6 Hotel Giveaway Ideas And How To Ensure They’re Successful

Do you want more people to be interested in staying at your hotel? To get people to walk in through the front door, you need to do more than just raising awareness about your hotel. You’ll be competing with top hotels with strong social media presences, established names, and more. In an environment that’s so competitive, what can you do to stand out?

Everyone loves a freebie! Offering gifts to your guests will make them eager to visit and stay at your hotel, while simultaneously raising awareness of your brand.  The investment is small – just one complimentary night’s stay – in exchange for a tremendous boost in exposure. Giveaways are an effective way to connect with more people and show them what you have to offer.

If you’ve never done a giveaway for your hotel before, then this guide could be exactly what you’re looking for.

Six Giveaway Ideas For Hotels

There are several ways you can host giveaways at your hotel. Here are five ideas for you to try.

Idea 1: Online sweepstakes

The first idea is simple, and requires your hotel to have a social media presence. You don’t need a strong social media following – but hosting a giveaway is easier through social media than other platforms.

Through your business social media account, announce that you’ll be hosting sweepstakes. Encourage people to participate by sharing the post, ask them to leave a comment on the post and also, tag a friend. That way, you’ll be able to get a lot of people interested in the sweepstakes.

Host your giveaway on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but don’t restrict it to just online participants. Invite past guests of your hotel to join in too through your regular newsletter.

Ideas for a hotel sweepstakes:

  • A free night’s stay
  • A dinner for two at your restaurant
  • An upgrade to a suite

Idea 2: Loyalty rewards programs

How do you go about implementing a rewards program? Of course getting new guests through the door is important, but you shouldn’t forget your old guests either. This is where a loyalty rewards program comes in. Provide guests with a loyalty card. Every time they come back to stay with you, they gather more points on their loyalty card. Once they reach a certain number of points, they are entitled to certain rewards courtesy the hotel.

Build a program that rewards your guests for staying with you more often. If a guest stays with you three times, they could win free meals for the rest of their stay. A guest who regularly stays with you, after gathering a certain number of loyalty points, can win a free night’s stay at the hotel.

It’s best to consider what your guests would want as rewards, and add them to your loyalty rewards program.

Idea 3: Onsite events with prizes

For the guests who are currently staying with you, onsite events could be a great form of engagement. Celebrate events in your hotel – from national holidays, to special events. During these events, you can have quizzes, a lucky draw, fun games, and more, that people can win prizes from.

Your event will attract the attention of the local community as well. Post pictures of your event on your business social media, to encourage more people to visit your next event. Then, you’ll have more people interested in staying the night, or attending your other events.

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Idea 4: Social media contests

These days, people look for hotels they want to stay in, online. Social media plays a huge role in getting people interested in hotels. People who are looking for a place to stay are likely to search online first. By creating a contest on your social media profile, you’re likely to engage with more potential customers.

You can get people to share your content, if they want to participate in the contest. This helps you build brand awareness without needing to pay for an expensive advertising campaign. Create a hashtag for your hotel, that you can ask people to share in order to enter.

They key here is to provide exciting , engaging prizes for your contest. That way, you’ll entice more people to participate.

Idea 5: Local community participations

The local community is just as important as your guests, especially if your hotel has a restaurant as well. People who live in the local community may be interested in eating at your hotel, or some people might even want to stay at your hotel. When visiting friends and family come to town, they may be searching for a place to stay. In this case, it is essential that your hotel has the trust of locals who can recommend your establishment.

Attend local fairs and even get a booth for your hotel. Bring along branded pens, notepads and even calendars, that you can give to the people at the fair. Be a part of the community, and you’ll see that the returns you get are better than anything you could’ve expected.

Idea 6: Referral program giveaway

Referral programs can also be a great way to gain more customers and foster loyalty. Ask your existing guests to refer their friends and family members, in exchange for exclusive rewards. Offer discounts on rooms, restaurants or other services for successful referrals. You could also consider a point-based system that gives rewards depending on how many people they refer.

Creating a referral program that offers discounts and other rewards will help you bring in more people, while also rewarding your existing guests. It’s an excellent way to create goodwill and build loyalty among customers who are already familiar with your hotel.

Tips For Ensuring Giveaway Success

Now that you know you want to host a giveaway, here are five tips on how you can make that happen.

Tip 1: Set clear goals and objectives

The first thing you should do is note down what you’re expecting from the event. Do you want to get more people to come in? Build brand awareness? Write down what you want to achieve through your giveaway. When you know what the goal is, you can better chart a path towards that goal.

For example, if you want more people to come in, then make sure that the prize is something that’ll attract them. If you have a restaurant, then giving away free meals or discounts for two could be a great way of luring in customers.

Tip 2: Establish rules and regulations for your giveaway

Before starting your giveaway, you should create rules and regulations that everyone should follow. An example is where guests have to like, share and comment on the giveaway post, to be counted in for the giveaway. This will help you get more engagement on your post.

Tip 3: Take advantage of cross-promotion

Promote your hotel through your giveaways. Include information on what your hotel offers, what guests can expect, and why they should come to your hotel. Cross-promotion helps you to market your hotel to potential clients, while also hosting a giveaway.

For example, if you’re giving away a free night’s stay, be sure to add images of your hotel and its amenities. This way, people can get a better idea of what they might enjoy should they enter the giveaway.

Tip 4: Promote the giveaway on multiple platforms

Your giveaway shouldn’t just be on a single platform. Make use of your business social media profiles to promote your giveaway, and attract the attention of users across various platforms. This will help to create more buzz around the event, and make it even more successful.

For example, you can use your Facebook and Instagram accounts to let people know about the giveaway. You can also use hashtags on Twitter, or reach out to influencers who can help you spread the word.

Tip 5: Track progress and update giveaways regularly

You should also ensure that you’re monitoring the response to the giveaway. How many people have participated? Did anyone share the information about the giveaway? Can you incorporate the giveaway into your SEO strategy?

To understand how successful your giveaways are for your business, set measurable key performance indicators. This will help you optimise your approach and make sure the giveaway is as successful as possible.

Remember that if you are going to regularly host giveaways, you need to keep things fresh by regularly changing them up. You also need to engage with those who take part in them so that if on this chance they didn’t win, they’ll be more excited to enter the next.

A great by-product of hosting giveaways is you’re able to build strong customer relationships while creating brand recognition and loyalty. So make sure to focus on creating a memorable and enjoyable experience for your guests.

Giveaways are an excellent way to promote your hotel, create goodwill and build loyalty among customers. By following these five tips – setting clear goals, establishing rules, cross-promoting your hotel, promoting the giveaway across multiple platforms and tracking progress through measurable KPIs – you can ensure that your giveaways will be successful for your business. So take the plunge and start planning your hotel’s next giveaway today.

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About the author

Kendra, the Marketing Content Manager at Preno, brings her expertise in Marketing and Communications to help hoteliers stay ahead of the curve. With a deep passion for the industry, she is committed to providing valuable insights and strategies for success.

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