Marketing Checklist

Marketing Checklist for Your Hotel

In its simplest form, marketing is everything your potential guests see, hear and feel about your hotel. Developing and implementing sales & marketing strategies provides a roadmap important to enhance your revenue opportunities.

Presented in this section is an overview of marketing strategies that will help build your hotel’s awareness, reach more potential guests and assist with brand loyalty.

Target Audiences

  • Identify who your customers are (demographics), where they come from (feeder cities), their activities and lifestyles (psychographics), and expectations so you may meet their travel needs and understand how to market to them.
  • It’s important to maintain your existing customer base, build loyalty and reach out to new, potential guests.

Local Marketing Strategies

There are many sales and promotional activities you can develop and implement at a local level.

  • Creating a marketing plan with strategies to reach guests when and where they are making their travel arrangements.
  • Developing special offers and promotions, ongoing communication with guests, and alliances with local businesses and the community.
  • Taking an active role with your local Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Public Relations

  • Public relations campaigns are effective strategies to build awareness and future business for your hotel through media coverage.

Social Media

Social media is an effective channel to communicate your message to a mass audience, very cost effectively. However, you must stay on top of the trends and consistently create and post quality content to be successful.

  • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube
  • Actively monitor and respond to reviews about your hotel.
  • Encourage your guests to post positive reviews about your hotel on the review sites.

Online Communication Channels

Today’s society is very mobile and demands information instantaneously. Online marketing opportunities and channels are key components to reach potential guests at your hotels.

  • Communicate through email to your current and potential customers.
  • If you have your own website, optimize it with Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization strategies.

Free Listing Opportunities

There are many printed travel guides and websites offering free listings for hotels. It’s important to take advantage of each.

  • State Division of Tourism
  • State Hotel Association
  • Local Convention & Visitors Bureau
  • Local Chamber of Commerce
  • National travel websites
  • Google My Business

Promotional Opportunities

Your state or province’s tourism department may offer marketing programs that are free or very low cost channels to reach your potential guests. hihotels has created a summary of these opportunities for your state, so check with your AMP director for a copy of this information.

  • Posting Hot Deals
  • Submitting press releases
  • Co-op advertising opportunities
  • Advertising in their e-newsletters and on their websites

Associations & Shows

  • Join AAHOA for educational, marketing and networking opportunities.
  • Provide promotional literature to your state hotel association’s booth at lodging events.

Advertising Media

  • Advertising on your state’s website and/or in newsletters
  • Billboards on the highways leading to your hotel
  • Logo boards (highway and ramp signs)
  • Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau online and print opportunities
  • Cross-marketing with other local area businesses
  • Sales strategies with Welcome Centers
  • Radio campaigns in major feeder markets
  • Targeted digital campaigns, including social media

Proactive Marketing Leads to More Revenue

A consistent and progressive approach to marketing your hotel is the key ingredient to increasing your revenue. Establish a plan, move forward, modify as needed and be creative.

Posted in