Pin-pointing why each individual chooses your hotel over competitors is a challenging task for any marketing department no matter how big the budget is, and yet this information is they key to shaping direct booking strategies.
There are an increasing number of international visitors and local tourists in Europe’s hotel industry. Some travel alone, others with friends or family at different time periods and for different lengths of stays. There are adventure holidays, work commitments, spa retreats, foodie escapes, sporting events, and at the end of the day they all need somewhere to stay. The sharing economy, the growth of connected smart devices, and influence of social media imagery are leading the way for huge shifts in travel trends beyond price wars.
An article produced by Trivago in June, 2017 revealed hotel content featuring high-quality images receive 63% more clicks than those with low-quality, with only 4% of people clicking through hotel profiles if visual content is low quality. But what imagery and content do you use to create an effective campaign, and which platforms are your guests using most for best use of paid marketing? Guests are increasingly influenced by Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and vloggers choosing travel accommodation based more on local experiences and what they can see. At the same time guests are shifting their decision-making behaviour, hoteliers are informing their digital strategies to increase direct bookings.
Engaging consumers online with content personalised to their interests and motivations delivers a personalised experience pre-, during and post-stay and relies on data available to hotels. When you know why your current guests are staying, you can create content that is contextual to guests and where they are in your hotel to improve their experience, keep them engaged, and build stronger relationships for greater reviews to attract future guests.
The Purple Intelligent Insights delves into the profiles of almost 4.8 million review ratings from guests across Europe to showcase the potential of data and identify opportunities to better engage guests. The study also highlights a key marketing tool hotel marketing and operations departments can use to help identify guest interests, drive revenue, and generate relevant, meaningful content based on the reports of every guest and visitor in a hotel, rather than generic industry reports competitors can access.
Download the free white paper to begin understanding why guests stay at your hotel.