The holiday season is a busy time for hotels as occupancy rates increase and travelers are spending this festive time away from home, so it’s great to inform prospective travel shoppers of your hotel’s holiday events and spirit.
This time of the year is special and consumers respond very well to holiday themes and promotion by brands and companies, as 70% said they find holiday-themed ads very or somewhat effective and 32% of people said that holiday themed ads improved or somewhat improved their brand perception of the company being advertised, according to a holiday advertising survey conducted by AYTM. Although you may not have the budget or resources to launch holiday-themed ads, highlighting your hotel’s festive spirit on social media and your hotel website is a great place to build your brand image and communicate to travel shoppers a positive personality.
Need some holiday inspiration? Here are three ideas to make the most of this festive time of year and entice travel shoppers!
1. Mix and match the diverse holidays
The holiday season isn’t just about Christmas, there’s Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve and Day and many more. Be sure to be inclusive and send greetings for other holidays aside from Christmas, this will make travel shoppers of other religious backgrounds feel included in the holiday spirit. For 2014, the holidays mentioned above will be occurring on these days:
Hanukkah: December 17th-24th
Christmas: December 25th
Kwanzaa: December 26th- January 1st
Be sure to post during these two weeks of holidays (see next point for some ideas on what to post and where) so that you hotel is inclusive to people of all religions, and so that it displays its celebratory personality. Don’t forget to do a little research too, so you can be properly informed about the holiday’s traditions and importance. It will create a positive image of your hotel in the eyes of travel shoppers and helps tell a compelling story about your hotel’s atmosphere.
2. Don’t just discuss your holiday spirit, storytell it!
Your hotel has many digital outlets that can be used to display its festive spirit. Here are some cool ideas to bring out the festivity in your hotel’s story:
- Use your social media channels to post relevant content such as room and lobby decorations, holiday specials, and change your cover photos on social media to compliment the holiday season, just like the King and Prince Hotel in Georgia.
- “Decorate” your website with relevant holiday symbols to show off your spirit for the holiday season
- Show prospective holiday travelers your hotel’s holiday events and celebrations that will be happening during the holiday season to help them envision their stay.
- Post holiday specials on social media to increase direct bookings and help customers choose you over competitors
- Post photos of staff members dressed up in holiday outfit
There are a lot of different ways your hotel can display its holiday spirit and the ideas above are just a few. Get creative and show your festivity differently, because your hotel is unique, and you have a valuable holiday story to tell!
3. Timing the holiday seasons right
After Halloween, the holiday season marketing efforts begin for lots of businesses all over the world. Start making a few holiday-themed posts in November, and slowly increase posts closer to the actual holidays in December. Be sure you post about all holidays during and before their start dates and schedule posts in advance if your marketing members aren’t available on certain holidays.
By posting ahead of time, you communicate to travel shoppers how accommodating your hotel is for the holiday season and how your hotel cares about the enjoyment of the holiday season. The Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa does an outstanding job of posting early in the holiday season about their holiday gift certificate specials.
The holiday season is a time of giving, sharing, and togetherness. Communicating this to travel shoppers is influential and sets your hotel apart, which helps strengthen your brand image. Share the holiday spirit with travel shoppers before the season ends and wish them happy holidays.
About the source
Leonardo is a technology and online media company for the global hospitality industry. They provide e-marketers at hotel brands, management companies and hotel properties with technology, sales conversion tools and a global travel media network that enables them to better visually merchandise their hotels to millions of in-market travel shoppers monthly.
