Many boutique hotels engage with their customers by direct messaging them before, during or after their stay. Although this tactic possesses its own list of benefits, it does not leverage the same edge as email marketing.

Possessing email marketing strategies are incredibly advantageous for boutique hotels to reach out to both new and existing clients. Considering smartphones are a part of most people’s day-to-day lives, often checking emails are as well. Here, we’ll explain why e-mail marketing should be a major part of your customer engagement strategy.

Why is it valuable for boutique hotels?

For starters, many potential customers are hesitant about giving their phone numbers to online booking sites out of the fear of being constantly bombarded with ongoing promos. Ironically enough, people are usually okay with giving out their emails, because they tend to be less invasive than a phone call or text message. By taking advantage of email marketing, your company has the power to kickstart a consumer relationship with potential or existing guests without worrying about scaring them away. They will simply respond or open the email when they have some extra time.

Emails encourage engagement

Once a customer decides to book a stay at your boutique hotel, you should begin by immediately reaching out with a message about their trip itinerary. This helps to build loyalty with your guests.

Yet, sometimes you need to be strategic when it comes to sending emails. If someone books their accommodation months in advance, perhaps a simple “thank you for booking with us” would suffice as your immediate email. This can then be followed by a reminder email about a week before they visit and another email about two days prior as a helpful reminder. On the other hand, if a guest books only a week in advance, you may want to send them a more detailed email listing any details that they may need to know before their stay. Most customers appreciate it and will often wait for an emailed confirmation to appear in their inbox.

Personalizing your email marketing

It’s really important to stand out. For smaller hotels, that could be as simple as personalizing your emails. The best way to utilize your email marketing strategy is by using old data that you’ve collected through prior email marketing campaigns. This allows you to collect information about the approximate age, sex and location that your guests are traveling from. This data has the ability to tell you lots about your customer demographic and how you can change up your emails to better entice them.

For example, if you notice that a lot of women are booking with your hotel, perhaps including a promotional code for your spa services would be an added offer that guests would enjoy finding in their inbox.

Your collected data should also be able to tell you if people are staying at your boutique hotel with their families or if they come on business.

How to get started

Often boutique hotels hire professionals outside of their hospitality management team to handle the development of their email marketing strategies. For many, this frees up their time so that they can dedicate it to another aspect of the business.

How do you manage your email marketing? Tell us in the comments section below.

Alex Wilks

Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.