7 mistakes hotels should avoid when sending emails to guests

Email marketing remains a powerful tool for hotels to engage with guests while at the same time helping to build loyalty and drive bookings. However, common mistakes can undermine these efforts, leading to ineffective campaigns and missed opportunities. 

Here’s a guide to avoiding these mistakes and making the email marketing strategy in your hotel a successful one.

1. Not creating mobile-first emails 

Many hoteliers fail to optimize their emails for mobile devices, resulting in poor readability and user experience. This means not only choosing the right amount of text but also the right fonts.

Believe it or not, ignoring font choices can make emails appear unprofessional and difficult to read, which causes guests to ignore them and even unsubscribe from your database. 

This is perhaps one of the quickest fixes hotel marketing professionals can work through since it involves making sure they are using the right fonts, paying attention to the preview and modifying accordingly. 

A tip: Always use responsive designs and select clean, legible fonts that enhance readability on all devices.

2. Not using your guest data to personalise your emails

Personalization goes beyond putting the first name of your guest at the beginning. Hotels often miss out on the opportunity to use data about preferences or past bookings to tailor the content of their emails. 

Personalised emails get you higher open and conversion rates. Why? Because you speak the language of the guests and mention things that are interesting for them. 

It is not as complicated as it might sound, the first thing you can do is go to your hotel CRM, get an overview of your data, and then start creating different emails for different cases. 

Learn more about how to effectively personalise your hotel emails by using your guest data here.

3. Letting creativity out of the picture 

Hospitality doesn’t have to be boring and hotel communication doesn’t need to be extremely formal. You can (and should) add your brand’s voice to your emails. 

The best tool for this is storytelling. Every hotel has unique stories, amenities, and experiences to share. Use storytelling to create compelling narratives that capture your audience’s interest. 

Highlight guest experiences, special events, and behind-the-scenes stories to make your emails more engaging and memorable.

Here is what Maria Corpas, a copywriting expert from Hospitality and Travel, has to say about creating memorable emails and subject lines for guests.

4. Not Finding the Right Balance

Striking the right balance between promotional content and valuable information is key. Overloading guests with promotions can lead to them unsubscribing from all your communications.

You want to create a pleasant experience for your guests, which means is not always about selling, it is also about helping them find the best ways to enjoy the city, helping them to get to your property, extra details about the weather, and more. 

Mix in helpful tips, local guides, and interesting content that adds value to your guests, keeping them engaged and more likely to book. This balance ensures your emails are seen as a valuable resource rather than just another sales pitch.

For advice on balancing promotional and informative content in your emails, check out how to target the right guest with the right campaign.

5. Choosing the Wrong Channel

Email is a powerful channel, but it’s not always the right one for every message. Today there are more options, such as instant messaging, that match better the intention of certain messages.  

Choosing the right channel is crucial to ensure deliverability and response. And to decide which channel to use you should consider your audience and the type of message you are trying to send. For example, if it’s a more urgent matter, you might have better results using WhatsApp than an email. 

To understand more about choosing the right communication channel for your messages, watch the video from our expert, Isabel.

6. Not Looking at Your KPIs

Failing to monitor your KPIs means missing out on insights that could improve your campaigns. 

Regularly review metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to understand what’s working and what isn’t. 

Use these insights to refine your strategy and achieve better results. Continuous monitoring and adjustment based on KPI analysis are crucial for the success of your email marketing efforts.

7. Not Iterating: Things Are Wrong but You Keep Going

If something is not working, you need to iterate. Continuing with the same strategies despite poor performance is a common mistake but iteration and optimisation will separate those who succeed from those who fail in email marketing.

Look at your KPIs and if your emails aren’t performing well, identify the issues, test new approaches, and make necessary adjustments. 

Regularly updating your tactics ensures you stay relevant and effective. Flexibility and willingness to change based on performance data can significantly improve your email marketing results.

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Two best practices to make your emails stand out

Use A/B Testing

A/B Testing is a powerful tool to optimise your campaigns. This involves creating two versions of an email and testing them against each other to see which performs better. 

The important thing to remember is that you should focus on one aspect at a time, such as subject lines, email copy, or call-to-action buttons. This approach helps identify what resonates most with your audience and enhances email effectiveness.

If you mix many changes, it will be difficult to attribute the improvement to a specific change and therefore you won’t know what to repeat. 

Use automation to reach guests at the right time and save time

Email marketing automation is perhaps a marketer’s best friend. By using these features, you can ensure you deliver the right at the right time for each guest, without you or your team having to spend hours on their guest communication. 

For example, Bookboost’s CRM allows you to create triggers to send emails right after a booking, X number of days before check-in, before check-out and more. In this way, emails will be sent without you having to change details or send them manually. 

Email marketing is part of a well-structured marketing strategy in a hotel. But to get the right results, you need to avoid these mistakes and look for ways to stand out among the other hospitality brands. 

For more information on email marketing strategies for the hospitality industry, read our detailed article on how to effectively use email marketing in hospitality in 2024.

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