Ep. 15: How to attract guests to your hotel this summer.
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I’m recording this episode from Lithia Spring Resort, a gorgeous escape in Southern Oregon, minutes from Ashland. My family and I decided to drive down here for a few days to get out of dodge. We really needed a break.
If you get my emails, you know I share a few giggles here and there about family life. My husband Steven and the conversations we have often leak into my own storytelling. My son Reuben is two and won’t stop asking “why.”
I mentioned, in an earlier episode, that Steven’s been creative amidst this crisis, responding quickly to changes, and finding ways to operate his restaurant in partial capacity during the lock down. Since then he’s reopened, with a number of safety protocols in place. In the last week, there’s a new mandate in Oregon, that all people are required to wear masks in public. Hopefully this measure will prevent another shut down.
Part of the reason we got out of Bend for the long weekend was to have a chance to experience social distancing for ourselves. To have a lodging experience and dining experiences far enough away from home to see what the world is like…outside of our bubble. I really wanted to have a guest experience—and hopefully a good one—so I could speak to it on a personal level, and have a little more insight when it comes to how to market hotels and attract guests this summer.
While many things feel completely unknown, there are some things we do know, and it is possible to continue marketing right now, and convince guests to come and stay.
Some people don’t need much convincing at all. We know that half of people have delayed travel. I think the other 50% all arrived in Bend, Oregon in the last two weeks. I’m kidding of course, but there’s a ton of pent up demand. People are finding ways to adapt and travel again, starting with road trips.
Let’s say you’re just getting your bearings and are able to reopen. Or you’ve stayed open all this time for frontline workers and stranded travelers, and you’re ready to welcome transient business again.
First of all, you want to share that information across all of your digital channels.
Don’t be afraid to share that things are different now. Travelers want to see you responding to what’s happening to not just ensure their safety, but to know that your hotel has a pulse on what’s going on. So share the safety measures you’re taking not only on your website and in social media, but also on your guest stay emails. Share what’s happening in your town, too. If tasting rooms are open to reservations only, make that known. If trails are open, say so. If restaurants aren’t open, find a way to provide a grab and go picnic, right?
Eve Dreher joined me on the last episode to talk through the traveler’s mindset and how it’s changed. Eve talked about flexibility, empathy, comfort and inclusivity. That’s episode 14 if you’d like to learn more about that.
Bring this back to my personal experience, with so much in flux, our stay dates changed and when I called the hotel to shift our stay, they were extremely accommodating and flexible. This felt so different from past experiences when travel plans change. Also, the reservation confirmation and pre-arrival messaging included safety information and a dedicated landing page called “Wellbeing Practices” that outlined the resort’s protocols. All of this helped us feel secure about our plans to travel, stay safely, and have a trip that feels stress free knowing that protocols are in place at the hotel level.
Second, when it comes to choosing where to stay, if your property has features like rooms that open to the outdoors versus the big box style hotels with elevators and long hallways, you want to emphasis that.
Features like this, which you may not have seen as differentiators pre-COVID, are now really sought after.
Here at Lithia Springs Resort, most—if not all—of the accommodations have separate entrances that open to the outdoors. This was a great selling point to us. Make it known if your property makes it easy to social distance, prospective guests are paying attention.
Lithia Springs is spread out on a great little campus of winding paths, gardens, and lawn where guests are free to wander in the open air, smell fresh flowers (including roses the size of my head), and practice social distancing with very little effort. If your property is similar, make this clear by sharing these experiences on social media, share what guests are posting, do a tour of these spaces on Instagram Stories, and adjust your content to speak to the ways in which guests can still enjoy a vacation in this season we’re in.
Since I’d stayed here a few years ago, I was curious to see what might have changed in terms of the guest experience. The salt water mineral pool is still sparkling and feels amazing as always, guests are being really cautious and essentially taking turns. There was this amazing breakfast spread in the mornings when I was here a few years ago, and for now the property removed the spread and has a server to take individual orders instead, which makes a lot of sense. There’s also more room and encouragement to dine outside, which is a really nice, open air, garden setting. I really like the changes that have been made to make guests more comfortable while still providing the same, if not better, guest experience. We really don’t feel the limitations here. We feel very comfortable, very welcome, we feel safe, and are doing our part to keep the other guests and staff safe as well.
My third tip, when it comes to attracting guests again, is to choose those marketing channels carefully.
Consider limiting your reliance on OTAs. Your past guests database list is a great place to focus marketing efforts right now, creating a database email is well worth your time to bring your loyal, past guests back this summer.
Relying on OTAs will deliver guests who are seeking deals. As any hotelier will tell you, guests who book stays on Expedia or Booking.com are looking for the lowest rate, first and foremost. They’re looking for the least expensive room and they’re unlikely to become a repeat visitor.
To make matters worse, with limited communications with those guests before arrival, it’s more difficult to share the latest safety protocols.
Additionally, OTA reservations are more limited when it comes to flexibility and cancellation policies. For guests who aren’t aware of the inner-workings of third party booking sites, it’s hard to separate a bad experience with an OTA booking, from the hotel.
I recommend relying on your email database so that you control the messaging and the guest experience all the way through.
If you’re needing to lean on OTAs, check to see if the back-end system allows you to share a pre-arrival message through the booking portal. If you’re able, add a message about safety protocols so that these guests know what to expect when they arrive. If guests need to bring and wear masks in public, and if their room will not be cleaned each morning, make that clear, so that there are no surprises upon arrival.
One of my dear friends who happens to be a revenue management pro, is going to join me on an upcoming episode to talk more about OTAs and revenue strategy in the current climate. Stay tuned for that.
This episode is a shorty because honestly, I’m on a socially distanced vacation and it’s going even better than I expected. My last bit of advice is to take some time and get out. Drive a couple of hours for a staycation to have the experience for yourself. Read other hotel’s statements, messaging, and see what they’re doing. You’ll not only come home refreshed, but full of ideas, and hopefully a bit more optimistic about the future of travel and hospitality.
Signing off from beautiful Ashland Oregon, check back next week for another episode. Until then, keep sharing your stories!
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