With more than 4.48 billion email users worldwide, email marketing revenue is on track to hit 417.9 billion by 2027. It’s no surprise that 80% of marketers would rather give up social media than email.
For hotels, email marketing is a great way to segment audiences, send targeted messages, and drive measurable ROI. New to email marketing but want to get your hotel’s name out there and keep in touch with your guests?
This article will give you a straightforward, easy-to-understand overview of hotel email marketing. From the benefits of hotel email marketing to useful hotel email marketing campaigns, read on to learn more.
How can hotels benefit from email marketing?
Most consumers prefer to receive updates from brands by email, which is what makes email marketing campaigns one of the most effective marketing tools available. Here's what successful email marketing can do for your hotel:
Build brand awareness
Email provides a consistent channel to stay in front of your audience. Sharing local attraction guides, upcoming events at your restaurant, or recent guest reviews helps subscribers understand what your hotel is all about—and a well-designed email reinforces your brand's appeal, whether you're a luxury property, an eco-friendly stay, or a family-friendly destination.
Nurture lasting guest relationships
Guests who opt in to your emails are already interested in what you offer, which gives you a receptive audience to work with. Segmenting your list by demographics and preferences allows you to send personalized content that feels relevant, and exclusive deals or loyalty program updates show past guests they're appreciated.
Generate leads without the heavy lifting
Hotel email marketing is not only effective at generating leads, but it's also straightforward to manage. Tools, such as Mailchimp's Customer Journey Builder, use customer data to automatically send timely, personalized emails, so you can keep guests engaged and drive sales without doing it all manually.
Earn a strong return on investment
Compared to channels like social media, direct mail, and paid search, email marketing consistently delivers a high ROI. Taking the time to test your campaigns can improve your results even further.
How to build an email marketing strategy for hotels
A good hotel email marketing strategy doesn't have to be complicated, but it does need to be intentional. It's always a good idea to look at hotel email marketing examples by subscribing to your competitors' newsletters and e-blasts. Here's how to get started with your own email marketing strategy:
Establish goals for your hotel email campaigns
Running a successful email campaign hinges on a number of factors, but the most important first step is establishing clear goals and objectives. What do you want this email campaign to accomplish for your hotel? A few possible goals for your campaigns are:
- Increase hotel revenue
- Drive more traffic to your hotel website
- Boost the number of direct bookings
- Keep your guests informed about local events and airport transfers
- Gather user generated content for multichannel marketing, especially social media marketing
- Gain members for your hotel’s loyalty program
After you have a good idea of the general direction you want to take your hotel email marketing in, take your goals to the next level and make them SMART, or specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, to maximize productivity.
If you need inspiration, here are a few successful campaign examples to get you started.
Choose the right email marketing platform
The email marketing platform you choose should match both your goals and your experience level. Think about what features matter most — such as automation, spam testing, feedback collection, or simple send capabilities — and use that list to narrow down your options.
Create a sign-up form
Place sign-up forms in visible spots across your website, such as headers, footers, and landing pages, and keep them short with a clear call to action. Offering an incentive, such as early check-in, a room upgrade, or a promo code, gives visitors a reason to opt in.
You can also pull from email addresses already in your property management system, post-stay surveys, or customer service records, as long as you follow local email laws and regulations.
Segment your mailing list
Sending the same email to every subscriber is a missed opportunity. Here are a few ways to segment your audience:
- Travel type: Are they business travelers, part of a travel agency, or booking a family vacation?
- Demographics: Do they have young children? Do they need an ADA-compliant room?
- Geographic location: Are they a local staycation guest or an international traveler?
- Expressed interests: Have they booked spa treatments before? Did they ask about local events during a past stay?
Formulate your campaign's design and content
Whether you're sending a weekly newsletter or the occasional promotional email, you'll need templates that can flex for different audiences and situations. Mailchimp's drag-and-drop template library handles the layout, so you can stay focused on the message.
Every email should open with a subject line that earns the click, and close with a clear call to action. For hotel guests, that first impression in the inbox matters. Clean design and well-crafted content work together to improve click-through rates and conversions.
Test your email campaigns
Testing your email marketing also leads to higher click-through rates, conversion rates, and ROIs. Here are 2 tests you can run to improve your email campaign:
- A/B testing: Find out what type of email marketing for hotels works yields the best results by sending one variation of your campaign to one subset of email subscribers and a different variation to another. Also known as split testing, you’ll be able to see what subject lines have the best open rates, whether your audience appreciates graphics, and more.
- Spam testing: Image-only emails, emails in all caps, emails with too many exclamation points, and emails with subject lines that are too short are all examples of emails that can be blocked by the spam filter. See whether your email campaign will be placed correctly in your subscriber’s inbox.
Utilize automations
Email automation saves you time and effort. Use automations to send timely emails after every sign-up, room booking, and event registration to showcase your attentiveness while not being overwhelming. In the hospitality industry, where time is money, eliminate the busy work in your email campaigns with automation.
Track the progress of your email marketing efforts
Pay attention to analytics and track email performance to see how you can improve your email marketing. Some metrics of success include:
- High unique open rate
- Low unsubscribe rate
- High click-through rate
- Low bounce rate
- High email forwarding rate
- A growing mailing list
Three email marketing campaign ideas for the hospitality industry
Strategic email marketing for hotels can transform one-time visitors into lifelong advocates. Here are a few campaign ideas that deliver personalized updates and exclusive deals:
Loyalty programs
Reward guests who frequent your hotel with ways to save money on their future stays. Show that you appreciate them and start building a long-standing, loyal relationship. For example, offer a free night for every 7 nights they stay at your hotel, or give all loyalty rewards members complimentary breakfast or a discount at the hotel spa. Use email marketing to spread the word of your loyalty program and persuade guests to sign up.
Local newsletters
Start a newsletter filled with information about the surrounding area. Include the stories of nearby heritage sites, events happening in the near future, and interesting daily tours. Feature recipes of famous cultural dishes, profile artists and musicians in the community, and teach your guests the local way of living. The options are endless, and you are bound to be rewarded with clicks and traffic.
Reviews, testimonials, and rewards
Showcase your social proof with social media content, video testimonials, and rewards. Let your subscribers know that there are people, celebrities, and organizations willing to vouch for your hotel. Close the gap between you and your guests and build trust.
Don't overlook email marketing for your hotel
Email marketing can be a huge asset for the success of your hotel. Whether you wish to boost bookings or gain members for your loyalty program, hotel email marketing can help you leave a lasting impression in the minds of your guests.
New to email marketing for hotels and want to learn more? Check out Mailchimp’s Marketing Library for resources on email marketing tips and best practices. Looking for email marketing tools that will make your job easy?
Mailchimp’s email marketing software provides customizable templates, targeting and segmentation assistance, convenient automations, and analytics and AI insights. Try Mailchimp today.