How to Use Customer Data to Create a Hotel Marketing Plan

Hotel Marketing

November 28, 2023
How to Use Customer Data to Create a Hotel Marketing Plan

As a Hotel Manager or Hotel Marketer, you know that marketing is essential to driving business. But did you know that using customer data is a major part of building an effective hotel marketing plan? All of your strategies and tactics have to be built with your target audience in mind. Luckily, there are plenty of data sources available that can tell you a lot about your current and potential guests, including their approximate age, their location, their reason for traveling, and whether they've stayed with you before.

Using Customer Data to Create Your Marketing Plan

There are a few different ways to collect customer data. You can start by looking at your booking engine, Google Analytics, and even Facebook. These sources can tell you a lot about your current audience, including their approximate age, their location, their reason for traveling, and whether they stayed with you before.

Using Google Analytics to find customer information

Google Analytics is a great place to start when you're looking for customer data. You can find out a lot about your website visitors, including their approximate age, their location, the pages they visit most often, and how they found your site. This information can be extremely helpful in identifying your target audience and understanding their needs.

If you're not already using Google Analytics, it's easy to set up. Simply create a free account and add the tracking code to your website. Once you've done that, you'll be able to see detailed reports about your website traffic.

Analysing your booking engine data

Your booking engine is another valuable source of customer data. This is where you can track information such as the guest's name, contact information, arrival and departure dates, room type, and rate. This data can help you understand who your guests are, what they're looking for in a hotel, and how likely they are to book again.

If you don't have a booking engine, you can still collect this data by using a contact form on your website. Just be sure to ask for the information that you need, such as the guest's name, contact information, arrival and departure dates, room type, and rate.

Looking at social media data

Social media is another great way to collect customer data. You can use platforms like Facebook and Twitter to find out what people are saying about your hotel, what their interests are, and even where they're located. This information can be extremely helpful in understanding your target audience and developing targeted marketing campaigns.

If in doubt ask the kitchen, restaurant and bar staff

You should also survey other departments to gather more anecdotal information. This will help you hone in on your guest's interest, their pain points, and other relevant behaviour. When you know what really motivates people to choose your hotel, you can speak to them directly through your marketing.

Conclusion

Knowing who your customers are is a major part of building an effective hotel marketing plan. By using the data sources available to you and surveying other departments, you can gain insights into your guests' interests, pain points, and motivations. When you know what really drives people to choose your hotel, you can create marketing that speaks directly to them—and drives results.

The more tailored your marketing message is, the more effective it will be.