‘Tis the season to ready your hotel for winter travellers! Is your hotel, BnB, or other property Christmas-ready yet?
Well, there’s more to hotel preparations than decorating your lobby and transforming your hotel grounds into a picturesque Christmas Village. One of the things you should prioritise in your holiday checklist is boosting your digital marketing strategy.
The end-of-year holiday is a peak travel season and is expected to bring a great number of guests. However, it’s not enough to let your guard down and allow the rooms to get booked day after day. There are still a bunch of right tactics to milk the most out of this season, attract more guests, and increase revenue.
Let’s begin by boosting your online presence, shall we? In this article, we’ll share 9 tried and tested hotel digital marketing tips that you should embrace this holiday season.
1. Greet your previous hotel guests with an email marketing campaign
The good ‘ol Christmas greeting cards never go out of style. Only this time, you can make your greetings digital-based.
As part of your email marketing campaign to your previous guests and followers, send out holiday-themed emails with eye-popping graphic designs. Promote a holiday-specific package and a special offer page on your website.
2. Customise your website, social media channels, and online platforms
Done decorating your lobby, halls, and guest rooms? Don’t forget to spruce up your online platforms too. That includes your hotel’s official website and social media accounts.
Play with Christmas hues including, red, white, green, and gold. Include attractive Santa and snowflake animations. Come up with a joyous holiday theme for this year and make your online visitors feel the Christmas spirit as soon as they land.
3. Level up your content and social media marketing game
Does your website have blogs? Do you update your Facebook and Instagram with photos and videos? This holiday season spread the holiday cheer by coming up with holiday-themed content.
For instance, this hotel digital marketing agency in Dublin always comes up with Christmas-themed articles for their hotel clients every end-of-year. These include posting blogs about holiday attractions and events in the area, winter travel guides, and Christmas shopping tips.
As for social media marketing, it’s the perfect time to be more active. Post more share-worthy content like stories, articles, and photos with catchy captions and hashtags. Host polls, contests, and quizzes too for more engagement. Incorporate your service, offers, and deals seamlessly into your content by placing a link to a special landing page or talking about how your hotel is the best base for visiting a particular attraction.
4. Get your guests excited with exclusive Christmas Packages
Let your beloved guests enjoy the festivities by offering exclusive seasonal packages. These include holiday-themed spa treatments, bottles of sparkling spirits, and festive menus. It all boils down to convincing your guests of the perks of staying in your hotel rather than celebrating traditionally at home.
Curate packages that appeal to your target market. For instance, your package may include activities for children and tickets to Christmas attractions if you’re targeting families. If the holiday staycation is for adults and couples, propose a champagne dinner with elaborate feasts at your finest restaurant.
5. Sprinkle your existing packages with a dash of Christmas
Running out of something new to offer? It’s okay to repurpose any existing packages you offer all year round, but think about giving it a holiday twist. Take it from a famous coffee shop that seasons their mocha drink with some peppermint, markets it as a “limited edition drink”, and charges extra for it.
For example, you may season your signature hot chocolate with peppermint, put classic Christmas treats in your “picnic in the gardens” package or refresh the package name with something festive.
6. Give vouchers or freebies, but make it creative and interactive
It’s not enough that you invite Santa Claus to your property — your previous and potential guests will appreciate it more if you play this role this Christmas. Think about giving away discounts and gifts.
Create a competition and give a lucky guest the gift of a unique experience at your hotel. One creative and visual strategy is the Christmas Raffle or Wheel of Fortune.
For the raffle, guests may fill out a form on your hotel website and receive an email with a numbered ticket with a chance to win exclusive prizes. As for the Wheel of Fortune, you may pick the prizes (like -10%, -50%, or a physical gift) and invite your guests to spin the wheel.
7. Or just give something for free
It could be just a meal, a bottle of wine, or a free massage to a local spa — this kind gesture, whether it’s big or small, is much appreciated. It shows you keep your guests on top of your priorities, and this may establish a long-term connection or loyalty.
8. Offer a “Gift of Experience”
“On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Two-night hotel stay
A cocktail in the lobby”
Don’t you just love that song? You too can market and package your hotel as a wonderful gift for the holiday season. Right now, everyone’s busy shopping for the best gifts for their friends and family. No one wants to receive another mug or towel, so a gift of a hotel stay will surely stand out from the rest of the pack.
9. Keep guests engaged with a Christmas countdown
An Advent Calendar counts down days before the Christmas by revealing a devotional message or a special item each day. For hotels, this is a great technique to get potential guests to engage with your brand. Provide something new daily, like the new attractions, events, and other aspects of your hotel.
Author Bio: Carmina Natividad is a web content writer during the day and a foodie, musician, coffee connoisseur, and plant mom when her day shift is over. She enjoys sharing her insights about blogging, web design, SEO, and other forms of digital marketing. To know more about digital marketing, check out the blogs of SPRINT DIGITAL Agency Dublin.
