Hotel Marketing Ad Types and Inspiration to Help Increase Hotel Revenue

From the large hotel chain to the boutique B&B, there are multiple avenues to market your hotel and reach your future guests. While there are many objectives for marketers and hotel owners, increasing revenue is always the top priority. Here, we break down the many ways to increase revenue using digital marketing for hotels.

Hotel Ad Types to Increase Revenue

Let’s take a closer look at the various types of advertising options that hotels can use in an effort to increase revenue:

Traditional Media

• TV Ads: With mass reach, these ads can be highly effective in generating mass awareness, but they are often expensive to air, so normally only the big chain hotels can afford this type of ad space.
• Radio Ads: Radio ads are great for local targeting, especially in regions where cars are the predominant mode of transport as it forms part of daily commutes.
• Print Ads: Having a printed ad in newspapers, magazines, and brochures that your audience reads is a popular choice for hotel marketers. This doesn’t mean you have to fork out expensive rates – being featured in community publications, for instance, is a great way to target locals. A popular method is also to offer hotel stays in exchange for advertorials.
• Billboards: Another popular choice for hotels, billboards can be effective in high-traffic areas and can be very memorable. Another form of outdoor promotion is sponsorships, which can be a great intersection with CSR initiatives.
• Flyers and Posters: Depending if it falls within your branding to do so, flyers and posters can be a good way to advertise local promotions and make your hotel feel more like part of the community by appearing nearby shops and premises.
• Direct Mail: Sending promotional material via post, which is often done with travel magazines or rewards program publications.

Digital Media

• Search Engine Marketing: Paid ads on search engines have become one of the most predominant types of digital ads. It pays to be at the top of results pages when your desired audience searches for hotels. Be sure to target the right keywords and add in the necessary budget. The more broad the search term, the more competitive and expensive the Cost Per Click (CPC) will be.
• Social Media Ads: Each social media platform offers ways to advertise campaigns. Hotel marketers need to determine which method is best to get the message across and to analyse the performance and Return On Investment (ROI) to see which platforms and approach work best.
• Display Ads: Banner ads on websites can be an effective way to be seen on relevant websites. It’s the online version of a billboard, yet they have the advantage of linking directly to your website.
• Retargeting Ads: Retargeting is key, especially when it comes to travel decisions as these may take a longer time for consumers to follow through on.
• Email Marketing: Sending promotional emails to mailing lists remains one of the most effective digital marketing methods. It’s a great way to ensure your campaigns reach the inboxes of interested individuals directly.
• Affiliate Marketing: Partnering with websites to promote the hotel can be a great way to broaden your hotel’s reach among new audiences while supporting those that bring in that business with a share of the ROI. These ads usually include a discount code which extends this ‘win-win’ scenario to guests as well.
• Native Advertising: Native ads blend seamlessly among organic content. They’re designed to be look-a-likes so that it’s more palatable than hard-selling ads. This has become trickier to do as many platforms advocate for transparent ads.

In-app and Mobile Ads

• Geofencing: Targeting users within a specific geographic area. This is great for staycation deals which continue to be popular.
• Push Notifications: If a hotel has an app, offering direct messages about promotions and ad campaigns can be an instant reminder.
• In-App Ads: Ads within other mobile applications can be effective for conversion ads as more and more people make mobile bookings at hotels, making this form of advertising a natural inclusion to have.

Content Marketing

• Blog Posts: Blog posts form an important long-term strategy that goes hand-in-hand with SEO. Greater authority and visibility online will help your hotel climb to the first page of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), which creates more opportunities to drive website traffic.
• Video Marketing: The options for video marketing and ads are endless. Consider creating ads in YouTube videos, as well as creating hotel content as part of your ads like virtual tours which can be highly effective in getting audiences to visualise the experience for themselves.

Event and Experiential Marketing

• Trade Shows: Booths at travel and tourism exhibitions can be a great way to network and increase business opportunities.
• Pop-Up Events: Being seen at local events that generate buzz and offer an added reward are a great way to increase your hotel’s visibility in the community.

Partnerships and Collaborations

• Cross-Promotions: Partnering with non-competing businesses to promote each other. This is great for marketing your area and offering complementary perks as part of a campaign deal.
• Influencer Partnerships: Collaborating with influencers enable you to broaden your reach on social media and provide valuable content that you can share on your channels as well. Users tend to trust the influencers, so an influencer showcasing their stay can go a long way.
• Loyalty Programs: Offering a rewards program or partnering with airlines, car rental services, etc. can encourage repeat bookings, therefore increasing its ROI.

3 Ads That Work

Here is a brief look at a few of our favourite effective digital marketing campaigns from well-known hotel brands.

“Guest How You Guest” by IHG

The title of this campaign puts a spin on the notion of “you do you,” and acts as both an aspirational message and a greater call to action. These ads have been featured in airports in large font styles for maximum visibility and impact.

"It Matters Where You Stay" by Hilton

This campaign placed great hotel stays at the heart of great trips. The campaign appealed to different guest needs, including pet-friendly options, connecting family rooms, and stress-free dream vacations. These unique benefits of staying at Hilton were the focus of the visuals, supported by the call to action of “Find your Stay #HiltonForTheStay.” As Mark Weinstein, Hilton’s CMO notes, the campaign is about “fully connecting our external customer marketing to our purpose.”

@hilton When baby #4 is on the way, it matters where you stay. #HiltonForTheStay#babymoon#baby#parents#niagarafalls♬ original sound - hilton

Stay Like a Millionaire by Millennium Hotels and Resorts

The ‘Stay Like A Millionaire’ campaign was a competition to raise awareness for the My Millennium loyalty scheme. People were required to become a member and book a stay for the chance to win 1,000 000 My Millennium Points.

The campaign generated 3,676 new My Millennium members across the duration of the campaign, generating nearly $1,000,000 in revenue with a total of 2,664 bookings from guests who entered the competition. The campaign also won Best Loyalty Programme Relaunch at The Loyalty & Engagement Awards in 2019.

Online bookings make up almost 60% of all hotel bookings, which is why it’s imperative that brands have an effective digital advertising strategy in place. With the aforementioned avenues, tips, and insights, you can create revenue-boosting ad campaigns as part of your digital marketing for hotels.

However, whichever advertising approach you decide is right for your brand and budget, it always helps to have a solid campaign creative behind it. Strong visuals and a memorable catchphrase are important, but it doesn't always have to have a competition mechanic behind it to be successful. But it does help.