Download the recovery guide so you have a road map to get your direct sales channel firing on all cylinders once again.
It is becoming clear that travel segments and travelers’ behavior are changing because of the coronavirus. Now more than ever, hotels should be preparing for changes. Changes in their typical guest profile, where their guests are coming from, what they are able to offer to guests, and changes being made at the property level to ensure the health and safety of both guests and staff.
OTA’s will play an important role in getting back on track, but that does not mean you should ignore your website and other digital channels. Guests will do more research than ever on the lodging choice and destination they are considering taking the family.
Here are some quick tips to consider in your current e-commerce strategies.
1. Keep Communicating With Your Guests
In an uncertain time such as this, it is crucial to keep in touch with your guests. From things such as updating your website content, email marketing outreach, and consistent social media updates, keep your guests up-to-date.
Take this time to establish a connection with your guests and build your brand’s relationship with them. The goal is to keep your hotel top of mind so when guests are presented with similar hotel options, they will choose your property.
Be sensitive to people’s situations and needs. Use tones that let people know you are there for them and understand their needs. There’s still a great deal of hesitancy around the safety of travel so you should plan to reassure your subscribers, followers and guest then clearly outline what your property is doing to ensure their safety, what amenities your hotel has to offer, and what the cancellation terms are should their plans change.
Learn more about strategic email marketing outreach in lieu of the pandemic in our recent blog post, Recovery Series: Email Marketing.
2. Stay Active on Social Media
Utilize your social media networks to inspire travelers as travel begins to resume. Share appealing pictures of your property and amenities. Reinforce the precautions and measures you are taking to keep guests safe. Similar to the email communication tactics mentioned above, prioritize your guests needs and concerns.
Engage past guests by encouraging them to share photos and memories of past trips at your property. Property’s can also run promotions and specials with inexpensive promoted ad campaigns.
Read more recommendations for creating an effective social media marketing here.
3. Don’t Let Your SEO Go On Furlough
Google is moving along without delay, including updates to their search algorithms. If you’ve checked your recent website visit data, it’s likely you’ve seen an enormous drop in visits overall, and a larger drop in booking engine visits and actual reservations.
Luckily, keyword rankings have not dropped in kind, even though we are still seeing preference given to OTAs for page 1 organic results. Taking a break from SEO should not be an option. Read more about what you can do to mitigate negative SEO impacts in our blog post; Boosting Natural Search Traffic. Or contact our experts at results@vizergy.com to get started optimizing your SEO.
4. Strategize Media Budgets & Targeting
There is pent-up demand for travel, in fact there is already a term for it “revenge travel”, those who intend to travel to make up for lost time. Planning for that pent-up travel demand, however, will require a data-first approach.
It is more or less a fact that the profile of your hotel guests will be different in the short term compared to your guest’s pre-corona. With gas prices at a low, and likely continued restrictions on air and international travel, what we will see this year is the re-birth of the road trip and similar drive market demand. Consider these trends when creating your target audiences to deliver relevant messaging and offers.
To help maximize ad spend dollars and to target the right guests, we have put together 10 suggestions to optimize your paid media marketing efforts in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Enlist An Expert
Only time will tell what recovery will look like for the hospitality industry. The actions taken today will drive bookings tomorrow.
The experts at Vizergy are keeping a close eye on emerging trends as travel resumes and developing digital strategies accordingly. We are here to support our hospitality clients and eliminate any guessing work in the digital space. There is plenty to do in order to prepare your property for travelers, leave your digital marketing to the experts. Contact us today.
For more helpful information about recovering from the effects of the pandemic, check out these blog posts from Vizergy’s Recovery Series:
Part 1 - Management During a Crisis
Part 2 - Media Budgets & Targeting
Part 3 - Boosting Natural Search Traffic
Part 4 - Business or Leisure Travel - Who's Coming Back First?
Part 5 - Digital Marketing Strategies for Restaurants
Part 6 - Adopting a Data-First Approach to Your Marketing
Part 7 - Creating an Effective Email Marketing Strategy
