Savvy hotel GMs manage a lot of stuff — vast influxes of vacationing families, cleaning rooms, and ensuring those morning eggs are cooked just right. The last thing you need is something else to take care of!

When it comes to your hotel website, we all know it would be easier to “set-it-and-forget-it” and skip the monthly fee marketing agencies charge for website maintenance contracts. Here’s why you, savvy GM, should pay an agency to take care of your hotel website.

Set and forget worked in 2007. Back then, in the dark ages, websites didn’t require very much attention. Businesses hired a developer who wrote the code, added the content and launched the site. If you needed an update, you paid your developer to execute it, and you only made changes when something in your business changed.

Website maintenance wasn’t a thing. People weren’t worried about keeping their websites secure or having one second load times.

WordPress Rules!

A lot has changed. Most importantly, you no longer need to know how to code to build a website. The rise of the Content Management System (CMS) software like WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix have enabled the masses to create websites and update content without knowing how to code. Your grandpa can now build a website and publish his ideas for everyone to read (yes, there are pros and cons to this).

Bee Loud, Innisfree Hotels‘ In-house marketing agency uses WordPress for our hotel websites. WordPress is an online, open-source website creation tool. Open-source means that anyone can use or modify the WordPress software and everyone can use it for free. WordPress is the most used CMS program today and powers 29% of the websites on the Internet, and 500+ new WordPress sites are launched daily. The White House, CNN, Spotify, Microsoft, and The Rolling Stones all use websites powered by WordPress.

Some other hotel marketing agencies use their own proprietary CMS when they build websites for their hotel marketing clients. This isn’t optimal. If you fire your agency, you’ll have to create a new site from scratch. With a platform like WordPress, you own website, not your agency.

How WordPress Works

WordPress websites have three parts. First is the core, made up of the hundreds of files that support the essential functions of every WordPress install.

Second are the plugins. These are pieces of software that can be added to a WordPress website to extend functionality. There Are 48,500+ WordPress plugins with more being built by programmers every day.

Bee Loud’s programmers built a custom plugin for our hotel websites that integrate our franchise booking engines and date pickers. We also use a plugin called Gravity Forms that enables users interested in booking a wedding to enter information such as name, date, and email address into a form that is auto-forwarded to our sales teams.

The final part of a WordPress website is the theme. The theme supports the front-end design, including layout, font, colors, and so on. There are tens of thousands of WordPress themes that can be freely downloaded or purchased from developers.

Most larger businesses hire a developer to build them a custom WordPress theme. Bee Loud built a custom theme we call ‘Beachfront Hotel’ and all of our hotels use it. We make regular updates to our theme and rebuild it completely about every three years. Using the same theme for all our hotel properties enables us to build websites quickly and economically.

WordPress websites require an ongoing maintenance program. Here is an outline of what Bee Loud does to keep our websites happy and healthy.

Back-Ups

If something goes wrong, and it inevitably does, websites can become slightly messed up, irreparably broken, or gone. Bee Loud backs up our websites monthly, so if the worst happens, we can restore our sites from the most recent backup.

Updates

Bee Loud also updates our WordPress themes and plugins every month. Because WordPress is open-source, anyone can update the core code anytime. New features are continually added, bugs are fixed, and security holes are plugged. When updates occur, the component parts, such as themes and plugins on individual websites, need to be updated as well, or your website functionality may break or become vulnerable to evil-doers.

Load Speed

Another critical component of website maintenance is monitoring and optimizing load speed. Load speed is so crucial that monthly speed tests are essential. Consumer expectations regarding website speed are escalating. Consumers expect a webpage to load in two seconds or less, and 40% of these will abandon their search if a website takes more than three seconds to load.

HTTP Requests

When a user visits a web page from a web browser (like Chrome), a ping is sent to the website host asking the server to send over the website content files. This is called Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and browsers must submit an HTTP request for every file on your site.

Therefore, the more files we have on a site, the more HTTP requests our browser must make. The more requests there are, the slower the site will load. Large files slow things down even more, and high definition images and videos are the worst culprits. Hotels marketers love high definition images and videos!

Bee Loud regularly analyzes how many HTTP requests our websites must make to load, and sometimes we need to make hard decisions about what content is essential. For example, recently we learned that our website weather widget was slowing our sites down but decided it was worth keeping.

Databases

WordPress is a database-driven CMS system, meaning that all of the content on our site (such as pages, blog posts, and pictures) is stored in databases. Over time, databases become bloated with junk, including old pictures and deleted posts that slow down our websites. Bee Loud has a protocol for regular database cleanups.

Redirects

Bee Loud also checks our websites for 404 errors every week. A 404 is URL indexed on search engines that no longer exists. For instance, when we delete a seasonal landing page, sometimes that link continues to appear in search results. Google penalizes websites with 404 errors.

Bee Loud fixes 404 errors by implementing a 301 redirect which points the dead URL to another page on the site.

Broken Links

Bee Loud also audits and fixes broken links on our websites monthly.

Content

Bee Loud regularly reviews website content with our property GMs to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

Phew… that’s a lot, huh? One less thing for you, savvy GM, to worry about.

Gulf Breeze, Fl — Innisfree Hotels, hotel management, development, and marketing company, has made its second acquisition on the Atlantic Coast, adding the Quality Inn & Suites in Cocoa Beach to its expanding portfolio. The Gulf Coast-based company has had its sights set on the famous beach destination for some time.

“The amazing proximity to Orlando and Cocoa Beach’s world-famous beaches and reputation as a premier surf destination are consistent with the demand generators in which our company specializes,” says Ted Ent, CEO of Innisfree Hotels. “This is a natural fit for our company’s culture.”

Innisfree Hotels also hopes to benefit from the second busiest cruise port in the world, Port Canaveral, by offering special cruise packages to guests. The seaport logged a record-breaking year in 2017, welcoming 4.5 million passengers and 104 port-of-call vessels.

“We even purchased an adjacent parking lot for people to leave their cars while they’re on a cruise,” says Ent.

The Quality Inn & Suites’ proximity to Kennedy Space Center is another factor that attracted Innisfree to the deal. With a projected 34-36 launches in 2018, 52 launches in 2019 and the encroaching possibility of public space travel, Innisfree is confident that Cocoa Beach will be a popular destination for years to come.

Innisfree will be exploring rebranding the property to become a unique independent hotel in future years.

The Quality Inn & Suites, Cocoa Beach features 170 rooms with the following amenities.

• Free hot breakfast
• Free wired high-speed internet in room
• Free Wi-Fi
• Free in-room safe
• Hearing and mobility accessible rooms for our guests with special needs.
• On-site coin operated laundry facilities
• Fitness center
• Kids play area with jungle gym
• Volleyball Court
• Shuffleboard court
• Full-service lounge

For more information about the Quality Inn & Suites, visit the website at http://www.qualitycocoabeach.com.

Bee Loud specializes in hotel marketing and restaurant marketing and we love selling out a great event.

Events and restaurants go together like peas and carrots.

Events generate public awareness and guest loyalty. They re-engage guests who haven’t visited you in a while and attract new customers. Events give bloggers, social media stars and journalists something to talk about.

Best of all, events empower your best team members to showcase their talent.

Do you have a wannabe celebrity chef on your team who needs a little love once and a while? Events are their ticket to job satisfaction.

Make it Special

The first thing you have to do is choose a theme for your event – yes yes I know you’re thinking, “Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Nonetheless, it must be said, because if you spend a little extra time on this step, your event will outshine all the rest. Nobody needs another wing night, right?

Start by thinking about how to craft an experience that both reinforces your brand and appeals to the desires of your ideal guest.

Is your ideal guest looking for a rowdy beer pong tourney or a romantic date night? Do they like lengthy discussions about local food or bottomless tequila shots? Do they want to travel the world with their taste buds or play a rancorous game of bingo with MawMaw?

Your options are endless, and our event theme is the perfect opportunity to show off how bright and imaginative you are.

Make it Stand Out

The next step is to come up with an irresistible description. Your goal is to be conspicuous in busy calendars and entice an immediate ticket purchase.

Also, now is the time to carefully outline all the necessary information such as location, date, time, inclusions, ticket prices and how to book. (Realizing you forgot to note the date of the event after the print ad is published is a major downer.)

Next, you need to plan how you will promote your event.

Every event has unique requirements. A well-established restaurant with a sizable email subscribers database and a populous social media audience may only need a Facebook event listing and an email newsletter to sell out an event. On the other hand, a brand new restaurant hosting their first event will want to deploy every tool in the promotional kit.

Write Great Words

Your event promotion will require lots of words. If the words are concise, fun and outline the key selling points of your event, your advertisements will be more successful. Below is the copy production list Bee Loud gives our Head Storyteller for our food and beverage events. Each item on this list requires unique copy of varying lengths and styles.  

• Website landing page
• Contest landing page
• Eventbrite listing
• Facebook event listing
• Poster
• Table talkers
• Print ads
• Street banner
• Social media posts
• Social media ads
• Email newsletters (at least 4 unique versions)
• Radio announcements
• Press release

Your copy must always include a clear call to action, such as “buy tickets” or “call for reservations.” It is also imperative to add essential information, such as date, time and price – duh right?

The copy isn’t finished until it goes through two rounds of proofreading to check for errors or inconsistencies.

Beautiful Design

Okay, the words are perfect now, they’ve been double checked and approved by you your savvy restaurant GM. Phew, you’re wiping your brow now. That was a bit epic.

The next step is to produce the visual elements for your kick-butt event including photos, videos, and graphics. Ideally, some of these will come from last year’s event, but if not, get creative and pick something from your content database. (Yep — you need one of those.)

The Bee Loud designers typically produce the following:

• Event logo
• Social media tiles (graphically designed image in the perfect size for sharing on social media)
• Snapchat filter (graphically designed overlay users can apply to their Snapchat posts)
• Email newsletter headers (at least 4 unique ones)
• Street banner
• Website landing page header graphic
• Contest landing page header graphic
• Poster
• Table talker
• Print ad
• Content package for social media influencers to share (tiles and teaser copy)
• Content package for employee advocates to share (tiles and teaser copy)

Blast Off

If you build it they will come, right?

Your website landing page and your Eventbrite listing will be the cornerstone of your promotion. Your goal is to push as much qualified traffic as possible to these pages and compel people to make a reservation or buy a ticket.

There are lots of advantages to using Eventbrite for online ticket sales. Users love it because they enjoy the ease and convenience of booking online. Also, your servers and bartenders are always doing three things at once, and more phone calls are not ideal. Facebook recently partnered with Eventbrite to enable users to buy without leaving Facebook which makes buying tickets even easier.

Eventbrite also helps you avoid lost reservations by digitally recording every ticket sale. On the day of the event, your team can download the guest list or check guests in via their app.

Marketers love Eventbrite because they can collect guest email addresses and use them to promote future events. It also has a user-friendly dashboard that enables us to track ticket sales, so we know when to ramp up or turn off our promotions.

Email Contest

Contests help you build an engaged email subscriber list for your restaurant. It’s optimal to launch a “win free tickets” contest four to six weeks before your event, so you have ample time to get lots of entries. Promote your contest with Facebook ads targeted at your potential event attendees.

To enter the contest, users must share their name and email address. When they do, you should load this data into your Facebook advertising platform so you can show your event ads to these folks on Facebook and Instagram. Also, add them to your email database and include them in your newsletters (for this event and future ones). This is how you keep your event at the top of their mind so they don’t forget to buy a ticket.

Overtime contests will build your email user database so you can sell out your events with minimal marketing dollars (goodbye expensive print ads).

Speaking of Email

Your email newsletter subscribers are the people most likely to buy tickets to your event. So you probably want to send them an email newsletter weekly for four weeks prior.

You need to keep them engaged by ensuring that every email you send is unique, useful, fun and compelling. You can vary the frequency of email newsletters as needed. For instance, if your event sells out early, let everyone know because this will create anticipation and urgency for your next event and then send no more emails.

The effectiveness of your email campaigns will improve over time. Test what works for subject lines and calls to actions and optimize your approach for best results. Segment your email list so you can send the right message to the right person at the right time. You want to send a different message to people who regularly attend your events than you do to someone who has never attended, right?

Facebook is Your Friend

Facebook’s fantastic search functionality makes it easy for users to find events happening nearby, on a particular date or of a specific genre.

Your first step is creating an event listing the event details with a recognizable custom banner photo. Then boost this event listing with paid advertising. You can laser target users by geographic location, age, relationship status as well as users with special interests like food and beer.

When users click ‘going’ or ‘interested’ on your event listing their friends are notified. Talk about an excellent word of mouth promotion with a like-minded audience!

You can also target Facebook ads to users who previously engaged with any event page you’ve ever published, users who indicated interest in your event, or bought tickets to a similar event. You can also exclude folks who have already purchased a ticket (no need to drive people nuts).

Facebook automatically sends users who indicated interest in your event a notification reminding them that the event coming up, so they don’t forget to buy a ticket.

Facebook events listings also help us gauge how many people are planning on attending the event so you know how many crab cakes to make.

What Next? Hopefully Nothing. But if You Need To. . .

In most cases, a smart email and Facebook campaign is all you need to sell out a great event. However, if you need a bit more exposure, there are still some other tools in our event marketing toolkit.

Instagram

Create a custom designed tile with the event name and date accompanied by a caption that teases the event with a Call to Action to learn more. A tagged link will take users to the event landing page on your website.

Hashtag Campaign

Create a hashtag campaign for your restaurant event. Expand the reach of your Instagram posts by researching and using hashtags that will reach your target audience.

Also, develop an event hashtag and use it to generate online buzz before, during and after your event. You may want to incentivize event attendees to post images and video using the hashtag during the event so that you have great content for next year’s promotion.

Update Your Links

Usually, your property Twitter, Facebook and Instagram bios link to your website. But when you’re promoting a big event, you may consider changing these links, so they send visitors directly to the event page.

Social Media Influencer Outreach

Bee Loud works to build relationships with local bloggers and social media influencers. We maintain lists of users with more than 3,000 followers on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. We vet them to ensure their interests and style are aligned with the brands we promote. If we need extra exposure for an event, we can send them content to share and offer them free tickets.  

Employee Advocates

Why not get your team members to promote your event on their social media platforms? Provide them content and incentivize them to share it!

Last But Not Least (Well Kind of Least)

It is important to promote your event on property with table talkers and posters and to ensure your team members are prepared to talk about the event with your guests and tell them how to purchase tickets.

You can also find partners who are willing to promote your event with you (yeah local breweries).

Other tried and true event promotion tactics are press releases, radio ads (stations will often trade), posting flyers on community bulletin boards, placing print ads in local entertainment magazines and updating free local event listings.

Don’t forget to send good content producers to your event to share on social media after the event. Save this great content for next year’s event promotion.

Sound fun?  Good! Go plan some events!