What is one blog idea for a hotel to help increase its occupancy rate? Please be specific.
To help hotels with increasing their occupancy rate, we asked business experts and HR professionals this question for their best ideas. From highlighting benefits through stories to showcasing local events, there are several tips that may help you increase your occupancy rate.
Here are eight blog ideas for a hotel to help increase its occupancy rate:
- Hotel Results Box
- “What Hotels Don’t Tell You That Should Always Be Discussed”
- Create Content Around Safety
- Tell Stories While Highlighting Benefits
- Write Content Around Your Perfect Guests
- “Things to Do in Your Area”
- Go Local
- Showcase Local Events
Hotel Results Box
Conduct an online search for a hotel and you’ll likely see a “Hotel Results Box” appear at the top of a search results page. For any hotel looking to increase occupancy rates, appearing in the Hotel Results box is one of the best strategic moves to make. To appear in Hotel Results, a hotel must send information to Google directly via a hotel list feed with room and package metadata. Alternatively, hotels can send information to one of more than 200 partners that Google has with travel agencies and aggregators. However, a hotel chooses to get listed, executing a well thought hotel SEO strategy can help connect hotels with more occupants.
Brett Farmiloe, Markitors
“What Hotels Don’t Tell You That Should Always Be Discussed”
Hotel marketing has always been one of the most competitive businesses in the game. Every day, people see television ads and billboards based on hotels. But, there has been a dramatic increase in online marketing such as blog posts and emails. If you’re looking to improve your occupancy rate through blogs, it’s crucial that you are providing valuable information as to why your hotel stands out from the rest. You want to introduce your blog title in a way that people will quickly want to take your hotel into consideration. You want to catch their attention while giving your side on the content as well. For example, including catchy titles such as “What Hotels Don’t Tell You That Should Always Be Discussed”. With this example, you are leaving a clear and set statement on where your company stands and your hotels put the customers first.
Chris Prasad, Jook SMS
Create Content Around Safety
They should build the dream of being on vacation while staying safe. They should be more clear/stronger about their sanitation and Covid protocols. Many hotels have a Covid blurb with tiny writing, or another page of covid information and they all sound the same — feeble. I would make a short video showing a person enjoying themselves by the pool, in the ocean, or skiing or whatever, then show them go back to the hotel and show short clips of the sanitation protocols – with the actor smiling while getting their drink, or key, or any other Covid protocols, so potential customers can see and feel the vision. Be happy on vacation or business —and still be safe.
Ellie Lowney, Creating Buzz PR
Tell Stories While Highlighting Benefits
They need to sell the location—city/town, attractions, history, trivia, weather—by telling stories. The stories could be hypothetical, made up, or actual people stories. Why should someone choose your hotel over any others in the area? Why would someone want to go to that location? It’s always “what’s in it for the traveler”. Highlight features and benefits, as well as comfort, convenience, nostalgia, security, and safety.
Giselle Aguiar, AZ Social Media Wiz
Write Content Around Your Perfect Guests
One important thing to remember when it comes to blog topics is that the main goal of a piece of content should be providing value to the readers. To help increase occupancy rate with a blog, a hotel should think about its audience and its audience’s needs. First, determine a persona you’re trying to attract. Who is the person you wish to have as your guest? What are his or her needs, fears, goals, and pain points? Knowing your potential customer is key. Once you know whom you’re going after and learn everything about this persona it will be easier to determine a suitable topic or topics. For example, right now people are longing to travel, but have fears about COVID-19. If you address these fears in a blog post and fulfill the traveler’s need to feel safe in a hotel, you will provide value with your post and attract potential guests. So, a blog post in this situation could be “X Touchless Tech Tools We Implement to Keep You Safe,” or “X Ways to Make Your Vacation COVID Fear Free.”
Natalya Bucuy, LiveHelpNow
“Things to Do in Your Area”
I’d recommend writing a blog post along the lines of “things to do in [your area].” If you invest in making it a valuable piece of content, it can help people who plan to visit your area discover you through SEO. You can also share it with existing guests to help them make the most of their visits, potentially inspire them to extend their stay or make their experience with you more positive. If you have success with this approach, you could also try similar articles on topics like local festivals, music venues, museums, etc.
Elliot Brown, OnPay
Go Local
Instead of appealing to business travelers and tourists, write a blog post about how to have a fun “stay-cation” in your hometown. Specifically, call out professionals who have been working from home for months on end. They have savings and they’re going stir crazy at home every day. A 2-3 night hotel stay could help them relieve their stress!
Bruce Harpham, Technology Marketing Consultant
Showcase Local Events
Showcase your hotel as the perfect venue to organize a seasonal event or stay there while attending it. If the annual architecture festival occurs in your city or your town is a popular destination for Valentine’s Day, show that in a blog post and share with local meetings and events or lifestyle magazines and blogs. The more local the celebration is, the higher chances of increasing occupancy rate are.
Rebeca Sena, GetSpace.Digital
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