Hotel Marketing Podcast Episode 213 – These Five Vacation Rental Secrets Can Transform Your Hotel’s Marketing.
In this episode of the Hotel Marketing Podcast we are joined with two incredibly special guests, Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe of the Alex & Annie Podcast. These are the two real women of vacation rentals and they’re here to teach hoteliers a thing or five about what they’ve have been missing when it comes to travel marketing.
We talk all the time about breaking down the silos between marketing and operations, but what about the silos between the accommodation choices today’s travelers have in the market. Well, that’s exactly what’s going to be happening today. In part one of this two-part series Alex and Annie are going to share the secrets they’ve learned in over 35 years of vacation rental marketing and how hoteliers would be wise to adopt a few new tricks.
Part two of the series is going to be over at https://www.alexandanniepodcast.com/, where we’ll continue to tear down the silos from the hotelier perspective and give the vacation rental marketers a few tips of our trade.
Special Guests:
Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe of the Alex & Annie Podcast.
With more than 35 years of combined experience in vacation rentals, Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe have teamed up to connect the dots between inspiration and opportunity, seeking to find the one story, idea, strategy or decision that led to their guests big A-HA moment.
Join them, as they highlight the REAL stories behind the people and brands that have built vacation rentals into the 100 BILLION dollar industry it is today.
Part 1: What Hoteliers can Learn From Vacation Rentals
- Sell the experience – not just the room
- Share content via your email marketing, social media and on your website that highlights what guests can do outside the hotel. Content related to events, area attractions, things to do, restaurants etc
- When you do show the room, show ALL of the room – guests want to see multiple pictures and 3D tours of where they’re staying
- Expand your distribution strategy
- As the saying goes, fish where the fish are – and right now, that’s Airbnb and Vrbo. Vrbo might not work for traditional hotels, but if you are a resort with suites or condos you should definitely be on this platform
- Look for distribution partners that specialize in putting hotel/resort inventory on vacation rental channels – IE, Lexicon and Condo-World 😊
- Simplify your online booking process
- Guests shouldn’t be taken to a different domain to book their reservation after browsing your website/homepage.
- Keep the process consistent and use a booking engine that keeps guests on the same domain
- Reference the episode about if your call center acted like your website
- If something isn’t available, show them options that ARE available
- Contactless Check-in
- Reduce labor costs
- Get guests onto enjoying their vacation more quickly
- Verify their ID and validate credit card ahead of time – less problems with guests, reduces chargebacks, prevents crime *Superhog, Autohost
*Keyless entry – Behome247
- Focus on what it means to stay at a hotel
- Amenities – on-site dining, pools, spas etc – vacation rentals can’t always offer these
- Location – easy access to transportation, Ubers/Airport shuttles
- Service – peace of mind that someone is there to help you, on-site, 24/7 is a big deal for a lot of people. Remind guests of this advantage
Stay tuned for Part 2 on the Alex & Annie Podcacast…
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Newsaroos:
Booking.com Cutting Thousands Of Workers
Coming to us out of the Netherlands
https://nltimes.nl/2022/02/10/bookingcom-cut-thousands-workers-new-reorganization
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60 Seconds To Success:
Take advantage and diversify with niche channels. Don’t only rely on the major distribution channels for hotels or vacation rentals. Instead expand your presence as much as possible to grow your marketshare, reduce your costs, and appear where your competitors have not yet gone.
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Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to @_travelboom or info@travelboommarketing.com.
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