September 21, 2018
How a European Hotel Group Uses Content Marketing to Reach Travelers
September 21, 2018
25hours Hotels is a group of 13 properties scattered across Germany, France, and other European countries. See how Alexander Schuster, Head of Digital, influences travelers to book one of their properties using content marketing and Tripadvisor.
To build relationships between customers and the 25hours brand, Schuster uses content marketing. “We choose to focus on content marketing instead of solely relying on promotions, discounts, or packages. Content allows us to tell a larger story about how guests don’t just stay at our hotels. They can have a fun, relaxing, immersive adventure at our hotels, which are designed to embody the city and neighborhood they’re in,” he says. “Our photos and videos reinforce our brand. Our blog for each hotel offers local insider knowledge.”
Schuster offers relevant information to travelers while they’re shopping for a place to stay on Tripadvisor, a major marketing channel. “The customer journey has many touch points, and we need to reach travelers at the right time on the right channels. So, we amplify our content on Tripadvisor, Google, social media, and other marketing channels to capture travelers’ attention and provide a compelling, consistent story,” he says. “I use Tripadvisor to increase our visibility, highlight the 25hours brand, and get more direct bookings.”
Working with Tripadvisor, Schuster supplements his content strategy by highlighting traveler review content and responding to those reviews. “Travelers check reviews, which makes Tripadvisor an important part of the customer journey. We respond to these reviews — not only offering our view, but also showing how we care about and feel responsible for our guests,” he says.
Schuster draws in travelers by showcasing his content and optimizing the 25hours Hotels’ Tripadvisor listing pages with Business Advantage. “We can entice travelers in the booking funnel on Tripadvisor search and our listing page when they’re considering our properties and prices,” he says. “We’re able to test and optimize different Business Advantage features. For example, we post Cover Photos and Favorite Photos that best represent our hotels, and then we check the photo engagement rate in the Analytics Suite to see what works in drawing in even more travelers.”
He also uses Business Advantage to connect with travelers directly. “With Contact Details, we can put the right communication channels—our website, phone number, and email—on Tripadvisor. We’re able to drive travelers to our website, have them book directly, and not lose them to OTAs — it’s easy for them get in touch with us,” says Schuster. “Another way we incentivize travelers to book directly with us is we run Special Offers with an advanced, lower booking rate that they can redeem on our website.”
Schuster notes that all 25hours properties have Business Advantage because of its ability to grow the 25hours brand and business. “Business Advantage is beneficial — it shows a return on advertising spend, and we drive incremental revenue for all our properties,” he adds.
To maximize his reach to travelers and drive more traffic to 25hours, Schuster decided to try Sponsored Placements. “Relying on search for travelers to find our properties isn’t effective. With Sponsored Placements, we expand our visibility to travelers who are already on the customer journey, especially when they’re searching within a dedicated city, but don’t have a specific brand in mind,” he says. “The five properties that tried out Sponsored Placements each received over 100,000 impressions on average in two months — meaning they were seen 100,000 more times than if we didn’t have Sponsored Placements.”
Sponsored Placements has also helped Schuster get more booking referrals. “In addition to the increased visibility, Sponsored Placements create leads so more travelers make reservations at our hotels. We saw a 20% boost in booking referrals on average. We also saw an increase in page visits to our five properties’ Tripadvisor listing pages,” he says.
Seeing the benefits of Sponsored Placements, Schuster believes the ads are a worthwhile investment. “Sponsored Placements is valuable because I’m able to raise awareness of the 25hours brand at multiple touch points of the customer journey. Every click means that travelers are engaged and interested — If travelers see our ad, it’s highly likely they’ll be back later with high intent to book with us,” he says.
“These products — Sponsored Placements and Business Advantage — work together because they provide the best way to capture guests at the top of the booking funnel,” says Schuster. “Because of the increased visibility and the direct communication channels we have on Tripadvisor, we engage travelers and drive them to our website with both products. And, we’re able to generate more direct bookings for our properties so not all bookings go to OTAs.”
