Increase Hotel Business – How to Ensure Long-Term Success!

The need to continuously increase hotel business is paramount. There is no question that the hotel business is intensely competitive – indeed, there are over 184,000 hotels in the US! To be successful, you simply cannot afford for your hotel to experience any degree of stagnation with regard to earnings.

There are numerous strategies to implement when considering exactly how to increase hotel revenue. These efforts range from marketing endeavors, on-site activities, service offerings, and much more. Successful execution requires the utmost levels of commitment and attention to detail. With that said, when combined, all of these tactics serve to effectively increase hotel business and ensure the continuation and survival of your hotel within an increasingly crowded marketplace.

If you’re curious about the nature of these tactics and the best ways to implement them, then do yourself a favor and read on! In what follows, we’ll take an in-depth look at surefire methods to increase hotel business and set you on a path to success.

9 Ideas to Increase your Hotel’s Business

It’s time to analyze various ways to increase hotel business – let’s get started!

1. Know Your Market and Target Audience

Take the time to conduct a thorough review of your market and target audience. With regard to your clientele, consider their age, income level, familial status (single, married, children, etc.), and location. This information will provide valuable insights into who frequents your hotel and will help inform your future advertising and marketing endeavors.

Additionally, take stock of the market in which you operate. Are you the only hotel in town, or are you competing against several other businesses? If the latter, evaluate your competitors’ successes, advertising efforts, and overall presence within the marketplace to discover ways in which you can separate yourself in meaningful ways. Establishing your hotel as a unique offering to secure more bookings is crucial!

2. Destination Marketing

Destination marketing is the practice of promoting a specific locale or travel destination, rather than a specific product. Consider the geographical location in which your hotel operates – what is the appeal of the town or city? What does the location have to offer potential visitors? What services can your hotel offer to help people take full advantage of the local surroundings? Leverage the answers to these questions to entice people to visit and book their stay at your hotel.

3. Host Events

It is a reasonable assumption that your hotel is equipped with at least one large meeting or gathering space. Take advantage of your spacious facility and host events! Corporate gatherings, wedding receptions, speaker engagements, and festive activities are all viable options to consider. Not only will the events generate increased income, but you will also secure the bookings of event attendees. That’s a win, win!

4. Invest in Hotel Photos

You surely take a considerable amount of pride in the physical appearance of your hotel and invest substantial resources in ensuring it is imbued with an appealing aesthetic. Celebrate your hard work by investing in professional photography to present your hotel in the best light possible. Be sure to highlight key areas of your hotel – the lobby, guest rooms, gym, pool, dining halls, and event spaces all deserve to be captured. Place these beautiful photos on your website and in your marketing materials to entice clients and secure bookings.

5. Use Customer Relations Management (CRM)

CRM is an incredibly effective tool to properly manage all your engagements with customers, both present and future. The capabilities of CRM software are profound – they can track a plethora of customer information, including emails, phone numbers, documents completed, and so much more. The gathering of this data is automatically analyzed and presented to you in an accessible, helpful manner, thereby allowing you to engage your customers in a targeted, impactful manner. Do yourself a favor and invest in an effective CRM program to increase hotel business.

6. Social Media Marketing

It is an irrefutable fact that social media has saturated the US population. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans use some form of social media. These platforms – Meta, Instagram, Twitter, etc. – offer ample opportunities to increase hotel business. You can advertise your hotel, engage with your client base, and secure new leads by establishing an active, consistent presence on these platforms.

In the same vein, take a look at this incredible article about Social Media and the hotel business – you’ll love it!

7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content Marketing

Both SEO and content marketing are great ways to increase hotel business. SEO is focused on ensuring your hotel has a prominent place in an online search, which is incredibly important. To illustrate this fact, consider that Google processes 5.4 million searches per minute. Clearly, staking your claim at the top of a search result is fundamentally critical to the success of your hotel.

Furthermore, content marketing is fantastic for engaging potential users by providing them with targeted information free of charge. As an example, you can advertise the amenities offered by your hotel, local attractions, and other pertinent insights.

SEO, content and digital marketing take some time to fully understand – so, with that said, read through this awesome piece about SEO reputation management to get started!

8. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective, rewarding endeavor to pursue when seeking to increase hotel business. Deploying meaningful email marketing allows you to engage with current customers, as well as solicit new leads. In addition, email marketing allows you to reach a significant number of people with a click of the “send” button. Be sure to establish a regular cadence and plan ahead as to the content you wish to include in each email. Doing so will heighten client engagement and keep the proceedings fresh.

In order to guide you through the steps involved in efficacious email marketing, take a look at this highly informative article.

9. Reviews and Reputation Management

Proper oversight of your hotel’s online reputation is key. Be sure to actively monitor what customers are saying about your hotel – display gratitude for positive feedback, and take all reasonable steps to rectify any customer complaints. Online reviews are immensely influential in a customer’s purchasing decision, and you need to be sure that you are taking all the necessary steps to imbue your hotel with an exemplary reputation.

For more information on hotel reputation management – and the best way to perform it – take a look at this wonderful piece to gather all the tools you need for success.

How to Increase Hotel Sales

Now let’s take a look at various endeavors you can pursue to increase your hotel’s sales.

Create Partnerships with Local Businesses

Aligning yourself with local businesses is a fantastic way to build an influential referral network. Offer to host events for local businesses, display promotional materials in-house, and extend discounts to employees of local businesses. In exchange, encourage these businesses to recommend your hotel to their clients who are coming in from out-of-town. Seek to create strong, long-lasting, and mutually beneficial relationships that will yield rewards far into the future.

Provide Late Check-Out and Early Check-In

Offering a degree of flexibility with regard to check-out and check-in times has an appreciable impact on customer satisfaction. Travelers are often weary and their plans can change for a multitude of reasons, resulting in undue stress. Show them you care and appreciate their position by providing them with modified check-in and check-out times. While there must be limits to these modifications, allowing guests to arrive early and/or leave late will no doubt bolster customer satisfaction.

Use Dynamic Pricing

As is the case with nearly every business, your hotel’s bookings will fluctuate throughout the year in accordance with increased or decreased customer travel. As such, implement dynamic pricing to not only boost bookings during quiet times but also capitalize financially on the busy season. Be sure to conduct the necessary research to help determine which price points are appropriate and will serve to drive further business.

Promote Your Hotel’s Food and Products

Hotels are more than just a place to sleep. Guests often eat, swim, exercise, and indulge in relaxation services within the hotel during their stay. As such, it is critical that you effectively promote these offerings to entice customers to book with your hotel. Highlight the various culinary options available to guests, whether it in be in your restaurant or in-room dining. Furthermore, promote (when applicable) your gym, pool, and spa as further means of showcasing the offerings available to guests.

Promote and Automate Upselling

Upselling needs to be a core component in your efforts to increase hotel business. When a customer books a stay at your hotel, entice them with further offerings. These can be in the form of room upgrades, additional services, rooms with special and unique features, and other various add-ons. Customers may not be fully aware of all that your hotel offers, and you need to be sure to present them with additional opportunities available throughout their stay.

Hotel Loyalty Program

Creating a loyalty program is a fantastic method to encourage repeat business. Customers who regularly stay at your hotel deserve to be recognized and celebrated, and a loyalty program is the perfect means to do so. Offer room discounts, complimentary meals, room upgrades, and free use of amenities to encourage customers to return to your hotel.

Furthermore, implement a points system as part of this process and clearly outline what is achieved through the accumulation of points. Doing so will give customers something to work toward and will be a great motivator in their booking with you in the future.

Be Mobile Friendly

Mobile devices have supplanted their desktop counterparts as the primary means of users conducting an internet search. As such, you absolutely must ensure that your website is optimized for mobile users and that you take advantage of mobile marketing. Take care to ensure that your website is easy to navigate, runs fluidly, and provides all the necessary information when using a mobile device to secure bookings.

How to Increase Hotel Revenue

Having covered sales and business, let’s now turn our attention to some ideas to increase hotel revenue.

Use Booking Software

In today’s technology-driven world, using booking software is a no-brainer. Not only will booking software make it incredibly simple for your guests to book at your hotel, but it will also free up some of your time as well. In addition, booking software will serve to collect user information for future use, allowing you to quickly and effectively follow up with your guests to solicit feedback and encourage repeat visits.

Foster Direct Reservations

While booking software certainly has its place in your overall strategy, it is nonetheless equally important that you foster direct reservations. When a potential guest calls to make a reservation, ensure that the process is as pleasant, easy, and engaging as possible. This is also a fantastic time to perform in upselling as you have the opportunity in real-time to explain further offerings provided by your hotel. Direct reservations also allow you to showcase your exemplary levels of customer care and support, so be sure to handle each call with care!

Don’t Be Too Flexible with Your Cancellation Policy

Securing bookings plays an undeniably large role in your ability to plan for the future, both financially and in terms of resources needed. With that said, you can’t be too lax about your cancellation policy – after all, you were counting on that guest staying at your hotel! Be sure to clearly outline your cancellation policy and display it on your website, and third-party booking tools, and share it verbally when taking a direct reservation.

Furthermore, establish a timeframe in which a guest can cancel their reservation without penalty, and also decide on what the financial penalty is should a customer cancel after that window closes. While some customers may express frustration, take solace in the fact that you appropriately shared your cancellation policy, and don’t be swayed by customer dissatisfaction.

Increase the Range of Services Offered

There are numerous areas in which your hotel can offer additional services, all of which will help to increase hotel business. Examples include coin lockers, luggage storage (perhaps for a per-diem cost), and transport to the airport (which is always appreciated by guests). All of these not only present as convenience items for guests, but they also stand to generate further business for your hotel.

How to Increase Hotel Sales and Revenue in a Low Season

As mentioned prior, certain times of the year will naturally result in slower business for your hotel. This is completely normal and should be factored into your operations. With that said, there are ways to mitigate these times and generate business.

Again, dynamic pricing is a great way to entice visitors to your hotel during a low season. Promote special pricing through online advertisements, social media, as well as through more traditional advertising avenues.

Also, keep tabs on any local events or gatherings that could be enticing to potential travelers. Consider partnering with the organizers of these events and explore ideas to offer discounted admissions to visitors.

Low seasons cannot be avoided, but they need not be stressors for your hotel. Think holistically about ways in which to drive traffic to your hotel during a low season and keep those bookings coming!

Increase Hotel Business – It’s a Team Effort!

With so many possible methods of increasing hotel business – all of which are viable and effective – you may be asking yourself just exactly how you will be able to implement them all. That’s where the team at Mediaboom comes in! The experts at Mediaboom possess the prerequisite knowledge, skills, and experience to help you find newfound levels of success for your hotel business. Be sure to reach out to Mediaboom today and allow them to customize an approach that works for you and your hotel!