Why Are Some Hotel Businesses So Darn Good At Marketing?
Have you ever wondered why some hotel businesses are so darn good at marketing and how you can emulate them? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. In this post, we take a look at some of the reasons hotel businesses become exceptionally professional and successful, even if their core offering isn't as good as you might expect.
They sell the emotional appeal of their accommodation
One reason many hotels are so successful is that they sell the emotional appeal of their accommodations. They tap into their audiences' emotions and make them feel compelled to stay at the property. The result is that many people move from logical comparisons based on price per square foot to factors like emotional desire, which have no upper limit. This transition is highly effective because it means that people aren't thinking with the rational parts of their brain. Instead, they're willing to spend money on what they think will be a transformative or once-in-a-lifetime experience.
To create these feelings, many hotels will focus on things like the quality of the hotel bedding or the live music performances that they arrange in their lobbies or dining rooms. They rarely focus on how their rooms are hyper-efficient workspaces or how they can help guests get to public transit hubs quickly, although these may still be important features for some users.
They micro-segment their audience
Another reason many hotels have highly successful marketing is that they micro-segment their audience. Instead of a single campaign targeted at everyone, they launch advertising initiatives that speak to specific groups they want to reach. For example:
Some hotels focus on business traveler clients. These people want to be close to financial districts and have high-speed internet, but they also want luxury hotel facilities they can enjoy.
A lot of hotels appeal to dinks (dual-income, no-kids couples). They offer spa packages and late-night room service, and marketing often appears on Instagram.
There's also the eco-conscious traveler. This is someone who wants to reduce the environmental impact of their travel. Marketing outreach to these people often occurs through organic social media mechanisms and specialized travel blogs.
They turn local flavor into social currency
Finally, you'll notice that many of the most successful hotels that are able to market effectively know that modern travelers want to feel more like insiders in local areas, not tourists. For this reason, they curate the local experience so that they can give their patrons an accurate representation of what it's like to actually live and exist in the area, not just go around and see the sights.
For example, many hotels arrange local pop-up markets or showcase neighborhood artists. They also print their own custom city guides introducing travelers to places nearby that might not be highlighted in internet searches. When hotels embed themselves in local cultures like this, it gives visitors more to talk about. They can create the impression on their social media accounts that they're having an authentic travel experience without the usual costs and uncertainties associated with that approach.
If your hotel brand needs some marketing support, try these tactics!
