Seeing bookings slow down because of seasonality can be hard. It doesn’t have to be. Here are some marketing and revenue management tips to lift occupancy and maintain revenue during the low period.

1. Create Packages and Promotions to Peak Interest

You don’t have to lower your prices to attract an audience. In fact, in the low season with a drop in occupancy you may not be able to sell enough to compensate the decrease in revenue.

Offer package deals with add-ons to add value. These are easily added via your STAAH Max booking engine and great way to up-sell. For instance, you could add complimentary breakfast or spa as an incentive to book. Promotions can also be pushed out via Promo Codes on both the STAAH booking engines – ConvertDirect and Max.

2. Understand Your Audience and Build a Loyalty Programme

Pull out your database of existing customers, find the frequent visitors and attract them with deals. If you’ve invested in a loyalty programme, the low season would be the time leverage it. Giving loyal customers a value-add in the low season is a win-win for all – the guest is happy to get the experience and you get customers through the door when you need them.

3. Attract Local Events and Seminars

If you have the capacity, host events and conferences at your property. This can help attract corporate clients during the low season as they are familiar with your property.

4. Organise Your Finances Ahead of Time

If you have a seasonal business, you are no doubt always trying to plan ahead and trying to figure out what are the best options for your ‘off season’. What you do during the off season depends a lot on how well your business performs in season. Do you make enough money during your peak season that you don’t have to worry about additional sources of income during the rest of the year?

Reaching such a scenario requires a smart revenue management strategy. For instance, stretch your calendar availability to 12 months + and incentivise early bookers. Dynamic pricing and yielding management is important to help you build a pricing strategy that is reflective of all seasons. Competitor tracking is crucial when it comes to setting prices and packages for the low season.

5. Push Hard on Social Media

Even though you may be having a bit of down time, it is still best to keep up to date with your social media content to keep people’s interest and stay in front of potential visitors. Content is king! Keep up with the imagery, video content as well as any of your promotions you have over the off-season. Spread the word across all channels and engage with your audience. You can also use this time to follow up with previous visitors if you need to.

Brainstorm new strategies and start working on ways to get more people into your door once the peak season arrives. Start getting the word out about your business before the peak season. Try to get a step ahead of your competition while you have the time to think about these types of things.

6. Keep Your Website and Business Listings up to Date

Keep your online presence up to date in the off-season. Tell your audience why they need to come and stay at your hotel in the off-season over others. What can you offer them? Provide information about local activities, restaurants, promotions and events to increase the buzz and excitement of what is on offer.

Do you know other tips to increase your property’s bookings during the low-season? Tell us about it at marketing@staah.com.

This article was originally published by STAAH. For more hotelier tips, trends, and news please click here.