It’s no secret that the Easter break is one of the most profitable times of the year for businesses, but hotels must make the right plans to ensure the season goes well. Here are a few key trends and ideas to help you create a successful Easter campaign for your hotel.
During the Easter season, astute shoppers will look for special offers and appealing packages. To stand out, you’ll need to be creative. Recognize your audience and capitalise on the benefits of your properties. If families are your target market, make sure you have a lot of value additions. When household budgets are stretched, decision-makers will gravitate towards all-inclusive packages or packages that include activities to limit unforeseen expenses during their getaway. Always offer your best rate to direct bookers.
Use the appropriate channels and time your correspondence to best convey your message. Additionally, always make sure your messages are optimised for both desktop and mobile. Research shows that nearly three-quarters (71%) of travellers want to manage their hotel experience using a mobile device, including checking in and out, making payments, placing food orders, and more [Oracle]. This is encouraging for hoteliers who want to use technology to deal with staff shortages without compromising guest experience and service.
Another point to consider is that the pandemic has accelerated a trend towards working remotely. Working from anywhere is now accepted as standard. Midweek specials and discounted long stay specials have grown in popularity as a result. Make sure you offer free, high-speed internet and that your facilities have pleasant workspaces with convenient plug points.
Investing in travel for mental and physical well-being is also expected to be popular this Easter. According to Medical Travel Compared, 96% of Brits believe that taking a vacation is important for their mental health, with nearly two-thirds (63%) believing it is extremely important. Think about how you can incorporate wellness activities into your offerings, such as yoga or meditation classes, and promote your property’s proximity to outdoor recreation areas for physical activity. Additionally, consider offering wellness amenities such as spa services or healthy meal options to enhance the overall travel experience for your guests.
Let’s now look at an action plan based on the information above.
1. If you want to attract families, consider creating some family-friendly packages that could include meals, drinks, and activities. It could also be helpful to work with local businesses or attractions to offer discounts to families who stay at your establishment. Train your staff to be knowledgeable about family-friendly activities in the area and provide resources for them to recommend to guests. Don’t forget to prioritise safety measures, such as child-proofing rooms and having emergency contact information readily available. Consider adding amenities such as a playground or pool to make your establishment more attractive to families. And conduct surveys or gather feedback from families who have stayed with you in the past to continuously improve your family-friendly offerings.
2. If you have a spa, think about how you can help your guests to break away from the everyday. Think about including spa day packages, healthy eating options, and yoga, with access to fitness facilities.
3. Maintain exclusivity. All of your special offers should only be available for direct booking. This reduces not only commission costs, but direct bookers tend to spend more during their stay and are much more likely to return or refer friends and family in the long run.
4. Be creative. Think of enticing, special fun ways to celebrate Easter at your hotel. What about some seasonal decorations, and a special Easter meal for patrons. An Easter egg hunt is one of the most traditional ways to celebrate Easter. It’s a fun thing to do for both adults and children. So why not have an Easter egg hunt at your hotel? With the help of your staff, you could come up with a fun activity for families to do from early afternoon to early evening.
5.Increase visibility. For hotels, social media marketing is essential for boosting direct bookings, visibility, and brand recognition. Here are some tips:
- Plan around seasonality, with Easter being your next key focus for 2023. In low season, share promotions or themed packages to boost bookings. During high season, you can use social media to promote your hotel as the “place to be” to encourage early booking for next year’s high season.
- Manage your reputation. Respond to all reviews, positive and negative, to show users that the hotel values their feedback.
- Showcase your hotel on social media by posting high-quality photos and videos of the property, amenities, and guest experiences. This can help to attract potential customers and build a positive brand image for your hotel.
- Create a human connection so potential guests know who is behind your team and make it more relatable to potential customers. Share stories about your staff members and highlight their achievements and contributions in guest satisfaction. This will add a personal touch to your brand and help establish trust with potential customers.
- Partner with local influencers or those with a significant following in your target market to expand your reach and increase brand awareness. Having their endorsement can encourage potential customers to engage with your brand and increase your chances of success.
- Set up a newsletter on your website and invite customers to subscribe, incentivising them with discounts and other special offers to keep them coming back.
6. Training your hotel staff for the high season is crucial for maintaining excellent customer service and satisfaction during the busiest time of the year. It is important to have clear procedures in place and to ensure that your staff know how to handle any situation that may arise. Make sure to provide thorough training on not just basic hospitality skills, but also on how to handle unique situations that may arise during the high season. Properly trained staff can make all the difference in creating a memorable experience for your guests.
7. With a well-considered inventory and purchasing practices in place, hotels can curb rising food cost percentages while managing risk and growing their bottom line. Implementing technology such as inventory management software and conducting regular audits can help your hotel effectively manage its inventory and reduce waste. By negotiating with suppliers and using data to guide purchasing decisions, your hotel can also save money and increase profitability.
8. Check that your system settings allow you to combine offers and makes it seamless for customers to extend their stay if required. Also verify that your arrangements for each room type are accurate and test your booking system to make sure that it is easy to use and accommodates all types of booking requests, such as rooms for extended families, and single parents travelling with children. A good property management system will deliver software to assist in managing reservations and other hotel-related administrative tasks and ease the day-to-day burden of managing your hotel. This can free up time for staff to focus on providing excellent customer service and improve guest satisfaction.
Capcon specialises in working with hotels and other hospitality related establishments to provide on-site guidance and customised software solutions that streamline operations and enhance the guest experience.
Our advanced stocktaking and hotel management systems are designed to help you save time, reduce errors and maximise revenue by automating key tasks such as stock management, online bookings and payment processing.
Our pre-recruitment screening, mystery guest and staff training solutions also help hotel management to maintain a safety culture, mitigate loss exposures, improve customer relations, enhance upselling, and reduce risk. This is particularly important in the busy holiday season, which can often see hotels running the risk of being short-staffed and overly crowded.
Through our network of contacts, we can also put you in touch with a website developer who offers best practice in desktop and mobile design for hospitality related businesses.
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