In the world of hospitality, travellers’ aspiration for unique and unforgettable experiences during their stays is increasingly noticeable. Not only that, what is emerging is an increasing interest in intangible goods (experiences) at the expense of expensive, tangible goods (physical products). This experience-oriented approach does not only involve customers in the hospitality industry, but also large consumer segments that do not necessarily belong to the tourism industry. In fact, today we prefer to buy adventures, memorable moments and unique experiences instead of precious objects. We invest in wellness and quality time instead of houses or cars. We dream of a more balanced life and a more sustainable world, and ethics play a primary role in our daily choices. For these reasons, hotels are adapting to new guest habits because simply offering a place to sleep is no longer enough. We must offer unforgettable experiences and emotions that enrich the precious time of those who choose us.
In addition to this new aspect there is the complexity of a highly competitive market in which standing out and attracting the attention of potential guests requires the adoption of new and innovative marketing strategies. One such strategy is the art of storytelling.
Stories have been an integral part of human life for millennia, they are used to transmit knowledge, to teach new generations or simply to entertain. Let’s think about fairy tales and how each of them conveys a moral. Or think of how books, poems, songs and movies move us with their plots. There are also the stories we share with friends and family to make them part of our lives, because we actually use storytelling every day to tell about ourselves and what is happening around us.
According to Stanford research, a message conveyed with a story is remembered on average 22 times more than a simple fact, and according to an article published by Visme, 92% of consumers are attracted to advertisements that have a story behind them. Storytelling is therefore a powerful and exciting form of communication that engages our audience even before they get to know us in person. Thanks to this technique, even the business world and in particular the hospitality industry can create an emotional bond with future guests, conveying their brand values and uniqueness in an engaging and memorable way.
But what is the secret of creating successful stories? To successfully implement storytelling in hotel marketing, it is important to have a well-defined strategy. First of all, the strengths of the hotel and what makes it unique must be identified. These elements can serve as the basis for creating an engaging and authentic story.
Furthermore, it is essential to understand the target audience and adapt the story to their preferences and expectations. In this regard, Philip Kotler, a well-known American professor of the 70s and 80s and one of the most influential thinkers in the world of marketing, emphasised the importance of not selling a product per se, but selling the solution to a problem or the satisfaction of a need that the product can offer. According to Kotler, it is possible to reach the consumer emotionally, not just rationally. Therefore, it is essential and necessary to focus on why a guest should choose our hotel for their holiday, analysing their needs and offering solutions to satisfy them.
What are the best tools to tell our stories? The rule is: a picture is worth a thousand words. We often hear about visual communication (or visuals) in the field of marketing. This refers to messages conveyed through images or videos. Visuals, due to their immediacy and quick understanding, are a particularly effective way of communicating both online and offline. Today, videos dominate the communication panorama. Just think that most of the content on social media is in the form of videos, and stories are replacing classic static posts in terms of views and conversions. In addition, YouTube, with 2.5 billion active users in 2022, is the second most used social media in the world (according to Hootsuite data).
So if we want to stand out from the crowd and create unforgettable experiences for our guests, storytelling cannot be missing from our marketing strategy. We identify what makes our hotel unique, get to know our target audience and use tools like video to tell our story in an engaging and authentic way.
Let’s remember that today’s travellers are looking for more than just a hotel room, they want experiences that enrich and excite them.
” Let’s unleash the power of storytelling to offer them something truly special and unforgettable.”
Articolo pubblicato nella terza uscita del magazine New Hospitality Lux
Dhanya Schwaiger
Trainer & Consultant Hospite S.r.l.