Do hospitality trends in 2016 include SMS messaging?
On Hospitalitynet.org I found an article and an infographic predicting the marketing trends for hotels in 2016. I read through the text of the article, then reviewed the infographic. I felt very confused. You’ll see why in a moment.
The first trend listed was “Mobile Dominates”. Absolutely! Yes, of course! It said that 21% of bookings now take place on mobile devices on average.
The next trends all made sense too, from relationship marketing to consumer generated content. But nowhere, not even in the mobile section – or the relationship section – did I see a mention of SMS marketing.
Its absence is was what confused me. From the research I’ve done, SMS messaging and hotels are a perfect pair. Like fish and chips. Or cheese and biscuits. But I began to doubt what I knew and furiously started researching again. Here’s what I found.
"SMS is Outpacing Email for Outreach"
Another article on hospitalitynet.org I found was entitled “Why Companies are Adopting Mobile Marketing, and Why You Should, Too”. The second reason given was that SMS is a better way to connect with customers than email. The author quotes a study showing that mobile consumers are “eight times more likely to engage a brand via text than email”.
Reason number three revolved around personalised content. SMS is arguably the most personal channel a marketer can have with a consumer, and when you send personal content via SMS you’ll make a special connection that isn’t possible via other electronic means.
The fifth and final reason addressed real-time location services. Many different technologies can use location based services, including SMS.
Goodbye in-room telephones
Among the list of “new innovations” listed in another hotel trend list I found on The Telegraph was the idea that SMS messaging would replace all phones in hotel rooms. If you want room service, extra pillows, or a wake-up call you’ll simply text the request to the hotel instead. It specifically refers to a new hotel set to open this year in Palm Springs. The whole concept for the hotel is from a former Facebook employee, now millionaire. The use of SMS messaging for hotel communication is just one example of how this new hotel will apply technology.
Big money investments
Expedia.com recently announced a $9.5 million (£6.7M) investment into a software-as-a-service hotel platform called Alice. One of the key features of the software is the integrated text messaging services. Guests can send requests via text message even before they arrive. The hotels can also text guests before arrival to see if they have any special requirements. During their stay they have the option of how to communicate, with SMS being a primary option.
Even more confusion
In my research I also came across the same infographic on many other sites. Quite a few of them had titles and content discussing the growth of SMS in the hotel industry. Yet the infographic doesn’t say anything about SMS – only mobile in relation to other types of marketing.
It’s all very puzzling, but that’s content on the internet for you. Finally, I made one last examination of the infographic and decided to go to the original source. It’s a hotel marketing company called NetAffinity. The article on hospitalitynet.org was a promotional content piece (as many are on the site) for the company. So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see they offer every service listed on the infographic as a marketing trend. What they don’t offer (as far as I can see on their website) is SMS messaging. Mystery solved.
SMS is indeed still a great combination for hotels and hotel services. And if the other articles and trends I found are to be believed, they might dominate hotel communications in the not-so-distant future. What do you think?
Related Articles
How the Travel Industry can use A2P Messaging
The travel industry has made some inroads into using SMS messaging, but hasn’t yet taken real advantage of the potential of A2P messaging. Find out how it can be used to save time and provide the high-quality service today’s mobile travellers expect.
How Campsites Can Use SMS Messaging to Get New Business
The campervan and caravan industry grew 16% this past year. Campsite and holiday park owners can connect with the thousands of new travellers using SMS messaging. After all, 76% of travellers prefer to take their mobile on holiday rather than a friend.
5 Ways Guest Houses Can Benefit from SMS Marketing
5 Ways Hotels Can Use SMS Marketing to Increase Brand Loyalty
More and more industries are tuning in to the advantages that SMS marketing can offer their business. SMS marketing is not only useful for acquiring new customers, it can be used to increase brand loyalty as well. This is particularly true for the hospitality industry, which faces challenges unique from other industries, in that they are on the front line when it comes to delivering customer service.
What Hotel Impossible Taught Me about SMS Marketing
In Hotel Impossible, Anthony Melchiorri saves struggling hotels. It turns out some of the advice he gives them could make you a lot more money. It’s all about marketing and knowing where to get the best ROI. Read the blog to see if you’re spending in the right places.
Building an SMS Inbound Marketing Campaign for Your Hotel Business
SMS flies under many marketers radars when it comes to building an inbound marketing strategy. But if Buzzfeed's news app is to be believed, there are days when SMS generates the greatest percentage of shares on that channel, beating out Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and email. SMS share buttons are reported to have been used 4 times more than Twitter buttons. When you consider Twitter has 317 million active users, then SMS marketing has huge potential for a hotel business.
SMS Messaging for Cafes and Restaurants
With more and more people than ever before eating out and sampling food from around the world in eateries up and down the country, the restaurant sector is booming. But if you're operating a small business in the hospitality sector, you need to make sure that you keep your premises as full and thriving as possible in order to pay your bills and keep the enterprise sustainable. That's where SMS messaging comes in. In this blog post, we will look at ways you can use SMS messaging to make your business processes more efficient, boost your customer numbers and become the most popular place in town.
5 Ways the Travel Industry can Make Use of SMS Marketing
In order to appeal to new customers and interact with existing ones, businesses are always looking for new marketing methods. Whilst many companies are using traditional and online marketing techniques, these aren’t always effective. Email filtering, for example, means that many recipients may not even be aware that they’ve received contact from your company. As many email hosts provide in-built spam filters, it’s easy for email marketing content to be overlooked or ignored completely. SMS marketing, however, overcomes many of the obstacles associated with online and email marketing. Whilst potential customers may not see your company emails, SMS messages aren’t filtered in the same way. The delivery rate is, therefore, far higher for SMS messages in comparison to marketing emails.
Hotels Use SMS Messaging to Head Off Bad Reviews
Online travel and review sites are great for travellers. They are good for hotels too, but they offer a double edged sword. User reviews are unfiltered – that is the travellers can say whatever they like both good and bad. And managing a bad review can be difficult, but how can SMS help?
Restaurants And Takeaway Businesses Increase Profits With SMS Marketing
Your customers are likely thinking about food at certain times of the day, and at those times their phone is almost certainly within arms reach. Using SMS marketing you can time your messages perfectly because you know that the time you send them is the time they get read, usually within 2 minutes.