a fun and interactive approach to achieving marketing goals.
Why Gamification? Proven Successful Gamified Strategies for Hotel Marketing:
Incorporating game elements into your hotel promotion can promote your brand, increase customer loyalty, and drive revenue. But don’t just take our word for it – here are three examples of what’s possible through effective gamified hotel promotions:
1. Thistle Hotels, The Clermont Hotel Group
Thistle Hotels chose the London Eye as the perfect location for their Spin to Win campaign during the festive season. The Clermont (formerly GLH Hotels), owners of the Thistle brand, were looking to boost their opt-in marketing data and increase direct bookings to the Thistle hotel’s website, just like any other hotelier. Through this spin-to-win campaign, visitors to the Thistle.com website could stand a chance to win a weekend stay for 4 people or other exciting prizes. The Claremont’s in-house design team collaborated with the BeeLiked Studio team on the creative wheel design and ensured the campaign would look great on any device viewed.
This campaign turned out to be a massive success, with a 65% conversion rate (visitors to entry), a 55% opt-in to additional marketing, and a 48% viral referral rate (where entrants share links to tell friends).
2. Voco Hotels, IHG
Voco Hotels collaborated with BeeLiked to create a gamified marketing campaign aimed at achieving the perfect 10 review score. The campaign involved a spin-the-wheel promotion that motivated the hotel employees to work together more cohesively and provided them with monthly rewards as a form of appreciation. By using BeeLiked’s spin-the-wheel promotion, every staff member was involved in the drive to achieve outstanding reviews and make the Voco experience exceptional. The campaign served as a powerful incentive for teamwork and excellence. The winners of the campaign received personalized invitations to participate in the spin-the-wheel game and won exciting prizes. As the likelihood of winning increased, the more excited the employees became. Fueled by their competitive spirit, they became motivated to perform at their best and earn the title of the hotel with the highest customer satisfaction scores.
Voco Hotels used gamification to boost employee morale, resulting in increased productivity and better customer service. The employees were rewarded for their hard work and achieved recognition points for their milestones, which made them feel valued and motivated to work even harder and deliver exceptional customer service. Voco Hotel’s approach not only improved the overall work environment but also positively impacted the hotel’s reputation and profitability.
3. Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew, a group of luxury department stores in Canada, wanted to celebrate the Chinese New Year by offering their newsletter subscribers a chance to win discounts ranging from 10% to 25%. The idea was to reward every subscriber with a special digital red envelope, which could be opened to reveal a discount code that could be redeemed online or in-store. The in-store redemption had to work seamlessly with the existing checkout system.
To make the promotion more fun, Holt Renfrew used gamification. When subscribers opened the digital envelope, they were presented with a message that could be either a discount code or another message. The probability of winning a discount could be easily set in the platform as it was a game of chance. An automated email was sent out to the customer with the discount code.
The promotion was launched in French and English, receiving entries from over 30k customers in just eight days. It was a great way for Holt Renfrew to engage with their customers and provide them with an exciting opportunity to save money on their purchases.
Five Games to Implement Into Your Hotel Marketing Strategy:
1. Scratch and Match:
Scratch-and-match games are all about the thrill of revealing prizes or discounts by scratching off a virtual card. Hotels can get in on the fun by using these games to promote exciting new services like spa treatments or restaurant menus. It’s like a game within a game – a fantastic way to get guests interested in trying out something fresh! Plus, with BeeLiked, you have full control to customize the scratch cards with your logo, brand colors, and images, giving guests a personalized experience they won’t forget.
2. Spin-the-Wheel:
Spin-the-wheel games capture a wide audience, much like the allure of a casino. In this game, your customers spin a wheel to snag thrilling prizes or score discounts on hotel bookings. Participation is simple – guests can either share their email addresses or join the hotel’s loyalty program. This adds a fun element to their stay and allows hotel marketers to gather crucial customer data.
3. Mystery Envelope:
Mystery envelope games involve guests picking an envelope at random to reveal a surprise offer or discount. This game is an excellent way to create a sense of intrigue among guests. Hotel marketers can use mystery envelope games to promote special events, such as holiday packages or weddings. This promotion can be a great way to increase bookings during peak seasons.
4. Slot Machine:
A slot machine game is a fun and exciting way to engage guests at a hotel. Just like the casino game, guests must spin a virtual slot machine to win a prize or discount. Use this game to encourage guests to sign up for loyalty programs or book their stay directly through the hotel’s website – it’s an excellent way to increase direct bookings and reduce commission fees. With the BeeLiked platform, you can effortlessly monitor the progress and performance of your campaign. Stay in the loop with crucial insights, such as the number of entries, played sessions, and other valuable data. It’s a fun and effective way to amp up your hotel marketing strategy!
5. Pop the Balloon:
The pop-the-balloon game will inject a burst of fun into your hotel digital marketing strategy. Prompt your guests to pop a virtual balloon to reveal a prize or discount. This game is excellent for promoting flash sales, last-minute deals, or exclusive packages!
Level Up Your Hotel Marketing Game with BeeLiked!
Ready to level up your hotel marketing strategy? BeeLiked offers gamified promotions that enable developers to customize their hotel promotions by encoding user data in the InviteLink. Developers can ensure that there is a seamless entry process without compromising users’ personally identifiable data. Plus, you can automate workflows with your internal systems and third-party tools. Everything’s made easy and effortless with BeeLiked – get started today!
