With Christmas hustle and bustle around the corner, now is the perfect time to consider winter booking tactics.
We understand that the winter season can be uncertain. Summer’s peak is a distant memory and there’s different hurdles to overcome. But be assured that SuperControl is here to support your business. Below you can find our guide to winter bookings, that’ll be sure to help you sleigh ahead of the game…
Peaks and troughs
Winter is full of peaks and troughs. While it’s certainly less hectic than the summer season, there are several occasions in the upcoming calendar to consider. Harness your properties’ marketing strategy and consider visibility tactics to make the most of the October break, February half-term holiday and Valentine’s Day. Of course, Christmas is not to be forgotten. With travellers dreaming of a picturesque snowy escape to complement Santa sacks and the inevitable cheese board feast, you have a prime opportunity to position your property around this vision. It might only be October, but now is the time to update your promotional materials in line with your potential guest’s mindset.
Favour flexibility
Welcome the return of weekend stays. At this time of year, travellers prefer weekend escapes over weeklong breaks. Flexibility is key. Consider adapting your flexibility around arrival and departure dates during winter to encourage further bookings. Adapting your arrival and departure policy is super simple with SuperControl, and you can customise this throughout the winter months to best suit your business’s needs. You also have an opportunity to charge a premium rate when guests opt to arrive over a weekend. You can utilise SuperControl’s booking extras to put this tactic into action.
Perfectly priced
Winter offers plenty of special occasions which require special pricing. Bookers are willing to pay premium prices to secure their desired dates, especially if these are across the Christmas period. You need to adapt and flex your pricing throughout this season. January will result in an inevitable lull, but you have small windows of opportunity to offset this by pricing effectively for peak dates. If you opt to price your properties manually, SuperControl’s special pricing feature has got you covered. Alternatively, you can utilise dynamic pricing with Beyond. Beyond pricing automates the heavy admin task of manually pricing your properties into 365 days of evolving price optimisation and automatically pushes those rates into your SuperControl account.
Demand and distribution
How can potential guests find you? Visibility is a must during the winter months. If you’ve already deployed direct booking promotional tactics such as SEO, advertising, social media and website optimisation, now is the time to consider the power of booking channels. In the modern world, many travellers want a quick, simple and user-friendly solution. Booking channels increase your property’s visibility but also its credibility. Guests recognise and trust big brand names such as booking.com and Airbnb, and you can use this to your advantage. SuperControl’s channel manager can help you to reach customers at the right time, price, and place.
Marketing magic
Your marketing database acts as a vault to winter booking success. Entice repeat business by communicating with guests that have stayed with you in previous years. Unexpected surprises such as Christmas cards and special offers add a touch of magic during the festivities. Preplanning auto email marketing campaigns can save you bucketloads of time and open up a channel of communication with potential bookers.
Are you interested to learn more about how SuperControl can support your business during winter and beyond? Get in touch today.
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