Feature
HOTEL Business Review
Boosting Bookings T
he pandemic has impacted travel globally. India along with many countries has lifted travel restrictions. It is now important for hotels to understand the future trends and business forecast to develop a recovery strategy to plan for the demand going to generate in coming days. Hotel’s marketing need to adopt strategies those are extremely relevant in this current situation. It must be realised that offering a discounted rate is not is a wise option for attracting guests. Heavy discounting may affect the brand in the long run. Also the loyal customers may react adversely to this initiative. Fortunately, positioning your hotel for future success and accomplishing your short-term marketing goals are not mutually exclusive concepts. There are several ways to market your hotel for future success without compromising the pressing needs of today. Marketing your hotel needs careful planning. One has to make and follow a marketing plan even if the fruits of your labour aren’t immediately apparent. Hotel marketing strategies take time and effort. Running a profitable hotel requires knowledge of what’s
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come before and a special knack for what’s next. It takes great attention to detail. There are some of the methods that have to be earnestly considered to make a success of your hotel. A look at the future trends will enable the hoteliers in India to adopt an effective marketing strategy. However, marketing of a hotel is not difficult, even in this competitive world, if you have an understanding of how to make your hotel saleable to prospective buyers. Today when DoMs and Marketing Managers speak about hotel marketing, mention of internet inevitably creeps in. Everyone agrees that the days of marketing your hotel through the conventional media is now a thing of the past. A comprehensive hotel marketing plan helps your hotel business reach its goals. It is the road map of how you’ll focus your energy to achieve these goals. For this you have to follow five basic rules: Define yourself, Choose your target audience, Settle the digital question, Ramp up inbound and outbound marketing strategies and Track your return on investment. The work you should do to define your hotel’s unique identity will ultimately help you
solidify your brand. Your hotel brand is far more than the colours in your marketing materials and the shape of your logo. Your brand communicates your company’s character and, accordingly, lets potential guests know what you offer better than anyone else. And the best way to do this is through the net. Today, most hoteliers realise the importance of their webface to their customers and the extent to which customers interact with the brand through the social media. The Indian online industry has grown at a tremendous pace over the last few years. As Internet and credit card penetration has increased, more and more customers have started to adopt the e-commerce model. India has been the cynosure of Internet and mobilebased consumer business.
Effective Website Preparing a website that is easily accessible and has attractive content is a point that needs to be seriously considered. Marketing has gone digital. No ifs, ands or buts about it—it’s time to market your property online. You need a website. Your website needs to be
