Do you give much thought to marketing tour bookings? If not, you should – especially since the number of activities undertaken when travellers visit a destination is growing, with a 26% jump last year.
In today’s digital world, it’s not enough to wait until a guest arrives at your reception to tell them all about the exciting experiences on offer. Travellers use social media, blogs and email newsletters to get inspiration and plan for their next trip. These platforms give you a huge opportunity to show off (and sell) your activities, attract more potential guests and boost your revenue.
But how do you do this effectively? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Let’s take a trip through the traveller buying journey and some top tips for promoting your activities at each stage.
For the interests of this blog (and because it’s more fun), let’s call our traveller Beyoncé…
#1 – DREAMING
All travel starts with a dream and Beyoncé is dreaming of travelling. She’s not sure where she wants to go yet, but has a few different ideas in mind. At this stage, she’s scrolling through her social media pages, looking at pages and hashtags that relate to the places she wants to visit. To make sure she sees your content, you can…
- USE INSTAGRAM TO INSPIRE – Instagram is THE go-to place for #travelinspo so sharing inspiring content about your activities here is a must. InstaStories are a great way to share in-the-moment clips of activities – you can also create an ‘Activities’ highlight to save them on your Instagram home page (find out more about that here). And don’t forget about hashtags – choose some for the activity you’re portraying, some specific to your destination and some popular travel hashtags to reach a wider audience.
- UTILISE PAID ADVERTISING – Paid ads on social media are perfect for this stage and can even be set up to find users who have been searching online for your specific destination. Make sure your ads contain high quality images of popular activities you offer and an attention grabbing headline. Facebook’s clever targeting features can help you drill down your target audience based on their demographics, interests and behaviour.
- DON’T FORGET PAST GUESTS – If you have a loyalty scheme or email list of past guests, don’t forget to get in touch with them to share special offers and exclusive ‘limited time’ promotions on local tours and activities. This will show past guests that you value them and will encourage them to book again with you (or share the information with their friends!).
#2 – PLANNING
Beyoncé has decided on a destination – and she’s picked yours! But she’s still figuring out where to book. She’s researching accommodation options and what to see & do when she gets there, including the best tours & activities. This is when she’s most likely to come across your website – either via a Google search or your social media pages – so you need to catch her attention!
At this stage, you should…
- MAKE YOUR WEBSITE WORK FOR YOU – Your website should have a page dedicated to your tours and activities with practical information, high quality photos and past guest reviews. You could also include a pop-up or promo offer which offers a % off activities when guests book direct with you which gives you two opportunities to boost your revenue.
- GIVE AWAY A DESTINATION GUIDE – Creating a downloadable destination guide with information on your local area is invaluable in making your hostel the centre of activity in your destination. You can include information about your tours and activities throughout. This is also a great way to grow your email list!
- POST ABOUT ACTIVITIES ON YOUR BLOG – A blog isn’t a place to ‘sell’ but if you create useful content, you can then slip in mentions of the experiences on offer at your hostel. For example, a blog post outlining ‘5 things not to miss in <your destination>’ could include one of your most popular tours.
(Bonus: Blog posts and destination guides will also boost your SEO – a good search engine ranking is hugely important at this stage as it makes your site easier to find for potential guests)
#3 – BOOKING
YAY! Your marketing efforts have paid off and Beyoncé has booked her stay with you. You’ve sealed the deal but there’s still work to do. This stage is crucial in promoting your activities and building a personal relationship with your guests. Here’s how…
- PERSONALISED EMAILS – When guests book directly, it gives you the perfect opportunity to personalise their experience via email. Based on the information you have from their bookings, send information on tours and activities you think they would enjoy. Encourage them to book in advance by sharing special offers.
- PROMOTE EXCLUSIVITY – Encourage bookings by informing upcoming guests online that there are limited places available or letting them know how many other guests are booked onto that specific activity.
- BE RESPONSIVE – Keep on top of enquiries that come through your social media messages and email from travellers looking for more information prior to booking a tour. The more responsive you are online, the more likely your upcoming guests are to book activities with you instead of a competing tour operator.
#4 – EXPERIENCING
You did it! Beyonce has arrived at reception armed with a guidebook and full of enthusiasm about all the awesome things she wants to do on her trip. While online marketing has helped so far, it’s now up to you and your staff to promote your activities in person.
- TALK THE TALK – When your guests arrive, they are looking for advice and recommendations on what to do at your hostel. This is the ideal time to get to know the guest and promote your activities based on what you think they’d enjoy, which leads us to our next point…
- USE WHAT YOU KNOW– If a guest has already booked or expressed an interest in one of your activities in advance then take the time to discuss this with them. Bonus points if you can make further recommendations for other activities they will enjoy during their stay based on what they have already booked.
#5 – SHARING
So Beyonce’s checking out and she’s had a great time at your hostel. Job done? Not quite. You want her to tell all her friends about her amazing stay…
- ENCOURAGE SHARING – Remember the user-generated content we mentioned back in stage 1? Encourage guests to share their experiences online – especially pictures and videos – and be sure to mention your social media pages.
- RUN A COMPETITION – You could even run a competition asking past guests to share their best photos and videos of your activities and reward the winner with discount off their next stay. Free promo for your hostel + encouraging guest loyalty = a win!
Okay so we’re done with our Countdown (sorry) and we hope you found it useful.
Look out for our upcoming downloadable guide which will go into more detail about how to communicate with guests throughout the traveller journey. Until then…
You got this!
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