A new renovation is a great opportunity to promote your hotel to get a higher ROI
Maintaining guest satisfaction can be tricky if you choose to stay open during a hotel renovation & promoting your renovation can be even trickier. Here we will outline the best way to get guests excited for the renovation, keep them happy during the renovation and promote the finished renovations utilizing social media. A strong social media presence can attract people to your hotel whether it's because of your aesthetically pleasing photos or because they feel more comfortable with a more personable hotel.
Before We Begin…
Here are some tips & things to consider before your renovation.
Are you promoting your social media presence in the hotel to your guests?
If you’re not promoting inside the hotel, this is the time to start.
Promoting your hotels social media pages throughout the hotel is a good way to get your guests to follow you. Next time they are looking for a hotel in your area they could be reminded of you through social media.
Remember to tag your brands official page (if applicable) in ALL posts and stories.
This could prompt them to share your posts/stories on their own page where they are likely to expose you to a larger audience.
Know the best times to post to social media.
According to Sproutsocial.com, the best times to post on social media for businesses in recreation/travel are:
Facebook: Tuesdays at 12 pm, Wednesdays at 1 pm & Fridays at 11 am
Instagram: Wednesdays & Thursdays at 1 pm
Twitter: Fridays at 9 am
If a guest is willing to be featured on your social media platforms use this as an opportunity to reach a larger audience.
Offer to tag the guest in the photo so you both increase your exposure.
If a guest is on board for example: you can take their photo in front of newly renovated areas and ask their opinion on them, post this to your social media platforms, tag them in it and post to your story + add their quote with this photo.
Come up with a specific hashtag and encourage your audience to follow it for updates on the renovation. Use this on all of your renovation posts.
For example, your specified hashtag could be: #HamptonPittsburghReno2019
Think about the type of guests that spend the most time at your hotel to get organized with your social media plan:
Regulars/Business Professionals
Regulars will most likely already follow you on social media.
Although it’s still a good idea to ask if they follow your hotel and if not have your staff encourage them to follow you so they can stay up to date on the renovations and offers.
If they always choose your hotel to stay at when they’re in town this will get them excited to see the renovations & keep them coming back.
Business professionals value quiet spaces to work/relax and also appreciate newer, comfortable spaces.
With this group you want to make sure you’re sending emails to make them aware of the renovations going on. In the email, highlight how the new renovations will improve their stay in the future while also ensuring them that their upcoming stay won't be affected by them.
Be sure to choose a renovation company that will coordinate with you and your staff on what areas will be closed off/noisy and when. This allows you to easily communicate this information to your guests.
For example: At Amerail Systems we have over 30 years of experience in the hotel renovation industry with guest sensitive crews and professionals who are experts in communication. Read More
Newcomers
Use visuals of what your renovations will look like to get new hotel guests to come back and stay at your hotel.
If possible, show them what the renovations will look like at check in (either at the registration counter or as a display in the lobby) or in an email after their stay.
When you choose Amerail Systems to renovate your hotel, we provide you with 3D color renderings of what your hotel will look like once completed.
Ask if they follow your hotel on social media platforms and if not encourage them to follow you to stay up to date on the renovations and any future deals/packages you may offer.
A common conversation when checking in a guest is there reason for traveling. Are they just passing through? Why are they passing through? Kids in college? Visiting family?
This is a great opportunity to create a regular customer. If they take that route often or will be taking it in the future ensure that they stay with you every time by having them follow you on social media where you are promoting your renovation.
Before The Renovation
One of the most important factors in keeping your hotel open during a renovation is your hotel renovation company. Make sure you hire a company that prioritizes your guests satisfaction so complaints will be at a minimum if any.
Announce that you’re renovating & maybe include who your renovation company will be.
When renovation plans are finalized and contracts are signed the first thing to do on social media is to announce that you will be renovating.
If you are willing to share what is being renovated at this time, include images of the areas and when the renovations are due to begin. If you've been given any renderings of the hotel renovation, these can also be used to create an engaging post that will get your guests excited to stay with you again.
Share social media info with your contractor so they can tag you in any updates and vice versa. At Amerail Systems we actively post to our social platforms and interact with our audience and market. Throughout the entire renovation of your hotel, our team takes and shares flattering photos to our pages that will peak your guests interest & keep them updated.
Get your hashtags and social media plan together.
Share this plan with your management company/brand to get it approved (when necessary).
Your hashtag list should be centered around your brand, location, your target audience and always include your specified hashtag that we planned for in the "Before we Begin" section.
For example: #HamptonPittsburghReno2019 #hilton #hiltonhotels #pittsburghpa #hamptoninn #hotellife #PA #pittsburgh #412 #travel #travelgoals
Include hashtags related to hot spots around you (i.e. if your hotel is close to Heinz field in Pittsburgh, PA include: #steelers, #heinzfield, #pittsburgh #steelersnation, etc. in your hashtag plan.)
Also include hashtags related to what your target audience would be looking at on social media. (for example: #traveldestinations, #travelgoals, #traveling, #travelinfluencer, etc.)
Instagram has a 30 hashtag limit but experts say 11 hashtags is optimal while more than that can look spammy.
As for your social media plan:
Use this article as a guide for when and what to post.
Get organized and breakdown your social media schedule for each week on a Google or Excel spreadsheet unless you have access to a social media scheduling platform such as Hootsuite.
Make sure whoever is in charge of your social media platform is creative and excited to get started. These qualities will be useful when posting to your pages stories, engaging with other posts & with your audience.
Remember those hashtags your audience may follow or would be interested in? Find and follow accounts with the same qualities. For instance, interact with travel blogs, travel influencers and people who are traveling. You can find these accounts by looking up the hashtags on your list and follow those who are using it.
Plan emails to send to your guests before their stay to let them know that renovations are occurring while ensuring them that it shouldn’t impact their experience.
As mentioned in the "Before we Begin" section, use this as a chance to promote what the new renovations are and get your guests excited for them and their future stays.
If possible, include photos of what the renovations will look like and how they will improve your guests stay.
Tease the new design on your social media platforms to get people excited
If you have renderings of your new design and are willing to share them with your audience, post them to your platforms to engage your guests/potential guests.
Be sure to include before photos of what the renderings depict.
At Amerail Systems we provide our clients with 3D renderings of their renovations to demonstrate how we will enhance your property.
During The Renovation
Communicate with your hotel renovation companies and ask to be sent during pictures which you can use for social media content.
Utilize these photos for your stories on Instagram (include hashtags on these as well).
Get as many aesthetically pleasing photos as possible so that you can post the progress of the renovations on your platforms.
While you're posting during your renovations try to get guest testimonials/opinions on the new renovations from guests and ask permission to quote them.
Stay on top of guest satisfaction and keep complaints to a minimum
Make sure you hire a renovation company that takes guest satisfaction seriously. Typically companies with experience in hotel renovations will have guest sensitive crews.
Amerail Systems has over 30 years of experience maintaining guest satisfaction during hotel renovations.
Announce that you will be sharing the “official” after pics of the renovation on a specified date and add a teaser photo to get your audience excited.
When announcing this, make sure to remind your followers to turn their notifications for your account to stay updated.
After The Renovation
Congratulations you made it!
Here's what you should do now to keep up with your platforms:
If your contractor is taking professional pictures, ask if they would be willing to share them with you.
If they are not and this is a major renovation, consider getting them done or take them yourself. More than likely your hotel renovation company will have some "after" pictures even if they are not professional & you can always ask if they're willing to share these.
Remember to post the official pictures on your specified date from the teaser post mentioned in the "During The Renovation" section.
Use your specified hashtag and encourage your audience to follow it for more updates.
Do a before and after post.
Post good quality pictures of the new renovation.
Get testimonials from your regulars on how the renovations have improved their stay/what they love about the renovations.
Use these as posts with a picture of the renovated area or as a quote graphic or as video content if the guest is ok with this.
Encourage your guests to post pictures of the new renovations with the special hashtag you came up with.
When you search that hashtag you can filter through and pick the best photos your guests post and ask to share them to your page while tagging that guest.
If you choose to frame photos of your before and after renovation photos & display them, post it on your social media.
Finally, resume your normal posting schedule but add reminders of the new renovations every now and then and how they have improved guests experiences.
Why does all of this help?
Social Media is a must have for every business now and introduces a great opportunity for the hotel industry.
Building a relationship with your current guests outside of the hotel on social media will bring them back and can bring potential guests in.
To do this: Use the tips above and engage with your audience. Potential guests will either be attracted to the glamour shots of your new renovations, to the personable nature of your social media platforms or more often then not, both!
It's safe to say that customer service is one of the most important factors to a traveler when looking for a hotel. Great customer service can be portrayed by your voice on social media.
Finally, a new renovation is the perfect chance to show your audience how "instagrammable" your hotel is. This factor is earning rank in how travelers pick where to stay during their trips. Using social media sites for travel inspiration is growing in popularity, your renovation is the perfect time to take advantage of this.