At this point in the pandemic, you’ve probably read a million-and-one hotel marketing blog posts about how you should be altering your digital messaging during the current crisis. But how many successful examples of marketing campaigns or initiatives have you actually come across, let alone had the chance to actually look at and digest? We did the digging for you to bring you these five examples of creative messaging and campaigns to inspire your own savvy spins.
“The Betsy Was Built for This”
By The Besty Hotel
Rather than just creating your typical safety and protocol website page, The Betsy, a South Beach, Miami, boutique hotel, is ingeniously using this moment to also craft a message that focuses on the ways that the hotel was already uniquely equipped for meeting social-distancing and isolation requirements. Using the tagline “The Betsy Was Built for This,” an additional page (separate from its safety and protocol page) touts its “two four-story buildings with 130 rooms spread over a full city block that outpaces vastly larger properties,” “plethora of outdoor spaces all washed by a perpetual Atlantic Ocean breeze,” and “multiple key-activated entrances easily, avoiding unwanted interaction with other guests.” The brand then supports the message with a newly minted promotional video showcasing the open and airy spaces of the hotel, so that guests can get a sense of exactly what a stay would be like.
SOLUTIONS
Travelers Are Ever Cautious
Does your current hotel photography or video assets give them the peace of mind to go from browsing to booking?
“Plan Now, Play Later”
By Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas
Properties may be open, but it’ll be some time before the general population at large returns to being comfortable with travel. That’s why Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, a collection of 18 hotels and resorts and 30 spas in 21 countries, created the “Plan Now, Play Later” campaign that, with the help of a seriously wanderlust-inducing video on its main page, encourages people to start planning their next trip – whether that means next year or three years from now. And to really give guests an extra nudge, the campaign is propelled by a special offer of an extra 20 percent bonus certificate (that can be used toward room upgrades or other on-property amenities) when they book now and stay later. But get this: Those certificates are valid for THREE YEARS. Talk about a good way to secure future bookings and drive incremental revenue.
“COVID-19 Prevention Plan”
By Hotel San Luis Obispo
Website pages dedicated to detailing a hotel’s safety and protocols won’t be going away anytime soon. Which is why Hotel San Luis Obispo, a new boutique hotel in Central California, decided to have fun with its approach. Rather than listing out the steps in bullet points of copy, as so many other hotels do, they mined from their playful brand style and created a visual way to, quite literally, illustrate their safety and protocols. It’s fun, on-brand, and, most importantly, informative.
“The Floor is Yours”
By The Hoxton
The Hoxton, a London-based hotel collection with locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, in addition to throughout Europe, is no stranger to uniquely branded packages paired with amazing creative. One initiative they launched this past summer (but not currently being offered at the moment) was “The Floor Is Yours.” Targeting group travelers (whether family reunions or corporate) with social-distancing in mind, guests could book an entire floor of one of their properties at a discounted rate to play (or work) as hard as they like.