Small Budget, Big Impact: Hotel Marketing in 2024

For hotels operating with a small budget, effective hotel marketing strategies don’t necessarily require huge expenditures. Here are some practical and cost-effective suggestions.

Leverage Social Media

Regularly post engaging content, such as behind-the-scenes glimpses, guest testimonials, resort features and local attractions. Use hashtags and location tags, and engage with your audience through comments and messages to increase visibility. Check out this article from Sprout Social on how three hospitality brands are rocking their social media.

Make SEO a Priority

A solid SEO strategy should be a must in every hotel marketing strategy. Optimize your website for better search engine results. Ensure your hotel is listed on Google My Business, and encourage satisfied guests to leave positive reviews. Use relevant keywords in your website’s content and meta descriptions to improve search engine rankings. This free step-by-step SEO guide from Semrush is a good start.

Create Partnerships with Local Businesses

Effective, low-cost hotel marketing includes boosting referrals by leveraging your community! Collaborate with local attractions, excursion operators, restaurants, photographers and event organizers to create packaged deals or cross-promotional opportunities. Establishing community partnerships can attract visitors looking for a comprehensive experience and help you cross-promote your hotel’s offerings to partnering businesses’ customers.

Utilize Email Marketing

Email marketing can be an excellent way to stay top of mind with guests and promote your last-minute specials to nearby travellers! Get started with this free guide to email marketing for hotels from MailChimp.

Encourage User-Generated Content and Reviews

User-generated content is an excellent no-cost hotel marketing tactic!  And chances are, your guests are already tagging you in their social media content, which you can ask their permission to use in your marketing. Encourage guests to share their experiences on social media and review platforms. Utilizing user-generated content like guest photos or stories can be especially convincing to potential guests versus relying on stock imagery. 

Offer Exceptional Service

Word-of-mouth is a powerful hotel marketing tool, especially for businesses with limited budgets. Providing exceptional service can lead to positive reviews and referrals. Encourage your satisfied guests to spread the word to friends and family.

Host Events or Workshops

Consider hosting events or workshops that appeal to both local residents and travellers. These can be relatively low-cost events, and the exposure gained can help generate buzz around your property. In addition, listing your hotel on popular event venue marketing apps such as Eventective and RetreatsAndVenues can help attract the attention of event planners and generate business from private groups and corporate retreats.

Utilize Free or Low-Cost Marketing Tools

There are numerous free or affordable marketing tools available online for designing marketing materials, managing social media, and analyzing website traffic (like Canva, Hootsuite, and Google Analytics).

Implement and Advertise Sustainable Practices

Sustainability is a significant draw for many travellers. Simple measures like reducing plastic use, recycling, and using energy-efficient appliances can be marketed as part of your hotel’s environmental commitment. Here’s how to market your hotel’s sustainable practices with verve.

Boost Bookings With Google Search Ads

Google Search Ads can be surprisingly affordable, especially when you consider how effective they can be at attracting guests when they are planning their vacations and are most likely to book. These Google Ads tips from Zapier are a good start.

By focusing on these cost-effective hotel marketing strategies, small-budget hotels can effectively attract guests without breaking the bank. Check out our webinar recap explaining how to target visitors before and after they arrive for more great tips that you can start applying now to boost bookings and build your hotel’s brand awareness!

Do You Have Questions?

Do you have questions about how to boost bookings and where to focus your marketing resources? Or do you have questions about email marketing, Google Advertising and optimizing what you’re already doing? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us online today or click here to schedule a call with us.