Northern Ireland Luxury Chain Delivers a Personal Touch to Guests
February 23, 2016 – A gracious, personalized stay is the hallmark of Hastings Hotels, the largest independent hotel group in Northern Ireland. The Hastings family founded the chain and now operates six luxurious properties across the province. Guests can choose from deluxe accommodations that include a historic palace and a meticulously maintained seaside Victorian hotel adjacent to one of the top ten golf courses in the world.
Personalized eCampaigns uphold tradition of service
Hastings takes special care to communicate with each guest, whether it be a sitting US president, a business traveler or a family on vacation. The company chose Digital Alchemy's advanced hotel email marketing system to preserve this long-standing tradition while adding a digital twist.
"Digital Alchemy interfaces directly with our Visual One property management system (PMS)," explains Hannah Corbett, Hastings head of digital marketing for hotels." This enables Digital Alchemy to mine our guest history database for relevant information, such as seasonal stay and amenity preferences. The system creates personalized hotel email marketing lists that show guests we pay attention to their needs." The result? Digital campaigns that generate "impressive revenue."
Digital Alchemy supports the 'customer journey,' from confirmation to personal thank-you notes
Hastings uses Digital Alchemy solutions for all email correspondence. Digital Alchemy provides the email templates, and Hastings’ marketing staff customizes the look and content for each campaign and communication. "We call it the 'customer journey,’" says Corbett, "and Digital Alchemy supports every step":
- Automatic reservation confirmation generated immediately after a website booking
- Automatic welcome message generated 10 days before a stay that includes amenity marketing based on customer preference. "This has been a very effective way to increase incremental revenue," says Corbett.
- A VIP concierge system that allows Hastings Hotels staff to communicate with guests during their stay to fine-tune services and inform customers about value-added amenities and local activities
- Automatic thank-you note generated after each stay
Guests automatically become Hastings eClub members when Digital Alchemy captures their email from the hotel website. Digital Alchemy also exports guest contact information from numerous online travel agencies so Hastings can conduct direct reservation marketing.
Digital Alchemy’s professional service 'makes sure we have all our work done right'
"Digital Alchemy’s professional team works closely with us to make sure we apply their hotel email marketing system effectively," says Corbett. "Their team tracks revenue and provides analysis for each hotel's campaigns so we can measure our effectiveness. Digital Alchemy also provides its hotel marketing performance data for the total chain for corporate analysis. We have hugely successful hotel email marketing campaigns thanks to these customized email promotions."
"Digital Alchemy’s staff is always at hand to meet our needs," says Corbett, with prompt communication between Digital Alchemy’s North American location and Hastings' Belfast corporate headquarters. "Their service that supports our marketing is invaluable. We call when a need a pop-up campaign—such as an automated birthday email message for our customers—and they help us create it. We can always call if we have questions about a template or campaign. They make sure we have all our work done right."
