As we know, COVID-19 has rocked the hospitality and travel industry. Some common questions are how will the business recover? What will change? How will the hotel business change their sales and marketing strategies? When will business travel along with events come back?
The list goes on…but you get the picture 😊.
We do not have all the answers, but what we do know is leisure travel is going to BOOM. We are already seeing this trend with airlines selling out and hotels starting to see people come back. So, how are we inspiring people to plan trips and discover new places to visit? Travel bloggers and influencers are driving consumers to your hotels and destinations through blogging and content creation. COVID-19 got America on their phones scrolling through Instagram, Tiktok, Pinterest etc. more than ever before. Digital marketing was already taking over pre-pandemic but in a new virtual world, that mostly likely is not going away, the content we share with the world IS and WILL continue to make an impact.
Kat was a previous hotelier and from her perspective knows the hotel business cannot measure influencer bookings which creates obstacles. If the hotel cannot show clear results from an influencer, it can be hard to push the needle and ultimately, earn a living creating content in the hotel space.
HBK launched a new package named “The Hotelier” where they have teamed up with a new hotel technology, “Stayker” and can generate customized hotel booking engines for the influencer world. All reservations booked through their links are trackable along with clicks and engagement which can be shared back with the hotel. Best part? The influencer is paid 100% of the commissions from the reservations booked.
Now, if you are a hotelier reading this, I know what you are thinking. “We want direct bookings!” This makes sense, and you can of course continue to drive direct bookings. However, influencer marketing has arrived and is making a huge impact on many industries. We can now go on Instagram or TikTok and buy clothes, makeup, houseware products, specialty food items and more. The influencers doing this successfully are their own media companies driving sales without being on anyone’s payroll.
Think of it this way, these influencers are like corporate accounts driving business to you, but it is decentralized. At HBK, we are providing a centralized solution through these customized hotel links so the influencer can build their business and show the hotel what they produce.
So, with this said, why wouldn’t hotel rooms be sold on social channels? From a business planning perspective, this would be a piece of the puzzle, but an important one. Reaching the Gen Z traveler means ensuring you are fully promoted on all social channels and by someone who takes their role as an influencer seriously.
To HBK, it is a win-win when the hotel can capture additional room nights and the influencer can be compensated for their content, creativity, and hard work!