Effective email marketing tips for hotels

Practical tips for building a list, segmenting guests and emailing around the stay, so more bookings come direct.

For hotel managers, growing profit never really ends. You need to reach new customers, and you need past guests to come back for another stay. Email is the one channel that is genuinely yours: social reach rises and falls with the algorithm, and online travel agencies (OTAs) keep the guest data from bookings made for your own hotel. An email list belongs to you.

These are the tips every hotel running email campaigns should know.

How to get new contacts

The first thing you need is a contact list. Your website is the obvious place to build one, but just asking people to subscribe to your newsletter with an annoying pop-up will not do it.

Subscribers want to know how you can add value to their next stay. Frame the ask around that: "join our VIP list for exclusive offers" makes people feel they are getting access to something other guests do not have.

The front desk is a list-building channel too. A card at check-in offering the VIP list works because the guest is already happy to be there.

Your customers are out looking for deals, and they do not want offers anyone could get. Nurture new contacts with genuinely exclusive offers, discounts or special packages, and they will stay on the list.

Getting contacts from your guests

Most guests arriving at your hotel will have used an OTA to get a good deal on the stay. You want their contact details, especially now they have been to the hotel and had a good experience. Getting those details is how the next booking comes direct rather than through an OTA that takes a commission.

Returning guests are a big part of revenue for every hotel, and guest Wi-Fi is a reliable way to capture the details you need. When guests sign in to your Wi-Fi, they share contact details and, with their consent, marketing preferences. Every visit after that adds to what you know about them. If you do not offer guest Wi-Fi yet, that is the place to start.

Sending a confirmation email

Send a confirmation email to anyone who asks to join your mailing list. This way you get a list of people who are genuinely engaged with your services, and engaged subscribers are more likely to open your emails and click through.

That automated confirmation email should already carry something useful. Mention some of the advantages of staying with you. If your hotel has a great view from the rooftop, include a picture. It is a visual treat that helps people remember you.

Use appropriate segmentation

Once your contact list is growing, make good use of the data you have. You can segment people who visit for business separately from people who visit on holiday, or simply segment by age and gender. The data you capture decides how far you can take this: a birthday, a home city, the number of past stays, each field opens another way to personalise.

Different marketing emails for each segment means your email marketing is relevant to your guests at a deeper level and delivers stronger interaction. It also feeds loyalty, because relevant emails give people a reason to book direct again.

Types of segmentation

For business travellers, focus on conference and meeting room hire. Add a little about bars and restaurants in the area where they could relax after a long working day.

For holidaymakers, put the focus on sightseeing. You could even add a map of your city. Use the same chance to share the amenities in your hotel as well: restaurants, bars, spas and fitness clubs.

If your restaurant or bar pulls in locals, that is a third segment entirely, and one worth emailing about Sunday roasts, event nights and seasonal menus.

Knowing and understanding what your customers want is what lets you deliver an experience tailored to them. The importance of segmentation lies in taking care of each guest's interests and motivations.

When to email your customers

Another useful piece of information is your customers' date of birth. With it, you can send a special offer for their birthday.

You can also send emails in the lead-up to spring and summer, or before Christmas and New Year. These emails should showcase offers your customers would not get by booking through an OTA, and they should send people to a booking landing page linked straight from the email.

Timing within the week matters too. A Thursday evening email catches people planning a weekend away, and a Tuesday morning one catches people planning a business trip.

The success of email marketing is decided by your guests. They are the ones who choose to read your emails and click through. Make sure your subject line stands out from the rest of their inbox. After they open, keep them reading: put a special offer at the top to capture attention, or use a great picture of the closest beach. Be enticing, be urgent, and customers will respond and book through your landing page.

Emailing guests who have booked at your hotel

If a guest has booked a stay, email them straight after the reservation. Show them what they can do at your hotel and nearby, and offer to help with questions or special requests. Make the email feel like it was written for them; this is the personalisation point again.

Send another email a few days before the booking date with practical information: how to get to your hotel and what to do while in the area. Pay attention to what guests provided in your booking form and segment them, so each one gets the best out of your hotel.

Then email after they leave, so they can tell you what they thought of the experience. This matters more than it looks. It shows you where there is room to improve, and a swift response to a complaint can stop it turning into one of those reviews on pages you cannot control.

These are our main tips for an effective email marketing strategy.

Stampede also gives you an easy way of collecting emails for your contact list. It is a tool you can use at your hotel that provides a connection to your guests without affecting your hotel's services: guest Wi-Fi, contact capture, consent handled in line with GDPR, and the campaigns to make use of it all.