Luxury Resort & Hotel Marketing: 5 Steps for Success

With 94% of Americans choosing to travel this year, there’s no doubt they’re seeking an experience to remember forever. They want great amenities in wonderful locations in not-so-crowded areas for their social media. They expect 5-star service and look for adventure through outdoor activities, visiting cultural attractions, and enjoying live entertainment. 

As discerning travelers increasingly seek exclusive experiences, personalized services, and opulent amenities, crafting a compelling marketing narrative becomes essential for luxury resorts and hotels to capture the attention of this elite clientele to increase bookings and grow business. 

Whether you’re a seasoned player in luxury marketing and advertising or a newcomer looking to make a mark, these steps and strategies are designed to help you create an impactful and memorable presence in the world of luxury travel.

How Do You Define a Luxury Hotel or Resort?

Luxury resorts and hotels are more than just accommodations; they are immersive experiences that cater to discerning clientele seeking exclusivity, exceptional service, and unique amenities. To effectively market to this elite demographic, it’s crucial to understand their expectations.

According to TEGNA’s latest e-book, “Taking Off: Understanding Today’s Leisure Traveler,” affluent consumers prioritize personalized services, exclusive experiences, and breathtaking Instagrammable locations when choosing a luxury resort – and they will pay more for these options.

Additional research shows that 58% of affluent travelers would spend more money on unique destinations and experiences. They also desire distinctive experiences that bring them closer to nature or take them to remote destinations (31%). They are searching for personalized tours or other customized travel encounters facilitating connections with local culture and the environment.

• Pro Marketing Tip: While price can be a factor in luxury purchases, focusing solely on discounts or promotions can cheapen the perception of your brand. Lean on exclusivity and quality.

How Do You Market Luxury Resorts?

The first aspect of marketing is all about creating visibility and bringing awareness to your luxury resort. If travelers don’t know your resort exists, how will they know to book with you? With all the information clearly visible (for example, on your website) and a clever campaign that reaches the right audience at the right time and with the right message, affluent travelers are more likely to find and book with you.

Creating a great campaign, however, requires a nuanced and strategic approach. It involves extensive audience/customer research, crafting the perfect message, incorporating the right media mix, and measuring all the results for future optimizations.

What is the Luxury Hotel and Resort Marketing Mix?

The marketing mix, often called the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion), is a framework businesses use to create and implement effective marketing strategies. Regarding luxury hotel and resort marketing, these principles are applied with a focus on delivering a high-end and exclusive experience.

Product

Luxury hotels and resorts offer top-notch services, amenities, and a unique, exclusive experience. This includes luxurious accommodations, fine dining, spa services, personalized customer service, and attention to detail. Luxury establishments often invest in building a reputation for excellence, exclusivity, and uniqueness. This can be achieved through architectural design, interior decor, and the overall ambiance.

Price

Luxury hotels and resorts typically charge premium prices for their services. The pricing strategy reflects the exclusivity and high-quality offerings. The target market is willing to pay more for a superior experience.

Place

Strategic Locations: Luxury hotels are often situated in prime locations, such as upscale neighborhoods, iconic landmarks, or beautiful natural settings. The choice of location contributes to the overall experience and exclusivity.

Promotion

In addition to the marketing channels we’ll discuss in the next section, luxury hotels utilize high-end travel agencies, exclusive booking platforms, and partnerships to reach their target audience. Online presence is essential, but the emphasis is on maintaining a sense of exclusivity. Luxury hotels often partner with high-end brands, celebrities, or influencers to enhance their image and reach a wider audience.

The Best Channels to Market Luxury Hotels and Resorts

Marketing luxury hotels and resorts involve reaching high-net-worth individuals who appreciate exclusivity and exceptional experiences. Choosing the right channels is crucial for effectively communicating the unique offerings of luxury establishments. Here are some of the best channels to market luxury hotels and resorts:

Television

Television remains an effective way to reach not only a large audience but also an affluent one. By offering a high-quality visual experience, audiences are drawn in and captivated. TV advertising also offers a degree of credibility and trustworthiness, thanks to the halo effect.

Streaming

Also known as OTT and CTV advertising, this type of advertising allows luxury brands to extend the reach of a broadcast TV campaign to cord-cutters and cord-nevers. Streaming also allows extensive targeting capabilities, allowing luxury brands to target a more niche audience of affluent travelers. 

Digital

A strong online presence to complement your complete TV campaign is essential. Utilize visually appealing digital and banner ads on relevant websites, create engaging content, and optimize your content for search engines to ensure your luxury resort is easily discoverable in the digital landscape.

Cross-Channel

The best approach for many marketing campaigns involves a mix of advertising channels. Luxury resorts will see the best results when they use the power of video to compel audiences across broadcast and streaming TV, as well as digital channels.

Luxury Resort & Hotel Marketing Steps for Success

Marketing luxury resorts and hotels require a strategic approach to attract high-end clientele seeking exclusive experiences. Here are steps for success in marketing luxury resorts and hotels:

1. Define Target Market

The first step to any marketing campaign is to understand your audience. In this case, it’s an affluent, wealthy person who enjoys travel for various reasons. You’ll want to create persona profiles and use existing data, if available, to get to know your luxury clientele better. With a better understanding of your target audience, you can craft creativity and tailor your strategy to their preferences, ensuring your resort stands out in a competitive market.

2. Consider Every Step of the Guest Journey

Taking Off: Understanding Today’s Leisure Traveler found that Americans on vacation seek stress relief and relaxation. The survey also validated that top-notch service and cleanliness are paramount to today’s travelers, especially in this post-COVID world. Travel brands would do well to highlight the seamlessness of their experience from booking to checkout and emphasize that they offer a no-stress experience before, during, and after booking. 

3. Create a Media Plan

What are the optimal locations for placing your advertisements to achieve the most favorable outcomes? Developing a media plan entails understanding your target audience, campaign objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs), and customizing your media placements and messaging to effectively reach the appropriate audience at the right moment with the desired reach and frequency. For instance, through audience research, you may discover that local broadcast TV is the most effective means of reaching the Boomer demographic. A well-crafted media plan also incorporates an annual marketing budget, facilitating the strategic allocation of resources.

4. Craft Creative Ads

Our travel survey found that 83% of consumers watch travel content, making video travel essential. Additionally, 79% find travel videos entertaining, 66% say they help them when planning vacations, and 60% feel they keep them informed on the latest travel trends.

But what do travel consumers want to see in travel and tourism advertising?

Design visually captivating and emotionally resonant visuals that highlight your luxury resort’s unique offerings – and exclusivity. Remember that Americans travel to reduce stress, relax, and improve their mood. It will be wise to highlight how stress-free their experience is and highlight a serene atmosphere and opportunities for relaxation as many travelers seek a break from their hectic lives.

Interested in more best practices for crafting the perfect ad creative? Click here to see tips and tricks from one of TEGNA’s best.

5. Test & Optimize Messaging

Continuously analyze the performance of your marketing efforts. Employ measurement instruments such as TEGNA Attribution, Google Analytics, and A/B testing to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns. Utilize these tools to gather data, assess metrics, and fine-tune your strategy based on immediate feedback. Regularly oversee the performance of your selected marketing channels, adjusting your plan to leverage successful tactics and enhance those that require improvement.

Luxury Hotel Marketing Strategies

Luxury hotel marketing involves implementing strategies that effectively target high-end consumers and showcase the exclusive offerings of the hotel. Remember, the key to successful luxury hotel marketing is to create a sense of exclusivity, deliver exceptional service, and effectively communicate the hotel’s unique offerings to the target audience. Here are some key strategies to consider:

1. Partner with Influencers

Partnering with influencers to authentically showcase your luxury resort can be beneficial in a number of ways. Influencers sharing their positive experience at a luxury resort adds authenticity and credibility to the resort’s brand, and their followers are more likely to trust these recommendations. Influencers also excel at creating visually appealing content that is highly shareable and can showcase the luxurious amenities, services, and experiences offered by the resort in a compelling way.

It’s important for luxury resorts to carefully select influencers whose brand aligns with their own and who have a genuine affinity for the luxury travel experience. Authenticity in influencer partnerships is key to ensuring the collaboration resonates with the influencer’s audience.

2. Promote Your Resort or Hotel on Local News

While the primary target audience for luxury resorts may be global, local news promotion can complement broader marketing strategies by creating a local presence, building relationships, and attracting visitors who may be influenced by regional coverage. For example, TEGNA’s local news stations are known for their affluent audience and provide an ideal platform for promoting luxury resorts. Other benefits include:

• Building Trust: Taking Off: Understanding Today’s Leisure Traveler found that local audiences believe local news educates and informs their travel plans, as 59% learn about nearby tourist activities, and 44% get tuned into the latest travel trends. Viewers also noted they trust local recommendations over national news.
• The Halo Effect: Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to trust – and buy from – brands that advertise alongside sources of information they trust, such as local TV news stations. The theory is that these brands benefit from the halo effect, which, in this case, can be described as the news’s positive influence on the brand advertiser.
• Commitment to the Community: Local news presence can foster positive relationships with local residents and businesses, leading to support and positive word-of-mouth.

3. Focus on the Customer Experience

Today, more and more travelers expect five-star service, even amid staffing shortages and the absence of a five-star rating. They are also in search of a stress-free and relaxing experience. Travel brands would do well to highlight the seamlessness of their experience from booking to checkout and emphasize that they offer a no-stress experience before, during, and after booking. 

4. Personalize the Campaign

Personalizing campaigns is crucial for several reasons, as it helps businesses connect with their audience on a more individual level and tailor messages to meet specific needs. This personalization can lead to an improved customer experience, increased engagement, higher conversion rates, enhanced brand loyalty, more precise audience targeting, and an optimized budget, and allows resorts to create more accurate and effective marketing strategies, ensuring that messages align with customers’ wants.

Personalization allows resorts to adapt quickly to changing trends and preferences, ensuring their campaigns remain relevant and effective. It can help create cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. But most importantly, when consumers experience tailored and thoughtful interactions, it reinforces a positive perception of the brand, differentiating it in a crowded market, and can lead to positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

5. Focus on Staycations

Taking Off: Understanding Today’s Leisure Traveler reveals that hometown tourists and staycations are on the rise, and travel and tourism brands will be wise to position marketing and advertising campaigns to attract locals looking to get away while staying closer to home. 

Consider marketing your luxury resort as the ultimate local getaway. Highlight exclusive amenities like spas and gourmet dining to attract staycationers.

6. Use Video Marketing

In the captivating realm of travel and tourism, where the allure of places near and far call out, the power of video advertising holds a remarkable sway. Visual content, such as videos and images, can captivate potential visitors and preview what they can expect. Therefore, a cross-platform strategy, including television, streaming, and digital video advertising, can reach a broad audience and effectively showcase your destination’s beauty and attraction

Help Travelers Get Away with TEGNA

At TEGNA, our ultimate goal is to equip brands with data and insights to inform and develop creative, then amplify those messages with cross-platform campaigns, including linear, streaming, and digital elements. With 64 broadcast stations in 51 markets nationwide, our unique content opportunities will connect your business to the audiences that matter most and deliver proven results. Let’s get in touch to see how we can help your brand grow with the power of TV advertising.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the target market for luxury hotels and resorts?

The target market for luxury hotels and resorts includes high-net-worth individuals, discerning travelers seeking exclusive experiences, and those who value personalized and premium services.

What do luxury tourists want in a hotel or resort?

Luxury tourists prioritize personalized services, exclusive experiences, breathtaking locations, high-end amenities, and exceptional customer service.

What’s the difference between a media plan for a luxury hotel and a standard hotel?

A media plan for a luxury hotel emphasizes premium channels, influencers, and platforms that cater to affluent audiences. It focuses on creating a sophisticated and exclusive image to attract high-end clientele, setting it apart from standard hotel marketing strategies.