In this world of Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp… is email dead? Not at all. During 2018 it’s believed there were over 3.8 billion active email users in existence. That’s over 50% of the world’s population and a huge opportunity for businesses. The best thing about email? It’s a single point of entry to a defined end point – someone’s inbox. There are few marketing channels available that offer that kind of direct connectivity with existing and potential customers.
With 2021 on the horizon, you might be wondering how to maximise your marketing efforts, and email should definitely play a big role. In fact, the entire guest experience will likely be more digital than ever, as hotels continue looking for ways to reduce physical contact while maintaining quality service.
Here are a few basic email marketing tips to get you started.
Ask guests about their stay
If someone has stayed at your hotel, you have a brilliant opportunity to gain some feedback on your service and, potentially, grab a bad review before it hits TripAdvisor (and therefore have time to do something about it).
This could be one of the most important emails you send. By getting in first, you can find out exactly what your guests think and either shout loud about it on social media or make amends.
An email is the best way to capture a guest’s feedback while they’re still engaged with your brand, so make sure one gets sent the day after each guest departure.
Say Happy Birthday
If your hospitality software captures significant dates for your customers such as their birthday, make it a habit to send out “Happy Birthday” messages via email. This little touch might be all that’s required to tempt another booking from that guest, and if you personalise the email with their name and a friendly birthday wish, followed by a small offer or reward for booking via your website, you’ll save big time on OTA commission.
The pre-visit note
The guest booking journey has several stages to pass through before that person walks into your hotel, and you can gradually increase trust and advocacy by saying you’re looking forward to that moment.
An email along the lines of “we’re looking forward to meeting you” is also an opportunity to upsell a dinner reservation, room upgrade or bottle of wine on arrival. If nothing else, it’ll demonstrate you care about your guests and want to make a good impression even before they set foot through the door.
Local guidance
Destination marketing is becoming an increasingly important tactic for hoteliers, and you can use email marketing to highlight the benefits of your location. An email a week or so before the arrival date detailing events that are on in the area during the stay might go down a treat. Equally, if you offer some local guidance on walking routes, places to eat out and attractions, you’ll be offering far more than just a room for the night. And that’ll mean a lot to modern guests.
Before you send: don’t forget the GDPR
Australia isn’t in the EU, but that doesn’t mean its businesses can ignore the stringent GDPR regulations. Quite apart from the fact you’re probably dealing occasionally with EU-based guests (and therefore subject to the legislation), the GDPR’s rules are the gold standard for data privacy.
Before you undertake any of the suggested email marketing strategies in this blog, make sure your data collection routines keep data privacy in mind at all times by explicitly asking for marketing consent. This applies to data collection over the front desk and your website, so make sure you ask people to tick a box if you want to use their email address in future.
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CMS Hospitality holds over 30 years of experience in delivering hospitality software solutions. GuestCentrix offers the most complete solution in hospitality software, whether you’re running a hotel, a resort or a hostel. Our highly experienced support and installations team holds a unique understanding of the hospitality industry and will aim to provide software that suits your property’s needs.
Call us today at (+61) 2 9440 9711, or email us at sales@cmshospitality.com. We will be happy to guide you to the GuestCentrix solution that’s right for you.