August 13, 2018
Success Story: A Jaipur Hotel Uses Tripadvisor to Drive Inbound Marketing
August 13, 2018
The Royal Heritage Haveli is a small family-owned boutique hotel that won the Travelers’ Choice award for multiple years in Jaipur, India. See how Shambhavi Singh, the Haveli Director, uses Tripadvisor as an instrumental part of her inbound marketing strategy.
Singh strives to get as many travelers to book as possible during the busy season. “Our busy season is short so it’s crucial that we make the most of it. It’s hard to fill rooms during the off-season because it’s very hot in Jaipur,” says Singh.
Many other local accommodations providers are pursuing a similar strategy. “It’s challenging to stand out among our competitors in Jaipur. We’re a small business that competes with well-known hotels for a limited number of travelers who visit during the busy season. So, we need to differentiate ourselves from properties similar to ours,” she says.
“To address this challenge, I use inbound marketing to attract, convert, close, and delight guests, and Tripadvisor is crucial to my strategy,” Singh says. “Inbound marketing creates awareness among travelers, and it builds trust and credibility for the Haveli.”
Singh uses Sponsored Placements to help travelers find the Haveli when they’re searching for a place to stay in Jaipur. “Business was low, so we wanted to increase our visibility on Tripadvisor. Sponsored Placements do just that and are an important first part of our inbound marketing strategy,” says Singh.
“We first tried the lowest budget and loved the results — Sponsored Placements helped fill our rooms and increased occupancy. But, to get even more impressions, clicks, and booking referrals, we’ve maximized our monthly budget. And the results have been amazing — the Haveli has been seen 78,600 times more with our ads on Tripadvisor since we started Sponsored Placements, and we’ve received a 20% boost in booking referrals in the past six months.”
Singh plans to use Sponsored Placements all year to amplify the Haveli’s visibility since the ads only show to travelers when the Haveli has availability for the dates they are searching for. “We’ll use ads to draw in more off-season travelers. Towards the end of the season, we’ll use our ads to attract travelers who might normally book with a competitor. When the busy season is in full swing, we’ll aim to fill any last-minute cancellations with the ads,” she says.
Singh uses Business Advantage to convert travelers visiting the Haveli’s Tripadvisor page into leads. “Business Advantage enables us to present the Haveli at its best and drive more travelers to our direct booking channels. Travelers can easily contact us since we’re only one click or call away with Contact Details,” says Singh.
Exclusive photo features bring the Haveli to life and motivate potential guests to choose it over competitors. “Our photos — especially panorama photos and Storyboard — convey our tranquil, peaceful atmosphere and impress travelers. We update our photos regularly to best showcase our property,” she says.
Singh leverages data to influence and increase their bookings. “We can judge the performance of our assets with the Analytics Suite and make adjustments. For example, we saw that a third of our clicks come from Special Offers — so we always run a Special Offer now because they’ve helped us fill rooms,” Singh explains.
Singh closes these inbound leads by continuing to build trust and encourage bookings on the Haveli’s website. “When travelers reach our hotel website, we continue the path we’ve established on Tripadvisor. Our high-quality photos of the property and rooms support what they’ve seen on their journey already. Our pop-up form makes it easy for guests to email us. We also list packages to entice travelers. Overall, we ensure that it’s fast and easy for them to book with the Haveli,” she says.
When guests arrive, Singh and her team aim to delight them so they’ll then promote the Haveli after their stay. “We make them feel at home by treating them like family and providing modern comforts. Guests really appreciate our services — and then we request that they write reviews and post photos with Review Express,” she says. “This content, in turn, makes Haveli more attractive to the next guest and starts the cycle over again on Tripadvisor.”
“Sponsored Placements and Business Advantage have powered our inbound marketing strategy: we get more hits to our website, email inquiries, and phone calls from travelers — and they convert for us,” Singh says. “Using these tools, we can now compete with big chains, which is why we solely work with Tripadvisor and use it to the fullest extent.”
