You might assume that all modern businesses in every sector are now online, such is the reach of the internet and its ubiquity in our day-to-day lives. However, you will probably be surprised to learn that many companies, particularly smaller ones, only have a token website that is more like a static ad than a fully-functioning commerce offering. Some don’t even have a website at all and instead rely on brochures and the telephone to promote their services. This can be the case quite often in the hospitality industry, with owners of independent properties not usually experts in marketing and unsure of how they could proceed in order to get their business digitised and online.
However, it can be a significant disadvantage in the modern world and hotels that don’t move with the times are likely to find themselves being left behind by the competition and, unfortunately, rapidly losing money. Hotels across the globe are well aware how digitisation can increase their revenue, boost their guests’ experience and easily advertise their property to millions of people – and if you’re not making the most of this enormous channel, then perhaps it’s time to take the plunge this year.
There are numerous online marketing companies out there that can assist you with the technical side of launching an online presence, so we won’t go into that here. However, here is a list of the top benefits of being fully digitised to help you see why it’s a must for hotels.
1. Better promotion to a wider audience We said above that you don’t want your website to be nothing but a static ad, and that’s certainly true. However, that’s not to say you can’t use it as a shop window that encourages potential guests to click through and make bookings. Indeed, a carefully designed website that showcases your luxury rooms and helps them to imagine the wonderful holiday they could have with you could work wonders in terms of boosting your bookings. Make everything aspirational, using professional photos if your budget allows and adding images of your location and surroundings as well as your hotel’s own offerings to maximise success rates.It’s no longer enough just to put your property in a travel agent’s brochure or local newspaper and hope for the best – instead, make your website your promotional material and get it out there to millions of would-be guests.
2. Social media access Social media is an enormous phenomenon and being online means your hotel can have a presence on platforms where millions of travellers congregate. You can carefully target particular groups of people if you do some research on the particular demographics that use each channel, such as younger travellers on Instagram and business people on LinkedIn, then send out promotional content that’s likely to specifically appeal to them.This tailored approach means you’re more likely to succeed and less likely to waste money on scattergun marketing techniques that are spread too thinly to really appeal to anyone. Hotels that are already successful on social media have been able to create a strong brand, improve their reach, boost sales, increase engagement with potential customers and interact directly with guests. They can constantly update their feeds to showcase what’s going on and promote offers without having to invest too much time and any money.As long as you always upload relevant, high-quality content and analyse the data to assess which posts are proving the most successful based on shares, likes, etc, then you’ve got an unbeatable marketing tool at your disposal.
3. Advanced booking engines If you have a website and put a quality direct booking engine in place, then you’ll instantly improve the experience for your guests and also make life easier for your staff, as the system is fully automatic and doesn’t need manually updating to reflect inventories.People can make reservations at any time, whether it’s the middle of the night or not, as well as having their booking confirmed instantly without any email exchanges and additional processing. This means more direct revenue for you and reduces your reliance on channels such as online travel agents that would previously have had to gather your customers for you.
4. The chance to build up a bank of content If you have a website, it’s important to keep updating it all the time in order to reassure potential guests but also increase the likelihood of it being found via internet searches. Fortunately, this can be done easily with a content strategy, which not only boosts your search engine optimisation but also helps to increase your profile as a thought leader in your field. As a hotel owner, you can create a blog and then produce high-quality, engaging articles that are likely to be enjoyed by travellers and perhaps shared via social media in order to boost the reach of your brand.
However, don’t just blog for the sake of it; consider what information you can provide that’s really fresh, unique and answers the questions people might have when they’re looking to travel (perhaps take a look at sites like Quora for help on topic ideas). Keep in mind that longer pieces with relevant pictures are likely to be favoured over shorter snippets and remember to keep on top of your content scheduling so that you stay at the forefront of people’s minds.This has just been a short round-up of the reasons why hotel owners can’t afford not to have an online presence and there are lots more out there. You can also take a look at more in-depth pieces on each of the numbered topics in our archives if you’re looking to improve just a few aspects of your online offering.
If your website is letting you down or you haven’t got one at all, let 2017 be the year when you make a change and bring your business into the 21st century.
