Before the dawn of the internet era, there were two sources of long-distance communication – calls and SMS. In fact, telecalling and SMS marketing are still prominent among marketers.
For hotels, SMS marketing is one of the easiest strategies to use. But there are many questions pertaining to it. Such as:
Is SMS marketing for hotels expensive?
Can you automate SMS marketing for your hotel?
What kind of campaigns can I create for text message marketing in hotels?
In this blog, I will be answering all your questions and sharing some tips on SMS marketing for hotels.
Table of Content
History of SMS Marketing
Before I begin on SMS marketing, let’s talk about its history. The concept of SMS was 1st developed in 1984, by Friedhelm Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert for the GSM corporation. However, the concept became reality on 3rd December 1992, when Neil Papworth sent the 1st ever SMS to his colleague Richard Jarvis, wishing him ‘Merry Christmas’.
Since then, SMS has become one of the most widely accepted modes of communication after phone calls. These days, we have multiple internet-based applications like WhatsApp, i-Messaging, and WeChat; but SMS still remains a prompt mode of communication and response.
SMS became a widely accepted marketing tool in early 2000. In fact, the limit of 160 characters gave birth to the SMS language.
With time, various websites came into the picture that allowed users to send bulk messages for marketing purposes. Of these, some were paid while others were free.
Here are some interesting facts about SMS marketing by TechJury,
Around 75% of clients prefer receiving offers via SMS, with a mind-blowing opening rate of 98%. As a matter of fact, this CTR rate is 9.18% higher than any other digital marketing campaign.
Benefits of SMS Marketing for Hotels
Considering the above-mentioned stats, there’s no doubt that SMS marketing is one of the best tools for hotels to reach out to their guests. Moreover, there are various free platforms available in the market for creating and deploying messaging campaigns.
Another interesting fact shared by TechJury states that,
9/10 people open promotional text messages, which is significantly higher than the opening ratio of marketing emails.
The best part of using SMS marketing for hotels is that it doesn’t require any internet connection. Meaning, neither the hotelier needs to have a data connection to send SMS, nor the guests require it to open the message.
That’s why it can even be used by properties located in remote areas with internet connectivity issues.
Here are some other benefits of SMS marketing:
- Negligible setup cost
- Easy to use and understand
- Doesn’t require a lot of expertise
- Helps in reaching a wider audience
- Source of direct bookings
- Can be automated
Rules and Regulations to Follow in SMS Marketing
Although SMS marketing is quite beneficial and can be easily implemented, there are certain rules and regulations that need to be followed while creating any text marketing campaign.
These rules are laid down by the telecom authorities of every country, mobile carriers, and messaging providers.
For example TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) in the US, Way2SMS, Simple Texting, and such others.
The rules are generally common with a bit of tweaking. Let me tell you a couple of them followed in India:
- The permissible time for sending promotional messages is between 10.00 AM to 09:00 PM. And any such texts sent outside this time range will be delivered the next day.
- Users registering for DND won’t receive any promotional messages from any company.
- Using personal numbers for SMS marketing is strictly prohibited.
- Users can send and receive only 200 messages per day.
- Sending any political message is prohibited, especially during election times.
These are just a few of them from the list. And it is mandatory for the users to comply with these rules. If anyone fails to do so, they might face legal consequences such as penalty charges, number being blocked, or suspension of services.
Here’s a detailed article you should read before you opt to go with SMS marketing for your hotel.
Text messaging laws every marketer should know
Tips to Make the Best of SMS Marketing for Hotels
I hope by now you’d be feeling eager to invest in SMS marketing for your hotel. So, let me share some tips that will help you in achieving better results through text marketing campaigns.
1. Focus on collecting guest data
You must have heard that ‘data is the new oil’. And the hospitality industry is the sea with an abundance of guest data.
In fact, for hotels, there are various sources to collect data, such as:
- Past booking records
- Loyalty program memberships
- Guest queries from website
- Inbound calls, email, and WhatsApp
- Social media platforms
One thing common in all these sources is that guests share their contact number with hotels to receive a callback. All you have to do is save those details with you.
Once done, you can create various lists according to guest segmentation and then utilise it to launch your SMS marketing campaign.
2. Use chatbot to automate text marketing
Today, various marketing tasks are automated, and SMS marketing is one among them. But, this is possible only if you have deployed a chatbot at your property.
If you are unaware of how to do that, here’s a detailed blog we have on chatbots for your reference.
IronMan had JARVIS; Hotels have Chatbots
Once you’ve installed a chatbot on your website, you can program it to collect guest data and send promotional text messages at specific intervals.
3. Create multiple text templates
Talking about SMS templates for hotels, you need to have multiple ones for every occasion. Let me explain with an example.
The first message you’d be sharing with your guests is a promotional offer to garner their attention. It could be something like this:
“Welcome new year with a bang. Book a stay with us and get a gala dinner and unlimited drinks free. Contact us: +91852365241/2/3”
Suppose, a guest found it interesting and booked their stay with you. The next step would be acknowledging their booking. The text you will send the guest should be something like this:
“Dear XYZ, Thank you for booking your stay with us. We are looking forward to serving you soon. For any queries, feel free to contact us: +91852365241/2/3”
These are sample formats of promotional But that’s not all. You can create other templates with recommendations for guests such as activities, location details, rules and policies of the hotel, accessories they should carry, and so on.
You need to create templates that you can send to guests at every step, right from the day they book your property, till they visit the hotel again. Ensure that every message you send is under 160 characters, or else the guests will receive it partially, thereby defeating the entire purpose of opting for SMS marketing.
4. Invest in timely campaigns
A major mistake that every marketer makes is sending promotional messages either regularly or at irregular intervals. In the first scenario, guests might get irritated and end up unsubscribing the promotional offers from the hotel. Whilst in the second case, the campaign might not fetch the expected result.
That’s why, before you initiate any SMS marketing campaign for your hotel, prepare a proper calendar. Check for long weekends, upcoming fests in the town, and other such occasions.
Streamline this task with the revenue management team, as they’ll help you with ongoing offers and deals to attract guests.
Pro tip: Target one guest segment at a time. Meaning, instead of shooting SMS to all the guests on a single day, go for one type per day. For example, corporate guests on Monday, solo travelers on Wednesday, and so on.
5. Collect customer feedback through SMS
SMS marketing is not just limited to sending promotional offers. It includes other tasks as well, such as:
- Collecting guest feedback
- Sharing the hotel cab details
- Offering them in-house services
- Sending invoice details
Of these tasks, collecting reviews is a MUST for every hotel. Reason being, guests mostly leave the premises in hurry to catch a train or a flight, and forget sharing their valuable feedback.
You can simply draft a ‘thank you’ message template, include a reviewing link in the same and send it to guests. In case they fail to do so, you can always send a reminder text asking them to share their valuable feedback.
6. Share updates with in-house guests over SMS
As I said above, offering in-house services over SMS is a part of the hotel’s text messaging system. All you need to do is, create an SMS template highlighting the services offered at your property with a link to your website.
Don’t overfill the details. Just give a hint and redirect them to your website. Here’s a sample format of hotels’ promotional SMS:
“Dear XYZ, make your stay more relaxing by stepping into our Ayurvedic spa. Click the link to know more. (Link)”
That way, you can capture guests’ attention, increase visits on your website, and upsell your services to them.
Conclusion
I am a millennial, and that’s why I am quite aware of the SMS related aspects. After all, we were the ones to introduce the world concept of SMS language.
During those days, when smartphones were not in picture, we had keypad phones with calls and SMS as the only means of communication. In fact, we used to have a special recharge for text messaging.
Today, despite all the evolution in mobile technology, one thing that remains constant is SMS/text message marketing. Even today, if we call anyone for a job or for contact details, we say “kindly text me your email address or contact details”.
That’s why text marketing was prominent then and even now.
If you have been thinking that SMS marketing is futile, I am sure this blog has given you a fresh perspective. I’ve shared everything you need to know about SMS marketing for hotels in this blog. Try implementing the points in your current marketing regime and witness it yourself.
