Spring is here and travel is blooming! Many Americans, in fact, more than half, are planning a vacation this spring. Additionally, 39% are planning on taking 2 or more trips. This is great news for anxious hoteliers who have been waiting for the travel industry to recover since the start of the pandemic.

The challenge lies in getting these travelers to book a stay at your property and not the one down the street. Successful hotels will be the ones that foster a growth mindset and begin planting seeds early. By cultivating your hotel’s digital presence now, you can be better prepared to reach travelers and earn their business.

Plant your Online Presence Now, Reap Bookings Later

Good things take time and growing your hotel’s digital presence is no different. The amount of time it takes depends on how much work you have already put in. The more active and engaged you already are with your hotel’s digital presence, the less work you’ll have to do to reach your goals. 

However, that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. Creating a successful digital presence takes time and lots of analysis and reevaluation. Putting in the legwork now will allow your hotel to have a solid foundation when travelers come looking at your property online, whether it’s on your social profiles or your reviews.

Creating a Social Media Strategy

Social media is an essential element of your hotel’s digital presence. Don’t miss out on reaching travelers on platforms that they spend hours scrolling on. Creating a social media strategy starts with defining your hotel’s voice and the type of content you’ll be posting, as well as the frequency. Typically, high-quality images and videos of your property, rooms, amenities, and local attractions help garner attention to your page. Posting multiple times a week shows you’re active on social media and can create more engagement.

To target travelers this spring, post about local activities that could draw travelers’ attention to your area as well as any amenities your property offers that help you stand out from the crowd. Define who your ideal audience is and tailor the content to fit their interests and attract their attention. If you’re looking to capture singles, couples, or friend groups, mention your hotel’s onsite bar or lounge, upscale restaurants, and your area’s nightlife. If you’re targeting families, post about fun, kid-friendly activities and attractions.

Managing Your Hotel’s Reputation

Travelers almost always look at a hotel’s reviews before booking a stay. Positive recent reviews give hotels the best chance at securing bookings. To give your hotel the best shot at success, encourage guests to leave reviews every chance you get. From posters in the lobby to cards in the rooms to post-stay emails, give guests a gentle reminder that their feedback helps improve the hotel for future stays. The constant stream of reviews helps give future travelers an idea of what their stay at your property will look like at the moment.

In addition to gaining reviews, it’s important that travelers see that your hotel is responding professionally to all feedback. Thoughtful responses from hotel management give guests a more positive impression of the hotel. It’s also important that each response is unique to each review so that guests feel like their input is actually valued. Even though this can be a time-consuming task, the results are worth it.

Committing to a Growth Mindset

Planning and maintaining your hotel’s digital presence takes a lot of time and effort. It can be hard to stick with it when you’re a hotelier with a thousand other things to take care of each day. However, remembering what you’re working towards can help keep you motivated.

It can also be helpful to have a third party help you manage your hotel’s online presence. Travel Media Group’s solutions are designed specifically for hoteliers to help them market their hotel in the online spaces travelers are looking in. 

Our social media solution helps hotels attract travelers and reach their ideal audience with up to 5 weekly posts of customized content. Ensure that your hotel’s social calendar is always full and create more engagement to drive bookings.

Our Respond & Resolve™ and Reputation Management solutions give hotels peace of mind by responding to guest reviews in the hotel’s voice and garnering reviews with post-stay emails, respectively. Check out Travel Media Group’s wide range of digital marketing solutions today and commit yourself to growth!