How to Boost Bookings With Segmentation and Special Offers

Hotels generally attract a diverse range of guests — such as solo travelers, families, seniors, group travelers, and more.

While some hotels may cater more to the millennial generation another hotel may focus solely on luxury travelers who won’t spare a dime on their adventure. It’s important to recognize all hotels have traveler segments that should be identified.

Segmenting your target audiences helps you to better understand who is driving your bookings, and also allows you to use marketing promotions in order to increase direct bookings.

What is Segmentation?

Segmentation is the process of dividing up the traveler market and identifying two or more groups that you will focus on at your hotel property. For example, if your hotel is located in a destination that attracts travelers of all ages and stages, you need to evaluate and analyze the types of guests that book rooms at your property.

If you find that your guests are predominantly comprised of families with young children and multi-generational families booking large group trips, then those are the two market segments that you need to focus on in your accommodation distribution strategy.

This allows you to invest your resources wisely and use the marketing tools you have available to drive direct bookings.

Identifying the Target Audience at Your Hotel

Here’s a few tips you can use in order to identify the target audience at your hotel:

• Improve your presence on social media and make sure that you are on the most popular online review sites. Your guests will leave feedback that will help you better understand who prefers to stay at your hotel, and who is looking for a different type of experience.
• Conduct exit surveys in order to better understand who your guests are and why they chose your property. You can send these surveys in an automatic e-mail during the check-out process.
• Use online metrics in order to track your site visitors and your conversions. Programs such as Google Analytics can give you detailed insight into the guests who are booking your rooms.

Packages and Promotions to Consider Offering Guest Segments

Once you know who your guests are and have identified the traveler segments that you are going to focus on, you can create packages and promotions that drive direct bookings. For example, if many of your guests are independent travelers between the ages of 20 and 30, you may want to offer adventure tour packages that guests can select at the time of their booking.

You also could schedule events designed to allow your guests to meet and greet with other solo travelers staying at your property.

Developing an effective accommodation distribution strategy begins by understanding the type of guests who prefer to stay at your property.

This allows you to target your marketing efforts and your promotional materials toward the most motivated group of travelers, ultimately increasing the direct bookings at your property.

Whether you are looking to increase your B&B distribution, or you are creating promotions for a large hotel chain, it’s important to understand your guests and create promotions that will attract their attention.