Photo: Christos Drazos for Bellevue on the Beach Suites
Communication with travellers is one of the main priorities for hotels and tourist accommodations - a fact that we see evolving worldwide, as big hotels are constantly enriching their communication with new types of content, following the current trends.
For years, the term hotel content was something that had not been precisely defined, having, as a result, the industry professionals investing less in its development that was needed. The reason for that was that a few basic promotional moves were enough to create a satisfactory presence for each property. However, in an industry that is constantly evolving, with an audience that is well-informed and demanding, it is now necessary for hotels to enrich their communication and sales material with specialized content that will allow them to keep up with their competition. For this reason, before we analyze the new types of hotel content, it would be appropriate to determine exactly what is included in this term, but also how it is applied.
In a few words, the Hotel Content is as ‘all the available material that a hotel needs, in order to be presented to its audience in the best possible way, through the various communication and sales channels it uses. Among the most popular types of content, we can list the following:
The complete hotel presentation, which describes in detail the property’s various accommodation options, services, and facilities.
The texts and descriptions used to enrich the hotel’s official website and the social media it uses to communicate with its audience
The specification of the hotel’s official photography, that will provide the property with the best possible photographic material for each communication channel.
The messages used in various digital or non-digital media within the hotel grounds, which aim to increase sales during the visitors’ stay.
In other words, the hotel content is all the necessary material that a hotel needs in order to have a proper presence and systematic communication with its audience.
But which are the new types of hotel content and how do they affect the Marketing in the global hotel industry?
In recent years, with the rapid progress of technology and the constant addition of new sales and communication channels, we have seen an evolution of the existing content types, which follows the trends and matches the communication channels used by the target audiences, while remaining attractive and interesting. In this context, a number of new (or advanced) types of hotel content have been created, which are thoroughly presented in the following sections.
1. Photos that capture moments and experiences that the potential visitor can identify with
Photos have always been very important for the presentation of hotels, as through them the travellers were able to get a realistic view of the spaces and grounds of each property. In the past, it was common to see mainly architectural photographs, as well a limited number of pictures that included people – however, those were usually shot in ‘idyllic sceneries’, using flawless and distant models/characters. In our times, the public needs to identify with the person they see, in order to picture themselves living the exact same experience they see in the picture. Therefore, the approach to hotel photography is now more spontaneous, aiming to capture the experience and emotions that are created during the stay at each property, but also create to the travellers the feeling of 'I want to live it too'.
At the same time and in addition to the experience, today’s travellers want to additionally see behind the scenes’ moments, so that they can witness, even from their homes, the various processes of the hotel as well as the people involved in creating this unforgettable set of experiences that will be able to live during their stay. This type of content is more applicable to story-type posts in Social Media and requires not only static photos, but also short videos.
Case Study: Following the above trends, The Hotel Content Company collaborated with Diles & Rinies, a complex of luxury villas in Tinos island, Greece, as well as the esteemed hotel photographer Christos Drazos, creating a recognizable and distinct photographic result See the complete photo shoot - >
2. Videos full of energy that present the hotel and its people
Apart from photos, videos are also a very important type of content, that leads to great response and engagement from the travel audience. Through videos, travellers have the opportunity to see the hotel as a living organism and not just as a facility. And in this case, the spontaneous moments as well as the presentation of everyday faces (even people from the hotel staff), can create a sense of intimacy to the public.
Recently, we have spotted an interesting turn into storytelling videos, which present the hotel’s experiences and facilities through scripted short stories that give a more 'cinematic' approach to the final result.
Case Study: The world-famous production company NEEDaFIXER, has created a series of unique storytelling videos for hotels around the world. One of their videos, titled 'Luxury Never Sounded so Good' and filmed for Canaves Oia in Santorini, was awarded in Cannes in 2018 with the Gold Award in Tourism Films Category. Watch the awarded video - >
3. Podcasts: A 'conversation' with the hotels right from the traveller's personal space
Another type of hotel content that has been created recently and was further strengthened during the pandemic, is podcasts. During the lockdown, people needed to communicate, listen to opinions, receive ideas and inspiration, but also share experiences. Podcasts give the feeling of a ‘conversation’ as if it was happening in our personal space. They give the travellers the opportunity to hear and learn about topics that they may never have thought about.
In the hotel industry, podcasts seem to be very interesting and have important prospects for development, as they help hotels 'explain' to their guests' topics that relate to their design, their philosophy, their experiences, and even the main idea behind their gastronomy. Using rich and descriptive language, hotels can manage to 'transfer' distant travellers to their world, creating images and emotions that they will definitely want to experience.
Case Study: Marriott Bonvoy Traveler has created a series of podcasts named "Behind the Design" through which it presents the stories behind creative thoughts and decisions made during the creation of some of its most important hotels.
Evaluating the old and new types of hotel content, it becomes clear that in all cases, it is necessary to work with specialized professionals, in order to reach a high-level final result that manages to achieve its goal in the best possible way. The Hotel Content Company has gathered a team of specialized partners, through which we can create high-quality hotel content for your property, always under the control and coordination of our team of experts. For more information or for discussing the content needs of your own hotel, please contact our specialists directly.
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