Content isn’t just for attracting leisure travelers. Woo meeting planners and group guests with your depth of local knowledge.
Destination content isn’t just vital to attracting leisure guests to your hotel; it is also crucial for generating group sales leads, giving your sales team another effective tool at their disposal.
When meeting planners book a hotel for a conference, convention or similar event, they’re not just looking for meeting spaces, a ballroom and quality accommodations for their attendees. They want to feel that the hotel they’ve selected is the epicenter of the destination where it is located, and that choosing your property as an HQ means attendees will best experience your city or region. That’s why you must position your property and team as the thought leaders and market-area experts in your city.
Adopt the practice of creating and publishing, helpful, fun and informative content about your area. Think of topics your potential group customers will find compelling, like, “Top 10 Outdoor Team-Building Activities in Bozeman, Montana,” “Top 5 Historic Group Tours in Washington, D.C.,” or “Most Popular Fishing Charters in Key West, Florida.” And remember, you can also reuse previous leisure-focused content you’ve created, provided you add a new, group-focused spin.
Once created, there are multiple channels where you can publish the information, including your hotel blog and future monthly sales newsletters. And although it’s not free, executing paid LinkedIn postings of your content—targeting meetings professionals—can reap considerable dividends. Facebook and Instagram are great for leisure targeting, but LinkedIn is where the B2B magic happens. Don’t overlook this increasingly powerful pathway to reaching your fellow travel professionals.
