Hotel Marketing
With the Christmas and New Year’s festivities coming to an end, the romance of Valentine’s Day comes to mind, as it’s the next popular celebration on the calendar. This occasion offers luxury hotels a great opportunity to capture the attention of couples who are on the lookout for a romantic stay, as well as spontaneous last-minute bookings made by pairs, who want to do something special to celebrate the day of love. 14th of February offers the perfect opportunity to blow away your guests. As they wish to escape their daily routines and celebrate with their loved ones in a truly romantic atmosphere, where the worries of their daily lives, such as cooking and cleaning, are all taken care of.
But with so many details to cover, how can hoteliers make sure they have everything ready for when the most romantic day of the year rolls around? In this comprehensive blog, we will provide some guidance and inspiration to help you make sure your hotel is ready for Valentine’s Day.
Everyone wants to feel special and pampered on the day of love. An easy way for luxury hotels to achieve this and make it easy for guests to choose a stay with them is through special offers and Valentine’s Day bundles. There are many truly unique ways to do it, depending on your hotel and the facilities you have available. For example, special offers can include discounts on the stay itself, the dining experience or on-site amenities, such as spa treatments, golf courts and other ones available at your luxury hotel.
When it comes to special Valentine’s Day packages, hoteliers can get really creative. Special bundles can include such offers as getting your room decorated with rose petals and candles, prior to your arrival, as well as special romantic touches like complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries, a bottle of fizz or wine. Romantic special packages can also include complementary spa treatments, tailored to couples, or a candlelit romantic dinner at your hotel’s restaurant.
Offering couples special packages and offers can set you apart from your competitors while providing potential guests with an easy way to find the perfect stay for them. This is also a great way to advertise your on-site facilities and services, some of which may not be known to new guests.
Utilising social media is a very effective and budget-friendly way to reach more people from anywhere in the world. However, it is crucial to do it correctly, as such special occasion campaigns take much more than just throwing together a quick Instagram post and telling people to book. It is important to organise your Valentine’s Day social media campaign in a way that informs potential guests of all the incredibly romantic offers you have prepared, without frustrating them with content that sounds like a sales pitch. You can do this by showcasing your rooms, facilities and services, as well as all the special Valentine’s Day packages.
In addition to creating great content, it’s also crucial to start promoting it early on. However, don’t feel like you have to constantly post about Valentine’s Day once Christmas and New Year decorations are removed. Quite the opposite. You can build up the momentum of your Valentine’s Day posts, as you get closer to the occasion. But it is very important to promote the upcoming day of love at least once a week on your socials, all while encouraging engagement and conversations in the comments. This helps you make sure you have enough time to spread awareness about your hotel and its special Valentine’s Day offers and packages.
Just as in the above point, your website should reflect that you are ready for Valentine’s Day. And it’s not necessarily in the way that you would think. You don’t have to add special Valentine’s Day pop-ups on your website or make your homepage pink. However, it’s crucial to start talking about your special offers and packages early. This can be done through website pages and blogs, that are optimised for search engines. It takes some time for Google to start showing your new pages on its results, especially if you wish to appear at the very top. This is why it’s good to prepare it early and give yourself enough time to edit and optimise the pages, so they get the chance to rank higher.
It’s important to get it all done early, as oftentimes, people take their time when choosing a hotel to celebrate a special day. Therefore, if you can appear in front of them early on and get them thinking about their Valentine’s Day plans, you will get to capture more potential guests and spread awareness about your luxury hotel.
Make sure you reach out to those guests who have stayed with you in the past, and on top of that, offer them something special! Reward your loyal guests with a special Valentine’s Day discount or an offer. For example, if they book their Valentine’s Day stay now, offer them a complimentary bottle of fizz or let them know their room will look extra special for Valentine’s Day. You can also offer such complementary services as spa treatments or breakfast/lunch on the house. There are many ways to go around it and you can get really creative, however, it is truly important to make loyal guests feel valued and like they are getting something special.
Events are a great way to attract both local and travelling couples, who wish to spend their evening doing something fun or even learning a new craft together. After all, learning new things together is a truly romantic way to bond and create new memories! Such events could be romantic cocktail-making masterclasses, couples wine and cheese tastings, painting sessions, cooking workshops, and many more. This also brings up an exciting opportunity for luxury hotels to collaborate with local businesses, which can hold workshops and classes, showcasing all that the community has to offer. This is often greatly appreciated by the travellers who get to enjoy both - the romantic event, as well as learn more about the local culture.
Food and drinks have always been an important part of a romantic stay. After exploring the local area or getting pampered in the spa, a great way to further elevate the romance for couples is to offer a delicious meal that they can bond over. To make it extra special and exciting for the guests of your hotel and restaurant, consider adding a couple of Valentine’s Day specials to change up the menus. Whether it’s new Valentine’s Day-themed cocktails, desserts or mains, adding a touch of exclusivity by introducing limited-edition menu items, can convince potential guests that they can’t miss out on staying at your luxury hotel.
On top of the delicious culinary creations, consider making your restaurant premises extra romantic on Valentine’s Day. To achieve that you don’t have to do anything extravagant, simple touches like flowers and candles can greatly elevate the romantic ambience. Thus making your guests’ Valentine’s Day Stay truly unforgettable and something they will want to repeat year after year.
Although Valentine’s Day is all about couples, taking a different approach and making solo travellers feel just as special can be a great way to stay in people’s minds for a long time. Being single on the day of love is no fun, however staying at a luxury hotel that makes you feel just as seen as all the couples, can make it much better! So don’t be scared to offer something special to your solo guests, who will definitely appreciate the gesture and might even share a positive word or two on their socials, providing you with invaluable UGC. ← link to the UGC article
To conclude, there are various ways hoteliers can approach Valentine’s Day. However, it is crucial to have some ideas and start preparing them early on to appear on top in the competitive luxury hospitality industry. We hope our blog may have given you some guidance and inspiration for ways to prepare your hotel and marketing strategies for the day of love.
