Hotels after Corona: a development, you should definitely take advantage of!

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Corona has shaken us quite a bit, but reopening is just around the corner.
THE opportunity to reposition yourself in terms of marketing, because something has changed for hotels after Corona:

Due to the crisis and long closure, guests are suddenly seeing hotels with different eyes.

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Photo courtesy Crew on Unsplash

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When guests think of a hotel, what they see first and foremost is the nice host. They enjoy the wonderful surroundings and the feeling of being looked after. All things they sorely missed during Corona.

Make the coveted hotel experience the focus of your website.
It aims directly at the longings and desires of your guests.

They will look at your hotel in a different way. Guests will no longer think “fancy rooms” and better prices, but “wonderful experience” – being happy and have fun. A much stronger motivator.

Guests are longing for positive emotions and special memories, and they are happy to pay the price for it…

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It’s worth taking action, because conditions are ideal

After endless months of restrictions and lockdowns with little personal contact, people only want one thing:

  • To get out! Meet nice people and feel good to be together. Celebrate, experience beautiful things and have a great time.
  • Experience real hospitality and the nice feeling of knowing “someone else is taking care of me”.
  • The hotel and catering industry play an important role in people’s lives. The pandemic has shown this very clearly.
  • There will be a lot of catching up to do, but if you do it right, you’ll attract th guests YOU want.

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We certainly missed our guests, but our guests also realized how much they missed hospitality!

Even if things get off to a slow start – it won’t be long before the situation improves significantly. The signs are all pointing to long-term success.

As difficult as the Corona situation was and is – this crisis is helping us to make a new start!

Now is the perfect time to position your hotel online – strong and independent.

Because relying on third parties again, i.e. tour operators, OTAs or travel agencies, is simply not an option. Not after this year!

You don’t have to completely redesign your entire website or your Facebook profile. Just look at your content –
WHAT do you say to your guests and HOW do you say it?

Because you can do amazing things with the right words.

Here are 3 things to look out for:

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Tip #1: Your website must trigger something in your visitors

Beautiful images, chic web design – this makes a good first impression, but is not effective enough to convince your visitor.
It’s your words that have the power.

  • Make your favorite guests the focal point of the website. When they feel you’re talking to them and you understand exactly what they need, you’ll have their undivided attention.
  • Distant or aloof, standard advertising slogans and impersonal empty phrases – all this turns your hotel instantly into “one of many” and your visitors will leave quickly.
  • But when your personality shines through, when your guests feels, “Great! They’re really nice”, then you’re already a giant step closer to your next direct booking.
  • People prefer to buy from people they like and connect with.
  • If your target audience are hikers, talk about their favorite topic: hiking! Show what your hotel does for its hiking guests: Here’s the best hiking experience of your life!
  • Your guests aren’t looking for a comfortable bed (ok, of course they are, but that should be a given with a good host) they’re looking for an all-round terrific hotel experience. Use your words to paint it in the most beautiful colors. Increase anticipation. And if you do it right, you don’t have to persuade anymore – your guests will enthusiastically press the booking button…

If you are looking for suggestions and example texts –
you can download it here for free.

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Tip #2: Resume the conversation

The pandemic has worn us all down and many hotels have stopped speaking to their guests after the second lockdown. The hotel websites have been reading the same thing for months and little is happening on social networks…

Of course, when it starts again, the demand will be great, so why make an effort now… however…the supply will also be huge…

And if you don’t want your guests to resort to booking platforms because they can’t find your hotel anywhere else, then now is the time to work on your image and visibility…

  • From xyz we’ll be back for you.” That’s the first thing you see in most hotels…and only…

How about a message that sounds a little more welcoming and heartfelt?

“If all goes well, we’ll reopen on… We can’t wait. We missed you so much!”

Show your guests how much you appreciate them with a nice “declaration of love”.

What could be nicer than giving others little moments of happiness!

I noticed this again and again in my hotel years:

Small, heartfelt gestures had a much bigger impact and were much more appreciated by my guests than champagne and gift baskets…

  • Hygiene and safety precautions are an important booking factor for most guests. However, they shouldn’t be the focus instead of your hotel product. Tell your guests that you understand their concerns and have taken care of them, and set them in the mood for a great one Hotel experience.
  • Chat with your guests online.

Facebook and Instagram are great opportunities to get back on your guest’s radar. Because that’s what it’s all about: to be remembered. Regularly and over a long period of time. The good news is that the longer you persist, the better the results. Your hotel will become a “brand” over time, your fan club will recommend you to others and at some point it will almost go by itself.

It works best with posts that interest and inspire your guests. That sticks in the memory.

So the opposite of 08/15.

Recount a little of the past few weeks with verve and personality, how did you experience the whole thing, what are you looking forward to; maybe a little insight into the preparations for the reopening… and here too you can show your guests how much they like you…

If you still need a few good ideas or need a creative boost, you will find plenty of suggestions here! 5 brilliant ideas on how to make Facebook posts fun again

  • A different form of entertainment and if you want to offer your guests something special – how about an (online) event for the reopening? Just meet again with a glass of wine and good music. Or coffee and cake? Each participant receives their secret cherry cake recipe, very exclusively, bakes the cake at home and you meet online – and dream of better times together…

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Tip 3: Ride full swing – on the roller coaster of the “post-corona phase”

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Photo courtesy Chris de Tempe/Unsplash

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during the pandemic, it’s the true meaning of the word “flexible.”

As soon as I had halfway completed a project, everything was thrown overboard again, as soon as I had an approval, the rejection came again. At first I found it incredibly frustrating, but over time I saw it as a challenge. And I had fun trying to find a solution for this next problem as well. What does Coach Corssen call it? “Mental training sessions”… and on some days it was even a master class…

People cling to what they know, but Corona turned it all upside down.

A good example is the conference market, which fell apart completely thanks to the home office.

Companies have discovered the benefits of working from home, and it will stay that way for the time being. What they also found out, however, is how important face-to-face meetings are to the development of the company. And so a new trend is already emerging: in the US, they are now working to bring remote workers together 1-4 a year for a 2-3 day hotel event.

Marriott teams up with UBER, Singapore embraces green and sustainable tourism, and newest audiences include the Digital Nomads. So it makes sense to question the status quo and thus successfully reposition your hotel after Corona:

  • Is my target group still correct, or has something changed here?
  • International travel will probably not really start again until next year. In the meantime, what can I do to gain a foothold in the local market?
  • Does my target group still have the same demands and wishes as before Corona or has that changed?
  • How do I want to come across as attracting exactly the employees I need for my house?
  • What additional guest touchpoints can I build in to engage them?

Is it all worth it? It is!

If you invest in your direct marketing now, then

  • In the future, it won’t be just anyone visiting, but exactly the guests who you want to attract.
  • Have no more sleepless nights because occupancy and sales are not up to par.
  • There will be hardly any complaints and you will be recommended because you attract your target group,
  • All revenue ends up with you without deductions and you can finally invest in things that make your guests’ stay even better.

I wish you the best of luck!!!!

And if you need a few more ideas and suggestions to implement them, you can download them here for free!