Combat Low Occupancy with Top Internet Marketing Strategies
Is there any question that 2009 will be one of the most challenging years for hoteliers? The economy is slipping deeper into recession, unemployment is on the rise and predictions of a "weak and slow" recovery make it unlikely the spending on travel will return to pre-recession levels any time soon.
To combat these issues, hoteliers must utilize low cost, high return-on-investment strategies. Recent
research suggests that more than 50% of hotel customers book online, a trend that is increasing, according to PhoCusWright. The Internet continues to be the most inexpensive and effective channel for distribution. Here are some low or no cost strategies that your hotel should already have in place:
The basics
Regularly review your Web site. How long has it been since you performed a complete analysis of your hotel's Web site, as well as your competitors' sites? Is your site cluttered or lacking great photography? Does it have broken links, old contact information, boring content or no online booking engine? These are all vital to your online presence.
Implement aggressive search engine optimization (SEO). Consistency is key when implementing an SEO campaign. Review keyword strategies and re-evaluate demand generators. Ensure your Web site provides fresh content regularly and is registered with Google local and Google maps. Review your SEO results and positioning when performing relevant Web searches. Look for continued increases in natural search results — those based solely on the guests typing keywords into a search engine and clicking on your hotel's Web site. Keep in mind, your Web site is useless if it can't be found.
Analyze the data. Your hotel should receive monthly analytic reports about your Web site's SEO performance. But is anyone analyzing the data? More importantly, is anyone acting on the information? Proactive analysis will help you tweak your campaign and thereby, increase traffic to your site.
Review your booking engine. Your customer is looking for a fast, efficient and safe Internet booking experience. If your booking engine is not providing exactly that, look for alternatives.
Constantly monitor social networking sites. More than 60% of travelers use the Internet as their only means of research. Many of them are finding social networking sites that allow online, unedited reviews. Monitor sites like Tripadvisor continuously and respond to guest comments.
Work your Third Party Internet providers (TPI). Is your hotel on Expedia, Travelocity and others? What position does your hotel occupy on their site? The higher your ranking on the site, the better your chance of you obtaining bookings. Form a personal relationship with your TPI market manager, run promotions, increase inventory and decrease cut off times. You will see the result of these efforts in better rankings.
The next step:
Employ e-mail marketing solutions from low cost providers. Email marketing can be very targeted, will keep your hotel's name "top of mind" and can be quite inexpensive. Utilize companies that offer email marketing campaigns highlighting special promotions, holiday menus and announcements to your customers.
Target Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC) and utilize ROI measurement. Run targeted Pay-Per-Click campaigns using keywords that are aimed directly at your end user. Targeting your PPC keywords to specific geographic areas and levels of hotel service can save money and pinpoint your hotel's customers. If you attract international travelers, consider utilizing PPC overseas and in other languages. Every PPC penny needs to be targeted, analyzed and spent wisely.
Utilize online comment cards to better understand your customers. User generated content helps hotels to better understand their customers' likes and dislikes. This helps hotels improve operations and clearly target it's SEO, PPC and email marketing campaigns.
It is time to explore social marketing. Do you have time to talk to your customers? Can you afford not to? Blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and channels like You Tube now account for more than 10% of Internet traffic. They are increasingly used to find information and provide links. Joining the social e-marketing revolution using the power of Web 2.0 will require a time commitment and an ongoing strategy.
David Kalik, CHA, is founder and president of Kalik Hospitality, Inc,. a hotel management and consulting company in Charleston, SC that specializes in assisting small franchised and boutique hotels with Internet marketing, hotel development, management services and asset management/receiver duties. Contact him at [email protected] or 843-763-3432.
To combat these issues, hoteliers must utilize low cost, high return-on-investment strategies. Recent
research suggests that more than 50% of hotel customers book online, a trend that is increasing, according to PhoCusWright. The Internet continues to be the most inexpensive and effective channel for distribution. Here are some low or no cost strategies that your hotel should already have in place: The basics
Regularly review your Web site. How long has it been since you performed a complete analysis of your hotel's Web site, as well as your competitors' sites? Is your site cluttered or lacking great photography? Does it have broken links, old contact information, boring content or no online booking engine? These are all vital to your online presence.
Implement aggressive search engine optimization (SEO). Consistency is key when implementing an SEO campaign. Review keyword strategies and re-evaluate demand generators. Ensure your Web site provides fresh content regularly and is registered with Google local and Google maps. Review your SEO results and positioning when performing relevant Web searches. Look for continued increases in natural search results — those based solely on the guests typing keywords into a search engine and clicking on your hotel's Web site. Keep in mind, your Web site is useless if it can't be found.
Analyze the data. Your hotel should receive monthly analytic reports about your Web site's SEO performance. But is anyone analyzing the data? More importantly, is anyone acting on the information? Proactive analysis will help you tweak your campaign and thereby, increase traffic to your site.
Review your booking engine. Your customer is looking for a fast, efficient and safe Internet booking experience. If your booking engine is not providing exactly that, look for alternatives.
Constantly monitor social networking sites. More than 60% of travelers use the Internet as their only means of research. Many of them are finding social networking sites that allow online, unedited reviews. Monitor sites like Tripadvisor continuously and respond to guest comments.
Work your Third Party Internet providers (TPI). Is your hotel on Expedia, Travelocity and others? What position does your hotel occupy on their site? The higher your ranking on the site, the better your chance of you obtaining bookings. Form a personal relationship with your TPI market manager, run promotions, increase inventory and decrease cut off times. You will see the result of these efforts in better rankings.
The next step:
Employ e-mail marketing solutions from low cost providers. Email marketing can be very targeted, will keep your hotel's name "top of mind" and can be quite inexpensive. Utilize companies that offer email marketing campaigns highlighting special promotions, holiday menus and announcements to your customers.
Target Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC) and utilize ROI measurement. Run targeted Pay-Per-Click campaigns using keywords that are aimed directly at your end user. Targeting your PPC keywords to specific geographic areas and levels of hotel service can save money and pinpoint your hotel's customers. If you attract international travelers, consider utilizing PPC overseas and in other languages. Every PPC penny needs to be targeted, analyzed and spent wisely.
Utilize online comment cards to better understand your customers. User generated content helps hotels to better understand their customers' likes and dislikes. This helps hotels improve operations and clearly target it's SEO, PPC and email marketing campaigns.
It is time to explore social marketing. Do you have time to talk to your customers? Can you afford not to? Blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and channels like You Tube now account for more than 10% of Internet traffic. They are increasingly used to find information and provide links. Joining the social e-marketing revolution using the power of Web 2.0 will require a time commitment and an ongoing strategy.
David Kalik, CHA, is founder and president of Kalik Hospitality, Inc,. a hotel management and consulting company in Charleston, SC that specializes in assisting small franchised and boutique hotels with Internet marketing, hotel development, management services and asset management/receiver duties. Contact him at [email protected] or 843-763-3432.