Dawn Gribble
The service you offer your guests starts before they book their stay – it starts and finishes online. The way you handle your online presence for your Hotel will largely determine the way in which your Brand is viewed by others. The more you can engage with guests and potential guests, the more emotionally connected they will be with you – and the more likely they’ll be to remember you when it’s time to book their hotel stay.
How you appear on Social Media, in search engines, and the message your website sends is vitally important. Potential guests have access to all this information before you even know they’re there – so your Marketing Strategies need to account for these platforms. 70% of travellers search on TripAdvisor before booking their stay, and almost all tourists below the age of 34 look to Facebook for suggestions before finalising their bookings. (Site Minder)
Using Social Media and your website, you have a great opportunity to showcase your most exciting and unique features. Whether you want to have a regular blog, featured videos, or a gallery of images – you should use every element to push how amazing your venue is.
Show and tell your guests just how fantastic you are. Your online presence works to advertise and promote your business 24 hours a day. It tells people who you are, where you are and what you can offer them. It’s up to you to provide interesting content that makes your guests want to find out more, and book with you.
Being active online isn’t just a way to promote and sell your services – it’s a point of connection and allows you to create communities. Encourage more visitors to be interested in you and your location by featuring Google Maps, local landmarks, areas of interest or having an events calendar. You want your visitors to think that your hotel is the place to go, because they will be looked after, entertained and have plenty to do on their visit.
Word of mouth is no longer limited to personal connections. By getting online and sharing their experience with your brand, a guest can share with a huge number of people their opinion of your Hotel; and whether it’s a positive or negative experience.
Dawn is a Digital Marketing specialist with over 20 years of Food & Beverage and Hospitality experience.
A keen ‘foodie’, Dawn appeared on MasterChef UK, she teaches restaurant marketing at Int...
