When was the last time your hotel sent an email to subscribers?
Okay. Now the next real question is when was the last time you sent an email that didn’t offer a promotion or discount or some kind of cal to action for a sale?
There is a lot more to email marketing than trying to get immediate sales. That can certainly be part of your email efforts, but there is opportunity for more.
Your interaction with your guests is a different kind of relationship than someone that just goes to the store to buy something. You’re looking to build relationships that bring people back over and over for years and years.
Sending a guest sales emails every month is not going to build that relationship. Here are some other types of emails your hotel can send to build relationships.
1. Upcoming Local Events Information
The reason guests often come to stay with you is because something is going on in your area. Some will come to visit family and maybe for another reason, but most are coming to see something or to attend something.
Keep your guests and subscribers informed about what’s coming up in your area including local events. You could create a calendar that has lists of all the big events, both personal events and business events, coming up in the next few months.
This will provide value and you might spur some to book with you and plan a new trip.
2. Travel Tips
Send some quick emails with little travel tips for your guests. If you see a guest that has a really smart way of packing bags then share that tip with your subscribers. Give them little hacks for packing or for getting around town quick or something like that.
People love ways to save money and to save hassle. They love cool little bits of wisdom especially when they’re traveling and out of their regular routine.
3. Pre-Arrival Information
A few days before your guest arrives send an email with a welcome packet of information. You can give them some information about the events coming up during their stay. You can share places where you recommend they could eat or visit.
You probably get the same type of questions when you check people in each and every day. Answer those questions in email form and have it automatically send to guests before they arrive. They’ll appreciate it and it will save you and the staff some effort.
4. Updates And Changes To The Hotel
It’s good to keep your past guests in the know when it comes to updates and changes at your hotel. If you’ve just added free Wi-Fi in every room, include that in an email. You could send this type of email very six months or every year. List all the updates you’ve made over that time. It will be a nice little reminder to your guests that you’re working to make their future stays even better than before.
5. Guest Stories
Guest stories are unique ways to add value by letting your customers speak to other customers. Reach out to one of your guests and just ask them about their stay and what they did in the area. Ask them where they ate and how their entire experience was.
This does a few things for you. First, it gives your other guests a little insight into what others are doing when they visit. Maybe the featured guest found a little gem of a restaurant. And second, it works as a testimonial for staying with you, which is a great sales tool without really being too sales-y.
6. Employee Interviews And Stories
You can interview your employees as well. What’s one of the first things your guests often do when they’re checking-in? They ask the person at the desk or another employee of yours where to eat or where to go and visit.
Everybody from out of town wants to know where the in-towners go when they want good food and entertainment. Give this information to your guests by interviewing your employees and sharing it in an email.
It also gives your employees a chance to do something fun.
7. New Restaurant Reviews And Features
New restaurants are always popping up in any city. Go and visit those places and share your thoughts in your email newsletter. It’s a way to keep your guests interested in what’s changing in your area and you can give them new options when they come to visit next time.
You can do this for all kinds of places like bars, coffee shops and other locations.
8. Updates And Changes To The Community
Finally, provide updates about what’s changing in your community. Maybe the city is doing some renovations in the downtown area. That would be interesting and potentially appealing to your past guests. They might want to come back and make sure they visit the new area.
Conclusion
It’s okay to include sales content in your emails, but it’s also good to build a real relationship with your hotel guests. You want them to come back over and over again. You have to give them the kind of information that is valuable.
Include the information above in your hotel emails and you’ll find that you can send more emails to your subscribers and that you’ll form better, more profitable relationships with them.
For more information about email marketing please read SLD’s Email Design Services page.
Image: Maria Elena
