Improve your Hotel’s Digital Marketing Strategy
But while this strategy may work well for larger chains, smaller independent and boutique establishments may find themselves at a disadvantage. Marketing and differentiating the product, for example, can be difficult and cost-prohibitive without the advantage of multiple channels. This article explores the problem and offers possible solutions.
Distribution Channels – Commoditization versus Differentiation
Is the issue of rate parity merely about different parties agreeing to maintain consistent rates, or is there more behind the obvious tension between hotels and OTAs? From the hotels’ point of view, at least, complaints against OTAs range from high commission rates to the hijacking of the hotel’s brand to not having any control over marketing or the management of customer relationships. In fact, the issues are far more complex than just agreeing on rates, and, in many cases, hotels may even have unintentionally signed contracts agreeing to the unfavorable terms they would like to change.
In 2015, travel tripper compared a number of standard OTA contracts and discovered that they normally contain the following (or similar) clauses:
Both clauses explicitly remove a hotel’s ability to contact certain groups of guests, allowing the OTAs to “own” guests and their data. This becomes especially problematic when OTAs offer loyalty programs, and even discounted rates, that a smaller hotel cannot afford to provide itself. In addition, the hotels likely have no say over the terms of such perks.
For some hotels and chains, the solution is clear: Cancel the contract with the OTAs and use their own website and booking engine. Other properties, however, lack the resources to go it alone. At the same time, while those hotels recognize the importance of differentiation through multiple distribution channels, they prefer greater control. For these reasons, a number of hotels joined forces to create Roomkey, a distribution channel controlled by hotels and offering products and customization not open to OTAs. Rather than commoditizing hotels, as OTAs have, Roomkey allows hotels to differentiate their products, promoting distinct traits and services, and competing on factors other than just rates.
What Can Hoteliers Do?
It seems clear that any digital marketing strategy requires hotels to be able to differentiate their product and make themselves stand out from the crowd. Larger chains have the benefit of brand awareness, attractive loyalty programs, and the negotiating power to establish multiple channels without an OTA contract. At the same time, the ability of independent and boutique hotels to differentiate and compete need not be cost prohibitive. Following are eleven digital marketing strategies collected from a variety of travel industry blogs:
As the above examples show, some common traits emerge for hotels who want to improve their digital marketing strategy:
This is true for hotels of any size and character. Regardless of the channels through which you market your property, having a say in how your hotel is promoted and how customers are managed, emphasizing your strengths and offering them as perks and, most importantly, standing out from the crowd are critical to effectively marketing your hotel.
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