11 Powerful Hotel Promotion Ideas Hoteliers Should Focus on Right Now

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Competition in the hotel industry is fierce, and your old hotel marketing gimmicks aren’t just enough to make you stand out in a crowded field. Hotel market trends and guest expectations are changing all the time, and you need new and unique strategies to promote your property.

The right hotel marketing ideas should help you do these 3 things efficiently:

Stand apart from the competition
 Attract more guests 
Grow your business and increase your revenue

Top hotel sales promotion ideas you can implement right away:

Register on Google Hotel Ads
Your SEO and Google Business Listing must have already helped you appear in Google search. Now, it’s time for your guests to choose you over others and book their stay at your hotel. Google Hotel Ads can help you here. Through Google’s Authorized Integration Partners, it is now easier for hotels to acquire bookings without registering on OTAs. This service will help the guests to book a stay with you directly from search results.

Keep Your Google My Business Listing Correct and Updated
It’s not enough for you to get Google My Business Listing. It’s an effective hotel promotion idea if you add and update relevant business details, such as hotel’s operating hours, website URL, phone number, pictures, and any additional information that will help your guests choose you and go ahead with the booking directly instead of going through an OTA.

Conduct a Social Media Contest
Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are amazing to connect with your customers. They allow you to post pictures of your property or links to your blogs. You can use these platforms to spice up things and stir up a friendly competition by running a contest. One approach you can try is to set up a selfie station in your hotel. Create a branded hashtag and ask people to post their pictures clicked in the station on social media with the hashtag to enter a competition and win a prize. This kind of marketing can increase your brand awareness and attract more guests.

Take Prospective Guests on a Virtual Tour
Hotels everywhere are beginning to use Virtual reality, or VR to create virtual tours for guests before they even set foot on the property
- Hotels with a virtual tour are clicked on an average of 10 times more than those without one.
- 92% of Internet users say that the ability to view a 360° tour is essential when they are browsing online.
- Hotels that are using virtual tours are getting up to a 135% increase in online revenue.
A virtual tour enables your guests to have a 360° walkthrough of your entire hotel. It allows an immersive experience of onsite amenities, your rooms, and the overall ambience of the hotel.

Leverage the Power of Loyalty Programmes
Your loyal customers are a powerful source for repeat business. These are the people who have had exemplary service and therefore would like to stay at your hotel whenever they are in town with family or for business.Most common loyalty programmes allow customers to accrue points every time they come back. These points can be redeemed for various benefits. However, 20% of guests don’t join a loyalty programme because the benefits don’t interest them. And 61% of guests would want to choose their own rewards in a loyalty program. Although a loyalty programme is an excellent hotel promotion ideas, it’s important to make sure the points can be used for meaningful rewards. For example, a night free when they book two rooms.

Offer Direct Booking Discounts
You can increase your direct booking by placing exclusive promotions within your booking engine on your website instead of through an OTA. This will help you increase your profit by eliminating the OTA fees. The discount could be a free wine bottle, amenity gift card, restaurant voucher or a 10% discount on the overall bill.

Leverage National Holidays, Festivals and Events
If you are considering holidays and events as a slow period at your hotel, you’re missing out on opportunities. You can leverage national holidays and events to push direct bookings. For example, if your hotel has the perfect lobby, promote it for watching IPL matches. If your hotel bar crafts a special cocktail menu, promote it for New Year’s Eve.

Unite Multiple Properties Under One Promotion
Your hotel brand cannot be everywhere. In places where your brand is not present, you can partner with other brands present in that location to offer mutual customers exclusive perks. This will not only introduce your customers to other hotels but also introduce other hotels’ customers to you.

Supplier Promotions
Get in touch with your suppliers to create something special for your guests. Work with your suppliers to find out what kind of promotions you could pass on to your guests. For example, you could ask your supplier to hold a workshop at your hotel, perhaps a bread-making or flower arranging workshop or a wine or chocolate tasting session. Or, it could be something as simple as a take-home box of chocolates.

Employee Promotions
Include your employees as a part of your hotel marketing strategy. Guests love an insider view into what companies are really like. Ask your employees to use their social media accounts to talk about your hotel, upload pictures and videos of them working, or share interactions with the guests. This will give guests a way to form a bond with your brand.

Early Bird Offers and Free Upgrades
Early bird promotions encourage guests to book in advance. These incentives can ensure a better chance of them going ahead with the booking. Some of the early bird offer options can be a complimentary breakfast, a free room upgrade, or a complimentary bunch of flowers.

Launch these hotel promotion ideas in your hotel marketing efforts to boost bookings and increase profits. We know it may seem daunting, but we can help. Try our all-in-one hotel management & marketing system to maximize your hotel revenue.