5 Hotel Marketing Mistakes You Might Be Making

Proper marketing campaigns can be the key to unlocking growth potential for your hotel business. Conversely, if implemented incorrectly, they can hurt sales and revenue. Before you strategize your next marketing move for your hotel, you should be aware of common marketing mistakes that must be avoided to enhance your sales and increase your hotel’s revenue. In light of this, we’ve assembled a list of the five most prevalent hotel marketing missteps you should avoid if you aim to realize your highest profits and sales.

Competing Only At the Point of Transaction

The majority of hotels are guilty of a common mistake. If your hotel’s website, social media campaigns, and advertisements only target audiences who have already decided to travel, you’re vying for their attention at the most costly stage of their journey.

This is the same moment when other hotels, major brands and Online Travel Agents are splurging on large budgets to attract these travelers. Rather, hotel managers should reorient their website and marketing approaches to inspire potential travelers, thereby establishing a genuine marketing funnel.

Content marketing presents a significant opportunity to seize the attention of and inspire those travelers who are not yet ready to make direct hotel reservations, a demographic often overlooked by many in the hotel industry.

Spamming Your Email Subscribers

If you consistently send every new offer or marketing material to your entire mailing list, it can be perceived as spamming, which is not beneficial. Ensure the content you distribute is relevant to each client. For example, clients who engage regularly should receive frequent updates on offers, but within appropriate limits.

Clients who engage seasonally should only receive offers that coincide with their periods of activity. Personalizing your content in this way decreases the likelihood of clients dismissing your marketing efforts as spam.

Focusing on the Wrong Audience

Regardless of how impressive your promotional messages or ad campaigns might be, they waste marketing resources if they don’t reach the right audience. Broadly targeting everyone, relying on intuition, or having pre-established assumptions about who your potential customers are, instead of using actual purchase data, can result in soaring marketing expenses and a steep drop in bookings. Keep an eye on data from your channel manager, PMS, and booking engine, as well as your website and other digital analytics.

Ignoring and Removing the Guest’s Reviews

A wealth of positive reviews is now the benchmark for hotels aspiring to boost their bookings, as it serves as the most transparent measure of a hotel’s standing. Some hotels might overlook and eliminate negative feedback due to the substantial influence of good reviews.

However, negative reviews can provide valuable perspectives, aiding hotels in understanding guest preferences and facilitating better planning and enhancements. Responding sincerely to feedback demonstrates that businesses value their customers and their opinions. This can help foster community relations and motivate others to share their reviews.

Disregarding Former Guests

Many hotels overlook that their most fruitful reservations often come from repeat guests. If your focus is primarily on attracting new guests over nurturing existing ones, then your approach may need adjustment.

It’s beneficial to maintain communication with former guests by subscribing them to newsletters and updates (without overwhelming them with unwanted messages), enticing them to return. Acquiring repeat guests is typically easier than securing new ones, and they tend to be more loyal and satisfied.

Endnote

As we navigate through an unpredictable future in the industry, hotel owners should remember the immense potential of digital marketing, a resource too valuable to be left unused. Traditional marketing tactics may not resonate with the younger demographic, hence the need to shift gears towards more contemporary strategies immediately.