Your Go-To Guide To Email Marketing For Hotels

82% of all travel bookings are made online.

This is all you need to know to understand how important your online email marketing strategy can be for your hotel business.

While you might already be familiar with how important doing hotel email marketing is, it’s now more imperative than ever that you know how to do it right too.

Through this guide, I’ll help you put together a step-by-step guide to creating your next hotel industry newsletter.

The benefits of doing email marketing for hotels

To establish your own goals for your hotel newsletter, you must first consider each benefit of email marketing. This will help you create your first list of elements to include in the next email series you’ll send to your future guests.

Here are the top 4 main benefits of email marketing in hospitality:

Drive revenue, profit, and awareness 😍 for your hotel

An email marketing campaign immediately extends your hotel’s online presence. By starting an email list you’re already creating a straight path to possible guests who are genuinely interested in your hotel or destinations. An email is in many ways similar to a one-on-one advertising experience. You’ve got your potential guest (commonly referred to as a lead) and your offer.

A perfect chance for you to put your best foot forward, highlight unique experiences, and differentiate yourself. All this results in extra revenue and possibly higher profits if you’re able to showcase your top-tier facilities. Add in a couple of contests or just an article that’s worth sharing and you’re instantly boosting the awareness of your hotel.

Some hotels even keep their hospitality newsletters online so you can check any updates at all times if you’re interested.

Note: For an optimal brand awareness campaign, combine your email and social media marketing efforts. Spread the Instagram love!

Showcase unique experiences or accommodation opportunities you offer

There’s a very slim chance that your future guests will check out every nook and cranny of your website for fun events, exclusive offers, optional trips, and all the like. Even more so when guests are working with an agency. They might now even know about that gorgeous room you offer with a private pool and seaside view.

Sending regular emails as a small reminder will help you get all these in front of them.

Any ideas?

Room and tour opportunities for potential guests, recreation and spa facilities for the ones who’ve already booked. And once you catch their attention, they’re likely to inquire about the offer too.

Start building relations with your future guests

Think of the hotel emails you send as a direct communication channel with your guests. Place yourself in the shoes of your potential guests. Would you rather go to a resort you’re slightly familiar with because you’ve been updated with the latest changes and events or just go for an accommodation choice you haven’t heard that much from?

This though remains an art you need to master in order not to seem like you’re just advertising something. Instead, consider what guests’ needs are and cater to them through educational information that’s of value to them. Think of an email for your hotel as if you’re sending it to a friend. Show them what stay options they have, what tours they can get, at which restaurants they can eat, if you have a renowned chef or top spa services, etc.

Here’s an example of an email Rocco Forte Hotels send where they mention all the information their email updates are going to include:

Nurture leads to convert them into guests and repeat guests

Just like with your website or social media, the emails you send as a representative of your hotel convey the voice of that accommodation and its staff. How welcoming it is, how responsive the staff will be, and just if there’s anything else to do at the hotel besides sleeping and eating. This being said, if you talk to your leads as if they’re already long-term VIP guests, you’ll be able to use your hotel email marketing campaigns as a lead nurturing tactic or to loyalize existing “hotel clients”.

Not all of your email list will book a room at your hotel. Some people just like to dream of a destination. But if you can tailor the content you share to their own liking, they will in return recommend your hotel to someone else, keeping the guest stream rolling.

Best practices — from the hotels that are already nailing their email marketing strategy

There’s no secret to doing email marketing for hotels right. You just need to look at what other successful hoteliers are already doing, tailor the campaigns to your needs and your guests, maybe add in your unique newsletter hotel offers, and you’re set. So next are the best practices you’ll need to go through.

Yes, all of them are mandatory for a successful hotel industry newsletter.

Don’t neglect the importance of content

For hotels, in particular, you’re not just teaching something to your email list. You’re using the newsletter to give ideas. Consider what people might want: stories, articles, guides, videos, ideas, discounts, loyalty programs, or events, and provide valuable information on it.

Don’t be a stranger. Use the client’s language. Take it from your past reviews, social media comments, or even reviews left on competing hotels. Here’s an example of a Booking.com review left for a Maldives resort:

You’ve got memorable keywords such as “absolutely non-boring Maldives” or “add some ambiance to your meal” along with the ideas which you can focus on in your future hotel newsletters such as a welcoming hotel team or sea life activities.

Don’t leave out transactional emails as they can increase trustworthiness. Just compare receiving an email such as the one below to getting a simple text confirmation or none at all:

Source

Keeping it fun

You’re not a hospital. No need to put on an overly serious face. Hotels are all about unwinding and entertainment. So your email newsletter campaigns should be just as fun. At least if you don’t want potential guests to think your their stay will be boring.

You’ve got lots of options here: add in jokes, funny images, or just content that can showcase all your exciting activities.

This post was originally published on my blog.