Many hoteliers know how to set up stunningly beautiful properties. Few, however, know how to sell them effectively, especially on film. The simple truth remains: a video is an essential tool for any hotel marketing strategy.
In fact, studies have shown that video beats text and image-based content in gaining customer trust and is almost as compelling as face-to-face interaction.
How can a video make a hotel stand out?
Our brand new video, Luxury Never Sounded So Good, uses the power of music to showcase Santorini’s leading luxury property, Canaves Oia. And in under two minutes, we prove how a creative video can both inspire viewers and propel your brand to new heights.
Step 1: Create a Unique Concept
A unique concept is the first step to making a hotel video that sells. What type of hotel do you have? Who do you want to target? Which USPs are most appealing to your audience? The answers to these questions form your marketing goals and, in turn, shape the creative concept of your video.
With this step in mind, we shined the spotlight on Canaves Oia’s key ingredient: their incredible staff. No matter how grand a hotel’s facilities are, the human factor plays a crucial role in the visitor’s experience, and the stars of our new video are the real people of Canaves Oia.
We carefully choreographed every last detail, from the housekeeping to the food preparation to the involvement of the owner himself. As it turns out, he’s the conductor of the symphony!
Step 2: Trigger an Emotional Response
Strategic video marketing triggers targeted emotions and links them to a specific action. Since choosing where to travel and where to stay are often emotional decisions, your video should recreate the feeling of being at your hotel and inspire the desire to visit.
Luxury Never Sounded So Good portrays the staff as an orchestrated band in a fun, energetic and humorous way. The video’s smart sound design and catchy soundtrack also set an upbeat tone. Most importantly, the team’s fun-loving attitude comes at no expense to their quality service.
As a result, viewers know they can expect a world-class staff in one of the most beautiful hotels ever, making their next holiday choice that much easier. For those who have already stayed at Canaves Oia, the video recalls memorable experiences and persuades them to return.
Step 3: Make Your Hotel Video Shine
Without good PR, even the best hotel video will quickly fizzle out. In addition to hosting your video, you must share it across as many channels as possible. Blogs, newsletters, press releases, social media, coordinated campaigns—everything counts! You can also gain recognition by submitting your video to film festivals and awards programmes.
As your video’s profile increases, use a proper KPI application to record engagement and analyse how well your video is performing. With this valuable information, you can determine whether you’ve achieved your marketing goals and adjust as needed.
In promoting Luxury Never Sounded So Good, we reached more than 100,000 views on social media in less than a week, along with hundreds of likes, shares and positive comments. Our work is well on-track to become 2018’s best new hotel video, and we expect it to win many awards.