Free Hotel Marketing

by Josiah Mackenzie on May 18, 2009

Doing some keyword research, I stumbled across the fact that many people are searching for ‘free hotel marketing.’ Actually ‘free’ isn’t something exclusive to hospitality – it’s even more common in other marketing-related search queries. As promotional budgets shrink, free is more popular than ever.

Is free hotel marketing possible?

Yes…and no.

Most of the social media and search optimization techniques we talk about are free from a cash outlay standpoint. But I’ll be the first to point it they require a big time investment. For a tiny boutique hotel, it can easily consume half of one person’s working hours. For any larger property it becomes a full time job that may even require a team of people.

Jay Conrad Levinson and his Guerrilla Marketing series has provided me with a lot of inspiration. I’ve been in many situations were we only had a shoestring budget to work with, and every tactic was analyzed for the sales it generated. Working in and with small businesses, using his techniques kept payroll met and led to sales growth. What I particularly like is his entrepreneurial mindset of not just throwing money at a problem, but coming up with creative solutions for attracting more customers.

“Instead of making money your prime marketing asset…[use your] intensity, your assertiveness, and your resourcefulness. None of these attributes cost you anything. But they give you marketing firepower that money can’t buy.”

According to his Guerrilla Marketing for Free book, marketing is more than just a department or job function – it’s made up of many broader aspects of your business:

Your level of service
Your perceived value
Your identity and niche served in the market
Your appearance (both of the property and staff)
Your energy level
Your reputation (online and off)

But when you get down to the tactical level, there’s no getting around that fact that ‘free’ marketing promotions require a substantial time investment. If you as a hotel owner, manager, or marketing director don’t have the time, consider how you can get other people on your staff involved. I’ve seen several hotels have their concierge and front desk staff participate in social media or update blogs when things are slow.

What about you: do you actively look for free marketing tactics? How do you balance the time investment required?

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Article by Josiah Mackenzie // May 18, 2009 Josiah helps hospitality organizations use technology and the social web to provide better service and generate more profits.