Month: February 2021

Hotel marketing ideas for the way out of the pandemic

February 23, 2021

Hotel marketing ideas may not be on your mind right now… but with the new timeline to opening up announced, it’s going to be critical in the coming weeks to secure much-needed bookings. The impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been devastating for many, but everyone will probably agree that one of the hardest-hit sectors is the hospitality industry. Hotels, restaurants, spas, golf clubs, theatres, concert halls and many other leisure companies have been through crazy times in the past year!

The COVID-19 pandemic is still disrupting travel to destinations all over the world. However, it is crucial that you start planning your luxury hotel and spa recovery strategy now. The travel demand will start to increase eventually, and you don’t want to fall behind your competition when it does.

We are looking at hotel marketing ideas that will help you plan the recovery and reopening of your venue this June.

Here are some top marketing strategy ideas that you need to utilise when preparing your luxury hotel and spa for re-opening.

Revamping your website

Display the current status of your business so there are no surprises for visitors. This information needs to clear and concise and should include at least the following:

Is your business currently open or closed?
Has your cancellation policy changed?
What preventative measures do you take to keep staff and customers safe?
Do you keep certain facilities closed or limited?
Are you following government guidelines? Have you taken all possible measures? This will boost customer’s confidence and trust in your business.

Along with this information, tell your website’s visitors where they can find further updates and who they can contact if they have any questions.

You could simply add a temporary banner on the homepage. Or you can design a specific landing page that visitors see when they come from social media or adverts. There are lots of reasons why your hotel and restaurant marketing ideas needs to include a brilliant website.

Whichever approach you take, a page that clearly communicates your latest news can help a great deal in creating trust.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

FAQs are a simple hotel and restaurant marketing idea. Easy to implement, FAQs ensure anyone visiting your site will find the answers they are looking for. You probably have a set of regular questions that keep cropping up.

FAQs can also include other information about your hotel, spa, amenities. You can mention new products/services, offers/deals, and anything else relevant to your business that people should and need to know.

Many people use social media for planning their holidays. With channels like Instagram, you can use your beautiful venue to your advantage. Existing and potential customers will enjoy engaging photography that tells your story. They will also look to your social media for the latest updates on the COVID crisis.

You will want to post a statement about the current status of your venue and your plans for re-opening. Social media is perfect to announce your re-opening strategy. Write the core message in an eye-catching post, and link to the full statement on your site. There, guests can find out exactly how you are planning to re-open and what measures you have taken to keep them safe.

You can also talk about special offers and rates for the re-opening. This can be a time-limited offer or something for only a certain number of customers. People love promotions and discounts, so here is a chance to create some buzz and excitement!

Making loyal customers a priority

Customers who have stayed at your business before will likely book a reservation again during these uncertain times. Reward loyal customers with exclusive and personalised packages.

Don’t forget to let customers know about your loyalty programme. Use social media posts, blog posts, or whatever platform your target audience prefers to use. When thinking about hotel marketing ideas, building customer loyalty is a must. Word of mouth advertising is one of the best forms of advertising. People buy from people – and they are much more likely to act on the advice of colleagues, friends, and family.

Hotel marketing ideas involving local businesses

Many businesses that had events and conferences planned have had to cancel. You could start to offer deals to these businesses and potential clients to re-book these events and conferences at your hotel. Provide these customers with lowered rates, exclusive packages, and other perks to secure reservations.

Working with businesses in your local area really helps with marketing your hotel. Businesses and clients that have a great experience with you will likely use your hotel again and recommend it to other clients.

Managing cancellations

If someone wants to cancel their reservation, then they will. However, offering customers the ability to move their reservation to a different date will help you keep some reservations. Let people know that customers can move their reservations to a different date instead of cancelling.

Don’t forget to let them know who they need to contact to deal with their reservation cancellation or changes.

Maid in mask doing disinfecting the door handle in hotel

Promoting your safety measures

One of the most important task for businesses during this pandemic is your venue’s cleanliness and sanitation to ensure people’s safety.

There are many steps which need to be taken in order to implement this properly. Some of which include:

Education employees about preventative measures that will be utilised by the business
Cleaning the building and amenities thoroughly and frequently throughout the day
Reducing the number of workers in the hotel at one time
Redesigning processes to allow for social distancing to take place
Implementation of barriers in areas that could receive higher traffic
Using technology when face-to-face meetings can be avoided

Make sure that customers know you have taken these measures. This is something you should promote heavily. This is not just a hotel marketing idea, it really applies to any business interacting with the public. Talking about measures and precautions you are taking will help customers feel safer, build trust and customer loyalty.

You can even introduce branded safety items. Think masks and hand-gels to offer to customers when they visit your luxury hotel and spa. This will re-inforce that you care about health and safety of your visitors. It can also work as a marketing tool. People may end up continuing to use those products after their stay. Your business’s name and logo will receive more awareness. Branded gifts are always a good method for marketing hotels and increasing the interaction and engagement with your guests.

I hope this list of hotel marketing ideas will be useful for you to plan your roadmap back into ‘normality’. If you need any help with any of it, please get in touch!

What’s a media kit and how do I create one?

February 7, 2021

A media kit (or press kit) is a package of information relevant for the distribution of information for companies, charities or other organisations. They include facts about the people involved, the product, service or cause, as well as brand information, logos, images and visuals supporting any press releases.

Media kits are a great way for a company to show just how engaged they are with their audiences. Whether you’re a local business, a non-profit or a large corporation, having a media kit will help you stand out from the crowd. So how do you go about creating one? Here are 10 things you should include in yours.

Background

When it comes to building an audience, the media needs to know who you are and what you do. The ‘about us’ section should include all of the basics: who you are, what you do, where you are operating, when things are happening, why you do what you do and how you do it.

Journalists are busy people, so keep the introduction short, to the point and consistent with your brand message.

Bios of your team

Include anyone in your team who is suitable for interviews, expert commentary, and speaking engagements. Make sure you include those members who are being mentioned in any of the press releases. Of course you include their bio in the press release together with the company information. It is however good practice to have them in the media kit as well.

Your products and services factsheet

This can be short bullets outlining your products or services. Think of it as factual descriptions similar to how you would present them on your website or in your brochures. Avoid to make it sound like marketing though. Highlight what makes you stand out from others. It’s also useful to include known Q&As here.

Case Studies

Case studies are a great way to demonstrate the success of your products or services. So without making this into a marketing document, here is a chance to include testimonials and recommendations from suitable sources. Again, be careful to avoid promotional talk and keep it factual and informative with the journalists in mind.

Clients or associates

Obviously ask for permission first, but if they are ok, mention them as it adds credibility to your organisation.

Recent press releases

When selecting press releases for your electronic press kit, it’s best to choose something that has been released within the last six months. Ensure that the heading of your press release is easy to grasp and includes any specific announcements the media may be looking for.

You in the news

Already had some mentions in the media? Here is your chance to shout about it! If you’ve been on camera, show a clip – it will work well to show researchers and producers that you are not a newbie… The media tends to have a knock-on effect so showing where you’ve been featured can be really useful.

Avoid any copyright issues by including the name of the outlet with a link to the article or clip. You are not allowed to add their logo without their permission. You also can’t bypass this by re-writing it or making it into a pdf or similar. Best to be straight as you don’t want media coverage to cause any issues.

Your brand kit / multimedia elements

Include your logo and logo guidelines, any photographs, infographics, graphics or videos that will help illustrate what you do. You can link from a pdf to a shared folder like dropbox or google drive – or directly from your website. That makes it easy for journalists to download them rather than having huge attachments.

If you need help with creating your brand kit with your logo, fonts, colours and brand visuals, or a website that can accommodate this information, get in touch with us to see how we can help.

Awards / memberships / accolades

If you have any recent and relevant awards, mention them. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate section, but it will again help with reputation building.

Contact details

Don’t forget to have all your contact details in your media kit. This includes any social media channels where you are active, as well as traditional phone numbers, email addresses and names of the best person to approach with any questions or opportunities for coverage.

In essence, press kits should give journalists a flavour of your brand that contains all the relevant background info and gives them an appetite for more. It’s a collection of visual and editorial facts about your company and gives journalists a helping hand if they see an opportunity to feature you.