12 Creative Ways to Use Text Message Marketing for Hotels + Examples

Can I use text message marketing for hotels?

Hotels and travel agencies need heavy advertising and marketing campaigns to generate leads.

Although many marketers in this industry have focused on social media channels, especially travel influencers, SMS marketing can still be a great channel.

In this blog post, we’ll explain why you should include SMS campaigns in your hotel marketing strategies.

We’ll also introduce creative ideas for using SMS to increase your booking rates and prepare for the next holiday. You can also count on our help and try the WP SMS demo to see if this WordPress SMS plugin fits your marketing requirements.

Is It Worth Using Text Message Marketing for Hotels?

Text message marketing is one of the most effective means of promoting hotels and providing customer service.

With an immediate nature, SMS marketing is perfect for time-sensitive and last-minute promotions prevalent in hotel marketing. 

When you want to remind potential customers of your discounts for holidays or any special events, no other channels can be as effective as SMS.

Here are some common reasons why you need to use SMS marketing for your hotel:

• Direct Communication: SMS is a direct line and you can be sure that the majority of people receive and read your message. 

• Speed and Convenience: People usually read their message within 3 minutes and this makes SMS marketing faster than other channels.

• Personalization Opportunities: As a hotel owner, you can tailor your SMS ads based on your guest preferences. Therefore, you reach higher levels of satisfaction and engagement rates.

• High ROI: Text marketing campaigns are cost-effective and this is great for both big and small hotels.

12 Successful Ways to Use SMS Marketing for Hotels

Now that you know the benefits of SMS marketing for your hotel, it’s good to become familiar with some creative SMS ideas to boost your business.

1. Reservation Confirmations and Reminders

Travelers want to be sure about their reservations so they can plan their tours in a timely manner. With an automated message confirmations platform, you can easily provide your guests with this service.

You just need to include essential details in the text template such as:

• Check-in time
• Address
• Contact information

Here is a sample template for booking confirmation:

You can also prepare another template to send reminders closer to the arrival date.

2. Pre-Arrival Welcome Messages

After confirming and reminding the guest of their booking, you need to welcome them before they even arrive.

To avoid repetition in this SMS, you can provide information such as:

• Parking 
• Amenities 
• Check-in procedures
• Kids playing area
• Gym 

Welcome SMS can increase the friendship between you and your hotel guests. Take a look at the following sample message to know how to welcome your hotel guests:

3. Upsell Offers for Room Upgrades and Special Amenities

Another great idea in text message marketing for hotels is upselling offers. You can increase your revenue by suggesting extra features and encouraging guests to book them as well.

In fact, if you offer upgrades to premium rooms, spa packages, or other special amenities, the guests will be enticed to come to your hotel again.

Here is an example of an upsell text message for your hotel:

4. Promotions for Onsite Services

Apart from tourists, you need to reach out to local people and residents who might be willing to enjoy your services.

Try to encourage people in the vicinity to explore your hotel’s offerings. You can promote onsite services like dining, spa treatments, or fitness classes that are suitable for both tourists and fellow citizens.

Here is an example of a promotional text message for onsite services of hotels:

5. Personalized Local Recommendations

You can also use SMS marketing to promote local attractions and encourage recipients to book your hotel when visiting the place. 

Try to provide tailored recommendations for local attractions, dining, or events. Imagine you have a hotel named Atlanta Hotel that is close to some tourist attractions.

Here is a sample SMS you can send to guests and encourage them to see a beautiful place close to your hotel:

6. Exclusive In-Stay Deals

Enhance the guest experience with exclusive offers during their stay. These could include discounts on room service, late check-outs, or event tickets. Example:

7. Real-Time Guest Support 

SMS is a fast and effective tool for customer support and you have to take advantage of it for your hotel marketing. 

You can receive requests and complaints and provide immediate assistance via text. This is a great way to increase customer satisfaction.

Here is a sample hotel customer service SMS:

8. Invitations to Hotel Events and Activities

Hosting events is a great idea to attract attention to your hotel and SMS marketing is the best way to promote them.

Try to define events such as:

• Happy hours
• Yoga sessions
• Live music

Take a look at the following SMS template to learn how to inform guests via SMS:

9. Loyalty Program Reminders

Loyalty programs are essential for businesses of all sizes and types, and hotels are no exception. SMS marketing is a great method to implement your loyalty programs well.

Try to update your guests and loyal customers on points, perks, and upcoming promotions. Don’t forget to offer extra discounts to your loyal guests because this increases their trust.

Here is an example of a loyalty program reminder for hotels:

10. Post-Checkout Thank You Messages and Feedback Requests

Don’t forget about follow-up text messages as they show appreciation. This is a great way to make guests feel they’re important to you and can encourage them to get back to your hotel at the next holiday.

Also, try to ask for their feedback to improve future stays. SMS is the easiest channel to get feedback and you should use this opportunity to improve your services. 

This is a good feedback request SMS sample for a hotel:

11. Win-Back Campaigns for Past Guests

A win-back SMS campaign is sometimes known as a re-engagement or reactivation text message campaign.

It’s actually a series of text messages you send to try and re-engage people who were your guests on previous holidays.

Of course, if you want to re-engage past guests, you need to use enticing offers. Here is a good example of using this text message marketing idea for your hotel:

12. Seasonal and Holiday Promotions

Last but not least, you need to make the most of special dates like holidays or seasonal vacation periods via hotel text message marketing.

As you know, these periods are golden times for hotels as many people try to travel and book rooms. So you must prepare your promotional text message to target your potential guests. Here is a sample seasonal promotional text messages for hotels:

Tips for Running Hotel SMS Marketing Campaigns

To maximize the impact of text message marketing for hotels, follow these best practices:

Choose the Right Tool

Each marketing campaign needs a cost-effective tool with advanced features. Without a suitable SMS platform, you can’t reach high-efficiency ROI in your campaign.

To choose a good SMS marketing platform, you must consider factors like:

• Scheduling 
• Automation
• Cost per SMS
• Number of SMS gateways
• Integration 

If you have a WordPress website for your hotel, your best choice for SMS marketing would be WP SMS. It’s a great plugin that lets you run and manage your marketing campaigns directly from your dashboard.

It supports more than 300 SMS gateways and lots of advanced add-ons and integrations. Using WP SMS, you can easily segment your audience and send automated notifications and alerts to your website’s visitors.

Obtain Consent & Include Opt-out

Please bear in mind that you need guest permission before sending messages. Otherwise, you violate communication regulations like the TCPA and GDPR.

Also, you need to offer an easy way to unsubscribe so that if your guests don’t like your ads, they can opt-out.

Keep It Short and Sweet

You have to write concise and to-the-point messages. If you write more than 160 characters, the cost of your campaigns will increase and also your audience might get annoyed by lengthy texts.

Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Try to think of a clear and compelling CTA to encourage people to react to your message.  Also, it’s good to consider creative CTAs like replying with a keyword or clicking a link.

Send the SMS at the Best Time

You must send texts at appropriate hours to avoid disturbing your hotel’s guests and also get maximum exposure. There is no certain formula for determining the best time to send an SMS but some hours are more common. For example, mid-morning or early evening are great for promotional offers.

Track Performance Metrics

You have to constantly track your performance to see if you’re working well. Try to monitor metrics like open rates, reply rates, and conversions. This way, you can find where you’re doing well and where you have a weakness. Then, you can optimize your hotel SMS marketing in future campaigns.

Conclusion

SMS marketing is essential for all businesses, and hotels are no exception. You don’t have to focus solely on social media and working with influencers. 

Many people still prefer SMS as a reliable communication channel. So try to use creative text messages to reach out to these audiences and increase your booking rates for the next holiday. 

Of course, you need a strong marketing strategy and an effective marketing platform to get the best result. 

Here at WP SMS, we’re ready to help you with this. So why wait? Get WP SMS and start your SMS marketing campaign for your hotel right now.

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