6 Hotel Marketing Tips for Valentine's Day

For most hotel marketing calendars, Valentine's Day is the first big event of the year. This holiday is a great time to promote special packages and offers for your guests to treat their significant other.

Promotion of Valentine's offers can start as early as the beginning of the year in some places—and it's not surprising why. Searches on Google for Valentine's Day start the day after Christmas, steadily increasing throughout January and then finally peaking on the 11th to 15th of February. Spending is also estimated to be increasing, with the average amount spent between 2009 and 2019 rising by $60. This is a holiday where people are searching and spending. It's the perfect opportunity for hotels to create themed offers to make the most of this increased demand.

Here are our 6 hotel marketing tips for creating Valentine's Day offers that drive revenue:

1. Promote unique gift vouchers

If your hotel offers gift vouchers, now is the perfect time to promote these. Vouchers make a great Valentine's Day gift as receivers can choose the gift and dates that suit them best. Make sure to highlight the benefits as well as terms for your gift vouchers, including the length of validity and what the voucher can be redeemed for, such as specific rates, spa treatments, restaurant credit etc.

60% of Gen Z and 56% of millennial social media users do holiday shopping via social channels. To capture the attention of this audience, remember to promote your vouchers on your social channels.

2. Offer dining packages

A romantic brunch or dinner on Valentine's Day can go down as a treat. If you have a special Valentine's Day menu or dining arrangements, including cocktail specials or romantic desserts, highlight these on your website with a call to action to make a booking. Start promoting these early to capture the forward planners and to get spaces booked in advance.

And don’t forget that you may not only be catering to couples. For Valentine's Day, some may want to treat themselves, or perhaps some may want to offer a lovely gift to their parents or friends. Keep this in mind when you promote your vouchers. Like this, you can attract couples seeking romantic experiences, but also gift-givers and singles desiring a day of self-care and indulgence.

3. Target mobile gift shoppers

Searches for Valentine's Day really ramp up from the 11th to the 15th of February. This shows that a lot of people are looking for last-minute gifts, and many of them are doing this shopping right from their phones. Since most last-minute buys are made on mobile, it's key to make sure your hotel's Valentine's Day deals are easy to find and look great on both mobile and desktop. Even a simple, clear message sent through a mobile notification or a well-placed ad on social media can make a real difference. Remember, over half of your website traffic probably comes from mobile users. So, getting your offers in front of this big audience during these crucial few days can really boost your holiday bookings. Think about using direct and engaging messages like 'Last Chance for a Romantic Getaway!' or 'Valentine's Special: Book Now!' to catch those last-minute decision-makers.

4. Create Staycations and bundled offers

Experiences are amongst the most popular gifts for Valentine's Day. If you're looking to boost your revenue this Valentine's Day, creating experience bundles might be just the right approach. A romantic night away is a classic Valentine's Day gift and pairing this with a Staycation package or bundled offer with spa treatments, breakfast or a complimentary bottle of wine can take this to the next level. Bundled offers are a much better alternative to heavily discounting rates. They still provide a great experience and value to your guests—and often additional revenue to you as the hotel.

5. Personalise with date targeting

Date targeting can be used in a couple of clever ways to maximise your Valentine's Day sales. The first way is to target people searching for dates over and around Valentine's Day—including the weekend before and after. Messages for this audience should highlight your Valentine's Day offers, like packages, menus or upsells, so that they can book or add them as add-ons to their booking to make it extra special. The second way is to target people who are visiting your website in the days leading up to Valentine's Day. You're likely to have some last-minute gift shoppers whom you can show your Valentine's Day specials while emphasising the urgency around the last-minute gift giving too.

6. Think outside the box with pet-friendly Valentine's stays

Google has reported that people are also increasingly looking for Valentine's Day gifts for their pets. This combined with the increased demand for pet-friendly travel is a great opportunity to create some Pet-friendly Valentine's Day offers. This could include special treats for pets, like customised hotel merchandise or pet grooming.

When it comes to events, creating a different approach for these compared with your normal promotions is important. These events can help your hotel to stand out but also offer unique experiences that your guests are looking for. By understanding what your guests want and how to get your messages in front of them, you can create a successful holiday promotion. A combination of the tips and pushing these out on your hotel's channels will help you to achieve great results.

For any help creating unique holiday campaigns for your hotel, contact us via the live chat on our website or at welcome@hotelchamp.com.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2022 and has been refreshed and updated for accuracy and new best practices.