A Guide to Hotel Email Marketing: 5+1 Essential Tips
Email Marketing stands as the most cost-effective and automatable marketing mechanism, perfectly designed for busy hotel professionals.
Despite the complexity implied by the term “segmentation” and “personalization”, the below practices are instrumental to a thriving email marketing campaign.
The following suggestions will guide you towards success in your email marketing pursuits.
1. Ethically Acquire Your Data.
The cornerstone of a successful email marketing campaign lies in the establishment of a robust subscriber database, who are genuinely interested in your correspondence. It's vital to obtain email addresses in an ethical manner, adhering to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Effective strategies to ethically acquire emails include:
- Implementing a simple sign-up form on your website.
- Including an opt-in checkbox or a link to your sign-up form in post-stay survey emails or pre-arrival confirmation emails.
- Strategically placing cards around your property and within guestrooms to encourage sign-ups.
2. Segment Your Database (Target Audience).
Moving beyond a static contact list, segmenting your database provides an opportunity to directly target specific audiences with relevant content. Leverage your Property Management System (PMS) data to segment your contacts based on relevant criteria, such as interests, booking patterns, or customer profiles. By distributing custom-tailored emails to different segments, you ensure that your content aligns with each audience, amplifying engagement and avoiding the risk of sending irrelevant information.
3. Create Engaging Emails.
Use your email marketing campaigns to promote reservations of your accommodation. It's paramount to serve engaging content that aligns with your subscribers' interests and reasons for subscribing. Consider why people have opted into your emails and what they are expecting to receive. Examples could include exclusive deals and discounts, local events, or updates about your property. Personalize the emails by addressing recipients by their names and signing off from a real person to foster a personal connection.
4. Set the Optimal Email Frequency.
Striking the right balance in email frequency is crucial. While there's no definitive rule, testing different frequencies and analysing the results is advisable. To maintain visibility, refrain from allowing more than a month to elapse between emails, but be mindful not to spam their inboxes. A generally accepted guideline is a max. two emails per month.
5. Choose the Right Marketing Tools.
Sending emails directly from your server may lead to deliverability problems and limit your analytic capabilities. It’s more beneficial to use email marketing tools that offer essential features for effective email dispatch, provide valuable analytics, and assist you in growing your subscriber list. Many Property Management System (PMS) providers offer integrated email marketing solutions, or you could consider well-regarded tools like MailChimp, renowned for user-friendly interfaces, customizable templates, and anti-spam measures.
If your team is small and finding it challenging to come up with email content, AI tools such as ChatGPT, could save you time and streamline your content creation process.
6. Employ Automation When Possible.
For occupied hotel professionals, automation can be a valuable ally. Automate fundamental email campaigns such as pre-arrival emails, post-arrival follow-ups, welcome emails, and sign-up confirmations. Once these campaigns are in place, they will operate automatically, freeing up valuable time, while maintaining a consistent communication channel with your guests.
