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Three Reasons Your Hotel Blogs Shouldn’t Be about Your Hotel

Nov 30, 12 | 12:06 am

By Patrick

When you decide to create a blog for your hotel, one question will jump out at you straight away. ‘What do I write about?' The natural instinct is to write about the hotel itself. Every hotel has a story; they hold regular events, host a wide variety of guests and are never far from an interesting tale or two. It makes sense to write hotel blogs about hotels. Or does it?

Blogs Are Research Materials

It's important to understand why you're writing the blog, and who it is aimed at. Hotel blogs are successful marketing tools when they offer useful information for potential guests. The most common use of your blog will be as research material when planning a holiday. That means information about the area, information about upcoming events, or general travel tips will be far more helpful than the story of a stranger's wedding.

You also need to consider social media. If your blog provides useful information, insightful comment or amusing content, it becomes far more shareable. And social media shares are the first place potential guests are likely to hear about your hotel.

You Want to Be a Trusted Blog

Social media brings us to another reason you shouldn't just write your hotel blogs about your hotel. As well as being the first source, social shares are also the most trusted source of online research content. Your potential guests will trust their friends' recommendations first, then online reviews and then your sales material. You'll get a huge advantage if you can get your content into the first of those categories.

It's also important that your blog content help in building trust. If your blog just reads as a veiled sales pitch or positive review of the hotel, people will see through it very quickly. It may offer some promotion as a one off read, but it's unlikely to be shared and it's certainly unlikely to encourage subscriptions or return visits. That seriously limits the potential effectiveness of your hotel blogs.

What Your Other Content is For

The most important reason to write your hotel blogs about something other than your hotel is also a simple one. You already have plenty of promotional content that your blogs should point to. Your blog should build a rapport with your prospects, then invite them to browse the website or make a booking. Your blog promotes your other content, which promotes your hotel. Your blog is designed to broaden the content on offer, if it doesn't offer anything different then what is it for?

It can be difficult to decide what to write hotel blogs about. You don't need to think too far outside the box to come up with a great idea. But you do need to think outside your hotel.

Source: Kaptivating