What are Facebook ads for hotels?

Facebook ads for hotels are a powerful marketing tool that can be used to reach more potential guests and win more bookings for your accommodation business. Facebook hotel ads will usually appear in the news feed or the right hand column of the screen on desktop.

By using Facebook ads, your hotel can use various creative formats, target particular guest segments, and aim for a variety of goals, including boosting bookings and revenue.

It’s always been free to activate a Facebook account, regardless of whether you intend to use your Facebook profile for personal or professional reasons. The business pages on Facebook are still free to create, but most business owners find they can’t reach as many people as they would like simply through the free profile features.

With paid advertising campaigns on Facebook, you can select the demographics you want to target and the time of day that you want them to see your advertisements. It is a very effective way of increasing brand exposure and boosting your bookings.

This blog will tell you everything you need to know about succeeding with Facebook ads for your hotel.

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Why should you be using hotel Facebook marketing?

Hotel Facebook marketing has a number of benefits, the most prominent of which is that you can reach a huge audience. Given that Facebook has more than 3 billion active monthly users, any guest you could hope to attract is well within your grasp.

In general, Facebook is one of the most effective social media channels for connecting with travellers:

  • An average user clicks 12 Facebook ads each month
  • 76% of leisure travellers use the Facebook family of apps for travel related activities
  • 38% use Facebook messenger to chat about trips to friends
  • Facebook.com is the third most visited website in the world
  • Users spend 20 hours per month on the site

When it comes to promoting your brand and growing your audience, Facebook marketing is still one of the best ways to do it. 

In addition to being a large pool of potential travellers, people also use Facebook to research accommodation, read reviews, and even make bookings.

With the right technology in place, you can be a couple of clicks away from a direct booking just by using your property’s Facebook profile page.

How to get started with Facebook marketing for hotels

Before you can start running ads on Facebook, you need to get your hotel setup and engaging with the platform.

For instance, you first need a personal profile in order to create a business profile.

When setting up your business page, remember:

  • Choose a category such as local business or brand
  • Enter all your property details and photos
  • Use language that aligns with your other business profiles, such as on Google or your own website
  • Ensure information is accurate
  • Link to other platforms where you have a presence, such as TripAdvisor

After this, you can start sending invites for all your known contacts to like and follow your page. Encourage people to share your page on their own profiles, and you could also promote it in local community groups.

There’s plenty you can do free to grow followers, boost engagement, and inspire bookings. Some tips include:

  • Posting regular updates or photos on your feed.
  • Create video ‘stories’ to show behind the scenes of your business.
  • Post promotions or offers.
  • Host local social events or competitions.
  • Tag other businesses in your content, share useful and relevant content, and comment on travel related content.
  • Respond promptly to reviews and messages.

Importantly, you should think about creating a schedule or calendar ahead of time each month, so you never run out of content.

Facebook Ads for hotels

What facebook hotel ads can you run for your property?

Facebook hotel ads can come in a few different formats. Facebook allows you to showcase your property in what seems most engaging to you, including:

  • Single image and video: Use high-quality visuals to highlight your hotel’s best features.
  • Carousel: Utilise multiple images and/or videos to show different aspects of your property and entice viewers even more.
  • Collections: An immersive, mobile-friendly ad format which combines imagery with product/service offerings.

Your specific property and the purpose of your ad will determine exactly what format you choose. For instance, you might choose to highlight your most exciting amenity in a single image or video, like a pool or bar area, to encourage bookings. Or you might want to give a broader overview of your entire property and experience via carousel.

Hotel facebook ads examples

There are many types of hotel Facebook ads in terms of format, purpose, and audience. There’s a lot more variability than just changing what images or content you use.

Each ad can have its own specific outcome for your business. Here are seven of the most common examples:

Brand awareness ads

Simply make people aware of your business and get them intrigued enough to want to learn more. You could use a captivating video or image that has high energy or beauty. Target a broad audience based on demographics such as age and interests. Make ‘Like page’ your call-to-action.

Direct bookings ads

Use eye-catching images of guests enjoying a stay at your hotel and create written content that offers a deal or discount if people book directly, Make sure you include a clear ‘Book Now’ button. Target local audiences with an interest in travel and cultural experiences.

Promotion and packages ads

Create a carousel showcasing all the highlights of your property, including what you’re offering in your package. Target audiences that may be celebrating special occasions such as birthdays.

Retargeting ads

Target the specific people who have visited your website but haven’t made a booking. Remind them of your great qualities with a creative video or carousel.

Promoted posts ads

If there is a particular post or update that you want to ensure is seen, you can use an ad to increase the reach of your content. You might use this toi bring attention to a seasonal promotion or a new offering at your hotel.

Database building ads

If you want to engage with travellers over time and nurture them into a booking, you can create a ‘lead generation’ ad that entices people to enter their details, such as email, into a form for you to collect. Good incentives include giveaways or competitions. 

Traffic driving ads

Perhaps you want to filter more traffic to your website, you can run an ad with this call-to-action. Target demographics that are actively engaging with travel content, likely to click websites, and purchase directly.

Here’s an example of what your ad could look like once you’ve created it:

Facebook ads for hotels

Guide to Facebook messenger ads

Facebook Messenger Ads are also changing the way businesses communicate with their customers. They are now able to speak with their customers on a personalised platform where they are already talking to friends, family and colleagues.

There are two ways that you can use Facebook messenger ads:

1. Using messenger as the ad destination

When you choose to use messenger as your destination, the ad can appear on the user’s newsfeed, Instagram feed, Facebook’s audience network and even the messenger homepage. This ad will have the call-to-action “send message” and once clicked will prompt the user to message your hotel directly on Facebook.

2. Selecting Facebook messenger as the platform for your ad

Destination ads can appear more personalised to the potential guest as it encourages the user to start a conversation with your business. There is an option to set up a welcome message that will greet users as they reach your messenger screen.

You can also choose to set up quick feedback responses that will prompt users to make the response that you want them to make and eventually take the desired action.

Opting for Facebook messenger as the placement of your hotel’s ad means that your ad will only appear in the user’s messenger homepage. When clicked, this ad can link through to your website.

You can get the most out of your ad campaign when you combine messenger as a destination and messenger as a placement. This means you will be directing users to message your page from all relevant ad placements including the Facebook messenger homepage.

Here’s how you can set up Facebook Messenger Ads for your hotel

  • Create a new ad campaign and select “messages” as an objective
  • In placements select “automatic placements” or if you wish to edit your placement locations ensure that you select “messenger” as one of the options.
  • Select your call-to-action. We recommend selecting “send message” so the audience knows what to expect when they click through your ad.
  • Everything should be quite familiar if you have created a Facebook Ad before, except for the “text” section. Here is where you can set up your welcome message that will greet users as they go to message your page. Make sure you give the audience a reason to start a conversation.
  • In this section you should then set up “quick responses”. This is where you prompt the audience to make the response that you want and take a desired action.
  • Now you submit your ad creative that will prompt users to select “send message” in the first place. You can select your creative format such as a carousel, single image, single video or even slideshow. A carousel ad can be a great way to showcase your different room options or the different facilities at your hotel.

Facebook ads best practices for hotels

To ensure your hotel’s Facebook ads are successful and that your budget is being used wisely, these 10 best practices will help:

  1. Ensure you have a Facebook page and have set up a Facebook ad account.
  2. Set up hotel ads by creating a catalogue and an ad template.
  3. Plan and choose a budget and schedule for your ads.
  4. Define the audience you want to reach.
  5. Be clear about what you want your ads to achieve, such as gaining followers or driving bookings.
  6. Make sure you have a way to track performance and results.
  7. Be realistic about what you can achieve with your budget.
  8. Create a Facebook pixel (a piece of code that allows you track activity on Facebook to users on your website).
  9. Preview your ad before launching it, to eliminate any errors.
  10. Constantly look for ways to optimise your ads and improve results, so that you are getting a good return on investment.

Most importantly, if you aren’t seeing results from an ad, don’t keep pouring more money into the same message. Try experimenting with different ads and formats to see which ones work best. Once you are confident, you can increase your spend knowing that it will bring dividends.

By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).