It’s a fact that WhatsApp is one of the main digital communication channels in the world: 2 billion people use the app in more than 180 countries. It’s hard to find someone that doesn’t communicate through this channel.
But do hotels and vacation rentals use WhatsApp? Well, if they don’t, they should!
This is a platform that travelers use and a place you can build close relationships and increase direct bookings. Not using this messaging app means leaving money on the table.
In this post, you’ll find 10 WhatsApp tips and tricks to help you generate more revenue for your hospitality business.
How can I use WhatsApp to attract more customers to my hotel or vacation rental?
Even hoteliers who understand WhatsApp’s potential for sales and customer experience still hesitate to adopt this platform in their strategies. They consider it hard to manage since it requires organization, availability, and the ability to respond quickly.
Through WhatsApp Business, you can:
- Create a catalog to showcase your products and services
- Interact with your customers
To help hospitality businesses take full advantage of WhatsApp, we invited two experts to share their best practices and practical tips and tricks to get more results: Daniela Derin (partner of Skol Apartments Marbella Holidays) and Idoia Herrero (Business Development Manager at Asksuite).
Are you interested in learning even more about how to use WhatsApp to boost direct bookings? Download our free e-book now!
WhatsApp tips and tricks for hotels and vacation rentals by Daniela Derin
Daniela Derin is a partner at Skol Apartments Marbella Holidays, and Chapter Leader for RaizUP. Daniela’s mission has been making people happy since 1998 by finding them the perfect home, tailoring their special holiday, or organizing their big day.
Here are Daniela’s 5 WhatsApp tips and tricks for hotels and vacation rentals:
1 – Install WhatsApp on your website so guests can reach you at all times.
2 – Use WhatsApp Business and fill up the catalog with attractive pictures of your hotel, inside and outside, things to do, colorful food, and people having fun in your pool, garden, lobby, or rooftop. Showcase your USP!
3 – Upload 3 to 7 statuses a day. You can repurpose Instagram/Facebook status to save time. It’s better to add music to it to really get travelers into a “holiday mood”.
4 – Depending on the size of your business, it might be a good idea to set up an automatic reply.
5 – People love WhatApp because they feel they’re getting special attention. They feel like friends. Since we’re in a people’s business, it makes total sense to build relationships with our guests there.
WhatsApp tips and tricks for hotels and vacation rentals by Idoia Herrero
Idoia Herrero is currently helping hotels to boost direct bookings and augment the customer experience as Business Development Manager based in Spain for Asksuite. She’s been a big advocate of Diversity & Social Impact inspired by volunteering in local entities since a young age. Currently Chapter Leader for RaizUP Spain, she also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism & Hospitality Management.
Here are Idoia’s 5 WhatsApp tips and tricks for hotels and vacation rentals:
1- Do you have a different reservations department and in-house guest experience team? A best practice is to have different accounts for pre-stay communication and in-house guests. Each phase will require having specialized answers.
2- Standardize template messages for WhatsApp to quickly resolve Frequently Asked Questions (location, types of rooms, number of adults, etc.) and generate more direct bookings (special offers, discounts, and more), and ancillary revenue (upsells, cross-sells, transfers).
3- Set up WhatsApp Business (free) to configure a professional account. WhatsApp Business allows your potential guests to check your contact details and customer service hours.
4- Regardless if WhatsApp Business is used or not, create the WhatsApp share link following this combination: https://wa.me/<number>. For <number>, write your telephone number without the country code. Use this URL to redirect guests from other communications channels like Instagram profile (add the link in your BIO) or email (signature) to WhatsApp.
5- Never forget the team! Create procedures and special training for your hotel team to maximize the use of WhatsApp. Keep the motivation up by implementing a reward system when securing direct bookings, great feedback, or ancillary revenue via WhatsApp.
WhatsApp hacks to promote your accommodation
Whatsapp is known as an effective communication channel. At the end of 2020, WhatsApp was exchanging about 100 billion messages a day.
But more than that, in the hospitality industry, it’s a powerful sales channel. Take advantage of this sense of familiarity with the app and make your business available to them.
We hope these hacks will help you grow your hospitality business. Let us know in the comments which tip you’ll be adopting from now on!
Skyrocket your revenue by redirecting marketing campaigns through WhatsApp and tracking every action. Now, hoteliers get to send bulk messages using Asksuite’s platform with the possibility of managing and tracking every action: [Learn more here]
