Thousands of people travel to Saudi Arabia during the Hajj season for pilgrimage. Your hotel business must prepare months ahead to capitalise on the increasing demand for accommodations.
But with every hotel aiming to capitalise on this increase in demand, how can your business stand out to maximise the bookings?
And then there’s also the need to meet your guests’ expectations and avoid any operational issues that can land you in hot waters.
In this blog, we share some tips and tricks on how you can improve your hotel booking for a good pilgrimage season.
We also share some examples that you can apply to not only increase booking but also provide exceptional services.
Let’s get started.
What is the significance of Hajj and Umrah for hotel businesses?
Pilgrimage allows the local people to develop and share their culture. It is also an opportunity for tourists to see, celebrate and interact with a new culture.
Businesses are at the centre of this cultural union between locals and tourists. It is through these businesses that tourists get to perform their religious duties.
Especially the hotel business, as these provide much-needed shelter to the Muslim pilgrims coming for Saudi Arabia from around the globe.
But that’s not all.
Many Muslims visit Mecca as early as a month and a half before Hajj. They do so to supplicate and perform multiple Umrahs.
They look for hotels that are close to the Grand Mosque.
The Grand Mosque has 1000+ hotel properties, including many local small hotels.
So whether your hotel business is one of these or outside this area, hajj season is ideal to boost bookings.
How to get more bookings for your hotel during the pilgrimage season?
Peak season brings challenges that need special attention.
But it can all be a breeze with the right processes and communication system.
Here are some tips to get you more bookings this year.
1. Analyse your hotel
Doing a deep analysis of your hotel gives you the information you need to start making changes.
This includes understanding your hotel’s strengths and weaknesses to identify where your hotel needs to improve.
Understand your hotel’s strengths and weaknesses
Use a strategic planning tool like the SWOT analysis to identify internal and external factors affecting your hotel.
Here is how you can build yours:
- Define internal factors. Factors like service quality, marketing, human resource management and guest experience play a key role during Hajj.
- Define which external factors affect you. The competition around you will directly impact your prices. However, the prevailing political environment in Saudi Arabia can have an indirect impact.
- Figure out the current strengths of your business. Things like location, tech, customer reviews, loyal guests, an attractive website or an efficient operation.
- Write down your hotel business’ weaknesses. This can range from a low social media presence, inexperienced staff or a weak brand name in the market, all of which can lead to low bookings during Hajj season.
- Identify opportunities you can exploit. For example, your loyal customer base is a strength, but your need to showcase it is an opportunity. Use it to start a social media channel and share reviews on it.
- Lastly, identify any threats to your hotel business. This includes Changing consumer expectations, labour shortages, and inflation.
Organise a brainstorming session with your team to analyse the collected information. The next step is making changes.
Identify opportunities for improvement
Your brainstorming session will automatically tell you the areas you should improve.
Let’s look at an example.
Your hotel business is at a prime location near the Grand Mosque. You have a great website and social media reach. Also, your customers rave about your services and go back home happy.
But this year you are experiencing low direct bookings. Herein also lies your opportunity to improve.
One reason for this could be inflation. A good strategy is to look at competing service rates and offer new discounted rates.
Another way to go about it is by creating a packaged deal. A free guided tour of historic places with the stay to entice your customers.
Another avenue you could explore is marketing new services to old customers. Your old customers may not visit you in 2023, but someone they know might.
This will open up an indirect market for your business.
2. Prepare your hotel for the pilgrimage season
Customers check.
Peak season check.
Wait. What about the hotel? Does it have all the necessary facilities to cater a large number of customers?
Enhance your hotel’s facilities and services
As you finish the theoretical analysis, it is time to get to the actual work. And this starts with what the eyes can behold.
Start by sprucing up your interiors. Invest in new air conditioning and update your lights where needed.
Add new flower arrangements, a new coat of paint and some fresh scents. Pro tip: use an Islamic theme in your lobby for an inviting ambience.
If you have outdoor facilities like a pool, balconies or terraces, get them power washed. Also, add some pretty shaded areas for your guests to use.
Ensure your staff is aware of this special season. Be specific about how you expect them to handle people. Provide them necessary tools to avoid mishaps.
Offer attractive packages and discounts
Lastly, ensure you don’t overbook. Many hotels do this to avoid empty rooms and maximise revenue.
But this can spell disaster when people don’t cancel, and you have double booked. This also makes you look unprofessional.
A better way around this is by reviewing your cancellation policies and packages. For Hajj season, consider offering a maximum length of stay.
You can close your bookings during the performance of Hajj and Umrah.
Many people perform Hajj with their families. Consider offering family-friendly packages with discounted rates.
Train your staff to provide family-friendly recommendations, like for dinner. Have some childcare services ready in case parents want to spend their time in supplication.
Also, consider offering free breakfasts or refills for the children. This will save your guests money but not significantly impact your business.
But don’t forget to remind your customers about it.
Send them a reminder about the family-friendly packages and staff via SMS as they start to settle.
You can also enable a 2-way SMS service to let your customers respond.
3. Create a solid online presence
The more ways you can present your business to your target audience, the better your chance of getting more bookings.
Here is what you need to know to achieve this.
Create an effective website for your hotel
A customised website is a cheap advertising tool.
Many hotels depend on third-party tools to showcase their business to the world. They deliberately avoid creating one, citing expense and complexity as reasons.
But only having your website will get you the direct booking leads you need to maximise your revenue.
Plus, you also get these benefits:
- You control the story of your business. Third-party tools offer you a limited space to tell your brand story. With a website, you get maximum leverage.
- You show your credibility. According to research, 75% of customers will judge your service by your website.
- Your guests get their answers. Web pages address fundamental questions like location, availability etc.
An optimised website is where you start your online journey. But don’t stop there.
Optimise your hotel’s social media accounts
Your website is also where your visitors should convert into paying customers.
But how do you get many visitors to your website in this era of competition?
Promote! Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to draw in interested visitors.
Create shareable social media content keeping your brand voice intact.
Use high-quality pictures of your hotel facility. Try to describe the guest experience using all five senses. Create 360-degree videos of the lobby, room interiors and restaurants.
Remember, during the pilgrimage, your customers seek comfort above everything.
To this end, consider starting a blog on your website. Offer your customers free and credible travel advice.
And, of course, don’t forget to include it in your social media posts to drive traffic to your website.
Social media is prone to 2-way interaction. Ensure you respond to any complaints and negative reviews promptly.
Resolve issues and reach amicable solutions. This will tell your customers a lot about your customer service standards.
4. Maximise exposure for your hotel
Did we mention you can use more than just social media for exposure? Consider using something as simple but effective as SMS.
Advertise your hotel through various channels
Consider adding SMS marketing to the mix.
Often overlooked as a potential way to engage customers, SMS is usually the cheapest.
All you need is a good SMS provider like SMSCountry and some templates.
Here is how you can use SMS marketing:
- Send special offers and last-minute deals that are location specific.
- Enable 2-way SMS to take reservations.
- Send SMS reminders to guests for their upcoming trips.
- Enable 2-ways SMS for customer service.
- Send an SMS to send personalised information about Hajj.
- Use SMS to collect feedback as guests are leaving.
- Run your loyalty program through SMS.
- Collect reviews with SMS.
- If you own a chain of hotels, offer curated discounts after one stay.
These are just some of the uses of SMS we can think of. You can use SMS anywhere you need direct communication with quick responses.
Need some more exposure? Ask someone to blog about it!
Collaborate with travel bloggers and influencers
Add them, and you have the perfect marketing strategy. This is especially useful if your hotel is relatively new or you are just starting to build a marketing plan.
Bloggers and influencers are your sources of reviews and free word of mouth- but on social media. They create user-generated content that showcases your credibility.
There are two ways you can work with bloggers and influencers:
- You can hire them for a fee and ask them to review the facilities of your hotel.
- You can offer them a complimentary stay in your hotel.
You can pick between the two based on historical data of your guests. Look at the age group that tends to visit your hotel. Also, consider your hotel’s USP.
For example, a younger crowd will be ardent users of social media.
An in-depth review of the hotel facilities will be more impactful. Asking influencers to live and share multiple posts will leave a lasting impression.
On the other hand, simply reviewing facilities will suffice if you attract an older crowd or families.
5. Partner with local businesses
So you have a website, you carry out your SWOT analysis and lots of social exposure.
All you need now are business partners who understand the market.
Collaborate with travel agencies and tour operators
Boost your exposure by collaborating with travel agencies and tour operators. On the face, both may look like competing businesses.
Simply because both cater to the same audience segment. However, they both address very different needs.
While you serve accommodation, tour and travel agencies address the transportation needs. A win-win situation for everyone.
Here is what you can do to make this work:
- Reach out to local tour operators and create short day tours to nearby local places.
- Reach out to travel agencies to offer packages for cities of religious significance.
- Offer a complete Hajj package in collaboration with overseas travel agencies and guides.
- Enlist rooms and packages on online booking sites to gain exposure and bookings.
Brands may have different objectives, but your partners must be on the same page as you. Remember to set out clear expectations from the beginning.
Build relationships with restaurants and shops in the area
One of the most overlooked routes is building partnerships with shops and restaurants.
But remember the golden rule, also mentioned above?
Address a collaborative need.
Consider collaborating with shops that sell prayer mats, holy water or dates. Also, consider offering discounted coupons from restaurants as an exclusive at your hotel.
That’s not all. You can also offer discounted shopping coupons from local jewellery brands. Look for gold and silver jewellery sellers.
6. Provide exceptional customer service
This one is a no-brainer for a service organisation. But there is more to it than serving good food.
Train your staff to cater to the needs of pilgrims
Pilgrims expect a different level of understanding from your staff during Hajj.
Here is what your staff can do:
- Not overbook rooms. This creates unwanted last-minute hassle.
- Ensure privacy of rooms, especially if women have booked them.
- Ensure your staff keeps in mind the local fire regulations while booking.
What else can you do to make your guests’ stay comfortable?
Go above and beyond to exceed expectations
Think outside the box.
Peak seasons can get crowded, and people can lose their belongings quickly. See that you assign hotel personnel to find and return lost belongings. This will keep your hotel in your guests’ good books.
Another way you can exceed expectations is by training your team enough to respond to any query.
The worst thing a guest can face is a staff member who doesn’t have an answer to their question.
This means each staff person will know on a need-to-know basis what all the departments do.
Your guests will not know who to talk to. Yet everyone is available with an answer.
So the chef must be able to respond to a maintenance query, and the maintenance should know how to order laundry.
Maximise your hotel business with SMSCountry
That’s all you need to increase your hotel bookings!
You can ensure maximum occupancy by having an up-to-date website, active social media and partnering with the right people.
To this end, marketing to the right audience at the right time is essential.
We recommend using SMSCountry as your SMS marketing partner.
With SMSCountry, you can send your guests personalised notifications, alerts, and promos via SMS, voice, and WhatsApp.
Our platform is reliable, supports bulk SMS, and provides 24/7 support.
Sign-up and get free credits and check out the features. Or schedule a free demo, and our team will contact you ASAP.
