Is Getting a Free Hotel Endorsement from a Travel Influencer Tough?

Influencer marketing is a booming segment and hotel businesses are all trying to bet on it.

But wait! What if you could get a free hotel endorsement from a travel influencer or blogger? https://macularetinavitreouscenter.com/

Yes, it’s possible.

There are times when influencers and bloggers happen to book with your hotel and that’s when you can grab the opportunity.

In this blog, I am going to guide you on how you can make travel influencers endorse your property.

The Rise of Travel Bloggers and Influencers

In 2022, the global influencer marketing market was valued at a record 16.4 billion U.S. dollars.

This one single stat sums up how prominent influencer marketing is today.

It’s not about celebrities and stars anymore; anyone with credible content and a handsome audience size can become extremely popular and influence people.

Over the last couple of years, screen time across all demographics and age groups has increased significantly. The time spent on the internet, especially social media, has helped travel content creators reach and attract a larger audience.

Social media companies are also launching various tools and marketplaces to help influencers make money. Which is acting as a catalyst in boosting the influencer industry.

Today, the number of credible travel influencers is so high that hotels of all shapes and sizes are investing a hefty amount in influencer marketing to promote their properties.

Now, amid all of this, comes various question of credibility.

Is influencer marketing worth it? Do travel influencers really walk the talk? And, what not!

According to a source, about 21.8% of travel bloggers are veterans, blogging for 5 years or more, which is a sign of credibility.

The Opportunity to Get Free Mileage

For instance, a well-known travel influencer with a million subscribers on YouTube visits your property. Your frontdesk staff informs you that he has just checked in and will be on the property for a week.

Doesn’t that sound like an opportunity to get a free hotel endorsement?

While other hotels are investing hundreds and thousands of dollars in promoting, you have a popular personality in your hotel who is rather paying you.

If you manage to play your cards right, the chances of getting a shout-out are higher. 

Not to mention, this sort of promotion is usually based on the influencer’s personal experience. Meaning, the audience gets an honest review. 

Believe it or not, word of mouth is the best form of marketing. When you deliver value and connect with your guests on an emotional wavelength, they praise you in public.

How to Offer a Great Experience to Travel Bloggers and Influencers?

Offering a great experience is anyway a hotel’s sole purpose; however, the tactics may change when it has to be for a travel influence.

Here are a few things to keep on your list while going about the same:

1. Meet and greet in person

The first and very foremost thing you must do is meet the influencer in person and welcome them to your property.

You can also offer a bouquet if you want to top things up.

The whole point of this in-person meeting is that you will be able to connect better with them. You can let them know everything about your property and assure them that you’re there in case they need any assistance.

#ProTip: When you have that in-person conversation, do not always be all about yourself and your property; ask them about their life as well. The conversation shouldn’t be one where you’re trying to reap something out. It should be genuine where you’re trying to know the other person and vice versa.

2. Leverage social media ASAP

Now that you’ve met that popular travel blogger and greeted him/her, how about asking for a photo?

Yes, why not?

I am sure you all have already seen social media posts where hotels post photos whenever there’s someone well-known is in their property.

That’s a good practice and you should follow it too. (Don’t forget to tag!)

Tell them that you want to post a photo of theirs on social media from your business account and I’m sure it’ll not be a no.

3. Offer a freebie

Next up, you can offer a freebie to your special guest with a massive reach on social media.

How about a bottle of wine? A free meal?

Or, you could simply place a welcome goodie and a note in the room before they check-in.

Just ensure, you put some effort into garnishing. You never know, they might click a photo of it and post it on Instagram, tagging your hotel.

4. Keep your operations as efficient as possible

Keeping your hotel operations efficient is anyway crucial for delivering a great guest experience. But when someone popular stays at your property, you have to be extra careful.

Travel influencers and bloggers tend to be very finicky about hotel services; they want everything to be quick and sans any errors.

So, make sure you have a robust procedure in place to carry out every single task. Respond to queries with utmost sincerity and deliver the best solution.

I suggest you incorporate a comprehensive hotel management system to automate and streamline operations at your property.

5. Ensure that every corner is spick and span

Cleanliness is another aspect that you must take care of.

This influencer who has visited your property has a good reach and a high level of engagement. Meaning, if s/he posts a photo of that dirty sink, it is sure to fetch a negative reputation.

Brief your housekeeping department properly and make sure they do keep a check on every corner of the hotel to ensure cleanliness.

6. Try not to overdo anything

While it is important to do everything possible and grab the attention of that guest, I suggest not to overdo anything.

What I mean by that is you must try only to a certain extent.

If you push your efforts way too much, it might irritate the guest and s/he might not like it.

You’ve met that travel influencer, had a good conversation, offered freebies, and did your best to deliver a great experience. Now, it’s up to him/her whether they promote your hotel or not.

Remember, even if you want a shout-out, you have to understand that this person is here for a vacation. 

Even if you manage to get a post with your hotel’s location, consider your goal accomplished. After all, you haven’t invested a huge sum on some influencer marketing campaign.

7. DO NOT neglect other guests. No matter what!

This is IMPORTANT-ER.

(I know there’s no such word as importanter, but you get the emphasis, right?)

A hotelier should never have any sort of bias toward his/her guest.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a popular travel influencer, a movie star, a businessman, or just a common man, your service has to be equal for everyone.

Now, the reason I am bringing this up is that most hotels tend to get inclined toward a special guest and as a result, the experiences of other guests get affected.

This shouldn’t be the case.

Even though you’re trying to cater to a special guest, ensure that other folks staying at your property aren’t getting deprived of your services.

How About Cracking an Influencer Marketing Deal?

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

You have done everything possible to deliver a great experience to your special guest with the hope of getting a free hotel endorsement.

However, upon your research on the travel influencer, you’re also planning on closing an influencer marketing deal with the person. You have the budget and the guest happen to be a great fit for your target guest segment.

Now, instead of shooting arrows in the dark, you can simply talk to your hotel marketing head and ask him to arrange a meeting to offer a proposal.

Let me tell you a little secret here:

Just like hotels try to impress influencers during their stay, influencers also try to impress a hotel. What I mean by this is that even your special guest might hope to get a marketing campaign deal with your hotel.

So, it is always worth giving it a shot and having a proper business discussion.