Running a hotel or bed and breakfast can be hard work, especially if you’re going at it on your own and you don’t have the money for a cleaner, a receptionist and a marketer.
Whilst there’s no getting away from the long hours you’ll have to endure in your role, there are some ways to make life a little easier and increase your hotel or B&B occupancy rates
We’re no Alex Polizzi, and we can’t transform your hotel overnight, but we can give you some tips on improving your social media to encourage more people to book a night’s stay.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best social media post ideas for hotels and B&Bs.
Post images of your rooms
It sounds obvious, but it’s something so many hoteliers fail to do.
Whether you’ve just spent money upgrading your rooms, or you simply want to show off how lovely they are, take some pictures in broad daylight with curtains and windows open to maximize on natural light, and share them on your social networks.
Add a caption, letting people know how they can book the room, and people will naturally want to inquire if they’re impressed with your decor.
Some hoteliers choose to hire a professional photographer to take images of their bedrooms, but it’s easy to create professional-looking shots with a decent iPhone camera.
Update your images every now and again so they don’t get repetitive, and consider taking snaps in the winter when there’s a nice view outside, or on Valentine’s Day when you sprinkle petals on the beds.
Keeping it fresh is the best way to get consistent levels of engagement on social.
This hotel shares an attractive shot of their bedroom and added a caption that highlights its sustainability. Share posts on social media like this every few days to find new customers.
Show off your breakfasts
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so don’t overlook how important it is to get right.
Not only can a good Full English increase revenue, but it will leave a lasting impression on guests, as it’ll be the last thing they eat in your hotel before they check out.
If you’re proud of your breakfast and think it looks delicious, then take a couple of snaps and share them on social media.
Food on Instagram is so big, so use hashtags like #breakfast and #fullenglish to put your posts in front of more people.
You should also consider highlighting some of the benefits of your breakfast in your social media posts to drum up interest in your hotel or B&B.
Perhaps all of your ingredients are locally sourced, or you include breakfast in your room rate?
If your breakfast is delicious and photogenic, then your customers might be posting their own pictures. Ask them to tag your hotel in posts, which will increase your exposure and give you more user-generated content to share when you don’t have time to create your own.
Remind followers of upcoming events
Whether you’re in a top tourist spot or in the middle of nowhere, the chances are that there are some upcoming events that you can piggy-back off of.
If you’re in Blackpool for example, you could remind your followers about the Blackpool Illuminations, or the start of the new theme park season to drum up trade and increase your bookings.
You may even choose to tie upcoming events into special offers exclusive to your social media followers, which will make them more likely to book directly with you, rather than through a comparison website.
Be on the ball and keep an eye out for upcoming events.
If a big star is coming to your town for a stadium gig, for example, then schedule tweets for when tickets go on sale so people know you have vacancies and can book with you to reduce hassle on the night of the gig.
This Blackpool hotel runs special promotions that tie in with their upcoming events, like offering free Prosecco and a ticket to a concert as part of their room rate.
Become a tour guide
The chances are that you know more about your local area than anyone else, so become a local tour guide and share tips and tricks on how to make the most out of a trip to your town or city.
You could create some custom graphics, record a video or even consider running a tour that people can attend.
It’s a great promotional technique, allows you to network with local businesses, and create lots of relevant and engaging content your followers will enjoy.
Run a competition
People on social media love a good competition, so create a prize package and ask people to like, share and retweet your post for an entry.
Some competitions on social media go viral and receive thousands of entries, all of whom will then follow the hotel’s page and see their future posts.
Sure, you might have to spend £100 or so on prizes and a room for the night, but if it adds 1,000 new followers to your Twitter or Instagram account, it’s worthwhile.
Rather than asking for shares or retweets, you could ask your followers to take pictures of their time in your city, which will give you a bank of user-generated content you can share.
Wrapping up
We know that running a hotel or bed and breakfast can be tough, so if you’re too busy to be spending time on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, we can help.
At 99social, we offer truly affordable social media management packages from as little as £99, which allow you to sit back and relax, all whilst knowing your social media is being taken care of.
Get in touch today to find out more – we can’t wait to help you grow online.