In the demanding world of hotel marketing, profitability (not revenue) is king.
However, paradoxically, there might be some hidden practices within your own marketing strategies that are, in reality, undermining your success. These are what I refer to as the revenue sinkholes — potentially damaging patterns that could be silently draining your profits.
We often become entangled in common strategies and tactics, all with the intention of growing our hotel business and revenue. But are we always sure they are delivering the desired results? Or could they be, perhaps, creating traps that are causing us to lose more than we gain?
This is where the concept of marketing paradoxes comes in—apparent best practices that can actually lead us down the wrong path.
In this post, I’ll dive deep into the 9 most prevalent hotel marketing paradoxes. I’ll explain why they can cause more harm than good, providing an understanding of their potential impact on your revenue.
Best part though, what follows is pure, plain and simple logic. No technicalities. Zero, none, nada!
Ready? Let’s dig in.
#1 The “Taking Traffic from Competitors Without Offering Value” Paradox
The first paradox relates to the strategy of trying to divert traffic from our competitors when we don’t have unique value to offer.
When it comes to attracting new traffic, potential clients, one of the first ideas that often comes to mind is to intercept traffic that is searching for or viewing our competitors’ hotels’ websites or channels.
But what sense does it make to try to lure these potential clients when all we have to offer is, at best, exactly the same thing?
Even when we have something extra to offer, we frequently fail to communicate it effectively. Many times, our campaigns simply state, “I exist too.” The customer is already aware of your existence.
When there’s no unique value proposition, these efforts are wasted resources. Intercepting traffic that is already close to making a decision, possibly not in our favor, is pointless.
This paradox emphasizes the importance of offering a unique value proposition before attempting to divert traffic from competitors. Only then can we hope to influence potential customers’ decision-making effectively.
#2 The “Running Brand Protection Campaigns Without Competing Players” Paradox
The second paradox is related to running brand protection campaigns when no other players are bidding on your name.
Often, OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) bid on a hotel’s brand name in their campaigns. However, it’s not always the case.
The OTAs run campaigns targeting our brand name on search engines because they aim to draw traffic that would otherwise directly land on our website. Running brand protection campaigns can make sense in such a context.
However, not all OTAs bid on every hotel’s brand name indiscriminately. They may focus on certain countries or specific circumstances. Hence, running a brand protection campaign when there’s no brand under threat doesn’t make much sense.
In such situations, we are likely spending money to secure traffic that we might have received for free. This paradox underlines the importance of understanding the competitive landscape and acting accordingly rather than wasting resources on unneeded defenses.
#3 The “Seek More Direct Bookings When Struggling to Fill” Paradox
The third paradox lies in the aim to secure more direct bookings when, in reality, hotels struggle to fill their rooms, especially during periods of low demand.
Why should a hotelier focus on direct bookings when the primary challenge is achieving full occupancy?
In such scenarios, the goal should not necessarily be to bypass intermediaries. Instead, it should be about leveraging the support of OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) as they can help generate the needed volumes of bookings.
What is the primary goal of an OTA? To sell more rooms for the hotels that are already selling well. In other words, OTAs reward hotels that demonstrate a higher conversion rate.
Hence, why should hoteliers negatively impact their OTA conversion rates by pushing for direct bookings? Such a move could potentially lead to fewer total bookings when instead we would need volumes more than ever.
If the prime objective is to increase the number of bookings, chasing direct reservations might not be the most effective strategy. However, when a hotel is already at full capacity, working to improve profits, then focusing on direct bookings makes sense.
Thus, this paradox highlights the need to understand the context and adjust strategies accordingly rather than blindly pursuing direct bookings in all circumstances.
#4 The “Do What Others Do” Paradox
The fourth paradox involves the notion of imitation: doing what others do.
In the hotel industry, we’re always talking about creating unforgettable experiences, promising unforgettable nights, comfortable beds, and cozy rooms. We emphasize crafting an incredible journey for our guests.
However, a recurring mistake lies in using cliché and commonplace phrases, which effectively means doing what everyone else is doing.
Instead of following the crowd, hoteliers should strive to break the mold and offer something different. It’s about avoiding the trap of being unoriginal and merely copying what others do.
This is in my opinion the paradox par excellence: while striving to surpass all other hotels in the eyes of our guests, we remain dedicated to upholding industry norms and standards with unwavering effort.
Trying to stand out by delivering truly unique experiences and expressing them in a fresh, genuine, and captivating manner is not an option… it’s the only option.
#5 The “Please Everyone” Paradox
There’s a cliché in Revenue Management that says: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket“. I have to admit it, this statements makes me vomit.
Because whilst it is understandable where such statement comes from, in the context of revenue management, when it comes to hotel marketing such concept is pure BS, that leads to the one of the most common mistake in Hospitality: trying to please everyone.
A typical example I often cite is the common statement found on many hotel websites: “The ideal hotel, whether you’re traveling for business or leisure.”
This indicates an attempt to appease everyone without a clear understanding of the hotel’s specific target or niche market.
When we talk about a niche, we mean a specific, often smaller, segment of the market, but in the pursuit of trying to attract everyone, hoteliers tend to cast a wide net hoping to capture as many as possible.
This leads to being generalists rather than specialists.
By doing so, they risk losing their appeal because they don’t specialize in anything.
Instead of becoming a jack of all trades and master of none, hotels need to define and understand their specific target market or niche and tailor their offerings accordingly.
This means that by focusing on a niche… you should intentionally avoid other segments.
#6 The Leaky Bucket Paradox
The sixth paradox involves spending resources to fill our “bucket” – our hotel’s website – while ignoring the fact that the bucket is leaking.
Think of it as having a literal bucket you’re trying to fill with water.
But there’s a hole in the bucket, causing the water to leak out.
You continue to pay for water to fill the bucket, but the bucket can’t hold the water, and it continuously empties.
This situation is often encountered when hotels decide to engage in advertising to acquire paying customers via campaigns on Google, Facebook, and metasearch engines without being certain that their website is performing well enough to convert the traffic.
No amount of advertising can solve conversion issues. And no amount of advertising can solve what has not been solved organically.
If the hotel’s organic performance is good, advertising can act as a booster, providing exponential results. But if the site has poor conversion rates, the advertising will only bring traffic to a site that continues to underperform.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to fix what we already have before spending money on advertising?
Shouldn’t we ensure that we are maximizing the potential of our current assets without spending a dime?
Fix the hole before pouring more (expensive) water into your bucket.
#7 The Unique Selling Proposition Paradox
The seventh paradox deals with the underutilization of differentiating elements, commonly known as Unique Selling Propositions (USPs).
Often, hotels have unique attributes that set them apart, but they fail to recognize or capitalize on these differentiators.
In fact, many hotels may not even be aware that they possess unique features.
Others intentionally choose to ignore them and end up competing with everyone else using the same tactics, mainly because they want to emulate others.
In trying to mimic others, they end up being perceived exactly like the rest, resulting in a lack of differentiation.
Even in situations where hotels do have unique selling propositions, they sometimes fail to make full use of them.
For example, if you’re the only hotel with a swimming pool in your area, that’s a distinctive feature.
Therefore, you should incorporate it into almost all of your communications.
Or, if you’re the only hotel in the area that can offer a restaurant with pizza, another restaurant with fine-dining options and a cocktail bar, there’s no need to push a single gastronomic solution continually: the fact that guests can have a complete culinary experience within the walls of your hotel set you apart, especially with certain targets.
This paradox serves as a reminder for hoteliers to identify, embrace, and showcase their unique selling propositions to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
#8 The Frequent Traveler Paradox
The eighth paradox is about the strategy of targeting frequent travelers on Facebook, especially if we are hotels located in well-known destinations like New York, London, Venice, Paris, etc.
By definition, a frequent traveller is, well, someone who travels frequently… In all likelihood, these frequent travelers will have already visited these popular destinations.
Instead, the focus should be on the exact opposte targeting: those individuals who do not travel as frequently and might find an attractive offer as a motivation to finally embark on a trip towards such well known destinations.
#9 The Booking Engine Paradox
The tenth and final paradox revolves around the notion of directing all users to the booking engine, while considering it the sole means of direct communication.
In doing so, requests made through contact forms or quotation requests are intentionally undermined.
Drawing from my personal experience, I can attest that quotation requests still work incredibly well today, especially for the leisure market. Indeed, for leisure hotels, there are numerous facets and variables that a booking engine cannot handle.
Consider even a small question or a slight doubt: a contact form allows for interaction, thus establishing a direct line of communication with the potential client, and resolving their uncertainties.
Contrarily, a booking engine presents a black-and-white situation. It is devoid of gray shades – either a booking is made, or it isn’t: no communication and no negotiation too often means no revenue.
In recognizing and addressing this paradox, hoteliers can optimize their approach to user communication, appreciating the value of forms and quotations, and not solely relying on the booking engine.
Conclusions
Each of these paradoxes highlights the intricate nature of marketing within the hospitality industry.
It’s not about blindly implementing a strategy.
Instead, it involves understanding these paradoxes and crafting a comprehensive and effective marketing strategy.
The key lies in striking a balance, making strategic decisions based on a thorough analysis, and remaining adaptable and strategic as the hospitality industry continues to evolve.
By understanding and addressing these paradoxes, hoteliers can devise marketing strategies that are not just about following trends or achieving omnipresence.
Rather, these strategies are about adopting a thoughtful and strategic approach to marketing.
This ensures that resources are used efficiently and that the implemented strategies align with the hotel’s unique value proposition, brand integrity, understanding of customer behavior, and business objectives.
