Keep your guests coming and impressed, rain or shine!

We know you’re ramping up for your busy season and seeing those reservations from repeat guests coming in but we also know come the end of the season you’ll be trying to think up new ways to drum up business. So to that end, we’ve put together a blog highlighting seasonal things you can do to ensure year-round business and some quick tips for impressing your repeat visitors so they continue to be a long-term customer!

1. Use Seasonal/holiday pricing

More often than not, spring, summer, and early fall can be your busiest times with more attractions open and more events happening in town. But by fluctuating your pricing to match how busy your property will be you can often see more reservations as guests are looking for cheaper rates and are willing to travel at the tail-end of the peak season.

You can also factor in holidays and school breaks to price your property appropriately. Say for example, you know that Independence Day is always busy so you might raise your rates slightly whereas you’re open for spring break but not as busy so you might want to lower rates to make it an affordable and quick getaway for families.

2. Offer deals for mid-week getaways

Not all of your guests work bankers’ hours during the week and often they’ll take spontaneous mid-week trips to avoid the crowds at hotels during the weekend! Make your pricing attractive to entice those guests to book a little getaway or offer a small incentive to encourage new bookings.

3. Watch your competition

Check out your competition’s pricing by checking their website or by using a system like Booking.com’s pricing intelligence. You’ll want to make sure you’re in the same neighborhood in terms of ADR but also make sure you’re not selling yourself short if the experience is better at your property.

4. Offer specials and packages

Everyone loves a discount and a deal so use those to your advantage! Whether you want to encourage longer stays with a buy two get the fourth free kind of deal or you know that many of your visitors are checking out a nearby attraction and offering tickets to that attraction in one of your packages.

5. Have a personal touch

With your guests that keep coming back year-after-year, you’ve probably gotten to know them pretty well so why aren’t you using that information to offer a more personal touch than the property down the street? Start using notes or tags in your reservation software to mark anniversaries or birthdays and casually mention those upon check-in to surprise your guests and make them feel special. You could also do small gestures like swapping out coffee for tea in your guest’s room if you know they prefer that. Some small personal touches can go a long way in retaining your customers.

6. Request feedback/input

Give your guests the opportunity to provide feedback about their stay upon check-out or share online outlets they can use to write reviews in your thank you letter. Not only does it show that you care about their experience but it also helps your online presence and gets you some free word of mouth marketing!

7. Stay in touch

Finally, make it easy to stay in touch by asking if they’d like to sign up for your email newsletter or direct them to your social media pages. Be sure to share discounts or specials through these channels as a little thank you to them for signing up or choosing to follow you online.