Working With Advertising Agencies for Hospitality and Lodging

Working with advertising agencies for hospitality and lodging is part of your marketing plan

By Jessica Drew, Freelance Business Writer & Editor
When working with advertising agencies for hospitality and lodging, keep in mind that methods for advertising for hotels fluctuate continuously now that many people do a majority of their advertising online. Hospitality advertising agencies are always doing market research to see what's most popular to the average hospitality consumer and opinions are constantly changing. It can be hard for businesses to keep up with all these changes and get the most out of their advertising dollars. Hiring a hotel marketing agency is a business savvy way to shift that responsibility to a qualified third party who will work with your company on a customized level.

For instance, some changes that many hotel advertising agencies plan to pay close attention to include the rise of the Gen-Xers. Gen-Xers have grown up, have credit cards and are booking hotels. Meanwhile Baby Boomers, who hotel advertising companies have focused on for the last several years, continue to age. How to market to this demographic will be important for your hospitality business' success. Another important development is the Internet's role in hotel advertising and includes:

1. Web-based hospitality ads.

2. Hospitality advertisement through online multi-media.

3. Advertising to encourage instant web-based bookings.

 

Learn about hospitality advertisement in general

Advertising is only successful when it hits on its target market, and to do this requires complex planning. You know your target audience, so if you know something about hospitality advertising yourself, you will be able to work with an agency on a collaborative level and maximize success.
Try: Hospitality Net has a list of informative resources and articles about different trends when you're ready to work with advertising agencies. Hotel Online has a comprehensive analysis of industry wide practices, including marketing strategies.

Work with a hospitality advertisement firm that specializes in internet marketing

Again, internet marketing should be a huge part of your overall marketing strategy. When most people go to book hotels today they do so online, with many hotels even featuring one click booking. Since people are already going online to look for a hotel room, it only makes sense to advertise online.
Try: Blizzard Internet Marketing specializes in Internet marketing for hotels, resorts and vacation rentals. HotelTravelCheck.com also offers consulting and marketing strategy implementation for the hospitality industry.

Work with a hospitality marketing agency that specializes in direct marketing

Although internet marketing is a major player in advertising for the hospitality industry, traditional forms of marketing, mainly direct marketing still have a firm place. Pieces of direct mail and other forms of direct contact personalize your message to your target audience, and this has a different and sometimes more effective impact than online ads.
Try: MKTG Chicago has a complete package for those in the hospitality business who want to start using direct marketing strategies. Resort Data Processing has a program that provides quality hospitality direct marketing materials and leads for condo-hotels, vacation rentals, resorts, timeshares and campgrounds.

 

  • When considering hotel advertising companies for hire, ask them how successful they've been while working with past clients. Every good company should have a definitive answer to this question and be able to provide you examples and references of how they've done this in the past.

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