Hotels’ direct sales strategies are increasingly taking into account factors that go beyond traditional price comparison exercises and times of the year. With the celebration of the iconic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this weekend, the season of music festivals around the world has officially opened.
Names like Tomorrowland, Primavera Sound, Benicassim or Glastonbury will be the absolute protagonists in online media and social networks in the coming months, which becomes a real opportunity that hotel professionals should seize.
And the fact is that festivals of our generation are far from the idea of camping and the music we have left from Woodstock or Lollapalooza, to give rise to events in which the hotels manage to hang the entire poster. We know firsthand the drama involved for many establishments to get closer to the so-called millennial, so thinkIN has set out to make an analysis of the possibilities offered by these events, in order to increase your sales as much as possible.
The perfect sstage to improve direct sales strategies
It is no invention to speak of the great expansion that has emerged in this market in recent years. It is estimated that there are currently about 870 festivals a year within our borders, attended by more than 3.5 million people – according to 2017 data-. Also, while we are accustomed to thinking that festivals have been created exclusively for teenagers, the reality is that the most representative segments range from 26 to 45 years.
These data open up a whole range of possibilities for hotels’ direct sales strategies. Festival audiences usually buy their tickets online, use the token system to buy food and drink at these events and use price comparators to find their accommodation. This means that they are not at all reluctant to the booking process through the Internet, which offers multiple alternatives to generate sales for the hotel. Precisely, we find some very frequent within the sector.
Sponsorship of the event
Your hotel brand can gain notoriety if the right sponsorship strategy is used. Let’s not forget that we don’t sell rooms but experiences, so using festivals to generate emotional marketing can be a great strategy.
Metasearch engine
Millennials wants to save and that’s why it uses portals like Trivago or Tripadvisor, in order to find that hidden jewel that offers the best quality-price. This is an opportunity to show the advantages of booking through your own website, always at the best price and with much more tempting cancellation policies.
Display
What would our sector be without this classic of online advertising? This technology helps to generate more notoriety for your brand -at least among those users who have ever been interested in the content of your hotel and your products-. Without a doubt, a real success for your direct sales strategy.
Communication on social networks
Nothing like a festival to make a millennial’s social networks burn, so it’s the perfect time to bring out your best artillery. Many hotels also collaborate with influencers, taking advantage of their time at certain festivals. In this way they can show both sides of the experience: the comfort and possibilities of the hotel; and, on the other hand, the fun and music of the event itself.
Promotional packages: accommodation + ticket
This is a very common pricing strategy that works especially well at established festivals such as Primavera Sound or Mad Cool. Not only does it allow the hotel to promote this type of package, but the festival website itself helps to generate reservations at the time of purchase of the ticket.
The booking engine: a fundamental tool
In order for the direct sales strategy aimed at music festivals to be a success, it is necessary to have a good booking engine. This type of event works with acquisition peaks that last for almost a year: first, tickets are sold at a very low price and, as the line up becomes known, tickets go up more and more (and, sometimes, users’ eagerness to purchase them).
A good booking engine must be able to assume constant searches by users. Whether they purchase their accommodation separately or in one of those packages of room + ticket, buyers need guarantees of quality and ease of purchase. Similarly, and especially in high season, the hotelier will need an effective system to control their prices and organize their PMS without any margin for error.
A correct direct sales strategy requires a global vision and taking into account leisure opportunities such as music festivals can be a success. The season has just begun, but there are still many months ahead of us to work. We are sure that if you bet on them, you will be able to achieve great results.
