Q:  What can I do to market my hotel in an accessible, widespread way?

• Be easy to find online!  Technology is king, and it’s imperative you are easy to find as a business online.  People travelling today always google before they go, so make sure you come up in search engines like Google, Yahoo and the like.  Did you know that 75% of travelers use search engines to find hotels, places to stay, things to do on vacation, and so on? This is a huge portion of your customer base, so it would be in your best interest to be searchable!

• Rely on monetization of SERP (Search Engine Results Page).  The SERP for commercial hotels is extremely monetized, and that means that people googling will see a monetized ad first, before anything else!  Make sure you’re coming up as a searchable and monetized advertisement. You must get aggressive with your marketing campaigns on Google Search, Display Networks, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Tripadvisor and Kayak.

• Make sure you put more money towards marketing budgets and advertisements during peak booking seasons!  You’ll want to compete in a real way, and to do so, you need to market aggressively during peak travel times.

• Location, location, location!  Don’t just market your hotel, market your location, too!  What about your geography attracts tourists? Why is your little space in the world special?  What are the to-dos, the must-sees, the best tour guides and the can’t-miss spots for your demographic?  Entice your guests with local attractions, fun events, festivals, parties – make them aware of everything your geographical location has to offer.  This is a major part of why they’re going to choose your hotel as a vacation spot, so don’t downplay this aspect of your marketing campaign!

• Let your customer service speak for itself: Tripadvisor is now the go-to place to research hotels and – most importantly – read guest reviews.  This is the first stop when shopping for a vacation hotel, and be aware that your customers will be reading every single good and bad review out there!  Create an account on TripAdvisor and follow up with your guests who’ve had a bad experience – apologize, give them incentive to return, and make the necessary changes at your establishment.  Follow up with the great reviews, too – this will add to your social dimension and ensure loyalty amongst your guests!