Plan for the Future: A Hotel Referral Program After COVID-19

Since COVID-19 has everyone under stay-at-home orders until at least May, hotel owners need to use this time to plan for the future. 

Once things settle down and consumers revert back to their traditional habits, this is where a hotel referral program can reel them back in. A customer referral program for hotels is the best way to reward a guest for booking a room, but in the process, the guest also rewards someone in their own community by passing the benefits along. 


So, if you’re wondering what steps you can take to be proactive and increase referrals for hotels all at once, here’s what you need to do: 

Start Working On Your Brand Reputation

Before you start worrying about bringing guests back to your hotel, your first priority should be to work on your brand reputation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 


More than anything, consumers are watching businesses like a hawk, assessing which brands are doing their part to curb COVID-19’s effects and helping to solve the problem, rather than add to it. For example, rather than taking a huge salary, many CEOs of companies are foregoing their salary for a year in order to help cover employee wages and benefits since many people have been laid off. Other major hotel chains in COVID-19 hotspots are even turning their locations into quarantine centers to help sick patients self-isolate and take on the overflow of nearby hospitals and treatment facilities. 

Now, you may not be able to lend a hand in the same fashion, but what you can do is show consumers that you’re doing your part. The key to a customer referral program for hotels is to first set the pace for consumers to follow. On social media, start letting your followers know what measures you’re taking to keep your hotel safe and in compliance with any citywide mandates. Next, showcase how you treat your hotel employees and share what decisions you’ve had to make to ensure the stability and success of your business. If that means closing down for a period of time, then be transparent with consumers and use it to your advantage. 

The truth is that many businesses are suffering because of COVID-19, but if you can find a common thread for consumers to connect with, you’ll be able to bounce back with a relationship that you can transform into a hotel referral program for the future. 

Leveraging Social Media, Email and SMS Marketing to Increase Referrals for Hotels

Once you share your story with consumers, your next step is to leverage social media, email and SMS marketing to increase referrals for hotels. 


A mentioned before, start by posting on various social media accounts any offers or promotions you have in mind to launch your hotel referral program. You could create your own hotel referral program by using referral codes or a points system and then post a link online for customers to sign up through. Perhaps you could even offer a special discount for guests who sign up and book their first room—a nice way to reward people for taking the first step to getting back out into the world after COVID-19. In any case, what matters is that you initiate the process by keeping people informed and offering them value upfront. 

Aside from social media, you can then use email and SMS marketing for hotels to kickstart your customer referral program for hotels. For instance, by using your existing contact list prior to COVID-19, use a newsletter or mass email to reconnect with everyone and share information about your hotel referral program. Use the message to explain what benefits you are offering hotel guests and when you plan to have your business up and running. You can achieve the same message through SMS marketing—sending personalized text messages to consumers with links encourage them to get involved. In fact, open rates for SMS are above 90%, which means your attempts to increase referrals for hotels won’t go unnoticed as opposed to email or social media efforts. 

Regardless of what route you choose, just make sure to get your message out there and invite hotel guests to get involved.

BuzzyBooth Can Boost Your Customer Referral Program for Hotels

After all, as more time passes and people keep at bay, it leaves more time for your business to fall by the wayside. To avoid that problem, do your best to keep on everyone’s radar—BuzzyBooth can help!

You can boost your customer referral program for hotels by taking advantage of hotel marketing services that make connecting with the public simple. From user-generated content to building fast, effective lists for email and SMS blasts, BuzzyBooth has you covered. 



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