The blog can be a very powerful tool for your website if you know how to use it effectively. It can also be a major buzz kill if you don’t maintain it, and keep the posts interesting and informative. One of the biggest issues with blogs is that people start a blog with the best intentions; to make their posts regular and consistent. The blog begins well and makes a decent impact, however more often than not the enthusiasm which the writer once had for the blog diminishes and inevitably the blog meets its timely demise.
A stagnant blog is a dead blog and a dead blog speaks of neglect, laziness and ultimately reflects poorly on your hotel. I don’t say this to put you off; I say this to ignite some caution in the choices you make. Do not start a blog lightly, if you make the choice, commit to it. Then and only then, will your hotel thank you for making this lengthy commitment.
Bearing all this in mind, there a few key reasons why you should commit to starting a blog for your hotel.
Hotels are an ideal platform for a blog
In a recent article by Daniel Edward Craig, one of the first hotel managers who actively keeps a blog, he discusses the possibilities of hotel blogging. “We welcome a stream of new guests each day, and they bring with them unique stories, inspiration and, occasionally, drama.” “In many ways, hotels are an ideal platform for a blog.”
The blog, despite being the perfect breeding grounds for stories and hotel marketing, has to be approached with caution. Craig indicates that “while reporting on guest antics might be great for attracting blog traffic, it can also frighten travellers away. So I’ve had to walk a fine line, providing enough intrigue to appeal to readers while respecting the privacy of guests.”
Whenever you are blogging you need to ensure that the integrity of the guests (past, present and future) and the hotel are always at the forefront of your mind. If you ensure this is always done, the blog could be the perfect tool to boost both your online presence and social media popularity.
Blogs are great for SEO
Ensuring your website has a good SEO strategy in place is extremely important. Content is the key to these strategies which brings me to the power of the blog in SEO. A blog is a resource that your hotel can update and post out regularly, ensuring that your website always has relevant and engaging content. Blogs rate highly in search engines and thus by keeping a blog you are increasing your hotels chances of maintaining a good ranking in prominent search engines.
Give your Hotel personality
Keeping a blog allows you to give your hotel an added personality. Whether this is one person that your online audience can connect with, or a team of bloggers who aim to engage your readers on a regular basis, through your blog you are giving your hotel a voice of its own.
This idea of giving your hotel personality will also set your hotel apart from the rest. Although there is an increase in the amount of hotel blogs in this social media era, not every hotel has taken to this trend. By jumping on board with this technology, committing to a regular blog for your hotel, you are giving it the opportunity to be something unlike your competitors.
A hotel blog has the potential to draw people to your hotel’s website that might not have considered visiting. It also allows guests to see there is more to your hotel than just the location and the facilities. There are many benefits to committing to a blog, so if you are considering starting one for your hotel, now is a good time to get serious about it. Just think about the possibilities.
