Many people dream of running a hotel as a way of life. A villa in Tuscany or cottages in Masuria allow you to live on your own terms and share your happiness with others. Unfortunately, nowadays it is not only talks with guests by the fire, but also marketing and promotion, without which no one will know about the hotel.
When it comes to traffic sources, it's in the hospitality industry returning customer is worth its weight in gold. Concept here consumer lifetime value has a literal meaning. Customers come to their favorite hotel every year for several dozen years. First alone, then with children, and finally children and grandchildren begin to come with their own family ... New landscapes, the intimacy of your own room and a comfortable bed away from home - there is something about it that makes even the shortest stay in a hotel intense experience. Sometimes we remember those two days at the seaside for the rest of our lives. You never know which weekend guest will be the one who will leave tens of thousands of zlotys with your relatives and friends over the decades, and this is, among other things, the beauty - but also the challenge - of running a hotel.
Running a hotel - how to effectively gain guests?
The first step in running a hotel and planning advertising is to take care of visibility. On the web, but not only. The hotel industry is specific and there may still be someone who will ask for accommodation spontaneously when he or she is walking nearby or planning to visit a specific place. Contrary to many business ideas, running a hotel is meant to be a plan for years. Banners, murals and signs those leading to the hotel often stay in one place for decades until they become part of the landscape. Also, do not ignore the hotel body itself as an advertising medium! The rainbow facade of the Sobieski hotel in Warsaw, the neon of the Victoria hotel - they also attract guests and constitute an advertisement in themselves.
Many people who run a hotel stop at this form of visible advertising message. Meanwhile, the mere awareness that there is such a hotel in the area is not enough! Others in the area do packages, promotions and special events, thanks to which they attract guests to their facility. You should also take care of them. Increasingly, the customer wants experience, lifestyle and something new, not just service. This is clearly visible in the hotel industry.
Often the impetus to organize a trip to a specific place is, for example, a herbal SPA in a hotel, an award-winning restaurant, morning sun greetings and yoga classes, or a beer festival held in the facility. Unfortunately, running a hotel in 2021 it is not only taking care of the decor and cleanliness of the rooms, but also additional attractions that will attract vacationers. Therefore, it becomes virtually impossible to run a hotel without the help of a marketer or outside marketing company.
Running a hotel using a traditional approach may be limited to a few months in the season. On the example of our facility, Dwór Korona Karkonoszy, we can say that additional activities extend the season practically all year round. In the hotel, we produce our own craft beer, coffee, preserves; we organize events, festivals and communions, and the flavors are the responsibility of the chefs, who watch over the seasonally changing menu card based on local flavors. Thanks to this, there is something to come back to all year round. It also has a psychological meaning - Today, customers plan their trips based on constantly fresh, inspiring content in social media or on the hotel website. If a site appears to be neglected, and still announces New Year's Eve from many years ago, customers will not be sure whether the site is open at all.
Running a hotel - marketing on the basis of examples of well-known companies
Today, even the largest hotels, equipped with a PR team and a marketing department (and perhaps especially such places?) Do their best to surprise with an unusual marketing strategy. A great example is the famous Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Johnny Depp, Greta Garbo and Robert de Niro stayed there. He appeared in the film La La Land and A Start is Born. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Annie Leibovitz created their works here. It would seem that such a place is a play, and running a hotel comes down to serving the guests. Yet the owners do much more. They bet on a souvenir shop with the hotel's logo, which can also be ordered abroad - this gives you income in the off-season. In 2020, a decision was made to rent rooms only to members of a special hotel club.
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Polewicz scout station near Warsaw also decided to use its strengths. A neglected, communist-era center cannot compete with modern hotels. Hence the idea to organize the "Adult Colony". The idea is already being developed by other centers. Many remember with nostalgia childhood jam sandwiches, singing with a guitar by the fire and every minute of free time after lunch. Time-worn camp houses and a lonely pier over the lake also move them. It turns out that you can build a business idea on this as well. There is a regular shortage of places on such "colonies".
Influencer - special guest?
Recently, there has been talk of marketing cooperation between hotels with influencers. What is influencer marketing? Just imagine it: you host a popular artist or writer for a night or two. The guest repays you with a nice post on social media, and you accept bookings from thousands of their fans for the next few months. Today already influencers they are not as willing to agree to such simple barter exchanges as they used to. On the other hand, those who do agree sometimes offer nothing in return. Rather choose yourself influenceryou want to work with.
Recently, there has been talk of marketing cooperation between hotels and influencers. What is influencer marketing and how to use it when it comes to running a hotel? Just imagine it: you host a popular artist or writer for a night or two. The guest repays you with a nice post on social media, and you accept bookings from thousands of their fans for the next few months. Today, influencers are not as willing to agree to such simple barter exchanges as they used to. On the other hand, those who do agree sometimes offer nothing in return. Rather, choose the influencer you want to work with yourself.