3 steps to Drive Hotel Demand (and find love) for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a key date for hoteliers thinking of driving demand and generating new bookings, because let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to be whisked off to a nice hotel to celebrate the day? That’s why targeted email marketing, special offers, gift cards, segmentation & automation, and much more, should be top of your to do list!

Leverage the insights in this blog, along with our NEW checklist at the end to learn how to drive demand to your hotel, and possibly get a date, for Valentine´s Day.

1. Catch their eye

Getting a person’s attention is great but attracting the right person’s attention is even better. You wouldn’t go to a couple’s retreat looking to meet the love of your life because chances are, they’re already taken. So, why advertise your hotel to an audience that may not be interested in booking with you? Understanding whom to target and when to target them is the key to a creating a successful marketing campaign. To get it right, you’ll need comprehensive forward-looking data. When it comes to knowing your audience, data is your best friend. Leveraging data helps you to:

• Understand how travellers are booking: What channels are they using? What price range are they looking in? How far in advance are they booking? 
• Learn how your competitors are attracting guests: What are they saying or offering that you’re not? 
• Discover feeder markets: What countries are people travelling from? 
• Identify what rooms to promote to get the best RevPAR possible: What do travelers prefer and expect out of their room and property? Make sure they know you can provide it.

By putting all of this information together, you can create a fact-driven persona, enabling you to target the right person, at the right time, with the right experience.

2. Get personal

When you know where to focus your efforts, grabbing someone’s attention is easy, after all, you’re a catch! But getting personal is where you really stand out from the rest. After all, you’re used to wooing dates by surprising them with something you know they’d like, so why not apply that practice to hotel guests too?  Here’s how you can personalise experiences and offers at every step of the guest journey to deliver more valuable experiences:

• Shopping: Attract new guests by merchandising targeted offers and enhancements across distribution channels
  Examples: 10% off your first stay. Free parking for Valentine’s Day. 
• Booking: Recognise returning guests and deliver targeted services, enhancements and upsells on your website and in the booking flow, based on centralised guest data
  Examples: Valentine’s Day Package – celebrate your love from just £79. Free bottle of Champagne and double loyalty points for returning guests. 
• Pre-Stay: Engage booked guests with additional personalisation and enhancement opportunities in pre-stay communications.
  Examples: Add a little sparkle to your stay with a free glass of Champagne and 10% off dinner for two. Treat yourselves with our Love Bird Spa Packages for two. 
• On-Property: Make the on-property experience shine with proactive service delivery, surprise and delight tactics, and more
  Examples: Amp up the romance with rose petals on beds, complimentary chocolate covered strawberries on arrival and free upgrades for valued, returning guests. 
• Post-Stay: Keep guests engaged with your brand, position other properties in your portfolio, recognise and reward guests, and establish lasting relationships.
  Examples: Happy Birthday, enjoy 20% off your next stay. An anniversary package just for you.

3. Keep them wanting more

Have you ever been on a date that you thought went well, but then you never heard from the person again? If they messaged you again a year later, would you reply? Probably not. What if that person had followed the date up with a text saying how great it was spending time with you, asked if you enjoyed yourself, stayed in touch regularly? Would you go on a second date with them? A third? Who knows where that relationship could go…

Generating loyalty is a lot like working towards a second date. You need to put in the effort after a guest leaves your hotel to encourage them to want to return. Be sure to send a post-stay survey, invite them to join your loyalty program with members-only benefits, or use an online portal to collect their preferences so that you can tailor their next stay to their needs. Be sure to select a Guest Management Solution (GMS) that can help you maximize the value of your guest data to continuously drive revenue and engagement for your hotel. Competition for guests is more intense than ever as the industry recovers.

Bonus tip: rely on your friends for help

We all need to rely on friends for help sometimes, whether it’s to share their advice, help you choose the perfect outfit, or give you the pep-talk you need to put yourself out there. And when it comes to driving demand, Amadeus is your best friend. As you’re laser focused on delivering exceptional guest experiences, we’re focused on providing you with the tools you need to do so, with products to help you drive demand at every stage of the traveller’s journey.

Looking for more information on how you can drive demand for Valentine’s Day, and beyond? Our team of UK & Ireland experts are on hand to help! Contact us today to learn how Amadeus’ platform of solutions could benefit your business.

We’ve got your back, now let’s get you out there.