This turbulent year came with its ups and downs (we hope you experienced less of the latter) but now that the end of 2020 is in sight, it’s time to start thinking about 2021 for your hotel, motel or resort, how you can start off on the right foot and make the coming new year your most successful yet when it comes to bookings and marketing engagement.
From the nitty-gritty to new trends and key aspects you should put more focus on, here’s a 2021 hotel guide for rocket-launching your hotel into the new year.
Get off to a flying head start in 2021!
Update Your Rates, Allotments and T&C
It’s a new year and a crucial period for businesses to come out of holiday mode and get the ball rolling. For hoteliers, that means taking some time to revise and update rates as well as finalise allotments in line with competitors and seasonal demand. These may have changed over the Christmas period, so making sure these are set in advance is important.
It’s also worth taking a look at your terms and conditions - is there anything that needs to be changed? Think deposit conditions, cancellation terms and charges, check-in and check-out times and rules regarding the use of facilities, noise, damages, pet policies etc.
New Year, New Website
It’s that time for the new year, new me, so why not the new year, new website? A brand new look to your website is an impressive way to show your guests that you mean business for 2021 while informing them of your updated terms, latest hotel features and the new guest experience you’re ready to offer.
This doesn’t have to mean a whole new website design - you can spruce up your website with new hotel photos from a recent reshoot, updated SEO content, new featured guest reviews and trending website applications such as video content and virtual room tours.
Launch (or Clean Up) Your Email Database
If you haven’t got an email marketing database in place, make it your first goal for 2021. Having a solid email database gives you the invaluable advantage of securely managing your guests’ data (email address, age and location etc.), which you can utilise to evaluate your market audience and sharpen your marketing campaigns.
Start by growing your mailing list with guest bookings and formatting the data using hotel property management software. If you already have a database, check for obsolete data that’s cluttering your system, as it's possible that some of your past guests have either unsubscribed or changed their details.
Put More Focus on Social Media and Brand Identity
How’s your social media influence? If your pages are not as “alive” as you want them to be, the new year presents the perfect opportunity to set a posting schedule, increase customer interaction and further advertise your social media via emails, guest handouts and notices displayed onsite at your property - which, in turn, will boost the appeal and increase audience reach.
Together with social media influence, think about your hotel’s brand identity, which you can carefully build and improve through social media on new foundations such as a fresh brand logo, new content style, new marketing campaign approach and how your business presents itself to the public through its online engagement with customers.
Reassess Your Market and Guest Experience
You want to make sure you’re reaching as much of your audience as possible to maximise gains in 2021, so the end of the year is an ideal time to examine your guest flow and think about the audience that you’re not currently reaching and possibly wish to target.
Consider what both your past and current guests love about your hotel and the ways you can improve this experience while appealing to new customers from a different demographic (if that’s your goal). Focus on the guest experience you want to deliver and how you can provide this experience, before devising a marketing campaign to advertise this on your website and social media.
What Do Your Guests Have to Look Forward to?
What do you have planned for your guests in 2021?
Whether you’ve cooked up a new special offer for the new year, undergone recent renovations - or have renovations planned - or your location has something exciting on the cards (perhaps a new restaurant opening or several big events to look forward to), make sure to let your guests know!
Tell guests what they can look forward to, stir up excitement and encourage guest bookings by making full use of your social media pages, emailing list and SEO blog - something that’s sure to reel in those bookings come 2021.
Excited to increase bookings and marketing success in 2021? Have the most effective digital marketing strategies in place for your hotel, motel or resort with us at eTourism.
Are you pumped and ready for 2021? Let us know in the comments below!
RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:
- Fast and Effective Ways for Hotels to Communicate with Their Guests
- Hotel Website Design - 7 Things a Hotel Website Must Deliver in 2020
- Is Your Hotel Ready for Christmas and NYE? Here’s a Checklist for 2020
