Marketing is everything in the hospitality industry. If people don’t know about your hotel, the chances are you won’t get many bookings.
Unlike the large brand-name hotels who have an endless pot of cash to spend on their marketing and advertising, boutique hotels tend to be small privately-owned businesses, which can feel overwhelming when it comes to competing with large resorts and international brands. Here are five marketing tips for boutique hotels, helping to attract new visitors to your brand.
Use SEO
First things first, if someone is checking out hotels in your local area, it’s likely that they will use Google, Yahoo, or Bing to complete their search. Guests will want to research into rates, amenities, and attractions nearby, so if you’ve just started running your boutique hotel, there’s a chance your business listing won’t show up in immediate search results, therefore, using SEO (search engine optimisation) can help market your brand and have it appear higher in search results. Make sure to use specific keywords which will allow your website to climb up the Google search ranks.
Use Social Media
We all know how popular social media platforms like Facebook are. With millions of users from across the globe using such websites every day, using social media to market your boutique hotel can do wonders for your business. Whether it be setting up a business page on Facebook or creating an Instagram account to appeal to a younger demographic, the more people who see what your boutique hotel is all about, the better.
Offer Discounts
We all love a knocked down price, so to get more people through the door, why not offer special discounts? It can be a fine line between reducing the price too much and still making money for your business, so you will need to work out how much you can afford to knock off. There are plenty of websites such as Groupon that you can use to promote discounts for you. Word of mouth can make or break a business, so providing incentives and exclusive perks to new and regular customers can see your boutique hotel flourish.
Create Your Own Blog
As a way to engage with your customers, creating your own blog can be a great way for guests to get to know you on a personal level. While you should already have a website in place, keeping your viewers updated with the latest developments in your boutique hotel can show guests how dedicated you are to your business. There are all sorts of platforms you can use to set up your own blog, such as WordPress.
Digital Signage
Keeping up with the times and using digital signage in your boutique hotel is important. Whether it be information points, interactive kiosks, or menus, there are lots of ways on how you can vastly improve your guests’ experience, which is essential when it comes to marketing. You may be interested in using digital signage software by Cenareo who are specialists when it comes to providing digital signage for the hospitality sector, helping to increase customer engagement, sales, and brand loyalty. Cenareo can help your guests have a comfortable stay at your boutique hotel and show them how to navigate the different areas.
Whether you use SEO, social media platforms, digital signage, or create your own blog, there are lots of things you can do to market your boutique hotel. What’s more, many of the options listed are completely free to use, meaning you don’t have to have lots of cash in order to attract more guests to your brand. As with any business, make sure that you have a marketing strategy in place first which can give you more direction on what you need to do to get more guests through the door.
