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Hotel Marketing Trends Within the Hotel Industry (I)
It is vital for hotel marketing professionals to create a diverse marketing mix, so
that they can reach different types of customers, with different preferences and
priorities. In particular, the following 10 hotel marketing trends are going to play a
crucial role, not only this year, but in the future too.
1. Customer Experience Marketing
Customer experience marketing refers to a collection of hotel marketing strategies
that are based around the experience customers actually have when staying at a
hotel, or interacting with a business. It is based around the idea that hotel
customers do not really pay for products or services; they pay for experiences.
Hotels can improve the customer experience in a number of ways, such as through
delivering excellent customer service, offering unique features in hotel rooms and
providing a superior range of facilities for guests. By focusing marketing efforts on
the experience, hotels can really tap into the reasons people
stay in hotels in the
first place.
2. Voice Search
In recent years, voice search has emerged as one of the most important hotel
marketing trends and there are several hotel marketing strategies that can take
advantage of this. For instance,
using smart home devices, it is now possible for
customers to book hotels entirely through voice commands and hotels should
capitalise on this.
Additionally, voice search possibilities can also be implemented within hotel
rooms and then promoted as a way of attracting customers. This can be achieved
by including smart speakers or smart hubs in hotel rooms, allowing guests to use
them to obtain the latest tourist information, or to book
hotel services from the
comfort of their room.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Customer service interactions form a major part of the modern hotel marketing
mix, and artificial intelligence can play an important role here. For example, AI-
powered chatbots are one of the best ways to ensure customers receive quick
responses via live chat functions on hotel websites, 24-hours a day,
eliminating
slow response times.
However, the use of artificial intelligence within the
hospitality sector
extends far
beyond this. For example, AI can help hotels to segregate customers more
effectively, assisting with personalisation marketing efforts. It can also speed up
data analytics, while AI-driven customer service robots can be deployed in hotels.
4. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing refers to the practice of reaching out to individuals who have
significant online presence, and using their influence to get marketing messages
out to a particular audience. Influencers tend to have established audiences, which
may consist of a specific demographic, and their audience will usually respect their
views.
In some ways, influencer marketing is similar to the way celebrity endorsements
work, with the audience
trusting a business or brand, because of its association
with someone else they trust or admire. Hotels might partner with influences to
create video content, social media posts, written content, or other forms of online
marketing.
5. Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is one of the fastest-growing hotel marketing trends – and for good
reason. One of the most exciting things about VR technology is the ability to alter
a user’s perception of reality, and this is extremely powerful as a hotel marketing
tool, allowing users to experience digital recreations of certain environments.
A hotel might offer a virtual reality tour of their hotel on the company website,
allowing users to experience what the inside of a hotel room actually looks and
feels like.
Similarly, virtual travel experiences can provide users with an idea of
what they can expect at a particular tourist destination, helping to convince them to
make a booking. Other examples might include interactive virtual maps or
virtual
reality hotel tours
to present your hotel upfront.