3 Easy Steps to Boost Summer Bookings – Without Blowing Your Budget!

With pocketbooks tightening, and no sign of a let up, how do you keep the “No Vacancy” sign out all summer long? We wanted to help so we researched your industry to see if there were any changes in consumer behavior that would give us some clues to help you create a winning summer strategy. We hit pay dirt!
Did you know that people are doing more online research before booking their summer vacations? They’re searching an average of 22 travel websites (Google), communicating with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter, reading blogs and destination review sites, etc. What does this mean for your summer email marketing plans? If potential clients are visiting more online sites, then you need to be there. It also means you need to “orchestrate” all these marketing channels so they complement each other.
Let’s look at some tactics and tools you can use right now – at no added cost – to generate bookings and online buzz multichannel style!
3 Steps to Attracting Summer Visitors − Wherever They Are!
1.    Socialize your summer campaigns! According to Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HEBS)*, multi-channel marketing should be the norm for 2010. You’ll need to reach current and future guests at multiple touchpoints to get to them before the competition. Most of those touchpoints include social media, so you need to be where the buzz is!
For example, did you know that 49% of Twitter users said they made an online purchase because of an email, compared to 33% of all email users?* So…if you launch an email campaign to your hotel’s opt-in list, make sure to:
* Publish it on Twitter
* Promote it with tweets
* Add the full complement of social sharing icons (5)
* Promote it on your website (this is a must!)
* Promote it on your blog – or start one now!
* Make it easy for Fans to follow you.
* Include sign up forms on your social media pages!
To make each touchpoint truly multichannel, include links to all other related channels for easy access and maximum conversions!
2.    Energize your website − Most hotel websites still read like online brochures. While our focus is email marketing, everything must be integrated, right? So if this is you, here are some ways to make your site interactive, engaging, and fun to visit and share. Most of all, your website should be Grand Central Station for online bookings and incoming and outgoing hotel news.
Here’s a short list of interactive/social options you can implement quickly and at no added cost. Let’s start with your homepage, as that’s where you’re going to lose most visitors if it’s dull. The rest of your site will go into more detail and depth based on the landing page, so it’s critical to get it right:
* Add video tours of your hotel on your homepage.
* Promote specials with video tours, coupons and one-click bookings.
* Include 1-2 video testimonials on homepage, with links to more.
* Start a blog and invite everyone to contribute from your homepage.
* Include a graphic promoting a contest, sweepstakes, or other time-limited campaign, and don’t forget to show the prize!
* Include an online gallery of clients’ favorite vacations pics and clips.
* Add customer loyalty programs, with links to gifts and coupons.
* Add music and text-to-speech options to maximize the experience!
3.    Grab their attention with video and voice − You know that the competition for consumer dollars is ferocious this time of year, so your emails need to be more compelling, relevant, and engaging than ever. And the best way to increase engagement is with video! Remember the GetResponse study showing emails with video returned 96% higher CTRs than those without! Why? Two reasons: consumers crave more personal, “face-to-face” communication; and the hotel business is VERY visual, correct? So while your traditional video tours are still important, create some media fun with summer promotional videos that can be enjoyed and shared anywhere. Here’s some ideas to get you started:
* Clips of events, parties, BBQs, poolside fun and games.
* Favorite client vacation videos. They can use your webcam and account!
* Give them a tour of your restaurant cuisine with close-ups…yummy!
* Let them explore the locale, from parks, to lakes and streams, to the best galleries and shopping.
* Does your hotel allow pets? Everyone loves animals, so include some pet flicks!
Summer’s also the perfect time to try a brand new multimedia feature from GetResponse! The kids are out of school, and everyone’s more active, so why not make catching your marketing emails safer and more convenient with the new, industry-first Email-to-Speech. With a single click, E2S automatically converts text into a natural-sounding, high-quality human voice, so recipients can listen to emails “hands free”− at the beach or on the road. It’s also great to use with autoresponders – it makes them more personal and friendly. Wow, friendly, automated, messages, what a concept!
We hope we provided some ideas we could call new media “best practices”. But the takeaway is that consumer behaviors are changing and you need to keep up by “showing up” at every customer touchpoint to maximize your bookings. So remember to get “social” this summer! Once they’ve chosen your resort, we know they’ll come back again and again.
And as always don’t forget about:
4.    Customer Testimonials −Want to get even more responses from your multimedia messages? Ask happy customers to tell your story, customers that reflect your typical visitors or target audiences. Once you’ve created your testimonial with Email Marketing Tips Blog Multimedia Studio, post it on your website, blog, social media pages, and newsletters. And don’t forget to thank your clients with a discount coupon or free dinner. You’ll be surprised how powerful testimonials can be − and how much fun for everyone!
5.    Personalization – Your industry is quite personal already, if you think about it. Families trust you to make them comfortable, safe, and entertained, while far away from home. So whenever possible, add the “human touch” to your marketing emails. A 2009 Email Marketing Tips Blog study showed that personalized subject lines averaged 26% higher open rates and 130% higher CTRs than emails without. Most importantly, you’ll get better results if you personalize your message and your offer, based on data collected from surveys and campaigns, which brings us to…
6.    Segmentation & Targeting − This is probably one of THE most important engagement practices in your industry. Visitors on vacation want to enjoy themselves; that means spending time on the sports, hobbies, and indoor/outdoor recreational activities they prefer over any others. So the best way to get their attention (and their bookings) is to appeal to those preferences and interests. Use notes from previous stays, email analytics and surveys to capture and organize the data, then use it to target your messages and offers.  Sure, it takes time and effort, but the fact is, you’re not going to attract and retain visitors without it. Plus, they REALLY appreciate it!
7.    Autoresponders – Retention AND Repetition is the mantra in a down economy! Stay in constant touch with existing clients through e-newsletters, blog updates, special offers, and personal interest articles. Schedule and send greetings on holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Automate responses to online and phone inquiries, then use a series of follow-up messages according to the data collected. Remember, it can take 5-7 contacts to get a new booking, and the competition is fierce, so automate, automate!
* HEBS, Hotelier’s 2010 Top Ten Internet Marketing Resolutions
*    Marketing Sherpa, 201