Smart marketing is more than just basics

The property has 304 rooms, a spa, swimming pool and a fine-dining restaurant. There are ironing boards in the guestrooms, which also have high-speed Internet access and flat-screen televisions.”

We have a joke around our office that if we send a writer to review a hotel for one of our sister publications and he or she returns only with basic information like the above, what was the point of sending him or her to see it in the flesh? Where’s the description of the heart of the hotel and what can those who work there truly deliver to their customers that’s unique? Does the GM engage with his or her guests and what over-the-top services can the concierge’s team provide for guests outside of the hotel that will create long-term, wonderful memories? That’s just “Travel Writing 101” in my book.

However, if the above, basic description is similar to what you are providing to online shoppers about your hotel, you’re hurting your business. Think about it: If you’re a consumer looking to spend money on a getaway, will you make your purchase based on a photo of a guestroom with a brocade bedspread and drapes or will you make it based upon how you imagine you’ll feel when you arrive at an interesting new place that clearly strives to provide a platform for you to enjoy exciting experiences?

This hit home for me recently when Simon Goodall, VP and GM of travel for Groupon, visited our New York offices. The online, flash-sale company is preparing for an initial public offering and so was in a “quiet time,” but Goodall was able to explain the new “getaways” portion of the company’s strategy, which is just a few months old and includes a relationship with Expedia. Groupon is now selling hotel stays online for particular periods of need, using its established “daily deals” format. As we drilled down into the strategy, Goodall told us it’s really all about providing good content. Photos representing the hotels on Groupon.com/Getaway’s home page don’t just show beds, they depict swimming pools in front of oceans, bridges over rivers reflecting the colors of trees turning red and orange for the fall and inns with front porches adorned with rocking chairs. If a hotel’s interior is shown, it’s of a fireplace or a guestroom with a romantic canopy over lush bedding. Historical inns hint in their descriptions of the possibility of a friendly ghost, while city hotels portray the nightlife in the neighborhoods that awaits just downstairs. Basic amenities are listed, of course, but they’re not the main event; they’re placed on the side where they can be easily seen. The main focus is on the experience.

Groupon isn’t the only entity that’s doing something smart; plenty of marketers are out there doing a lot of right things. The point is that this is a third party promoting these hotels and rather successfully at that. Are they, or others, doing a better job than the hotels are doing themselves?

If you’re a hotelier and you feel I’m describing you, I have to be candid. You’re not just leaving money on the table. You’re literally handing it over to someone else.

Consider this type of marketing by an outside provider as just one of the many disruptions your business will witness over the coming months. As Alexandra Maybank, founder of the online Gilt Groupe, said recently at the Forrester Consumer Forum, “content and commerce have merged; visuals are critical in telling a story, text just explains.”

New entrants to the digital market will continue to disrupt your marketing efforts. Are you going to wait to see how they’ll do this or will you be ahead of the curve?