Hotels do everything possible to attract more guests to their property. With ever increasing demand and changing trends of guest’s expectations has forced hoteliers to come up with new and innovative ways to please their tourists. Hotels now look far beyond one time guests and partnered with cutting-edge technologies to retain old guests and earn their loyalty.

There are usually two ways that hotels in Kalyani use to attract more guests to their property, namely: word-of-mouth recommendations and online reviews.

Word-of-Mouth

Travelers get a word from their family and friends about a destination and start planning their travel. They can also be influenced through online ads, posts or their inner instinct to travel which ends up in them researching online.

Social media has already taken the central stage in influencing new-age travelers. The largest influence of social media is in the form of recommendations from family and friends. A random post form a total stranger can become a deciding factor for others and they start gathering more information about it.

Either directly or indirectly, social media is working well for hotels in Nadia as they get free endorsement from travelers who stayed in their hotel at some point of time.

Social media has a very positive impact on travelers. When travelers want to know more about a destination, they go through the facts posted by other travelers. This increases their chance of getting a good experience as they already know what services can be expected from the hotel! But there needs to be an equal contribution from the hotels too. They have to constantly update their social media pages and handles and keep the page fresh. It reflects poorly on the hotel if they just create a social media account and do nothing afterwards.

Here are some ways to quickly enhance your social media visibility:

• Facebook Boost– Despite posts and pictures being the most common way of attracting guests, lot of hotels are getting benefitted from Facebook Boost by increasing their reach. A boosted post garners more viewers as it appears higher on the newsfeed.
• Twitter– It’s high time for your hotel to start using hashtags on Twitter to connect to the right audience. By using hashtags hotels can make sure that users find their tweets in targeted Twitter searches. Do not use long hashtags that are neither search-friendly nor commonly visible to the users. Instead keep your hashtags simple like #budget hotels, hotel in Kalyani, etc. It is a good habit to include 1 or 2 hashtags while posting Tweets.
• Instagram– Instagram can be used as a visual platform to lure more people to their hotel. You can post pictures of the most attractive part of your hotel or a local attraction which is minutes away from your property. Add more and more photos with a little pinch of creativity.

Online Reviews

Online reviews are perhaps the most important influence on travelers. Today, travelers love to research online before proceeding to book hotels. They make their decision based on the number of reviews and ratings and in general, people consider only those hotels that have got 3 stars or more.

Review media websites are platforms where travelers trust each other’s reviews and it is quite startling to see people getting influenced by opinion of someone whom they have never met in their life. Ask yourself this question; if you have locked on a destination, would you trust your friend’s suggestion or an ad somewhere? Your answer will show you how recommendations can impact people’s decision.

Reviews are available both on social media as well as online review sites like TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor is the most trusted platform for travelers to find reviews. These reviews are earned and they matter a lot to both the travelers and the hotel industry. All you have to do is to ensure that your hotel is listed on various review media websites and keep a close track on the reviews and ratings you are receiving.

Visuals are far more effective than simple texts. According to TripAdvisor, hotel listings with their own photos engage travelers more.

Listing your hotel in the appropriate directory becomes important when tourists use filtered search. For example, if you manage an eco-friendly hotel, you can as well list it in the green hotels category on TripAdvisor so that travelers who are looking for green hotel can find you easily.

• Use your local events– A lot of tourists are attracted towards local events and you can benefit yourselves by closely associating with all these events. Other than this, your hotel can also approach various event organizing companies and ask them to promote your hotel during their event. You can also run your hotel ad on their social media pages or with the help of Facebook Boost you can promote the event and your engagement with them.
• Make your hotel visible on the map– Increase the accessibility of your hotel from various major places like stations, airports and business centers so that it can be perceived as resourceful for people who are looking for a hotel near such places. Mapping other tourist sites and recreational spots like zoos and museums will provide your hotel an extra advantage over others.
• Utilize your existing guests– It involves more cost in making a new tourists as compared to those who have already been to your hotel. You can utilize your existing tourists to target other prospects in their circle like family and friends who are more likely to read their reviews, see their vacation pictures and also go through the hotel they checked-in. If your old guests like or share something about you on their social media pages, it is likely to be seen by their circle of friends.