Capturing Holiday Bookings: Your Hotel's Guide to a Sold-Out Season

Image by RevPar Media for Westhouse, NYC

The most wonderful time of year is near. No, not football season! The holiday season! From families seeking a festive getaway to professionals attending holiday parties, demand is high. And so is the competition.

How do you ensure your hotel stands out from the crowd? It requires more than just hanging a few lights. It demands a strategic marketing plan.

Here's your essential guide to crafting a marketing strategy that will have guests choosing your hotel for their holiday celebrations.

1. Themed Holiday Packages – AKA The Home Alone 2 Experience (Without the Sticky Bandits)

Generic room discounts won't make the cut this year. Guests are looking for memorable experiences. Condense your offerings into a compelling story that's easy to market and creates organic buzz.

• The Family Gathering Package: Includes connecting rooms, kids-eat-free offers at your restaurant (or a local restaurant), a visit with Santa, and a holiday movie night or live music in the lobby.

• The Romantic Escape Package: Target couples with a champagne welcome, a couples' massage at your spa (or local spa), a holiday dinner, and late checkout.

• The New Year's Eve Countdown Package: Promise an all-access pass to your NYE gala, party favors, a premium bar package, and a lavish recovery brunch on January 1st.

Promote these packages on a dedicated "Holiday Experiences" webpage, and you've got yourself an irresistible holiday package!

2. Optimize Your Website's SEO – How Many Times Can You Use Santa on One Landing Page?

When potential guests search for terms like "Christmas hotel packages [Your City]" or "New Year's Eve getaway near me," you need to be there.

• How to Find Keywords: You can find keywords with free tools like Google Trends or paid tools like Semrush.

• Create SEO-Optimized Content: To optimize your website, write blog posts targeting the keywords you've found with the above methods.

You'll want to ensure your SEO content is optimized for mobile users as well. Over 60% of travel-related searches happen on cellphones. If your site is slow or hard to read on a phone, you will lose bookings.

Image by RevPar Media for Westhouse, NYC

3. Launch a Targeted Paid Advertising (PPC) Campaign – Think of Ads like a Stocking Stuffer. They don't know they want it yet!

Combine your SEO efforts with paid ads, and watch your visibility soar!

• Google Ads: Run search ads for your top keywords, for example: "[Your City] holiday hotel deals." Then, curate ad copy around what people are searching.

• Social Media Ads: Use Facebook and Instagram ads to target users based on demographics and interests. Then, retarget website visitors who viewed your holiday pages but didn't make a booking.

PUT A BOW ON IT!

Capturing holiday bookings is about building anticipation and executing on the holiday excitement. By creating desirable packages, optimizing your digital presence, and marketing them with themed visuals and targeted ads, you can fill your rooms with guests ready to celebrate the holiday seasons.

Ready to Deck Your Halls with Guests?

Let us help you start planning your holiday marketing strategy today! Contact us now, and we'll help you:

• Create holiday packages

• Provide an SEO Audit of your website

• Curate a Holiday Social Media Strategy

Let's get started!