Hotel and B&B marketing for direct bookings

A guest checks out and the relationship usually ends there, until they search for somewhere to stay and find a booking site. Hotels, B&Bs, holiday parks and campsites can do better by being useful during the stay and easy to find afterwards. These guides cover the welcome page guests see on your Wi-Fi, the emails that follow, the quiet season and the restaurant. They are written for owners and managers who run the front desk themselves.

Be useful during the stay

The first thing many guests do is connect to the Wi-Fi, so the page they see is worth getting right. What to put on a hotel Wi-Fi welcome page starts from the questions reception answers all day: breakfast times, checkout and who to call. Link to information that someone maintains, because a handsome page with last season's restaurant hours is worse than a plain one that is right.

The same thinking applies on a larger site. Holiday park welcome pages for useful guest information and campsite guest information that stays useful all season cover arrival details, facility hours and local links, and who checks them before the season starts.

Stay in touch after checkout

Checkout ends the stay, but a previous guest still knows your rooms. Hotel guest retention is about giving them a straightforward way to book direct and a specific reason to do it, without assuming why they came.

Then comes the question of how often to write. Hotel email frequency that respects different guests starts with listing everything a guest already receives, so your own message doesn't land on top of a booking confirmation and a receipt.

Fill the quiet season and the restaurant

A B&B in a quiet month needs a specific reason to visit. B&B marketing for a quieter season shows how to describe one honestly and check the local details before you publish them.

If your dining room is open to non-residents, say so clearly. Marketing a hotel restaurant to local diners covers the entrance, the parking, the menu and a reservation link kept separate from room booking, so a local customer never has to arrive at bedroom reception to find the right door.

Don't assume who your guest is

A Wi-Fi sign-in doesn't tell you whether someone is staying overnight, attending a meeting or eating in the restaurant. Hotel email frequency recommends neutral wording wherever the visit type is unknown, and marketing a hotel restaurant to local diners shows the difference: "Thank you for visiting" is safer than "We hope you enjoyed your stay". For stays themselves, hotel guest retention points to your booking records, since Wi-Fi sign-in history is not a complete record of who stayed and when.

Say what a link really does

A direct booking link takes guests to the booking service you already use. It doesn't check availability or recognise an existing booking, and the retention guide warns against describing it as an integration with your hotel system. If you promote a package, the welcome page guide says to explain what it includes and keep its dates current, and if you offer a direct-booking benefit, reception must be able to honour it.

Essential information needs a route that doesn't depend on a promotional page. Holiday park welcome pages keep a non-digital way to reach essential information, because not every guest uses Wi-Fi or a smartphone.

Give every page an owner and a check date

Put a name against each page behind a link: reception for stay information, the restaurant team for dining. The welcome page guide suggests a review schedule that matches operational changes, with seasonal hours checked before the season begins rather than after the first complaint. Campsite guest information applies the same rule to local recommendations: a café that operated last season may not be open this one, so someone should check the links before the main season. Seasonal messages need an expiry too, so an ongoing email doesn't keep announcing a season that has ended.

Describe your site before you ask for equipment

If you are thinking about guest Wi-Fi across several floors or separate buildings, a clear description of the property gets a better answer than a bedroom count. Preparing a hotel guest Wi-Fi enquiry lists what to gather first: a simple plan, where guests have reported problems and what the current setup is.

Where guest Wi-Fi fits

Guest Wi-Fi gives you a branded page at the moment a guest is looking at their phone, and a way to send an automatic welcome or thank-you email to guests who choose to hear from you. Read the guide to guest Wi-Fi marketing for the basics, then see Margovy for hotels and B&Bs. The pricing page lists the plans.