5 advantages of digital marketing in hospitality industry

Digital marketing is universally applicable and can make every business reach the target audience at the right place and at the right time. With rising usage of internet and smartphones, the adoption of this practice has amplified in the last few years. When you talk about digital marketing for the hospitality industry, its main aim is to make a property and its features more sellable to the right audience. Therefore, digital marketing has become a feasible option for hoteliers to reach out to potential patrons, build loyalty and guest database and acquire the right audience. Let’s deep dive and explore some advantages of digital marketing for hotels.

Extensive Reach: Digital marketing helps improve awareness about a hotel’s services, restaurants and other amenities through various online platforms such as blogs, social media, websites and the likes to reach a wider customer base across the world. Digital marketing is growing massively as today almost everyone has access to the internet and smart phones. Guests, themselves, are comfortable with communication via digital formats. Social media like Instagram, YouTube and Facebook dominate the digital space and entice guests to visit restaurants or hotels thus helping the property in gaining business. This strategy allows even the newly launched hotels, restaurants to have equal access to the customers while competing with big enterprises in the traditional market.

User Generated Content: For hoteliers who want to keep up with the rapidly evolving digital marketing arena, it is essential for them to adapt User Generated Content, the new model for marketing strategies. Hoteliers leverage the power of user-generated content to drive traffic, have conversions with their audience and increase business. Younger generations like millennials and Gen-Zs crave authentic content, especially videos and reels. Content in video format is one of the best way to educate your audience in an interesting way especially in an era where the customers are ready to rave about your services online. Now-a-days, customers trust organic user-generated content more than they trust paid advertising. User generated content is created by users and are perceived unbiased and honest. The content can let you tell amazing brand stories about their experiences during their travel or hotel stay or while eating at a restaurant. This can be harnessed and re-shared on the brand’s social profiles or even be advertised to showcase how the existing customers are having an incredible experience at your property.

Multiple platforms and New-Age Digital Tools for Marketing Communication: In the last couple of years, Instagram has come out to become an extremely an effective social media platform with massive reach. Instagram Reels are used extensively for building brand awareness and creating engaging content. Other dynamic features, such as Instagram Live and Instagram Stories also provide opportunities for brands to put out relevant information to the world. They also have a shopp-able module where brands can be tagged and the viewers can be invited directly to brand’s page to book any services/products. Another new-age tool is Podcasts that have the potential to create positive brand associations. By integrating positive conversations, you allow listeners to relate it with your story or learn something. In the era of storytelling, Podcasts have provided businesses the chance to speak directly to their target audience.

In the hospitality industry, Virtual Reality has become an important aspect as both consumers and hotels can gain profit from this enhanced communication strategy. Customers prefer a chance to experience things for themselves rather than reading descriptions which may not be authentic. Keeping this in mind, many hotels allow customers to experience a virtual recreation of a room so that the customers are fully convinced to book the hotel.

Without a doubt, mobile technology in the hospitality industry, powered with the presence of apps, is a game-changer. Users are moving from desktop to mobile, but they still want access to all the features they enjoy on a desktop on their fingertips. That’s why travel brands need to consider the capabilities of progressive web apps because they ensure delivering the right information about the property, booking at convenience facility and seamless payment procedures. At Accor, we have Accor ALL, an app which is convenient and focusses on smooth guest experience.

Integration with booking platforms: Top booking platforms where hotels can list themselves, in order to make themselves more visible and noticeable to the larger audience base with an intent to get potential bookings. These platforms help travellers get a better view of the kind of properties they can have access to at a certain place, so they can make a more informed decision, comparing the different options in a go.
We are in a world where people make online bookings by looking at the way a hotel is described or projected. Here you need to focus on your strengths and play them up, but at the same time keep it genuine and real. Good, high-definition photographs of the property, rooms and the amenities, backed up with a description will make potential guests want to visit. Also, make sure your descriptions are crisp and catchy and most importantly backed up with good guests reviews.

Communication on sustainability: The world is quickly becoming more environmentally conscious, to the point where it is starting to impact the traveler’s choice about where they stay. Hotels must be able to effectively communicate, especially digitally, the initiatives undertaken by them in terms of eliminating food waste, reducing plastic products and monitoring carbon emissions.