Stay updated on the latest Guest Experience and Hospitality Tech updates.
Today we’re going to be doing something a little different.
We’re going to put ourselves in the shoes of a hotel owner in Paris and create a marketing plan from scratch. This post is packed with tips like:
So get ready to immerse yourself in the charm and elegance of the City of Lights.
Welcome to S’amuser Ă Paris – our imaginary hotel in the center of Paris that we’ll be using as a model for this post. Before we get into the practical marketing tips, we need to introduce everything you need to know about this hotel.
Without further ado:
Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s discuss how we’d go about marketing this hotel, increasing the number of guests, and driving up revenue.
Here’s what we would focus on if we were decision-makers at our imaginary Parisian hotel. For ease, we’ve broken this down into four parts.
In the words of Jeff Bezos; “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person.”
Effective hotel branding represents your hotel’s values and how you present them to your guests. What comes to mind when they see your logo or step into your lobby? It’s worth taking some time to seriously consider your values as they relate to branding.
Good branding consists of many things, including:
Taking it back to S’amuser Ă Paris — with a focus on family travels, they decided to use bright colors in their rooms and playful design elements to appeal to families. They made sure to implement a diverse menu that would appeal to both children and adults, along with keeping their concierges up to date with the latest family activities in central Paris should anyone come asking for recommendations.
They also adopted the tagline “Your Family’s Home Away from Home”. C’est bonne!
Learn More: 5 Tips For Powerful Hotel Branding
Online travel agencies (OTAs) like booking.com are popular with guests and bring in a lot of business. But they also come with a sting in their tail — steep commissions of up to 30%.
That’s why we recommend that hotels like S’amuser Ă Paris encourage customers to book directly with them. There are a few ways to go about this:
Learn More: Use these 5 Tips and the Ultimate Checklist to Increase Direct Bookings
Marketers love email. And with a 44X ROI, it’s not hard to see why.
For the S’amuser Ă Paris, we’d recommend that they implement an email marketing campaign that targets families who have previously stayed with them.
CEO at Duve
A well-crafted email can tempt guests with promotions, updates, and offers. But it’s important to use your customer data to craft personalized emails for your guests. If you’re shooting the same generic email to every guest who has ever stayed at your hotel, you’re not going to get a great conversion rate — and you might even damage your hotel’s reputation and come across as spammy.
Email Marketing: Build and Maintain Strong Guest Relationships by Using the Most Advanced Email Marketing Capabilities
Loyal customers spend more.
67% more, to be specific. But how’s a hotel like S’amuser Ă Paris supposed to capture that loyalty through programs and offers?
Great question. We recommend implementing personalized loyalty programs. Generic loyalty programs are a lot less effective than ones that rely on personalization. You’ll want to make sure you’re offering rewards, discounts, and offers that speak to your ideal target demographic.
In the case of S’amuser Ă Paris, their guests are more likely to respond to thoughtful discounts to the local waterpark rather than a discount at the golf course. The key takeaway? Know thy demographics.
Bonus Tip: Loyalty programs also allow you to gather valuable guest information as they sign up. So don’t forget to encourage their sign-ups (perhaps offering early check-in or late check-out) to sweeten the deal. This guest information is worth its weight in gold to your marketing team, so don’t neglect this.
We get it – times are tough. Between inflation, staff shortages and the lingering effects of COVID, your hotel might not have enough money in the coffers for a full-fledged marketing effort. But you can get a lot done with very little.
Assuming our Parisian Hotel was tightening the purse strings, here’s what we’d focus on:
Do you want to market your hotel in a smart way? Do you want to reach more potential guests who are eager to explore your destination and its attractions? Do you want to offer your guests a memorable and convenient travel experience?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to develop partnerships with local attractions and tour operators.
For S’amuser Ă Paris, located in the city of love and lights, you can partner with a company that offers packages from your hotel lobby to some of the most iconic places in the world. Imagine your guests being able to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, or the Notre Dame Cathedral with ease and comfort. These packages should include tickets, transportation, and maybe a guide, depending on what your guests prefer and can afford.
By offering these packages you can make your guests’ trips more enjoyable and hassle-free. You can also attract more families who are looking for a budget-friendly and fun way to see the sights. Your partner company will also benefit from getting more customers and exposure.
Partnerships like this are a win-win situation for both parties. They can help you increase your bookings, revenue, and guest satisfaction. They can also help you stand out from the competition and create a loyal customer base.
Learn More: The Ultimate Hotel Sales Guide
Another marketing channel that requires little to no spend?
Social media.
Create profiles for your hotel on the social media sites that your target demographic most visits. Think Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter — though if you have a lot of business guests, you might want to consider Linkedin.
It’s not a silver bullet, but by posting regularly and consistently you can stay on top of your guests’ minds, use hashtags to reach a wider audience, and generate buzz around your USPs.
Bonus Tip: Social media content is easily recycled. That Instagram short? Turn it into a TikTok. Or, go long-form and make it a Linkedin post. The only limit here is your imagination.
One of the best ways to boost your hotel’s reputation and attract new guests is to showcase the positive feedback from your previous customers. Reviews and testimonials can influence travelers’ decisions and help them trust your brand. That’s why you should always encourage your guests to share their experiences on platforms like TripAdvisor or Booking.com.
Simply send them a follow-up email after their stay, offering incentives such as discounts or loyalty points, or ask them politely at check-out. By responding to all reviews in a timely and professional manner, you can also show potential guests that you value their feedback and are committed to providing an exceptional guest experience.
Learn More: How To Address The Most Common Guest Complaints In The Hospitality Industry
Guest data is a goldmine for marketers looking to boost sales and improve the overall guest experience.
And it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get.
Guest data is the information you collect about your customers, such as their names, contact details, preferences, feedback, and spending habits. Guest data can help you make smarter business decisions based on facts and insights, rather than assumptions and guesses.
One of the best ways guest data can help you grow your hotel business is by enabling targeted upsells and cross-sells. Upselling is when you persuade your guests to upgrade their booking or purchase additional services or products — like an upgraded room. Cross-selling is when you sell them complementary services or products from your partners or affiliates. Both upselling and cross-selling can increase your revenue per guest and enhance your guest satisfaction.
But not all upsells and cross-sells are equally effective.
By collecting and analyzing guest data, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ behavior and expectations. You can also use this information to segment your guests and target them with marketing and offers that will appeal to them and increase your conversions.
Duve’s co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer
If you want to grow your hotel business and attract more guests, you need to invest in effective marketing activities. But you don’t have to spend a fortune to do that. The marketing channels mentioned above can help you generate buzz and increase bookings quickly without breaking the bank.
And when you start seeing returns from these channels, you can re-invest money into your marketing efforts and see even higher returns.
Learn More: Advanced Guest Segmentation: The Secret To A More Profitable Hotel
Mid-range or market hotels are ideal for travelers who want a comfortable stay without paying for luxury amenities and personalized service. These hotels may have features such as room service, a 24-hour coffee shop, and airport or railway station transfers.
To keep up with the changing needs and preferences of consumers, the marketing director needs to have a flexible hotel marketing budget. This budget is usually around 4-5% of the total revenue of the property and allows the marketing director to use different marketing tools to communicate effectively with consumers.
If you want to make your customers happy and give them the best experience possible, you need to master hospitality marketing. If you want to attract more travelers to your destination and show them the amazing activities they can do there, you need to master tourism marketing. But if you want to stand out from the competition and offer your customers a complete travel experience that they will never forget, you need to combine both types of marketing.
There you have it — a full-example marketing plan for a mid-range hotel — the S’amuser Ă Paris, in downtown Paris.
When it comes to marketing your mid-range hotel, guest data is one of the strongest tools in your arsenal. Without it, effectively reaching guests is very difficult.
Not sure where to start? We’ve got your back. Hotels that partner with Duve experience:
We’ve been helping hotels of all sizes harness the power of hotel technology and stand out from the competition for over seven years. And we’re here to help you.
