• by Dave Spector , September 22, 2014

Remember when all you needed was a cool lunchbox and a No. 2 pencil to be ready for the new school year? Those were the days!

Now you’re a hotel marketer and your list of needs seems endless. 

As we head into the Fall season, which for many means businesses conferences, wedding bookings for spring and holiday party planning, you’re bound to be busier than ever. 

However, when you look at your marketing activities, you might notice that it resembles your old school schedule:

English 101: Tell a Compelling and Succinct Story

Back in English class, you learned to grab readers early and engage them. Your marketing messages have the same goal. Back in the day, it was your teacher’s job to read your work. Now, your customers can easily click to a competitor or OTA site. Keep your messages succinct and interesting to arrest your prospects and keep them coming back. 

Science 101: Experiment for breakthroughs

In school, you spent the year learning basic scientific rules and concepts. You learned to apply these principals in the lab. You learned the scientific method for learning what works and what doesn’t. You learned to test your own hypothesis.

The same applies when you have a theory on how to improve your hotel’s marketing. Until you experiment for yourself, you’ll never know if your theory is correct. Make sure your marketing programs are measurable and repeatable.

Math 101: The common denominator of success

Unlike other subjects, math is black and white. You either know the answer or you don’t. You can not avoid filling in the blank after an equals sign. Similarly, hotel owners want solid math skills from their management teams… they expect their sales and marketing leaders to contribute to revenue in a measurable way, communicate in number-speak and be accountable for tangible results. 

History 101: Is history repeating itself?

“History repeats itself,” as the saying goes. We can learn from the past.

Similarly, your hotel’s past results also provide valuable lessons for the future. If every weekend in December and January has been slow for the past four years, its easy to see that this coming year will be the same unless you do something to fix it. If every weekend is busy, but you don’t adjust your rates to maximize your yield, you lose out on potential income.

What was your favorite and least subject in school?

Do you feel yourself gravitating to one area of your marketing because of it? Look at your marketing plan… are you ignoring your weaker subjects? Let us know in the comments below.