By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca)
The winter holidays (or summer holidays for those south of the equator) are a time for family gatherings, warming your feet by the fireplace and hotel promotional packages. In fact, these days it’s rare to come across a property that doesn’t have some enticing offer on the table for prospective holiday season travelers. In this period of hyper-competition, how do you cut through the noise?
The answer is to design promotions with finely tuned messages that cater directly to people’s holiday-specific desires along with a novel or adventurous component. Here are five suggestions:
1. Decadence. For many, the fall months are a time of long hours at the office and austere diets – a marked contrast from the languid summer months. But come Christmas or Hanukah time, people are looking for excuses to indulge, both in terms of satiating the palate and general slothfulness. Knowing this, you can craft room or spa packages that feed this urge with subtle, marketable touches like rich chocolates for turndown service or special cookies served with coffee in the lobby. You can think bigger, of course, like elaborate spa coupons or all-day buffets, but the point is to add decadence through small, quickly implementable extras rather than anything exorbitant and expensive.
2. Tis the Season. Consumers aren’t just looking for generic, unfocused decadence; they want themed, holiday-centric indulgences. Instead of just rich chocolates, how about sugar plum chocolates? Replace regular cookies with shortbread or artful gingerbread cookies and serve them during lobby receptions. Some people might hate the taste, but you damn well better have eggnog stocked at the bars. If the eight days of Chanukah happen to coincide with Christmas, you better have some matzo on hand. Finally, when it comes to your spa, think of ways to incorporate frankincense and myrrh.
3. Warmth. There’s a reason why Caribbean or other tropical paradise destinations are so popular around the winter holidays. But even if you aren’t situated as such, with some well-crafted advertising copy and a few flashy photos, you can easily appeal to people already mulling a week-long retreat or to semi-locals looking for a weekend getaway. Again, think small. Do your facilities have a sauna, Jacuzzi or steam room? Is there any way to incorporate such heat-inducing features as an additive in your holiday package? How about using an image as simple as a happy couple sipping hot cocoa to stir up those emotions?
4. Authentic Local Experience. Ask yourself: what is unique about the holiday season in your region? What do the locals in your neck of the woods do differently than everywhere else? Are there any special winter festivals worth highlighting? Does your neighborhood produce any unique delicacies? The point here is to give guests a flavor of the novel or unknown while still adhering to the holiday theme.
5. Family Getaway. Last of all, this time of year is all about socializing with friends and family and reconnecting. Everything else is peripheral to that. With that in mind, I stress that each package and marketing materials you design should have, at its heart, a concentrated appeal for the nuclear family, extended family or loved ones.
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