Hospitality Marketing

Hospitality marketing involves promoting services in the hospitality sector, like hotels, restaurants, and travel services, to attract and retain customers. It’s essential for building brand awareness, differentiating from competitors, and driving business growth. Effective marketing in this industry focuses on customer experience, showcasing unique offerings, and adapting to changing consumer trends and preferences.

Key Takeaways

  • Emphasis on Digital Marketing: Highlighting the increasing importance of digital channels for effective marketing.
  • Personalization and Customization: Focusing on personalized experiences and tailored marketing to meet individual preferences.
  • Sustainable and Responsible Marketing: Stressing the trend towards sustainability and responsible practices in marketing efforts.
  • Leveraging Social Media: Utilizing social media platforms for direct engagement and promotion.
  • Innovative Technologies: Incorporating new technologies like VR and AI for enhanced marketing experiences.
  • Focus on Experience Marketing: Emphasizing the marketing of unique and memorable experiences to guests.
  • Strategic Email Marketing: Implementing targeted email campaigns to engage and retain customers.
  • Online Reputation Management: Actively managing online reviews and feedback to maintain a positive brand image.
  • Collaborations and Partnerships: Forming strategic partnerships for cross-promotional opportunities and expanded reach.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Adopting the right hospitality marketing strategy can be crucial for your business’s long-term success, helping you attract customers, optimize revenue, and build recognition and trust. Achieving this requires you to keep up with the latest hospitality marketing trends. Still, there are challenges here, too, especially with the after-effects of the COVID pandemic and the associated changes to how hospitality customers think and feel. In this article, you can learn more about hospitality trends for 2024.

What Is Hospitality Marketing?

Hospitality marketing is centered on considering the business regarding customer needs and satisfaction. Hospitality marketing looks at how different sectors of the hospitality industry (e.g. accommodations, food and drink, tourism, and travel) develop marketing strategies to promote their products or services, increasing revenue.

Why Is Hospitality Marketing Important?

Since the hospitality industry mainly focuses on creating and maintaining positive customer experiences and relationships, marketing becomes important to ensure the industry’s success. To attract more customers to your hotel or travel business, you need to efficiently advertise on different digital channels and be where your niche audience is.

17 Hospitality Marketing Trends of 2024

Keeping up with the latest trends within hospitality marketing is vital, but it is equally important to understand the context of these trends, too. With this in mind, below, you will find a breakdown of trends relevant to the hospitality industry as a whole and trends that emerged in response to the pandemic and are still relevant now.

1. Find New Hospitality Marketing Trends Through Data

With the increased travel risk still in people’s minds, it is understandable that those in hospitality management would attempt to predict how it will affect customer behavior. Still, this guesswork is no substitute for using data and clear evidence. In particular, you should look into your website analytics and bookings data and try to pinpoint trends.

Which demographics are still interested in making bookings, and which have fallen away? Which market segments are growing, and which are taking longer to return? Is there any relevant geographical data to consider? Once you have insights into how customers behave, you can adjust your hospitality marketing efforts accordingly.

2. Remarketing

This marketing tool targets potential customers who have viewed your website or shown interest in your services. Remarketing is a way of re-engaging people who have spent time browsing pages on your website without booking a room.

You can use this tool to reconnect with those who have visited your site and offer them a discount to encourage them to return. For example, you can set up this strategy through Google Analytics by user demographics or interests. Filtering these searches to collect the information you need about the people who visit your website is also possible.

Video: What is Remarketing?

3. Personalization Hospitality Marketing

Personalized marketing allows companies to deliver individualized content to target customers through automation technology and data collection. Personalization marketing aims to engage potential customers by communicating with them as individuals. Hotels and tour operators need to personalize their services for their guests and clients through targeted emails.

For example, targeted emails can be sent to potential customers whenever the travel agency or hotel offers an upcoming discount. Personalization marketing is one of the most direct hospitality marketing strategies to establish a more personal relationship with your customers and encourage them to make a return visit.

Video: Personalized Marketing by Nicole Martin

You can read more detailed information and examples of personalization marketing in the article “Ways Personalization Marketing Can Benefit the Hospitality Industry.”

4. Private Branded Messages

An area of hospitality marketing that is still very much emerging is using private, branded messages across social media and mobile channels. These messages are often personalized, include an element of customer service, and are a great opportunity to build more meaningful connections with a target audience.

Direct messages can be used to share discount codes, promote new products, respond to questions or complaints, encourage feedback, and more. Messages should be crafted to keep with your wider branding strategy and the image you are trying to present. This may require collaboration between marketing and customer service.

Hospitality Marketing - brand

5. WiFi for Marketing & Analytics

Another rapidly growing aspect of hospitality marketing involves using WiFi data for marketing and analytics. Within hotels, restaurants, and other businesses, WiFi data can be used to track individuals and determine whether they are currently on-site. This then allows for more tailored marketing messages.

For example, in a hotel, you could send a marketing message to guests who are actually in the hotel while leaving guests currently located off-site to enjoy their day. You can also potentially use WiFi signals and data for analytics purposes, such as identifying how many people are on-site at any given time.

Video: Wifi Marketing Automation

6. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

According to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market Report by Precedence Research, the global artificial intelligence market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% between 2023 and 2032. Artificial intelligence can streamline processes and provide valuable insights. Most online hotel room seekers tend to use aggregator websites to book their accommodation, while some may land on a hotel’s homepage but leave without booking. In most cases, users would prefer to speak with hotel staff without having to enter preferred dates and check-in details, which can be quite time-consuming.

You can provide personalized service and develop a robust system by using artificial intelligence chatbots on your website. Thanks to AI technology, your guests can place their room service requests through your AI-enabled website, saving your hotel staff time.

Table: Use Cases of Artificial Intelligence in Hospitality

Use Case Description Benefit for Hotel Risk
Chatbots for Customer Service Implement AI-powered chatbots for support. Provides instant customer service, reducing workload on human staff and improving guest satisfaction. Misinterpretation of queries, leading to incorrect responses and potential dissatisfaction.
Personalized Recommendations Use AI algorithms for personalized suggestions. Enhances guest experience by offering tailored services and activities, leading to increased customer loyalty. Privacy concerns regarding the collection and use of guest data for personalization.
Predictive Maintenance Employ AI to predict and prevent equipment issues. Reduces downtime and maintenance costs by addressing potential problems before they impact guest services. Relies on accurate data and models; false predictions may lead to unnecessary maintenance expenses.

Video: Example Hotel Chatbot

Find more detailed information and examples of artificial intelligence use cases in the hospitality industry in the article “How to use Artificial Intelligence in the Hospitality Industry.”

7. Promote Safety in Marketing and Guest Communication

One of the most significant hospitality trends in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting safety procedures, hygiene policies, and other decisions intended to protect your customers.

This could mean increased cleaning, relocation of tables and chairs to allow for social distancing, enforcement of mask-wearing in certain parts of your premises or by staff members, and expanded use of contactless payments and mobile apps. The key is ensuring these changes are communicated to customers before arrival.

You can learn more by reading the “Hygiene is the New Marketing Message for Hotels” article.

Hospitality Marketing - Quote Milan Kundera

8. Highlight Value and Offer Flexible Cancellations

Another important way hotels responded to COVID was by re-aligning and focusing on what makes their hospitality business unique. This could be location, customer reviews, the hotel or restaurant’s design, the bar’s theme, or the range of facilities. Regardless, knowing your USPs makes it easier to sell based on value.

While many businesses compete based on pricing, the reality is that many customers are happy to pay more for guaranteed quality, excellent service, or a unique experience. Consider some of the things you can throw into your offering to make it stand out from what rivals are selling.

It is also sensible to offer a generous cancellation policy, which allows customers to re-book with minimal hassle. The opportunity for short-notice cancellations gives travelers peace of mind and acts as an incentive to book in advance without the risk of losing money.

9. Customer Experience Hospitality Marketing

In the competitive hospitality industry, customer experience is essential in gaining loyalty. Remember that providing excellent customer service doesn’t always result in direct profits. It is crucial to develop comprehensive customer experience marketing plans to meet the needs of your hotel or travel company.

You must compile analytics from online customer testimonials on review websites to generate healthy returns and a steady stream of returning clients. This will give you a wealth of information about your customers’ preferences, how your company can improve, and which factors will lead to future conversions.

Video: Customer Experience in the Hospitality Industry

Find more detailed information about customer experience in the hotel industry in the article “Ways to Improve Customer Experience in the Hospitality Industry.”

10. Use Virtual Reality Hospitality Technology

Virtual reality has been one of the recent biggest emerging hospitality technology and marketing trends, and the coronavirus pandemic has only heightened its uses. Virtual reality tours provide the ultimate means of experiencing a location from afar, recreating the environment in a way that allows for some exploration and immersion.

For leisure customers, this can offer the opportunity to experience a landmark or tourist attraction or view the inside of a hotel. For event customers, it means the chance to explore wedding or event venues without needing to travel there to view them physically. This is especially valuable at a time when travel is restricted.

Most modern virtual reality tours can be viewed using a standard web browser or VR headset.

Video: 360 Virtual Tour for Holiday Inn Express Adelaide

Video: The West Restaurant 360 VR Tour

In the article “How Virtual Reality (VR) Can Enrich the Hospitality Industry“, find more detailed information and examples about how virtual reality can benefit your business.

11. Improve Customer Experience & Satisfaction With Chatbots

Chatbots can improve the customer experience in several key ways and form a big part of many modern hospitality marketing strategies. Regardless of staff availability, these bots allow rapid responses to customer questions and support multiple languages.

This technology can be used during the booking stage to offer support and encourage the completion of bookings. Bots may also be able to up-sell and cross-sell, potentially helping your business to maximize revenue. According to the Chatbot Market Report by Markets and Markets, the global chatbot market is projected to grow to $15.5 billion by 2028.

Video: Example Chatbot for Restaurants

Read the articles  “Reasons Why Every Hotel Needs a Hotel Chatbot” and “What Are the Important Features When Choosing a Hotel Bot?” for additional information.

12. Voice Search

As the next generation of Web users prefers communicating through voice activation, this can be a great opportunity for the hospitality industry. Voice search is a voice control and recognition technology that primarily works with tablets, smartphones, and similar devices.

This marketing trend could soon eliminate the need for Internet users to press buttons or type their search queries online. Hotel guests can book a hotel room via smartphone by just speaking to the device. Through voice search, they can even control the room’s functions, such as lights, music, or heating. It is expected that more online marketers will start investing money into this new trend in the near future.

Video: Voice Search Within Hospitality

Find more detailed information and examples about how voice search can benefit your business in the article “How Can Voice Control Benefit the Hospitality Industry?”.

13. Augmented Reality

One of the most exciting hospitality marketing strategies is augmented reality. This tool works by altering one’s perception of their physical surroundings through the use of computer technology. Augmented reality allows hospitality businesses to change the way their clients perceive the environment they are in.

Hotels, for example, can sell rooms online by enhancing their features through AR. There are hundreds of ways you can entertain your guests through augmented environments, such as allowing the guests to see virtual depictions of their favorite celebrities in the hotel. You can also use this tool to send virtual keys to your guests through their smartphones.

Video: Menu AR – a menu of restaurants in augmented reality

Video: Example Augmented Reality Within the Hotel Industry

Find more detailed information and examples about how augmented reality can benefit your business in the article “How Augmented Reality is Transforming the Hospitality Industry”.

14. Video Hospitality Marketing

Travel industries and hotels can use video marketing to engage their target audience, from YouTube videos, Instagram, or Snapchat to going Live on Facebook. Gaining brand exposure and capturing your audience’s attention can be done through written content, but to engage them instantly, why not give them easily digestible videos about your hotel or resort? For example, you can use video marketing to capture the relaxing moments guests can enjoy in your hotel’s facilities. Remember that your videos or photos must be high quality to attract customers.

The range of options available to marketers is almost endless, from live streams of hotel activities to promotional videos highlighting hotel features and interviews with customers sharing their experiences. The growing prevalence of 360-degree video also opens up greater opportunities to fully immerse audiences.

Video: Example W Hotel Barcelona Promotional Trailer

15. Short-Form Video Content

In recent years, one of the most noticeable hospitality marketing trends has been the growth of short-form video content. These videos, which can last as little as a few seconds and are usually under one minute, can be posted across various channels, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Short-form videos are easy for viewers and can be easily shared. They do not use much data, allowing users to view them confidently even when away from WiFi. The best hospitality marketers use these videos to highlight key features of their business and their brand values. Videos can also encourage specific actions, such as making a booking, visiting a web page, or following a social media account.

Video: Cinematic Hotel Promo

16. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is an established opportunity for hospitality marketers to remain relevant in a highly competitive industry. Influencer marketing is a digital version of traditional word-of-mouth to increase hotel brand awareness and generate direct bookings.

Using this strategy, you can reach a much larger audience and attract more customers to your hotel or travel business through credibility and trust-building among consumers. For example, your influencer marketing campaign can specifically target young people who are increasingly choosing Airbnb services over conventional hotels. You can engage your potential customers with authentic content that doesn’t sound brand-oriented.

Video: How to Do Influencer Marketing for Your Restaurant or Coffee Shop

17. User-Generated Content

User-generated content is created and shared by online end-users. It can come in different forms, such as testimonials, comments, forums, blog posts, and social publications, to name but a few. When a prospective customer looks for your brand’s content online, he or she will normally read the customer reviews about your company on other websites or social media platforms.

If you implement user-generated content correctly, you can increase your brand awareness significantly. This strategy will also help you get more room bookings. One effective way is to encourage your guests to share their experiences on social media. To do this, you can run contests, create brand hashtags, or create photo opportunities at your hotel.

Video: Example User-Generated Content for Hotels

Connect to Travel Agencies to Increase Bookings

Travel agencies are one of the most vital distribution channels within hospitality marketing. In recent years the amount of travel agencies has increased enormously. This enables customers to search online for travel products or services rather than visiting individual company websites. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to partner up with travel agencies.

Have a look at “Connect to Travel Agencies to Increase Bookings,” and you will read why working with travel agencies is so important. You can also access a list of the main travel agencies according to areas of specialization.

Hospitality Marketing FAQs

Hospitality marketing’s characteristics include a focus on customer satisfaction, service personalization, building long-term relationships, emphasizing guest experiences, and utilizing visual storytelling and reviews to showcase the ambiance, amenities, and services of the hospitality business.

The 5 P’s of hospitality are Product (services and experiences offered), Price (pricing strategy), Place (location and distribution channels), Promotion (advertising and marketing activities), and People (target customers and service staff).

Marketing in a hotel involves promoting the hotel’s brand, services, and unique selling propositions to attract and retain guests. It includes strategies like digital marketing, loyalty programs, partnerships, and events to enhance visibility and bookings.

A hospitality marketing plan outlines the strategies, activities, and resources needed to promote a hospitality business. It includes market analysis, target audience identification, marketing objectives, promotional tactics, budget allocation, and performance metrics. For more information, read “Hotel Marketing Plan: Tips & Tricks for Successful Hotel Marketing.”

The most important concept of marketing for the hospitality industry is creating exceptional guest experiences. Personalization, customer satisfaction, and relationship building are key to retaining guests and generating positive word-of-mouth, crucial for long-term success in the hospitality sector.

Competition is fierce in the hospitality industry, and using the right marketing tools is important in helping you succeed. With all the hospitality marketing strategies discussed in this article, you will easily be able to reach out to a wider audience by utilizing a variety of digital resources.

Want to Learn More About Hospitality Marketing Strategies?

Marketing plays a crucial role in helping businesses to maximize bookings and revenue. It is the main way in which those in the hospitality industry can reach out to potential customers, conveying their unique selling proposition and brand values. In the following articles, you will find more essential marketing strategies to boost your revenue:

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten
Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. I am specialized in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have over 15 years of experience developing, implementing, and managing revenue management and marketing strategies and processes for individual properties and multi-properties.