The time is now ripe to tap more on the local tourists since it is a robust recovery roadmap.

Attracting local guests at your hotel not only helps you secure your business, but also you can have enough cash flow for mortgages and bring back your furloughed employees.

Hotels should now promote the concept of staycations so that more locals are enticed to visit the property to have a good time.

They must remember:

“Local culture may not always be glamorous, but it’s always meaningful.”

Nyssa P. Chopra, The Cultureur

But in case you are thinking about why and how to attract locals to your hotel, I have covered it all in this blog. Give it a read and you shall know the basics.

Let’s get rolling now!

Why Attract Local Guests to Your Hotel? 

If you are thinking about how local guests can become a steady source of income, then let me explain to you further.

Tapping into the local travellers offers you a steady source of income even when the business is a bit slower from other parts of the country or the globe.

Local guests can be a great source of advertising. Must be wondering how! 

• Delighted local guests can spread the word of mouth like wildfire. Thus people around you get to know and wish to explore more 
• Local guests can be a great source of indirect marketing 
• Locals who have a happy experience are most likely to leave positive feedback on the review sites.
• With more local travelers at your hotel, the stayover guests can interact with them, leading to cultural interchange 
• The presence of locals in your hotel lends authenticity to the property

How to Attract Local Guests to Your Hotel?

It is beneficial to bring in more local guests to your property but for that, you must have a full-proof plan. In this blog, I will pen down some of the most significant ways that will help you attract local travellers. You need to implement these strategies and soon you will see local guests flocking at your reception.

1. Do not take off seasons for granted

If you’re keen to draw locals to your property you shouldn’t ignore the off-season months. Remember the off-season months usually remain a little slack for the community around you. During this time you can attract local guests to your hotel with special packages and deals. 

It will help them unwind at a place not so far from home. Selling last-minute deals including vouchers and staycation coupons is a good idea. It’s an effective way to play with the psychology of your guests wherein they get a chance to feel lucky. 

You can offer free nights. It helps in brand building, publicity, and of course buck-building. 

2. Promote the concept of stay and play

The concept of a staycation is back and it is here to stay. To explore opportunities for staycations you can work around the location of your hotel. 

If you are located in the midst of the city, you can target guests who are reluctant to drive a long distance. 

You might put up a quick ad on your social media platform saying, 

‘Pamper yourself with great food, wine, and un-ending luxury without driving too far. Hotel ABC has brought in tailor-made packages for your tired mind and body. An opportunity to rejuvenate yourself before the long weekend is over.”

Similarly, if you are located a little further away from the city, you already have the locational advantage, you just need to promote the theme of stay and play so that it touches the right chord.

You could try saying:

“Just a few miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Hotel XYZ has crafted packages for you to unwind over the weekend with authentic local cuisine, vintage wine, and endless entertainment opportunities. Grab a bag and check into one of our cozy rooms and the rest we take care. That’s a promise we make.”

Besides, you could collaborate with local vendors like breweries and restaurants to design packages that make the staycation experience more appealing.

3. Let your marketing tone resonate with the locals

Did you know your marketing language can either make or break your business? The hotel industry is no exception. The language you use in your website or social handles determines your guests’ persona. If you are looking at attracting more local guests to your hotel, try to find out the factors that interest them the most. 

For example, if you are located between two popular attractions of the city you could entice guests by saying that a halt at your hotel will ease out their experience. They can explore places, and additionally, they have the opportunity to experience luxury away from the daily humdrum of life at most pocket-friendly prices.

You could also say that you are offering a free city ride if they stay in your hotel. Another great idea is to promote local food. 

For example:

If it is the strawberry season in your area you could run promotions by saying that you are offering a complimentary tour to the biggest strawberry plantation of the town or you could promote some lip-smacking dishes that have strawberry as the main ingredient.

When using the right marketing lingo the opportunities are endless, you just need to be a little thoughtful and go a little creative.

4. Focus on organizing events

Go creative when you have to organize events on your property. When the mercury is soaring you can organize a beer festival along with a night’s stay. With such tempting offers, you can attract the young population with ease. 

There are other interesting ways as well. For example, a baking workshop, a small fair that showcases the local artisans, or a live music concert. 

But the golden rule is to always club all your events with a night’s stay. This way you will get guests who are looking for a mini gateway along with some exciting events.

5. Work on building local tie-ups

Despite having talked about this factor earlier in the blog, I would like to draw special attention to the importance of local tie-ups. 

I would say get your feet dirty. Get onto the field and find out some of the quaint little places with whom you can tie up to give your guests that unique local flavour. 

Is it that bakery in a faraway neighbourhood that whips up artisan baked goodies? Or that group of organic farmers who has been producing fresh and chemical-free vegetables for quite some time now? You can promote both of them together or choose one at a time. But the key point here is to promote your tie-ups well. 

Craft a message that resonates with the demand of your guests. Listen to the ‘Demand of your Guests’. For that, you may engage with them on various social handles or talk to friends, families, and extended families. Motivate your staff to gather such information and always remember no information is redundant.

6. Highlight your facilities

Leonard A Cole had once said, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” It is true for the hotel business. To attract local guests to your hotel, it is important that you highlight some of your state-of-the-art facilities. 

You can craft a message which says:

“A home away from home with all the comforts and additional amenities like an excellent gym with most advanced equipment, a spa run by experts, accompanied by great food prepared by the best food connoisseurs in town. Come and give your tired body the pampering it deserves.”

It is indeed a great way to entice guests since they get to know about the plethora of facilities that you can offer them.

7. Use local influencers as an advertising strategy

Hotels can seek the help of local influencers to promote their facilities to local guests. When you approach the local influencers remember that even they have been affected by the pandemic, so you can create a win-win situation for both. 

When words come out from well-known people in society they have a higher impact on people. Look for authentic influencers to make the most of the situation.

8. Promote your brand through social media

Social media is about sociology and psychology more than technology.

Brian Solis

Social Media has a crucial role in brand promotion. Hotels can let their target guests know about the various facilities that they offer such as discounts, freebies, and so on. 

Also, taking into account the current scenario hotels should also mention their safety protocols to ensure a virus-free environment. Leverage the power of social media, get into the psyche of people, and feed them with the content they are looking for.

9. Perform local SEO on your website

Attracting local tourists isn’t an easy feat. There are several things that you need to consider. And one of them is local SEO.

When the target audience of your business changes, you should update your website as well. The web pages should be designed keeping in mind the taste of local guests. You could add more about local attractions or you can add a word or two about your expertise with local cuisine. 

Give a clear message to your guests that you are ready to offer them a memorable experience. The content should be more vocal for the locals. 

Also, don’t forget local SEO, all your web pages should be optimized from the local SEO perspective so that your hotel ranks up higher when people are searching with keywords like, ‘weekend getaways near me’ or ‘hotels near me with spa facilities’. 

These are some of the indicative search terms that I have talked about there could be many more. You could get in touch with an SEO expert for the task.

For an old couple, you can have items like nature walks, meditation sessions by eminent personalities, and so on. 

But, for a young couple, who has newly shifted to your city, you can craft a completely different package. Try to give them a sneak peek into the city’s heritage, its food, and culture. You can include a complimentary foot spa or give them a choice between a foot spa and visiting local artisans.

The post 9 Things You Can Do to Bring More Local Guests to Your Hotel appeared first on eZee Absolute.

• There are 70,000 Google searches per second
• Google controls 90% market share of the global search engine tools
• Mobile devices account for 63% of global search

Source: Review42

Hence, it is quite evident that the hotel industry can’t be an exception. A report by Forbes states that almost 57% of hotel bookings happen online. That’s quite a number, isn’t it?

Thus, hotels must increase their online presence to tap on the growing digital population. At the same time, there is no reason to run from pillar to post or spend a fortune to increase your online presence.

Google is more than a search engine, there are a slew of Google tools for hotels that enables them to gain online prominence.

Why Should You use Google Tools?

Have a quick look at its benefits

• Makes the property discoverable and improves its SEO ranking
• Builds brand identity and enhances visibility to attract potential bookings
• Gets more number of people interested in your property
• Track and manage the reputation of your hotel and also engages more with your guest

But knowing the benefits alone isn’t enough, you should be aware of the most effective Google tools for hotels. No worries, you need not conduct extensive research. 

In this blog, I will walk you through some of the most useful tools that help in acing the hotel business like a pro.

What are the Most Useful Google Tools for Hotels?

These tools by Google for hotels increase productivity and attract more travellers to hotels. And on top of that, some of them are free. You need to use the right tool for the right job and you are good to go!

#1 Google My Business

Did you know Google My Business for hotels is the most effective tool for hoteliers? It is free, essential for SEO, and makes your hotel appear as a result of local search queries.

Google My Business lets your hotel gain prominence in searches that have the ‘near me’ section. It gives more information on Google Maps about hotels so that travellers are tempted to book them.

Key Benefits

• Travellers can get accurate details about your business along with a plethora of information like phone numbers, opening hours, special amenities, photos, directions, reviews, and a lot more on Google Maps and search

ProTip: To stand out in the crowd, add good quality photos of your property, 360-degree views, videos, engage with your guests, enable chat options so that potential customers can connect with you at ease.

#2 Google Analytics

Like other free tools, Google Analytics for hotels is one such effective tool that helps businesses track and analyse web traffic. It helps you find the acquisition metrics, conversion metrics, or behavioural metrics.

It is as simple as finding out who visited your website, how much time they spent, and the kind of search terms that they used. 

Once you have all the insights you can fix the areas which aren’t functioning well, optimise the website, offer an excellent user experience, and gradually increase conversions.

It is like “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.”

Key Benefits

• Enables you to gauge your visitors better and offer an awesome user experience
• Helps you find out which channels bring more travellers to your property’s website
• Let’s you build a result-driven website with data optimisation

#3 Google Search Console

Search Console provides hotels with crucial insights. With the help of Google Search Console, you can find out how your hotel’s website is performing. Search Console gives Google access to your content so that it is monitored well. It also helps you submit fresh content so that Google can crawl it and reflect the changes while removing the old.

Key Benefits

• You can measure your search traffic and performance, fix the bugs, to make your site stand out from the rest
• It helps you analyse your site’s impressions, clicks, and position on Google search
• You may submit sitemaps and individual URLs for crawling for travellers to discover the new content

ProTip: At regular intervals upgrade your site’s content to generate higher rankings. Work on content as per the customer demand to gain more traction

#4 Google Keyword Planner

The specialty of Keyword Planner is that it is linked to your Google Ads account. Using this free tool you can find out the most-searched keywords that are specific to your industry.

Key Benefits

• Helps in creating keyword-rich content which improves search results
• Benefits small and mid-sized hotels since they can craft content with ease taking into account the most-searched phrases or keywords

#5 Google Hotel Ads

Have you ever wondered whenever you plan a trip which is the first place you begin your search? Probably not!

If you think a little you will realise that it is none other than Google.

This is where Google thought of leveraging the opportunity and came up with Google Hotel Ads in 2011. It is a meta-search platform. When you use this tool, the room rates of your hotel are displayed comparing them to other booking engines or OTAs. It helps hoteliers to display their hotel to travellers across devices.

If a hotelier submits up-to-date information in Google such as room rates, availability, and room types, it shows relevant ads to future guests looking for hotels in Google search or Google Maps. However, this is a paid service wherein the advertiser needs to make payment only if the ad is clicked upon and the booking process is accomplished. Also, the ad will appear only when the description of your property matches the search criteria of the traveller.

Key Benefits

• Increases the likelihood of direct qualified traffic to your website
• Gives an opportunity to own guest data and nurture future relationship with them, 
• Increases revenue because by the time the user comes to your website they have already found you after setting certain filters 

#6 Google Free Hotel Booking Links

Recently,Google has launched a Free Hotel Booking Links program for hotels to display their direct booking rates and availability on Google Hotel (Meta) Search and Google Maps.

The free booking links display similar information to the paid ads but the only difference is that it is free. So you have the opportunity to connect with more potential travellers without shelling out a penny.

If you are an existing Hotel Center Partner and already participating in Hotel Ads or listed in Google My Business you become eligible to show free booking links. You need not pay any amount for clicks on the free booking links and the minimum bid is only to indicate eligibility. At the same time, bids won’t have any impact on the ranks of free booking links.

Key Benefits

• Property site can appear across Google when people are looking for hotels
• Can connect with more travellers
• Drive more bookings at no cost

#7 Test My Site

Did you know that almost 88% of travellers switch to a different site in case one does not work well? Isn’t the figure alarming! It is indeed! 

Are you thinking about how to hold on to your potential customers? The answer is simple. Build sites that are mobile-friendly. In case your site isn’t mobile-friendly and takes time to load, chances are high that you will lose half of your visitors. Google’s Test My Site is a free tool that allows you to gauge whether your site is compatible with mobile devices. It is an excellent developer tool that gives hoteliers crucial insights.

Key Benefits

• Understand the potential loss of visitors due to slow load time. 
• Have access to a detailed report about ways to increase the speed of your website and attract more visitors.
• Check the loading time of your peers to have an idea of where you lie in the competition
• Gives a list of instant fixes such as AMP, cache optimisation, or image

According to a report,

#8 Google Trends

Don’t you think unless you figure out the requirements of your guests you can’t cater to it? This is exactly what Google Trends does. This free tool helps you determine the kind of marketing copy for your website to ensure higher conversions. Once you start using the tool you can plug-in various search terms, compare them, and get maximum insights as per specific geographic locations.

Key Benefits

• Helps you make informed decisions about your content or the marketing copy based on the search term that has a wider interest. 
• The icing on the cake is you get specific insights based on each of the search terms.

#9 Think with Google

In the hospitality industry staying ahead of the curve isn’t just desirable, it is essential. This tool from Google can be used by hoteliers to gain valuable insights about their potential customers. When you have the latest data and information about your target audience, it becomes easier to strategise your marketing plan. Unless you have a robust marketing plan in place you can’t meet success but using Think With Google you can almost read the mind of consumers. Voila! That’s quite a bit!

Key Benefits

• Ensures high-level insights that are powered with Google research and search engines
• High-quality understanding of industry trends, consumer behaviour, marketing insights, and so on

#10 Travel Insights with Google

Travel Insights with Google is a  newly launched tool that is like a magic wand for the ones involved in the hospitality industry. Decision-makers in the hospitality industry can gain insights about travellers at every stage right from planning to booking flights or hotels or exploring the local businesses. 

The tool will show the trends in the travel industry. Specifically, it will cater to two types of data, namely the Destination Insights and the Hotel Insights.

With the help of the Destination Insights tool, people involved in the hospitality industry can gauge the top sources of demand of a destination and the top destinations about which travellers are more interested.

Similarly, with the Hotel Insights Tool it is possible to understand where the travel demand within the region comes from. The hoteliers can use this information to make their hotel business stand out.

Key Benefits

• Helps the tourism industry make the right decision at the right time
• Help the industry emerge out stronger during the recovery phase
• Understand the real-time evolving travel trends
• Provides valuable insights into people’s travel aspirations
• Create more modern, sustainable, and inclusive tourism

#11 YouTube

Did you know every day more than 2 billion logged-in users visit YouTube? This humongous figure is almost equal to one-third of the internet population.

YouTube is the most popular video hosting platform in the world and 70% of the YouTube audience come from mobile devices. Hence, YouTube could be the golden goose for hoteliers. And one of the effective Google tools for hotels to promote video content and attract potential guests. You can post catchy videos showcasing your property and lure more visitors to your property.

Key Benefits

• Posting interesting videos on YouTube can help your brand reach the target group
• Distributing video on YouTube offers direct results in Google’s Search Engine results page
• With videos that connect, hotels get an opportunity to further engage with the potential guests

The post 11 Most Useful Google Tools for Hotels For Business Growth appeared first on eZee Absolute.

Thus the hospitality industry along with many other brands focus on the guest’s first name to create a personalised guest experience. But the cocktail party effect goes far beyond addressing the customer’s first name.

What is Personalisation?

True personalisation lies in understanding the journey of your customers. Once you know their need you can offer the right services at the right time.

“[Personalization] is a chance to differentiate at a human scale, to use behavior as the most important clue about what people want and more importantly, what they need.”

Seth Godin

State of Personalisation in the Hotel industry

The hospitality industry is yet to catch up with the recent personalisation fad. They are adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs). It is not that they are not capitalising on the data element in a digital age like today. But the data they collect comprises payment and registration details. Hence, it does not fetch any personal guest information.

A Real-Life Example: A guest checks in the hotel room and finds out that the fruit basket has apples, oranges, and cherry tomatoes. He is elated to find cherry tomatoes and finishes them off. He doesn’t prefer oranges or apples, so those fruits are left untouched. But the hotel keeps on filling the basket with similar fruits every day. And the story continues. They do not notice that cherry tomatoes are getting over every day, but the other fruits are untouched. The hotel fails to understand that the guest likes cherry tomatoes more than the others. Hence, the hotel should have taken care of his preference. This is an example of how a hotel fails to carve out personalised guest experience.

Hoteliers must realise that a personalised guest experience and the hospitality industry are like Siamese twins. To stay relevant, they should make their guests feel valued and empowered. If you are feeling at a loss, no worries, this blog will help you craft personalised service in your hotel.

How to Decode Personalisation in the Hotel Industry? 

One click and you can choose one property over another. The competition is fierce. The only way to hold grounds is to stand out.

Hoteliers should remember that personalised services in hotels go beyond the amenities and the discounts. It is no more an option; instead; it is mandatory. Brush up your listening skill and be attentive to ace the art of personalisation like a pro. 

Let us explore the top five ways to deliver a personalised guest experience at your property.

Have guest profiles at the tip of your finger

Coleridge had said “Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” The saying is valid for the data boom of recent times. There are umpteenth digital footprints that guests leave. But the challenge is to decode those data. 

Did you know, data insights build the foundation of a personalised guest experience?

Hotels should have data like contact details, stay history, birthdays, and anniversaries to identify repeat customers and delight them. And gathering such crucial information is no more an arduous task using technology. 

Use automated PMS to gather and store guest data effectively. It helps you have all the necessary details right at your fingertips.

A Pro Tip: A fine balance of technology and the human element is the way forward for the hospitality industry to remain abreast in this fiercely competitive world. 

Using appropriate technology

Technology will help hotel employees focus on tasks requiring emotional intelligence. They shall have more time to interact with the guest to improve engagement. Guests’ satisfaction becomes more, they feel valued, and they might even become your loyal customers.

Some of the popular uses of technology are:

• Chatbots that allow guests to reach the property seamlessly
• Paper-less and automated check-ins
• AI-backed virtual agents for acquiring instant feedback 

AI-powered applicants offer guests curated personal recommendations considering their behaviour, preferences, and interests. Technology also allows you to save money and upsell your services.

Involving your employees and management

Personalisation in hotel industry is critical for top-notch guest experience. Taking care of your guests’ interests can help you go a long way in establishing customer loyalty. It is possible to offer personalised hotel experience by using the right PMS and CRM tools.

You can send your guests an email on their birthdays and anniversaries or leave a hand-written note when there is a wifi glitch. Gestures like interacting with the guests during check-in can give your guests a positive personalised hotel experience. 

Invest in relationship building

When it is about personalisation in hotels, no technology can replace the essence of guest engagement. A warm welcome and a smiling face can never fail you in the hospitality industry. Building a personal rapport with your guests can help you learn more about them. 

A Pro-Tip: Leave no stone unturned to listen to what your guests have to say, be it your social handles or website, stay glued, to chance upon that golden clue.

Offer a fond farewell

‘All’s well that ends well.’ Here comes the concept of a fond farewell. Bid adieu to your guests thoughtfully. When guests feel happy before leaving your property they will be keen to return. Also, they shall recommend you to their friends and family. It is one of the most effective ways to gain business and to develop a brand identity.

The New Era of Hotel Personalisation

Is the image relatable? It could be the future of the entire hospitality industry where you check into a hotel, and robots greet you. 

You enter the room and you find everything flawless. 

Every time you seek a room-service, a robot serves you. 

Are you thinking this is a scene straight from a sci-fi movie? No, it isn’t! But it could be the truth if the hoteliers become heavily dependent on technology. It may sound super-exciting but it is not the ideal situation for any business.

There should be a harmonious synergy between the two to take your hotel business to the next level. While investing in technology, hoteliers must not forget that it can just automate routine tasks. But when it comes to showing empathy, no technology can replace a smiling face at the end of the day.

As technology makes the travel experience seamless and intuitive, the hotel staff should focus on the creative aspects and emotional intelligence to etch out a personalised guest experience.

The post The Secret to Offer Personalised Guest Experience in Your Hotel appeared first on eZee Absolute.