You’ve spent countless hours creating a space where travelers can come and relax and escape the realities of their everyday life. This hard work must be displayed — and the best place to do that is on one of the most visual platforms, Instagram. Cloudbeds’ 2023 State of Independent Lodging Report found that the ways that people find travel inspiration are changing, and younger generations are leading the charge. Eye-catching images and videos are becoming increasingly important in travel search and inspiration. Instagram is one of the largest and most influential social networks, with over two ..read more

These days, more consumers are going online to make purchases, and travel is no exception. However, booking a trip online is much different from purchasing other products like clothing and electronics. For travelers, there’s a lot riding on vacations, including money, well-being, and precious leisure time. Moreover, a hotel room can’t be returned if it doesn’t meet expectations. Travelers, therefore, tend to be extra careful when planning trips, visiting multiple travel sites, and comparing pricing and options.  To convince travelers to book their property, lodging operators must provide ..read more

Challenges, trends, duets, hashtags — TikTok is taking over the social media landscape. The way people consume content is rapidly changing, with short-form videos becoming increasingly important as a research tool among travelers. TikTok is one of the most effective video marketing tools, and lodging operators can take advantage of its extensive reach across international audiences of all ages to promote their property and build brand awareness. Read on to learn more about the growing importance of TikTok marketing for hotels, how to get started on TikTok, what types of content to post, and 9 ..read more

No doubt about it: social media is one of the most crucial tools in any hotel’s marketing strategy for promotion and advertisement. Social networks can give your property exposure like never before to help increase brand awareness and drive more direct bookings. As a lodging operator, you can showcase your property’s features and services and interact with guests and potential guests through various social channels. These channels allow you to promote your hotel as an experience, not just a place to stay for the night. Through social media, hotel brands can communicate directly with guests and ..read more

Bienvenue! Willkommen! Bienvenido! Welcome! No matter what language you say it in, a warm welcome can set the right tone for your hotel guests’ stay. Writing the perfect hotel welcome letter can make an impact on the guest experience before they even arrive at your property. So much of the hospitality industry has become digital, especially since the onset of the pandemic. Hotel guests have become accustomed to a mostly (or completely) contactless stay experience: booking online, digital check-in, unlocking guest room doors with an app, self-check-out, and emailed receipts. They may never even ..read more

In 2022, the hospitality industry saw demand strengthen as restrictions eased post-pandemic, and travelers felt more confident to start researching and booking trips again. While demand is back,  the pandemic and its lasting effects fundamentally changed traveler behavior, and in 2023, experience-based travel will be prominent as travelers look to make up for lost time.  This shift will require lodging operators to develop effective messaging and marketing campaigns that closely align with their brand and guest experience across channels to drive brand awareness and win bookings. Her ..read more

Competing against online travel agencies (OTAs) and large hotel chains backed by billion-dollar marketing budgets can be intimidating for independent properties. To stand out online, lodging operators must be creative with their marketing strategies and craft compelling advertisements to attract visitors to their website and convert those visitors to guests. Read on to learn more about the importance of advertising in the hotel industry, the best ways to promote your property, and 15 innovative hotel advertising examples to inspire your next ad campaign.   What is hotel advertising ..read more

A hotel’s website is the foundation of a strong online presence and provides hoteliers with a platform to showcase their property, build trust with potential guests, and encourage direct bookings. A well-developed digital marketing strategy can help hoteliers increase their website’s visibility to reach more travelers at the right time in their research process. Read on for some easy (and free!) ways for hoteliers to boost their website’s search engine ranking to generate more clicks, page views, and hotel bookings.   Why online visibility is important for all hospitality properties There ..read more

STR predicts that there are over 17.5 million guestrooms in 187,000 hotels worldwide, and while direct competition will be much smaller than that, it’s more important than ever for hotel management to increase the visibility of their property. Incorporating public relations as part of your hotel marketing strategy can help you attract more potential guests and drive occupancy. Read on to learn more about the importance of public relations for hotels and the different types of outreach opportunities to include in your marketing efforts.   What is the purpose of public relations for a hotel ..read more

No matter what property type you run, driving direct bookings is key to maximizing revenue. To increase your visibility and attract travelers to your hotel website, appearing on the first page of search results such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo is critical. While ranking on the first page may sound straightforward, it requires building out a comprehensive hotel search engine marketing (SEM) strategy to compete with other properties and online travel agencies (OTAs). With the right investment in your search engine marketing efforts, your property can effectively compete against the thousands of li ..read more