As 2016 is already underway, it’s time for hotels to think about how they can increase their occupancy in the coming year.

Visual Marketing

Images are far better at selling your rooms than words are. Perhaps we have always known this, but the numbers are in to confirm it:

  • TripAdvisor found that after hotels added photos to their profile, they saw a 138% increase in engagement.
  • MIT reports that the human brain can process visual information in as little as 13 milliseconds, while it takes 3x as long to process a single word.

Redesigning your website, adding more stunning high-resolution photos, refreshing your social media profiles and listing images are all ways to create more visual marketing.

The top viewed images on travel websites were:

  • Guest rooms
  • Restaurants
  • Recreation
  • Lobby
  • Business center
  • Pool
  • Bar/lounge

Online travel shopping

Is becoming increasingly popular for travellers to make all of their travel-related reservations online.

Thanks to room availability and pricing being accessible in real-time and from multiple sources, this allows for effortless comparison shopping.

In fact, Google reports that travellers:

  • Spend an average of 55 minutes to book a hotel and flights
  • Visit 17 websites
  • Click 4 different search ads per travel search

On these comparison websites, travellers can easily compare price, images, reviews, terms & conditions, room amenities, and property facilities.

The sites spend a lot of money to make sure they are easily found through search engines, and have evolved to the point that they tell travellers how many others are looking at the room, creating a sense of urgency to book it now.

Mobile devices

Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are now intrinsically a part of a traveller’s online shopping journey. Interestingly enough Google reported that 90% of travellers conduct the booking process over multiple screens.

This means that over a couple of days, they jump back and forth from desktop to mobile device to do their research and make the reservation.

Small accommodation providers need to make sure their website is responsive so that it automatically adjusts to the screen size of the device using it.

TripAdvisor has recognised the importance of mobile and created mobile travel apps so they can capitalise on it.

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Video

Videos are probably the best way to showcase your small property.

YouTube revealed:

  • 88% of their travel searches focus on destinations, attractions or points of interest, and general travel ideas.
  • There was a year-on-year increase in consumption of branded travel videos, with views of view up 118%.

Best practice dictates you create 2-3 videos that last anywhere from 12-45 seconds, showing off your property experiences like guest rooms and suites, restaurant and lounge facilities, and the location of the hotel with area attractions.

 

Millennials

You’ve probably heard about millennials, those aged 18-35 are a a driving force of revenue in travel.

  • The rise in youth spending vastly outstripped that of other international travelers..
  • Young travelers now represent 20% of international tourism.
  • One in four Millennials are planning more overnight leisure trips this year compared to last year.

Millennials are tech-savvy and they know how to search high and low for a good hotel deal. They’re also very vocal and will not hesitate to share their honest thoughts on review sites and social media if your facilities and services fail to impress.

With that in mind, you want to make sure that you adapt to their high expectations and cater to their needs.

Before their stay, provide online convenience.

Allow them to learn about your property and book themselves in online, from any device. Millennials are fluent and comfortable with booking plans online, as well as on mobile and tablet devices. If your website is difficult to use across devices, and they can’t check availability or book with you immediately, you will immediately lose points and they will look for an alternative.

Millennials are constantly connected to their social networks, and actively post to them while they travel. Give them free wifi, and personal experiences that they will share online with their networks.

These useful hotel tips will be sure to impress future guests, acheiving a higher gross income as well as improving brand awareness.

 

Trends to look out for 2016…

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Source:

The 5 Top Trends in The Small Hotel Industry You Should Be Aware Of

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