Since it has direct relation to spending, budgeting is a demanding and sensitive process. Therefore, it might be quite stressful for hoteliers and managers to prepare a new budget plan.
However, properties can tap into tips on budgeting by using a cloud hotel management system to increase their ROI instead of dealing with obstacles in the budget planning process. At this point, hoteliers can bolster their hotel’s brand value and prestige in 2015 and upcoming years by focusing on some key digital investment fields as part of their new budget plan to build a robust online presence.
Here are three investments for hotels to include in their 2015 budget plan.
1. An integrated digital approach
Covering the “real time” expectations of guests in the fiercely ‘competitive’ accommodation industry is essential for survival. Therefore, properties need to acknowledge the necessity to incorporate digital marketing into other business strategies in terms of real-time practicality and pricing.
By adopting an integrated marketing business management approach, hotels embrace the opportunity to be on alert for any demands from their potential guests, thus they can meet these demands accordingly and overcome the ever-changing conditions across the market. Therefore, hoteliers need to invest in a full-feature digital platform when budgeting. This is because hoteliers can enjoy the option to conduct dynamic price marketing and reporting activities, manage their hotels anywhere with Internet access and access all other central tools easily.
2. Healthy online reputation management
Considering people’s online comments on your hotel, it is critical for you to follow such review sites as TripAdvisor, Booking.com and such. Here, you had better respond to the comments on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter immediately. Also, if you intend to build a strong online presence by being responsive, you need to maintain your hotel’s reputation as a brand, handle any crises quickly and prevent any problems arising in the digital realm online. Therefore, all hotel managers should increase their budget allocation for online reputation management as part of their 2015 budget to ensure responsiveness or rapid feedback by listening to the questions and problems of customers.
3. A brand-incorporated and easily accessible site design
The experiences of your visitors may impact their impression about hotel as positive or negative brand perception. So, you need to make sure that users navigate through your site easily, encounter up-to-date content and above all, they need to be able to access any platform or tool they are looking for, which means that they expect a flawless experience. Therefore, you had better allocate a part of your hotel’s 2015 budget for designing a sensitive and mobile-compatible website. In addition, you can boost your recognition and return rates in the online accommodation industry by using effective tools like SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and PPC (Pay Per Click) and creating an optimized high-quality website bolstered with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts.
Utilizing our tips, you can create a more effective digital marketing budget for your hotel in 2015 and for upcoming years and increase its brand value and reputation. Supporting your website with images, eye-catching backgrounds and templates, HotelRunner is always there for you also when it comes to claiming your position across the digital realm. Create your free HotelRunner account now and start benefiting from its advantages.