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hen deciding whether to book your property, potential guests want to know so much more than just the square footage of your rooms. Is your hotel or resort a quiet place to unplug or an adventure-packed getaway? Can they try pickleball, energy healing, horseback riding, or other unique activities at your property? What local attractions can they add to their vacation itinerary? And, above all else: How are they going to feel once they check in?
Answering these types of experience-based questions is your best bet for encouraging guests to book through your website rather than a third-party service. Here, we’re sharing a few steps to enhance hotels and resorts’ content strategy and ensure you’re using brand storytelling to sell a feeling, not just a place to sleep.
Think of Storytelling as a Direct Booking Strategy
Tired of losing bookings and guest relationship-building opportunities to the online travel agencies (OTAs)? Storytelling is the number one marketing tool at your property’s disposal. OTAs like Expedia and Booking.com aren’t known for their captivating storytelling; you’re much more likely to find a straightforward list of amenities and simple descriptions that don’t illustrate your true guest experience.
Where third-party sites compete on price, your website can stand out by creating an emotional connection with soon-to-be guests. Draw audiences in with engaging storytelling that shows why your destination and property stand out from the rest. Narrative marketing, focused on your property’s storied history, passionate team, and thoughtful amenities, brings your brand identity to life and helps convert unsure browsers to confident bookers.
Define Your Hotel or Resort’s Story
To ensure your website outperforms the OTAs, you have to tell an immersive story — and before you can communicate your brand story to potential guests, you’ll need a crystal-clear picture of your property’s unique selling points and one-of-a-kind experience.
For example, is your property an urban escape in the heart of an exciting city? A sprawling resort set on hundreds of waterfront acres? A historic gem popular for wedding weekends? Answering these questions will also help you identify your target demographic (a key element of your property’s story). To get started crafting your hotel or resort’s brand strategy, consult our guide to developing powerful brand stories.
With a strong sense of what you want your hotel or resort to be known for, which experiences you offer that most properties don’t, and who your key demographic is, you’re in a great place to start communicating and selling that story on your website.
Elevate Your Brand’s Website Copy
Your website is usually the very first impression potential guests have of your brand, and it’s your best opportunity to be more engaging than OTAs. When crafting your website copy, think in terms of the feeling you provide to guests rather than solely sharing logistics. Case in point: “Wake up to soothing ocean breezes, with plenty of space for the whole family to spread out” is much more captivating than “Two-bedroom suites with water views.” You don’t have long to make a positive impression on website visitors, so stop the scroll with homepage copy that gets to the heart of your guest experience.
If you need a little inspiration: The Home Ranch’s website, designed and written by our digital team, greets visitors with descriptive copy that paints a transportive picture of the property: “Stretching across 3000 acres in the Upper Elk River, surrounded by rugged nature as far as the eye can see, you’ll find The Home Ranch’s historic homestead. Here, gracefully undulating grassy hills are dotted with cattle and horses, creating an idyllic scene of Western ranch life — one that the Stranahan family sought to preserve from the very start.”
Plus, you’ll want to consider creating a dedicated webpage that breaks down on-property offerings, including any spa treatments, fitness programming, culinary workshops, or special events. If you provide discounts for group stays, coordinate wedding weekends, or offer anything else that differentiates your property, make sure those details are easily accessible on your site as well. OTAs aren’t likely to sell the full, well-rounded experience of your getaway, so it’s crucial that your website tells the story so much better.
Strengthen Your SEO Efforts for Discoverability
Now you know what you want your hotel and resort to be found for, and you’re well on your way to communicating the unique selling points on your website. But how will potential guests find your website in the first place (and choose to click into your brand site over a site like Expedia)? This is where SEO takes center stage.
There’s a whole world of search engine optimization strategies out there, but hospitality brands should start with the fundamentals: ensuring the website meets Google’s expectations (think: quick loading times, easy navigation, and overall relevance to searchers). Essentially, providing an optimal user experience is key to all your SEO efforts. Using location-specific keywords like “downtown Portsmouth hotel” in your page titles and meta descriptions will also help search engines understand that your website is relevant to travelers in your target demographic.
Apply Your Hotel or Resort’s Brand Strategy Across Channels
To truly communicate the experience of your hotel or resort, think outside the (website) box and create content for other digital channels, such as social media or email newsletters. Consider focusing on user-generated content from real stays to show a glimpse into the authentic guest experience and humanize your brand. This type of unfiltered content is especially popular on social media, with 93 percent of customers saying UGC helps them make purchase decisions. Plus, with Instagram captions now appearing in search engine results, prioritizing social media marketing also means prioritizing SEO.
Through email, hotels and resorts can use drip campaigns to share social proof (glowing testimonials from past guests), provide value with vacation itineraries (perhaps sourced from your destination blog), and showcase standout amenities (think: on-site restaurants and spa treatments) to potential guests who have previously clicked into your website. As users move through the conversion funnel, this content can make all the difference and convince them to ultimately click “book now.” This digital content may not live on your website, but it all directs back to your site, supports overall brand awareness, and increases the likelihood that guests will book directly with you rather than through an OTA.
The bottom line? While OTAs present your property with simple rates and room types, your brand website and digital content can sell the full guest experience, from check-in to check-out (with all the memorable activities in between). This feeling is ultimately your competitive advantage — and your most reliable path to direct bookings.
Want to outsource your hotel or resort’s content strategy? When you partner with Hawthorn Creative, we’ll ensure your site is optimized for search engines, your copy hooks potential guests straight away, and every element of your digital marketing positions your property for success. Reach out today to discuss your marketing needs.