6 reasons why your hotel or resort needs a blog

Posted on Mar 1st 2012 in Content Marketing

When it comes to blogging, it’s surprising how reluctant some hoteliers can be to get on board. Maybe you think your hotel doesn’t really need a blog, or that maintaining a regular blog would just be too time-consuming.

The truth is if you’re not blogging, you are missing out on one of the most valuable Internet marketing opportunities out there. Here are 6 key ways blogging can benefit your hotel or resort that should not be overlooked:

1. Increase your visibility and gain respect

Your blog is your chance to publicly demonstrate your knowledge, experience and forward thinking attitude as a resort. You don’t have to write a mini thesis for each post; in fact very often less is more. A short and perceptive reaction to a recent travel industry news article, for example, is a great way to illustrate your professional insight.

2. Engage with your customers

Nearly all good blogging engines allow readers to comment on each post. This provides a valuable opportunity to actively engage your customers and partners in an ongoing, industry relevant dialogue.

3. Boost your SEO campaign

Blog articles are a chance to target ‘long tail’ search terms - niche keywords and phrases that are likely to attract searchers who are highly interested in your hotel’s specific services.

4. Build links

Although websites and fellow bloggers are generally reluctant to link to a corporate website, they are likely to share links to informative and insightful blog articles that are not overly sales focused. As more and more people share links to your blogs, you can expect higher search engine rankings and increased site traffic, which can only lead to more customers!

5. Your blog is the human voice of your hotel

Blogs are the perfect opportunity to showcase your hotel’s insightful, thoughtful and even humorous side. As you blog, your customers will gain an understanding of your business’s people, ethos and character. Fundamentally, blogging is a chance to project an image of your business that is less corporate, more personal and more attractive to prospective customers.

6. Google values fresh content

Google systematically scans or ‘crawls’ websites searching for fresh and updated content. Generally speaking, the more often your website gets crawled the more authority it has with the Internet giant. Regular blogging is one of the best ways to ensure there is a constant stream of new content on your site.

In a competitive market, blogging gets you noticed.

Does your hotel have a blog yet? If not, why not?