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Hotel advertising: Examples of hospitality ads

  Posted in Resources  Last updated 19/12/2023

What is hotel advertising?

Hotel advertising is one of the main ways a hotel can generate business. It is a group of marketing strategies in which a hotel pays to be presented to an audience via a range of channels, such as digital, print and broadcast form.

Just like advertising in any industry, hotel advertising is a way for you to communicate with potential guests about your services and offers.

Every piece of advertising should deliver a clear message for the prospective customer; for example you might use advertising to let everyone know your hotel restaurant and bar have exciting new menus. 

This has the potential to attract new and returning guests, as well as drive ancillary business from the local community.

Hotel advertising is crucial for ensuring that travellers first discover your business, and then also gain a lasting impression of your brand that convinces them to book their stay with you.

In a competitive environment like the hotel industry, there’s an art and a science to ensuring your business is found, noticed, and booked by travellers instead of your closest competitors.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key role of advertising in bringing your hotel success, and how you can make your advertising strategy the best it can be.

Table of contents

Types of hotel advertising

Hotel advertisements come in a wide variety of forms. Hospitality advertisement examples include: 

  • Hotel online advertising: With the overwhelming majority of travellers now booking their stays online, digital is a hotel’s single most important type of advertising. It encompasses a large variety of ad types which we’ll take a closer look at below.
  • Hotel commercials/broadcast advertising: Hotel advertisement examples like TV and radio remain important ways for you to get in front of potential guests, as they allow you to reach a huge audience all at once.
  • Hotel print ads: Hotel print advertisements, such as hotel magazine ads and newspaper ads, can significantly increase brand awareness. In-flight magazines are a particularly valuable advertising channel for hotels, as they specifically target travellers while they are travelling.
  • Hotel outdoor ads: From hotel billboards to bus stops, outdoor advertising is another way for your hotel to put its name up in lights, and can be particularly effective for motels and other driver-focused accommodation providers.

Importance of developing a hotel advertising strategy

Today, there are more avenues to explore for advertising than ever before. This still includes traditional methods such as physical billboards and direct mail, as well as channels brought on by the age of the internet like social media and search engines.

A successful hotel advertising strategy will depend on choosing the right channels, allocating the appropriate budget, and targeting the most ideal audience. The benefits of getting it right include:

  • Increased brand exposure for your hotel(s)
  • Additional occupancy
  • Boosted revenue
  • Elevated reputation
  • Improved engagement and customer loyalty
  • An advantage over competitors
  • Business profit and growth

It doesn’t have to be all about guests either. You can use advertising to establish key partnerships with other travel brands, local businesses, and industry influencers.

Get more out of your online advertising

SiteMinder helps you to put your business up in lights. Manage your distribution effectively, build a more optimised website, and let us help you win metasearch bookings.

Learn more

How to get started with a hotel advertisement strategy

Here’s a general overview of everything you should consider when developing your hotel advertising strategy.

1. Research

Knowing who you want to attract is obviously priority number one. Often a ‘catch-all’ approach won’t work – since guests want a unique, authentic, and memorable experience that feels like it was made for them.

So you need to think about who is likely to be interested in your particular property and who is commonly travelling to your destination. Once you have some key audience segments in mind, this will inform how you execute your advertisements.

2. Visibility

As we mentioned, you only exist to guests if they can find you. The first step is making sure you are listing your hotel on as many top booking channels as possible, as well as any niche channels you know your typical guest may gravitate towards.

For example, some of the most popular online travel agencies are Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Airbnb, and Hotelbeds.

3. Reach

Consider how you can expand your reach to engage even more customers and keep in touch with those already familiar with your brand. This may include channels such as search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, email, and direct mail.

4. Engagement

Travellers won’t book with you simply because they discover you. They need to be won over with a promise of quality service and an exceptional experience.

It’s important to use your advertising channels to engage the senses and the imagination of your potential customers and showcase the greatest strengths of your hotel. Stunning imagery, videos, and user generated content will help.

5. Booking capability

It’s vital that your advertising is combined with a quick and easy booking function, or it will all come to nothing.

Using an online booking engine will make it simple for guests to complete a booking whether they are on your website, coming via social media, or interacting via metasearch.

6. Reputation

The stronger your brand and reputation become, the easier it becomes to advertise. Once you have established yourself, your advertising can focus more on new offerings and exciting announcements, rather than on finding new business. 

For this to happen, you need to foster a loyal customer base and create ambassadors for your brand. This all starts with providing a great experience of course, but it’s also imperative that you manage customer reviews efficiently and responsibly.

Image explaining Hotel Advertising

How to write an advertisement: Example for hotels

You’ve developed some hotel advertisement ideas, now it’s time to turn them into reality. How you write your ad, and what you write, will depend on the type of ad you’re creating, but in general the best hotel advertisements tend to be written using the following formula:

  • Choose your medium: Digital, print, broadcast, outdoor? Browse the hotel ads examples listed above and choose the form of advertising that best aligns with your marketing goals.
  • Do your research: Define the audience you want to target (perhaps with a buyer persona) and review how your competitors are advertising, taking note of the things they’re doing well and not so well.
  • Create a theme and hook: Decide the intent of the ad (brand awareness, reputation management, driving bookings, etc.) and craft an enticing hook that draws the audience in.
  • Build out the ad: Beginning with the kernel of the theme or hook, build out the ad, including things like problem and solution, your competitive advantage, stats, quotes and testimonials. Ensure you meet any hotel ad compliance requirements.

Best hotel advertising examples

While all hotels have varying budgets and are at different stages of their brand journey, it can never hurt to take inspiration from others who have been successful.

Here are just three key travel advertisement examples we found of hotel advertising done right.

1. Marriott Bonvoy – ‘Where can we take you’

Designed to promote inclusivity, growth, healing and celebrate all the reasons for travel, Marriott’s video spot succeeds in getting an emotional reaction from viewers in only 1 minute.

Watch the video.

2. Hilton – ‘Travel with purpose’

There’s a driving desire from travellers to be more sustainable and to demand that businesses be more sustainable. Hilton has committed to that goal and delivered a message that says it cares about what their customers care about with its campaign.

Explore more.

3. Belmond – ‘Let’s Italy together’

Here’s a great holiday advertisement example of showcasing the best of a destination through different lenses to inspire travellers to see and experience it for themselves. Belmond also does a great job of focusing on the message and subtly including its brand.

Watch the video.

How to do online advertising for hotels effectively 

We’ve briefly mentioned some of the ways you can successfully advertise your hotel online but let’s look at them in a little more detail.

1. Have a hotel website that works

You need a website, but not just any website. You also need one that works properly, and is discoverable by your potential guests.

If you have a web presence that is unappealing or that is too complicated for guests to use, they are simply not going to book directly with your hotel. It’s important to be direct and informative and to make your site clean and inviting.

Having a website that can be found by any guest on any device at any time should also be one of your top priorities. As more and more guests are opting to book their accommodation on mobiles, a responsive design makes sure your guests stay and make a booking on your site.

Designed by hotel technology experts, SiteMinder’s website builder includes the best in hotel ecommerce and functional designs to help you effectively market your hotel.

2. Online travel agencies

Online travel agencies, such as Booking.com, are one of the most popular places for travellers to book their stays nowadays. The best thing about them is that once you list your hotel on them, they do all the heavy lifting. With huge marketing budgets, they can ensure people are visiting their site, finding your business, and completing a booking. To make the most of it, ensure your profile is filled with all the same details and images as you would use on your own website.

Connecting to OTAs will help your hotel increase its visibility and maintain a higher occupancy rate. It can even help you rank higher in search engines.

But don’t just leave your best hotel images and content for your hotel website, to effectively promote your hotel on these channels you need to put your best foot forward, always.

If you need help managing your inventory on multiple channels, use a channel manager to save time, reduce errors, and limit double bookings.

3. Social media

Social media is obviously a huge marketplace and can be useful from both a paid and organic perspective to help you attract new customers and keep followers engaged.

Facebook and Instagram in particular offer a lot of flexibility around what content you can post, as well as how you can target audiences. In recent years, it was found that at least 80% of Instagram users have used the platform to inform purchase decisions.

You can even capture direct bookings via social media using an online booking engine. It’s important to post regularly and provide valuable content.

If you build up enough followers it can be well worth spending some budget to boost your posts to ensure they reach the maximum number of people.

You should be engaging your guests and potential guests on the social platforms where they are most active. This includes creating engaging content such as holiday inspiration, exclusive offers or tips.

Be mindful that today organic reach on social media channels is limited and you should set aside a small budget to boost your most important messages to highly targeted audiences.

4. Search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO can be one of your most effective channels if you work hard. Given a third of global travellers begin their research on Google or other search engines, it’s incredibly important to build a presence with useful content focused on keywords.

This might mean creating a blog that focuses on all the great things to see and do in your destination. When travellers find and read your article, you can offer them a stay at your hotel.

The next step is to optimise the content on your site. First you should define a keyword list. Ask yourself, what search terms do I want to rank for? Then, check the search volume and competition on a tool like Google’s keyword planner.

It is also important to register your hotel on Google Hotel Finder. 

Remember that keeping your listing up-to-date and verified is crucial for your SEO ranking.

5. Metasearch

Metasearch is a great way to spend your advertising budget. For a fee, you can ensure your hotel is seen by the waves of travellers flocking to research on metasearch sites such as Google Hotel Ads, TripAdvisor, Trivago, or Kayak for example.

Metasearch advertising is a way to help your hotel stand out from the competition and also give you extra direct bookings, so you don’t have to rely so heavily on OTAs. This means you get to own and control a direct relationship with your guest.

6. Hotel display ads

Also known as banner advertising, hotel display advertising combines video, photos, logos, text, and other graphics that run on social media platforms, your hotel website, or mobile apps. Simply pair your display with a website URL that prompts your target audience to take advantage of an offer.

7. Respond to reviews

Paying attention to the reviews you get online also plays a big part in your online advertising strategy.

Naturally, you would like all of these reviews to be positive, but realistically that won’t be the case. There will be some negative reviews, as well. But you can turn that into a positive by reaching out and commenting on the reviews, and trying to make things right with any guests who are dissatisfied.

If you have optimised your TripAdvisor profile and respond to all reviews, both good and bad, you are more likely to leave a good impression on the potential guest.

While it may not be possible to please everyone all the time, you can make your hotel look much better online when you’re open and honest, as well as upfront, about any reviews you receive and how you respond to them.

You can also work with customers through hotel email marketing in an effort to address any concerns they may have had that led them to leave a bad review for your property.

8. Promote locally

Part of your hotel marketing strategy should be to reach out to locals. Why? Because making your hotel a local go-to spot can make more people come to your property when they want a close-by place to stay.

That won’t work for every hotel, and it often depends on the location, but for hotels that are located in popular areas there are many different options for getting people in the doors.

Connecting with your local visitor’s centre or similar agency can help get local businesses and event organisers focused on your hotel and what it can offer for conventions, meetings, and more.

Talk to local businesses about their meetings and conventions, create a great spot for weddings or receptions, or have a restaurant attached. There are many ways to bring in locals, as well as visitors from outside the area.

9. Loyalty program

Offer an incentive program can promote guest loyalty. Advertise the program on your website and on social media, and offer perks that are fair and reasonably generous, such as discounts on rooms, free nights, or use of meeting spaces.

If you have a restaurant or bar attached, discounts there can be valuable, as well. Then you can get more people coming through your doors, and also get them coming back.

If you charge fair prices, and you focus on how to advertise your hotel online in a way that customers respond to, you can make your guests loyal.

As long as you reward that loyalty, those customers will not only appreciate what you have to offer but they will tell others about what you can do for them.

Then you’ll have the chance to showcase your hotel and find out what guests really want from their stay with you. That can help you make improvements and changes, which will garner a deeper level of loyalty in the future.

Helpful and creative hotel advertising ideas

Looking for some alternative ideas or need some inspiration on how to execute plans on the above channels. Here are a few tips:

1. Experiential advertising

Why not let guests ‘experience’ your hotel before they even book or arrive. You could do this with virtual reality technology, or even a simple video tour to allow them to imagine themselves staying in your rooms.

2. Go behind the scenes

Instagram stories or TikTok could be particularly useful here. By going behind the scenes and introducing your staff or shedding light on some of the things that make your hotel special, you’ll be able to more easily form a connection with potential guests.

3. Email campaigns

Email remains one of the most powerful forms of advertising, and you can automate a lot of it now to ensure you have an ‘always on’ strategy. Create monthly newsletters for people to subscribe to, regular offers for guests who have stayed before, and promotions to get new leads over the line.

4. Direct mail

It might seem old-fashioned but with everything nowadays online, it can be nice to receive something physical in the mail, especially if it’s a discount to an amazing hotel.

5. Retargeting

Retargeting is a cost-effective tactic because you’re contacting potential customers who are warmed up already. It involves reaching out to potential guests who interacted with your property in some way but did not decide to make a booking at the time. Retargeting ads often remind customers of the room type they were viewing and highlight choice hotel features that may interest them to convince them to commit to a reservation.

6. Video advertising

Video content is highly engaged with, more so than static imagery, so it’s always a good move to showcase your property via video on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. Video can also be used to quickly advertise prices and limited time promotions.

7. User-generated content

Capitalising on user generated content is one of the more organic ways to advertise your property. Since guests will often post videos or photos of their trip to social media, asking them to tag or mention your hotel could get a tonne of free attention from people who didn’t know you existed – without you having to say a word.

Tips for luxury hotel advertising that work

Advertising a luxury property is much the same as advertising any hotel, with some subtle differences.

One thing you know clearly is that your guests enjoy the finer things in life and have a larger budget at their disposal. This allows you to get hyper-focused with your advertising and say what really matters to your audience.

Some keys to advertising a luxury hotel include:

  • Emphasising how sophisticated your brand is and how your service goes above and beyond that of other hotels.
  • Ensuring your advertising material is creative and original. You are a luxury brand so make your advertising feel ‘different’ to what guests are used to seeing.
  • In your messaging, focus on the value you offer rather than the price. Luxury guests will be happy to spend a bit extra if they know they’re going to be rewarded with something truly satisfying or out of the ordinary. Plus, regularly offering discounts runs the risk of devaluing your brand.
  • Establish a sense of exclusivity with every ad you run, such as by highlighting particular experiences, amenities, or menu items that only guests at your hotel get to enjoy.
  • Set up a loyalty program that feels original and rewards return guests in unique ways.
By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of SiteMinder, the leading technology provider delivering hoteliers unbeatable revenue results. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at SiteMinder. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance and value for accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations achieve their goals.

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