Five marketing trends for hotels

Despite high inflation, 2023 is forecast to be a great year for the German tourism market. This constitutes a great opportunity for the hotel sector. Having said that, this sector also faces growing challenges such as changes in guest requirements and a shortage of high-quality data. In order to prepare for all of that, this article takes you through the 5 greatest hotel marketing trends.

1. Guest-oriented content

Since a Google update in 2022, many hotel operators have been improving their website content to make it more user-oriented. The websites content should met the following criteria in order to rank on the search platform:

• It should be directed at a defined public: deal with your target group and edit your content in a way that delivers benefits to that group.
• The content should reflect the expertise of the brand: use your content to position your brand as an expert in the hospitality business.
• All content should inspire confidence and should be credible: seek out reputable sources when you post articles.
• Your content should provide the answers for which users are looking: use the FAQs to answer questions from your visitors.

However, you should not focus exclusively on the website content. To remain one step ahead in 2023, hoteliers also need to optimise the design and speed of their websites. This is to ensure that users are able to navigate your website rapidly. Your pages should also not take long to load to prevent your visitors from losing interest.

2. Video content is gaining in importance all the time

Video marketing is an effective marketing strategy for all sectors – and that includes the hospitality sector. 

There are many ways to implement video content in your hotel business. For example, you can use videos to highlight certain areas and unique features of your hotel. You can also create testimonial videos for your loyal guests. To win over more candidates, you can also publish videos that show your team and the working atmosphere in your hotel.

3. A presence on social media is a essential

For many younger guests, Social Media has become a search engine. They not only use social networks for finding and sharing content that awaken wanderlust. Younger generations also use social media to discover and evaluate hotels. For these reasons, social media presence is crucial for hotels targeting younger guests - especially in tourist areas where competition among hotels is very high.

However, it is no easy task to conduct a marketing campaign on social media. There are a great many different social media platforms and each of them promotes a different type of content. For example, YouTube is known for long videos. TikTok on the other hand is responsible for short videos while Instagram is appreciated for its aesthetic photos. Quite apart from the type of platform, you also need to research current trends in order to create relevant content. All of this can take a great deal of time, especially if your hotel is already fully booked.

Therefore we offer different social media advertising for you. Here you can choose between three different kinds of advert: Instagram Posts, Facebook Posts and Instagram Story. 

4. Hotels working closely with Influencers

Many hotel companies have already conducted influencer campaigns. Marriott is a famous example of this. Back in 2017, Marriott recruited four social influencers who took charge of the brand’s Snapchat account. They included Jen Levinson, Tom Jauncey, Sara Hopkins and Diipa Khosla. These influencers created one-week video reports of their trips to Marriott establishments in Berlin, Seoul, Dubai and New York. Marriott encouraged them to share these experiences with their followers on their own Snapchat accounts as well as on the Marriott’s Snapchat account.

5. Mobile users are coming to the fore

Mobile devices have become a firm part of our daily lives. In actual fact, around the world today there are 5.44 billion mobile phone users. Of those, 70% use their smartphones for searching and planning their journeys. 60% of search enquiries for information about a specific holiday destination also originate from mobile devices. All of this makes mobile marketing an important strategy for hotel businesses.

With mobile marketing, your guests have a convenient way of booking rooms and receiving updates about their stays with you. This seamless and personalised experience can generate greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. You can also use mobile marketing to communicate with guests in real-time. That can be helpful in emergencies or if guests require immediate assistance.