The following is a guest post from Andrew O’Neall, founder of travel discovery and inspiration site Whereo. Opinions are the author’s own.
It can be tough to stand out from the crowd when marketing your hotel property. While there may seem like there are myriad ways to promote your offers, some tried and true fundamentals always stand out.
1. Tap your local knowledge base (the hotel staff)
Your colleagues are a wealth of information. By tapping into the expertise of your concierge staff, you can leverage their knowledge to help design and curate your hotel’s experiences. It’s their job to know the area, keep a pulse on the latest trends and understand what consumers want. They may also know how your competitors price similar experiences.
Other team members can also champion the promotion from beginning to end. Secure buy-in from guest-facing staff who can provide on-site guest support. They have relevant experience to help launch and implement promotions and can be available to guests and other staff.
Finally, involve all team members in your promotional efforts to minimize unexpected pushback or last-minute conflicts.
2. Make sure the online experience is consumer-friendly
Once you’ve developed the technology around your offers, make sure you test it before rolling it out. Collaborating with a partner that offers testing and certification services can go a long way to ensuring the offer’s viability.
After you’ve tested and retested your technology to ensure it works seamlessly, plan a multifaceted promotional strategy. Your best tool is your property’s website, but using multiple marketing channels to promote your offer can maximize the promotion’s reach.
On your website’s homepage, an “experiences” or “special offers” button makes it easy for consumers to view your offerings. Additionally, placing targeted ads on search engines can simultaneously influence luxury travel decision-makers and reach travelers already looking for similar offers. Of course, social media is a must if you want to reach a captive consumer audience.
3. Build awareness with media coverage
Public relations is another tool that can help generate awareness of your property and its uniqueness. A PR partner can develop press materials around your offer and promote it to the right audiences. Securing media coverage helps generate awareness and expand the reach of your offerings.
One good angle is to highlight the timeliness or uniqueness of your offers. Are you offering a special rate for a local festival or guided tours of a local landmark? Is your head chef planning a tasting menu from local farms? These are all items that the media might be interested in.
4. Leverage GDS offers to put your best foot forward
A global distribution system can be helpful in promoting hotel offers, but it can also be prohibitive. GDSs limit the number of characters you can use to describe your offer, and images may not be supported. Therefore, the more creative your offer, the less it will stand out on a GDS.
However, when using a GDS, it’s important that the promotional language is very descriptive and includes all relevant details: the title, a detailed description, features and other important guest information. Below are two offers; which do you think is more effective? Which one would you book?
Exhibit A:
- Title: Room discount
- Description: Regular room rate discount
- Features: *Special rate
- The fine print: *Offer valid on the 3rd Friday of off-peak months
Exhibit B:
- Title: 15% off Welcome to Summer sale!
- Description: Summer is the perfect time to slow down, relax and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of our sprawling, ocean-side property.
- Features: *15% off our regular room rate. *A signature welcome cocktail at check-in. *20% off a return visit next summer when booked during your stay.
- The fine print: *Offer valid for stays between 5/31/25 - 8/31/25. *Must be booked by 6/2/25.
- Don’t consume alcohol? We’re happy to serve you a signature mocktail upon arrival. Just let us know!
In addition to using descriptive language, be sure to include your property’s photo and video assets in your promotion. Your owned images and video are better suited to promote your property than stock images, as many are limited in their usage rights. Steer clear of breaching potential license agreements, and don’t use them.
Some stock images are so popular that other properties may also use them for their own promotions. If a potential guest sees the same photos on your site as they do elsewhere, it can compromise trust, cause confusion and potentially lose you the sale.
5. Don’t forget: You’re in the experiences business
As a property, embrace and promote your differences. Do not repackage tours and experiences from other platforms and then double the price. Consumers are smart; they will find the lower price, and you’ll burn a bridge of trust. Promote your property’s differences and unique attributes to keep competition at bay. How? Set yourself apart by offering an experience that only you can provide.
Creativity sells: If tours are part of your offerings, bundle them with other amenities. For instance, while a group waits for their tour transportation, serve light appetizers. Or, offer a reduced-rate spa treatment post-tour to help guests wind down from their excursion.
Another important part of your promotion is conveying your “why.” Luxury experiences exist for two primary reasons: to promote the property or to increase sales.
If your goal is to promote your property, a “wow” is incredibly important. The Plaza New York offers guests an opportunity to have their own Home Alone: Fun in New York experience, which includes a private limo ride to the landmarks in the movie and a wildly decadent recreation of Kevin’s ice cream sundae. Of course, the experience includes a stay in the world-famous Plaza Hotel. No one can come close to offering such a package.
To drive sales, price tangible features fairly and offer more value than a discounted rack rate room. Promote the value of your offer, but avoid doing so with standard features that all guests can utilize. It can be a turnoff for those seeking unique experiences and may even translate into a lost sale.
The bottom line? Laying the foundation for promoting your hotel’s unique experiences from the outset, involving the entire team in implementing it and following a few marketing guidelines will help set you and your property up for success.
