4 Easy Marketing Ideas To Attract More B&B; Customers
All Bed and Breakfasts need a strategy for a strong presence online. It's not enough anymore to rely on travel sites to generate business and new customers.
Today (Aug 2018) you should consider all corners of the digital and non-digital world to help you boost your business. With this in mind, we generated a list of Bed and Breakfast marketing ideas that can help you potentially generate new customer bookings.
Asking for guest reviews on TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor reviews are massively important and having multiple positive reviews can help attract new guests due to the trusted element associated with TripAdvisor.
With 96% of global TripAdvisor users considering reading reviews* prior to booking accommodation it is important to have reviews on this platform.
1. We suggest you use these types of strategies when you are actively seeking TripAdvisor reviews. When a guest is checking out, check to make sure that everything was good during their stay and ask them to provide a TripAdvisor review when they reach their next destination.
2. Make sure your business cards or printed documents that are in each room have the following " We would really appreciate your time in providing a review on TripAdvisor"
3. After your guest departs send them a "Thank you email" and within the email embed a link to your TripAdvisor profile so that they can easily make a quick review.
*https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/w828
Blog to generate traffic to your website
As a small operator in the Bed and Breakfast industry, you have the ability to create blogs to further engage and excite your visitors online.
Blogging, however, can be time consuming and tough if you are not sure what to write about. Below are some content ideas to assist you in developing a blog that can generate value and interest.
By the way, Google loves blog content on your site so having a constant supply of fresh articles will help you maintain or improve your Google rank.
When it comes to writing blog content the intent is to provide insights and value for potential guests who may be traveling your way.
So consider topics like;
- Promoting an up and coming event.
- Providing travel tips (where you give helpful and original tips on how to make travel less stressful).
- Interesting facts about your place, your story and/or journey into how you started your Bed and Breakfast business
- Famous guests references or quotes (We all connect with celebrities so having content about somebody famous certainly adds interest and value)
- Local interesting facts and figures that create interest
- Think about common questions people may be interested in prior to booking their accommodation with a Bed and Breakfast establishment, for example, "What is the weather like in [month] around [your town]"
- Ask for an opinion, like "What is your preferred checkout time when you book a Bed and Breakfast"
- Discuss some amazing photos you have of your Bed and Breakfast, for example, adding photos of your Bed and Breakfast and then directing them to your booking engine will not only bring in potential guest traffic but can be shared on other social platforms like Instagram where the focus is on providing value through images.
Use Instagram to generate interest
Instagram is big business and with stats like this now is the time to generate and take part in this social platform.
Take a moment to digest the following;
- Instagram now has 800 million monthly active users, and 500 million daily active users.
- 75% of Instagram users are outside the US, with just 17% of desktop traffic to Instagram coming from the United States.
- Over 60% of users log in daily, making it the second most engaged network after Facebook
Consumers are going to this platform to see if they like the look & feel prior to any confirmed booking. Not only is the platform massive with daily activity (500 million) it is now a tool that helps customers decide if your place is the right one for them. If you do set up an account make certain that the images you use are professional and authentic.
Hire an expert to help
Having the expertise behind you, guiding you and providing you with a team that can help with your website, its performance, your social strategy along with your digital marketing performance is key to the over overall success. Not only can these teams provide you with the expertise on all areas mentioned above they can help you learn and discover powerful solutions to keep your competitors at bay!
The booking calendar has all the information we need. It is very responsive and easy to use. Really appreciate that problems are fixed quickly by ResBook staff.
Caroll, Tekapo holiday Homes
We have found rebook exceptionally helpful when it comes to providing advice. Also now having the channel manager linking the larger platforms makes it all so much easier.
Susanne Olsen, Ara Roa Villas
ResBook has been brilliant to deal with. From setting up our booking system and also creating our website, they have made it really easy for me, and I'm not tech savvy at all. Priyanka and Estelle especially have been an amazing help.
Amber Tyrrell, Valley Views Glamping
"As B&B operators, ResBook offers an easy to use navigation system, enabling us to track all bookings from enquiries to final payment & thank-you emails. Using ResBook has increased our reservations and given us peace of mind operating our B&B."
Fay & Lindsay Turner, Finlay Banks Boutique Bed & Breakfast