What is the right time for a hotel to start a digital marketing plan?

Digital marketing has become a very important tool for the hotel. What concerns many owners and hotel executives is when is the right time to start implementing it.

To examine the answer to this question we must divide hotels into two categories. The seasonal and 12-month operation. The needs that arise and the way of implementing the digital marketing strategy differ from one category to another.

The hotel’s digital marketing strategy in order to be effective should be based on the 5 stages of the trip.

This definition is derived from a Google study and study conducted in 2011.

So, let’s see when is the most appropriate time for the digital marketing of the hotel depending on the category to which it belongs.

 

Seasonal hotels

Seasonal hotels have an advantage over 12-month. It is clear that the implementation of digital marketing is applied based on the theory of the 5 stages of travel.

A very important point is that the digital marketing of hotels never stops.

To be able to have a realistic picture let’s take as an example a hotel that operates during the summer season.

 

So, when does digital marketing for the hotel start?

Considering the assumption that the hotel will start operating in May, from mid-November to mid-December it should have completed and “locked in” its digital marketing strategy.

And what is the digital marketing strategy?

Definitely not if it will have a presence only on Facebook or Instagram.

A proper and complete digital marketing hotel strategy must take advantage of all the tools at its disposal.

In a future article I will talk about what are the components of a complete digital hotel marketing strategy.

 

12-month hotels

Here the situation is different.

Applying the theory of 5 stages of travel is more difficult, as it is not clear when each stage begins and when it ends for travelers.

What will help is a careful analysis of visitor statistics. An in-depth analysis of the visitor profile should be made to determine if any correlations are presented with their demographic characteristics and to adjust the digital marketing strategy accordingly.

 

So, when does digital marketing for the 12-month-old hotel begin?

For 12-month hotels, digital marketing starts yesterday and never stops!

What we need to put a lot of emphasis on is to draw up a multi-level strategy after the understanding of the public and the continuous measurement of its effectiveness by taking corrective actions.

 

Final conclusions

I think it is completely understandable that digital marketing is in a period of time where travelers have turned to various digital media channels, thus, it is mandatory for the hotel to have designed and implemented the right strategy.

In terms of when the hotel will do this, the digital marketeer is influenced by the nature of the hotel and the target audience.

The content and digital marketing schedule should have been drafted a few months in advance in order to be able to properly prepare all the necessary actions for its implementation.

If you would like to arrange a free online meeting to discuss how we can optimize your hotel’s digital marketing strategy, click here.