In today's digital marketplace, attracting guests to a hotel website is only half the battle. The reality is, that most new visitors will bounce away without making any bookings. They might get distracted, compare other sites and prices, or simply forget about their hotel amidst the endless online distractions. This is where hotel remarketing becomes your secret weapon.

Imagine having the power to gently nudge those potential guests back toward your hotel site or booking engine. Remarketing allows you to stay top-of-mind, showcasing your hotel's unique appeal and reminding visitors why they were interested in the hotel industry in the first place.

This powerful technique is essential for hotels of all sizes seeking to boost occupancy and revenue. In this guide, we'll demystify remarketing for hotels, offering strategies and techniques to transform those "almost-guests" into confirmed or direct bookings.

Let's dive into how remarketing works and why your top hotel brand can't afford to miss out!

What is Hotel Remarketing?

• Definition: Hotel remarketing (or retargeting) is a sophisticated digital marketing strategy designed to reconnect with potential guests who have shown interest in your property but haven't yet made a reservation. It aims to convert website visitors into confirmed bookings.
• Explanation:  Remarketing works by leveraging tracking "cookies." These small pieces of code are placed on a user's browser when they visit your hotel's website.  As the user browses other websites, participates in social media, or even checks their email ads, your hotel's ads can be strategically displayed. The cookies help track a user's behavior across the web, enabling tailored ads to be shown.
• Example:  Let's imagine a potential guest named Sarah visiting your hotel's website. She browses your oceanfront suites, checks availability for an upcoming weekend, and even explores your spa packages. While Sarah ultimately leaves without booking, remarketing comes into play. Later, as she reads a travel blog, browses Instagram, or uses Google, she may encounter ads highlighting your oceanfront suites, promoting weekend specials, or showcasing your spa. These targeted reminders keep your hotel at the forefront of Sarah's mind.

Types of Remarketing Campaigns:  Hotels have several remarketing options at their disposal:

• Display advertising: Eye-catching banner ads, image-based ads, and dynamic ads (which show specific products/rooms viewed) appear across various websites as part of advertising networks.
• Email marketing: Targeted emails can be sent to users who abandoned their booking, subscribed to your newsletter, or expressed interest in specific offers. These email retargeting often include incentives to finalize a reservation.
• Social media retargeting: Highly visual ads are displayed on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others. These can target users based on their website interaction, interests, and even those who resemble your existing customer base.
• Search Engine Remarketing: Search Ads are shown on search engine result pages to people who previously visited your site and searched for relevant terms.

Remarketing is all about keeping your hotel top-of-mind and guiding customers back down the booking funnel. Let's delve deeper into the significant benefits this strategy offers!

Benefits of Hotel Website Remarketing

Remarketing isn't just about bringing people back to your website – it delivers tangible results for hotels. Here are the key advantages:

• Increased brand awareness: Even if a visitor doesn't immediately book, your hotel's name and imagery stay in their mind through targeted ads. This builds brand familiarity, making your hotel a top contender when they finally decide on their accommodation.
• Reconnect with interested visitors: Remarketing taps directly into the pool of people who have already demonstrated interest in your hotel. These are warm leads, making them far more likely to convert than someone encountering your hotel for the first time.
• Personalized messaging:  Deliver tailored offers and messages based on the pages a visitor viewed on your site. Did they look at family suites? Promote a kid-friendly package! Were they browsing your luxury rooms? Highlight a romantic couple's special. This personalization dramatically increases the ad's effectiveness.
• Improved conversion rates: Remarketing focuses on a highly receptive audience. By targeting interested visitors, you dramatically increase your chances of converting those website visits into actual bookings.
• Enhanced customer loyalty: Remarketing isn't just for new guests. Target potential customer with special promotions, reminders about their past stays, or invitations to join your loyalty program. This helps cultivate repeat business and turns guests into brand advocates, driving long-term revenue.
• Cost-effective: Compared to some traditional marketing channels, remarketing can be a highly cost-effective strategy. You're focusing your ad budget on the most likely-to-convert audience, maximizing your returns.

Remarketing Strategies for the Hospitality Industry

Now that you understand the benefits of remarketing, let's explore specific strategies to implement for maximum impact:

Audience Segmentation: The Key to Success 

Go beyond basic segmentation. Delve deeper to create highly targeted campaigns:

• Website Behavior: Analyze browsing patterns. Did they view specific room types, dates, amenities, or offers? Tailor your ads to precisely reflect their interests.
• Booking Stage: Separate users who abandoned their cart from those who browsed but didn't begin a booking. Cart abandoners may need a slight nudge (e.g., a small discount), whereas general browsers might require a stronger reminder of your hotel's appeal.
• Demographics & Interests: Utilize social media and advertising platforms for demographic targeting (age, location, interests) to ensure your ads reach the most relevant audience.
• Past Guests: Segment based on past stay frequency, room types booked, or additional services used. Craft offers and rewards tailored to their preferences.

Compelling Ad Creation:  Stand Out in the Crowd

• High-Quality Visuals: Use professional photos and videos that highlight your hotel's best features, unique atmosphere, and amenities.
• Persuasive Headlines: Include time-sensitive offers ("Book Now and Save!"), urgency ("Limited Availability"), or highlight a unique selling point ("Oceanfront Suites with Private Balconies").
• Clear Call to Action: Make it obvious what you want users to do: "Book Your Stay," "Explore Our Packages," or "Rediscover Luxury."
• A/B Testing: Create multiple ad variants with slight changes (images, headlines) to determine which resonates most with your audience.

Targeted Messaging:  Speak Directly to Your Audience

• Abandoned Bookings: Offer a discount code, provide reassurance about flexible cancellation policies, or create a sense of urgency ("Your Room Awaits").
• Special Event Visitors: Highlight packages, room availability, or proximity to event locations. Consider partnering with event organizers to tap into their audience.
• Past Guests: Target based on their previous stay preferences, offer exclusive loyalty rewards, or personalize messaging ("Welcome Back!").
• Interest-Based Targeting: If a user is browsing family-friendly activities, promote your kid's club or family packages.

Mastering Frequency & Landing Pages

• Frequency Capping: Find the sweet spot between visibility and annoyance. Experiment with different frequencies and track the results.
• Optimized Landing Pages: Ensure a seamless transition from ad to website:
• Mobile-first Design: Optimizing for smaller screens involves designing websites and apps to be responsive and user-friendly on mobile devices, prioritizing readability, navigation, and speed to accommodate the unique constraints and capabilities of smartphones and tablets.
• Relevant Content: Content Strategy Ensures consistency between an ad's promise and the landing page's offer, crucial for building trust and delivering a seamless user experience that aligns with the initial expectations set by the advertisement, and reinforces the content strategy's message and value proposition.
• Clear Booking Path: To optimize the booking path for website visitors, minimize clicks and distractions, streamline the process to enhance usability, and keep the visitor focused on completing their reservation efficiently.

Data-Driven Decisions

• Tracking & Analytics: Closely monitor campaign metrics, including click-through rates, conversions, cost per acquisition, and return on investment.
• Identify High-Performers: Analyze which ads, messages, and audiences generate the best results. Focus your ad budget on these areas.
• Continuous Refinement: Remarketing is an iterative process. Use data to refine your targeting, messaging, and offers continuously.

Advanced Remarketing Techniques for Hotels

Once you've mastered the basics, take your marketing budget and remarketing strategy to the next level with these sophisticated techniques:

• Dynamic Remarketing: This powerful technique displays ads featuring the specific rooms, dates, or packages a user viewed on your website. These highly personalized ads are more likely to trigger a booking, as they directly address the user's demonstrated interest.
• Lookalike Audiences: Many social media platforms allow you to create "lookalike audiences." This leverages your existing customer data to find new potential guests with similar demographics, interests, and online behaviors. It's a fantastic way to expand your reach while maintaining a highly targeted approach.
• Retargeting Abandoned Carts: Specifically, focus on those who initiated a booking but didn't complete it. Offering targeted discounts, highlighting flexible cancellation policies, or simply reminding them of their interest can often nudge them to finalize the reservation.
• Cross-Channel Remarketing:  Expand your reach beyond a single platform. Coordinate remarketing campaigns across display ads, social media, and even email marketing for a multi-pronged approach that reinforces your brand messaging.
• Seasonal & Event-Based Campaigns: Design remarketing campaigns around major holidays, local festivals, or events relevant to your target audience. Offer special packages or promotions timed to these periods.
• CRM Integration: If you have a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system,  integrate it with your remarketing efforts. This allows you to segment audiences based on past interactions, booking history, and preferences, enabling hyper-personalized messaging.

Important Consideration: Be sure to comply with data privacy regulations (such as GDPR and CCPA) when utilizing advanced remarketing techniques. Transparency and user control are essential.

Conclusion

In a competitive digital landscape, hotel remarketing offers a distinct advantage. It's the key to reconnecting with your potential customers and guests, staying top-of-mind, and with new customers, and ultimately driving more bookings and revenue for your hotel.

By understanding the fundamentals of remarketing, implementing the tailored strategies we've outlined, and leveraging advanced techniques, you'll transform those near-bookings into confirmed reservations. The potential for increased occupancy, customer retention, and brand recognition is within your reach.

Don't let potential guests slip away!  Start taking action on your hotel remarketing strategy, today.