In the increasingly competitive hospitality world, hotel marketing can no longer be done instantly. Many hotels expect guests to book immediately after seeing an advertisement or OTA listing, when in reality, the guest decision-making process is much longer. This is where the role of the hotel marketing funnel becomes crucial.
A marketing funnel helps hotels understand the journey of potential guests, from first learning about the hotel to finally booking. Without a clear funnel, marketing strategies tend to be unfocused and struggle to generate consistent bookings.
What Is a Hotel Marketing Funnel?
A hotel marketing funnel is the stages of a potential guest's journey before making a booking. This funnel is generally divided into three main stages:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Booking (Conversion)
Each stage requires a different hotel marketing approach. The mistake many hotels make is using the same strategy for all stages.
Stage 1: Awareness – Making Your Hotel Known
The awareness stage is when potential guests first learn about your hotel. At this stage, they are not yet intent on booking but are looking for inspiration or references.
Hotel marketing strategies at the awareness stage typically include:
- Social media content (Instagram, TikTok)
- Brand awareness ads
- OTA listings with strong visuals
- Blog content or travel articles
The main goal of this stage is not to sell rooms directly, but rather to establish the hotel's brand and positioning in the minds of potential guests. Hotels that fail at the awareness stage will struggle to advance to the next stage, even if their prices are competitive.
Stage 2: Consideration – Convincing Potential Guests
After getting to know the hotel, potential guests enter the consideration stage. Here they begin to compare:
- Price
- Location
- Amenities
- Reviews
- Stay experience
At this stage, hotel marketing must be able to answer potential guests' questions and concerns. Effective strategies include:
- Optimizing descriptions on OTAs
- Highlighting the hotel's unique advantages
- Displaying reviews and ratings
- Remarketing ads to website visitors
Many hotels fail at this stage because the message is too general and irrelevant to the target market.
Stage 3: Booking – Driving Decisions
The final stage is conversion or booking. At this stage, potential guests are ready to book, but they can still cancel if the process is complicated or unconvincing.
Important hotel marketing strategies at the booking stage include:
- Easy booking process
- Clear pricing and promotions
- Strong call-to-action
- Response speed (especially via WhatsApp)
Hotels with a well-organized funnel are usually able to convert traffic into bookings more cost-effectively.
Common Hotel Mistakes in the Marketing Funnel
Some common mistakes in the hotel marketing funnel:
- Focusing solely on the booking stage, without building awareness
- Advertising directly to cold audiences
- Not differentiating messages for each stage of the funnel
- Ignoring guest behavior data
As a result, advertising feels expensive, bookings are unstable, and OTA performance struggles to grow.
The Importance of Data in the Hotel Marketing Funnel
An effective hotel marketing funnel must be data-driven. Data helps hotels understand:
- How guests learn about the hotel
- Which channels are most influential
- Which stages are most prone to "leaks"
With the right data, hotels can improve their strategies at each stage of the funnel, not just increase their advertising budget.
ecommerceloka's Role in Managing the Hotel Marketing Funnel
This is where ecommerceloka plays a role in helping hotels build and optimize a comprehensive hotel marketing funnel. Its approach focuses not only on advertising or OTAs, but on the entire guest journey. ecommerceloka helps hotels:
Mapping a marketing funnel that aligns with the property's characteristics
- Optimizing channels at every stage of the funnel
- Using data to increase conversions
- Creating a more stable and sustainable sales strategy
With the right funnel, hotels not only pursue traffic but also generate higher-quality bookings.
Hotel marketing isn't just about promotions or discounts. Without understanding the hotel marketing funnel, marketing strategies will struggle to develop and be inconsistent.
By building a funnel from awareness, consideration, to booking, hotels can reach the right guests with the right message. A data-driven approach like ecommerceloka's helps hotels transform their marketing strategy into a more targeted, efficient, and sustainable sales system.