When properly executed, email marketing for hotels opens a direct line of communication to past, present, and future guests, providing them timely, relevant information and offers – and increasing your direct bookings. But, for hospitality email marketing to reach its full potential—and provide the return on investment you’re looking for—your communications must be efficient and thoughtful.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to email marketing for hotels, but reviewing your strategy and putting the tools you need in place will provide you with a solid foundation for reaching your audience, measuring your results, and improving your tactics. 

FOLLOW HOTEL EMAIL BEST PRACTICES

Email is your portal to both current and potential guests through all touchpoints of their decision making, and when implemented correctly, can be an effective tool for securing bookings. But a hotel’s email marketing strategy requires diligence in the details. Ignoring best practices can lead to low open rates, unengaged recipients, and frequent unsubscribes, so as you build an email list for your hotel newsletter and begin to draft content, keep these tips in mind:

• Segment your email list: Segment your audience by demographics or behavior to send personalized, timely emails to improve click-through rates, performance, and subscriber satisfaction. 
• Don’t ignore the subject line: A well-written, persuasive subject line can prompt a guest to open your hotel’s email, and a personalized subject is even more compelling. 
• Use effective visuals: Relevant, high-quality email visuals can capture audience attention and evoke an emotional response to inspire action and increase click-through rates. 
• Optimize emails for mobile: Most—about 60%—of users check email on their mobile phone, so your email must be responsive and ‘read’ easily on any device.
• A/B test email elements: Employ A/B testing for your subject lines, images, or calls to action to determine the most effective content for future campaigns.
• Track your campaigns: Benchmark your performance and monitor audience responses to know whether your messages are resonating or if you need to rethink your campaigns.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOTEL NEWSLETTER EXAMPLES & TEMPLATES

An attractive email that also provides value to the recipient can be the difference between a reader clicking through or deleting your send.

Utilize images that resonate with your audience and copy that can be easily read on a mobile device. Consider adding buttons instead of links – offering more real estate for an easy thumb click.

Focus on creating strong content that stands out and save time by starting with a pre-built templates that can be tailored to fit your campaign’s needs. Drag-and-drop shortcuts and intuitive interfaces cut your newsletter design time down without compromising on final results.

INVEST IN THE RIGHT EMAIL MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR HOTELS

Once you have the knowledge, it’s time to invest in the right CRM – customer relationship management software. Successful marketing via email requires cost-effective user-friendly tools. Some hotels will benefit from a simple solution such as Mailchimp, where plans range from free to premium, while others require a more robust solution. Even the most basic CRMs will offer you the ability to set up key elements of a strong email marketing campaign for hotels. Some examples include:

• New Subscriber Welcome Emails
• Special Offers
• Newsletters
• Cart Abandonment Emails

As a bonus, look for a system that can integrate with your PMS to send personalized communications to guests based on their behavior. These emails nurture their relationship with your brand and help you reach your ROI goals faster. Some examples include:

• Arrival/Check-In Emails
• Departure/Check-Out Emails
• Post-Stay Surveys
• Anniversary Emails

These timely, tailored campaigns keep your brand top-of-mind and encourage guest engagement by providing tailored messages for upgrading their room, adding services to their stay, filling out a survey, or leaving a review. This provides real-time information to your marketing and hospitality team to make instant adjustments or improvements to increase revenue and guest satisfaction. While not necessary, choosing a software that provides a guest messaging solution that is compatible with your PMS can further help solidify your strategy.

TRACK EMAIL PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT MATTER

Email is a top driver of direct revenue in the hospitality industry, so tracking and understanding the metrics that lead to conversions and bookings is a must. Focus on performance metrics like deliverability rate, open rate, click-through rate – and most importantly transactions – if that is your end goal.

A successful marketing team relies on data to help shape future initiatives based on what is working, and what isn’t.

If deliverability is below average, investigate a potential block, or try sending to ‘active’ users only (users that have opened an email within a given time frame).

If your open rate is suffering, try A/B testing your subject lines with a 10/10/80 split, or browse the internet for some more exciting suggestions.

When your click-through rate is low, evaluate your content and whether or not your offer is strong enough. You can also take a look at your design to ensure your CTAs are clear.

Learn more: A success story from the experts in email marketing for hotels at TravelBoom.

EMAIL MARKETING FOR HOTELS: FAQS

What is email marketing for hotels?

Email marketing for hotels is a direct communication strategy that targets current and potential customers with timely, relevant information or special offers.

What are the types of emails commonly received from hotels?

Emails sent by hotels fall into three main categories: relationship building, transactional, and triggered.

• Establishing a relationship through email might include personalized messages to welcome new subscribers or wish them a happy birthday.
• Booking confirmations, pre-stay emails, or satisfaction surveys are examples of transactional messages sent to guests before, during, or after their stay.
• Triggered emails are prompted by actions of the recipient such as visiting your website, abandoning a booking, or browsing room upgrades. 

What are the benefits of email marketing in the hotel industry?

The top benefits of email marketing include 1. building a relationship with your guests, 2. improving brand recognition and 3. improving loyalty to your brand – all of which can lead to an increase in your bottom line.

---

When you’re ready to see positive results from your hotel marketing emails, contact us for a free email marketing evaluation.