#1 Highlight your personal story and unique assets
In order to receive more reservations, you need to stand out from your competitors online. Why should people choose your accommodation instead of the one a few blocks away? It’s important to give people a good idea of what it’s like to stay at your property.
Take a moment to define your unique assets and convey them consistently across all your channels: your website, social media, booking sites, ... Support this message with inviting, high-quality photos of your property, rooms, breakfast, amenities, … Further enrich your website with a "Who we are" section that reveals the story and the face(s) behind your accommodation.
#2 Collaborate with local businesses
For travellers, a trip involves more than just the accommodation. They need dining options, activities, day trips, sightseeing tours, ... Partner up with businesses near you that offer these services, e.g. restaurants or wellness centres. Exchange business cards and mention each other on your websites. You can even propose an interesting discount or package deal together.
#3 Improve the online findability of your website
If you want more potential guests to find your accommodation, Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is extremely important. Apply basic SEO techniques like acquiring links from trusted websites, adding meta data to web pages & images, improving the html structure and user experience, decreasing loading times and using important key words. If you don’t know where to start, we offer easy-to-maintain template websites with the SEO already set up.
Also make sure you have a complete Google Business profile for your accommodation. That way, users can easily find you on Google Search & Maps and click through to your website.
#4 Make your website more convincing
When potential clients land on your website, you only have a small window of time to convince them to book. After all, consumers – including travellers – are impatient and have many options to go over. Your website should have a clean and attractive lay-out. Ensure visitors can quickly find all information they need before booking: location, room descriptions, packages, services, amenities, guest reviews …
Travellers nowadays expect you to have a mobile-friendly booking module on your website, so they can easily check your availability and make the reservation. Encourage them even more with eye-catching “Book now” buttons and our Ratebox that highlights the benefits of booking directly (both included in our Booking Engine). Download our free eBook for more tips to optimise your hotel website.
#5 Target the new market of bleisure travellers
Have you always thought your accommodation doesn’t appeal to business travellers? Think again! With the rise of bleisure travel, more and more people want to combine business and leisure in one trip, making them opt for cosier accommodations instead of well-known hotel chains. Cater to this audience by offering a corporate rate plan and let them know their invoice can be split as needed (if you’re a Bookingplanner user).
#6 Inspire travellers on social media
Are you active on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok? These channels are perfect to showcase the unique experience your accommodation offers. Inspire potential guests by posting about your own assets, but also about things to do or see in the area: must-visit places, beautiful walking trails, fun museums, local markets, …
If you really want to grow your follower base and engage your audience, consider launching a fun giveaway. Here, you can also collaborate with local businesses to expand your reach. A hands-on guide to building a solid social media strategy can be found in our free eBook 'Social Media for hospitality professionals'.
#7 Encourage positive word-of-mouth
Positive word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most effective hotel marketing tools … and it’s free! Encourage guests to leave a review and to share their experience on social media. Let them know how they can properly tag you in their posts, perhaps by means of a small sign at the front desk or in the room. As an extra nudge, you can offer a small incentive in return.
#8 Build a close relationship with your guest
Improving your occupancy rate is not just about attracting new guests, but you also want existing clients to come back. It’s therefore important to build a personal relationship with your guests by staying in touch throughout their stay and afterwards.
Bookingplanner’s new automated email feature makes this process a lot faster and easier. Set up your emails once and schedule them, so your guests automatically receive the right message at the right time:
- Booking confirmation with a ‘thank you’ message and your contact details
- Before arrival: front desk opening hours, parking info, check-in instructions, travel tips …
- Upon check-in: floor plan, book extras, breakfast info …
- Mid-stay: upselling via a POS system (Lightspeed) or upsell tool (Oaky)
- Pre-departure: safe journey, check-out instructions, invoice …
- Upon check-out: review request, loyalty points, discount for next stay …
- Post-stay: regular newsletters about events, promotions, …
Need any help? Contact us!
Do you have a question about Bookingplanner All-in-one or about our template websites? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
