The competition in the accommodation industry has become fiercer than ever. Vying for the same guests at the same time, a large number of properties are looking for ways to ensure those guests prefer them over the competition. Organizing campaigns is the most widely-used method to achieve this.
Even if you have designed and benefited from a satisfactory campaign idea, however, the job is not done here. You always have to come up with new and different ideas so that you can cover changing guest expectations and offset the competition’s alternative offerings.
So what should you consider when organizing a campaign that will help you achieve your goals and appear irresistible to your guests?
1- What is the target audience of the campaign?
This is the first question you need to answer before you determine the features of your campaign. Vacationers, families with children, the youth and the business travelers have all different expectations. Once you determine the guest profile you intend to attract, it will become much easier for you to decide on all other campaign details, from the room type covered by the campaign to extra opportunities.
2- The campaign should provide marginal benefit
You already offer various opportunities and a price list for all your guests, but your campaign should be able to go beyond what you already provide. Your campaign may offer financial advantage for your guests, or it may simply provide more comfort for them. Well, whatever you choose to do, this marginal benefit should have attractive offers for your target audience.
3- Do not overlook seasonal factors
As you can imagine, a free event held at the outdoor swimming pool of your hotel during winter will not be that interesting. Once you have decided on the campaign period, make sure that it boasts the most attractive features that may be offered during that period. In the meantime, you should also take the occupancy rate into account and ensure that the campaign will yield targeted results.
4- Add some “discount” to your campaign
The term “discount” has such a great impact on the majority of guests that they cannot resist it. If possible, provide them with some discount along with your additional offers.
5- Your primary goal should be building loyalty, rather than increase the occupancy rate
The most common mistake made when organizing a campaign is to assume that increase in the occupancy rate is the main goal. However, your primary goal should be to build customer loyalty. In this way, you can also increase your repeat direct sales, thus increase your profitability. But if you consider only the occupancy rate to be brought about by your campaigns, customer satisfaction will inevitably be of secondary importance and you will lose the chance to attain repeat bookings.
It might not be possible for every property to organize large-scale campaigns all the time. However, it is possible to provide small-scale campaigns, offers and discounts. Besides, HotelRunner offers a highly practical social coupon feature to do this. Create your HotelRunner account now and put social coupon and other peerless HotelRunner offerings to the test yourself.
