The summer season finally opens and, with it, the crowds of tourists arrive who (lucky them) leave for the pleasant holiday resorts. For thousands of people who will delight in the sun, there will be just as many engaged in the arduous task of abundantly oiling the tourist mechanism: managers and employees of accommodation facilities, owners of bathing establishments and all those whose work is concentrated precisely in the three months "Highlight", during which the place in question is stormed.
Precisely for this reason, from a marketing point of view, we must prepare to make the most of the many opportunities that the summer offers.
So let's start from an assumption: it is unthinkable today that an accommodation facility of any type (Hotel, Pension, B&B, etc.) is not present on the Web. But be present it is not enough anymore: to pursue success, you have to be there in the right way. It is therefore very good to rely on convenient online search and booking portals, such as Booking.com or Trivago; however, it must be borne in mind that you will have to deal with an advanced user, engaged in a process of rational and yet emotional choice - since it concerns a subject dear to everyone: their holidays. More than good reason for wanting to consult, once the offer has been skimmed and the eligible destinations identified, the greatest number of information available on the Web: first of all, the most authoritative in his eyes, the Web site of the Hotels themselves.
Unfortunately, it is evident that many structures from a communicative point of view have fallen behind, thinking of relying on word of mouth and on the infamous reviews that customers - their goodness - leave online at the end of their stay. A double-edged sword that over the years has become a struggle between the managers themselves, who often end up fighting a war made up of reciprocal and false negative feedbacks. But this is not the place to discuss it: here we will rather talk about tools necessary for an accommodation facility to present itself on the Web at its best.
Therefore, if you are a manager or marketing manager of a hotel business, remember these tips:
- Present yourself online with a modern website, graphics and content. A carefully designed, dynamic, updated portal will be the best business card for your business, so don't be afraid to invest. Take care of the image: remember that your job is to sell an emotional experience! Make sure it contains clear, comprehensive information and written for anyone to read and understand. A good idea is also to insert news on the surrounding area, prominent events and everything that may be interesting for those who are considering choosing your area as a destination for their holidays.
- Always use professional images and photos to enhance your offer. Also consider using video, always made by professionals, who can ensure a significant return in terms of views of your site and, consequently, the number of potential tourists who choose to use you.
- Choose to enter a online booking system connected to your CMS, which is intuitive and easy to manage. Be careful to reserve promotions for your customers and those who book from your site, to entice surfers to visit your site and buy online stays and packages right at your hotel.
- Tourism 2.0: because on the Web you have to be there, participate, share, but not by chance. Choose your reference channels according to how and what you want to communicate and, if in doubt, contact experts. Seek dialogue with your customers, and take care of your online reputation: monitor what happens on the web, also respond to criticism if necessary, but always with common sense.
- Implement a service of Open Wi-Fi: Allowing your guests to have a fast and efficient Wi-Fi connection is a great way to build customer loyalty and, at the same time, to create a strategic database suitable for your business.
In fact, in order to connect to the network, customers must provide their email address and then receive the password that gives free access to the internet. The database will be formed automatically at each access and will be a valuable source of contacts to be used for any event related to the activity.
- In relation to the previous point, also provide you with a modern Newsletter service to take advantage of the mailing lists that you will certainly have available. Email marketing is the last frontier of direct marketing: it allows you to communicate quickly and effectively with different targets (thanks to the segmentation of the mailing list) and - thanks to an advanced statistics system- to monitor campaigns to know by whom, where and when your communications are opened. You will also be able to find out from time to time what the most popular content, fundamental information for the development of an effective strategy.
With these six points I have tried to provide you with some interesting ideas not only to pass these three months of fire unscathed, but to transform them into a great opportunity for success.
We are at your disposal to support you in all your activities on the Web, contact us for any clarification or additional information.
