As in many other areas of life, digitization is becoming more and more prevalent in the tourism industry. Whereas in the past you had to rely solely on recommendations from the travel agency or from your circle of friends, today those interested in traveling increasingly inform themselves. The Internet makes it easier to research the right holiday destination. An initial opinion is shaped by the numerous rating platforms of the individual tour operators. Thanks to the comments and reviews of the holidaymakers, an initial pre-selection of suitable hotels takes place.
In the next step, the tourist now wants to get a more detailed picture of the hotels. In order to really present all the desired information to the potential guest at this point, the professional support of a specialist agency is recommended. We took a closer look at the work of the Munich-based hotel marketing agency Mumme & Partner, a specialist in hotel marketing in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
Responding to the customer’s needs
In general, it can be said that the requirements for a holiday have become much more pronounced in recent years. Whereas in the past the focus was on the beach, pool and a rich buffet, today holidaymakers can expect special spa offers, outdoor activities and sustainable concepts from hotels. Climate-friendly travel is also increasingly becoming a main argument for booking a trip. The hotel marketing agency supports the accommodations in standing out from the competition in the highly competitive market.
The first step is to work out special features and unique selling points of the hotel with the support of the hotel management. In addition, it is checked how well the hotel is positioned “online”. After all, nothing is more profitable than a direct booking on the hotel’s own web presentation.
In general, an online presence can be divided into two areas of work:
Department 1: Technology
- Is the existing website technically up to date (mobile display, page loading time, SSL encryption)?
- Analysis of the statistics (How many monthly page visitors / how many bookings)
- On-Page SEO / Off-Page SEO
- Has the website been implemented in several languages (comparison of language versions with target groups)?
Workspace 2: Content
- Are the USP’s well worked out?
- How appealing are the images displayed – Is there potential for optimization through the involvement of a professional photographer?
- How understandable is the booking process?
- Optimization of contact options (e.g. contact forms, live chat)
- How present is the company on social media?
Recognizing holiday trends
An important core task of hotel marketing professionals is the early recognition of holiday trends in order to support cities and regions in their strategic orientation. A travel trend that is currently popular with holidaymakers in Austria is accommodation in chalets.
The Mumme & Partner agency has been looking after the chalet village BERGHERZ in St. Johann im Pongau since 2015. Through professional search engine optimization and successful link marketing, the luxury chalets’ web presence on Google was positioned on the important page 1 for important keywords. The foundation and heart of the successful cooperation is the newly created WordPress website. In combination with good content, development and strengthening of the “Bergherz” brand as well as social media activities, the chalet village was successfully placed on the market.
Why should hosts rely on the support of a hotel marketing agency?
Most hoteliers simply don’t have the time to take care of professional marketing. After all, the guest is first and foremost the focus of the action. If the hotel is then well filled, there is of course always something to do. If it gets a little quieter, you also have to take care of the unloved accounting. However, in times of more demanding tourists, it is not enough to only take care of the well-being of the regular clientele. The holidaymaker, who returns every year, is not dying out, but it is becoming rarer. The reason: The pure feel-good factor is not enough, especially for young travellers. They want to travel to as many destinations as possible, explore regions and also actively participate in their holidays. Be it through sporting activities such as yoga and hiking or participation in the hotel’s wellness offer.
As the owner of a hotel, transfer the measures that you cannot carry out yourself due to time or professional reasons to a specialist agency and benefit from the extensive know-how.
