Videos are an undeniably powerful marketing tool, especially for the hotel and travel industry. After all, they have the ability to capture the attention of the audience much quicker than text and have the power to generate extremely high traffic to your website. No wonder video marketing has taken the Internet by storm. This effective tool is so versatile that you can use it for promoting your hotel’s services and building customer rapport.

What is Video Marketing?

Video marketing isn’t just about selling content to a target audience. There are different aspects of this online marketing tool that can be used to promote website visits, products and services as well as to attract bookings. You can even improve your customer service through effective video marketing strategies.

How Your Hotel Can Benefit From Video Marketing

A professionally created hotel video will help your business gain credibility in the marketplace. Video content won’t just help you tell your story, but it also allows your potential customers to get a feel for your hotel’s facilities and services before they book a room on your website. In this article, get to know the 5 essential video marketing tips and some amazing video examples to increase your hotel revenue.

1. Focus on quality

High-quality videos tend to attract more viewers than low-quality images. The fact is if your hotel video looks like it has been created by an amateur, the chances of room bookings will be much less. By creating a high-quality video, you will get the best possible returns on your investment. If your video doesn’t quickly or effectively address the needs of the guests through quality pictures, they will simply move on to another property and your video will be forgotten in seconds.

2. Wow Your Audience With a Great Intro

The hotel industry relies on effective videos to promote their services to prospective customers on the Web. A brief intro is the most essential part of your video as you will want to capture your viewers’ attention from the second they watch it. Remember to keep your intro direct and short. It must tell the viewer everything about your hotel while at the same time set the tone for the rest of your content. By incorporating an intro video into your website’s homepage, you will be able to successfully grab your visitors’ attention.

3. Make Your Video Stand Out

If you want to create a unique video, you must first highlight all the unique features of your hotel. Your business has a rich story behind it and you must emit this through your video. Find out what makes your business stand out from others and emphasize on that. Only then will you be able to find your tone and uniqueness. Whether your tone is inspiring, passionate, or serious, you need to think of all the characteristics that make your particular hotel different from all the ones in your location and portray these in a positive tone of voice on your video.

Adding value to your hotel video doesn’t mean creating a sales pitch that’s all about your brand. You should think of video marketing as an opportunity for adding value at every stage of the potential customer’s online journey. While you might think that it’s easy to produce a great hotel marketing video without much pre-planning, in reality, you could end up with a low-quality content that will only harm your brand. It is, therefore, important to start with a script to keep your filming crew on track and your viewers engaged.

5. Share Your Video With Your Audience

Another important tip for your video marketing campaign is that you must enable your video to be shared on your other social media channels. This will help spread the video from one platform to another and reach a wider audience. YouTube is one of the most important social media sites since millions of people use this platform to watch videos every month. You need to include a link to your website on your YouTube video so your audience can visit your homepage after watching your video. Remember to use 360-degree shots of the hotel’s rooms and facilities as customers will get a closer look at the hotel and will feel comfortable staying there.

360 and Virtual Reality Videos for The Hotel Industry

Virtual reality goes beyond just video games and entertainment. With the continuing advancements of this technology, it now offers an interactive guest experience through immersive headsets and 360-degree videos. Nowadays, many kinds of businesses are benefiting from VR, and the hotel industry is no exception.

Difference Between 360 and Virtual Videos

One big difference between the two is that the images in a virtual reality video are created digitally whereas a 360-degree video is captured from a real-life setting. These live videos capture real places exactly as you would see them in everyday life, unlike virtual reality where a virtual environment is created for the purpose of interacting with.

Why Are 360 VR Hotel Videos Becoming So Popular?

Virtual reality has the power to transport people from one exotic place to another and this is the reason why the hotel industry is increasingly using VR and 360 videos for promoting their brand. A 360 video invites people into a scene and offers them an accurate picture of where they will be staying. This makes the hotel guests feel more comfortable placing their trust in that hotel and the chances of booking a room will be greater.

5 Great Examples of Powerful Hotel Videos

Video marketing is a powerful tool that helps luxury hotels grab the attention of the audience and engage them throughout the online journey. Here are 5 great examples of hotel videos on YouTube:

#Video 1: Byzantino Boutique Hotel Monemvasia in Greece

The video of Byzantino Boutique Hotel, located inside the castle of Monemvasia, provides guests with a 360-degree view of the hotel’s location and its facilities. The video of this hotel taps into the viewers’ different emotions in relation to travel, relaxation, and getting a sense of luxury. The aim is to encourage visitors to explore the sights of Greece and stay in this luxury hotel.

 

#Video 2: Kalima Resort and Spa in Thailand

This 3-minute promotional video features the hotel’s rooms, facilities, and all the activities guests can take part in. The visual content is the most important part of this video as all the images are blended together in harmony. The effective call to action at the end of the video prompts viewers to visit the hotel’s website.

 

#Video 3: Holiday Inn Express in Adelaide, Australia

This newly-built hotel offers a 2-minute 360-degree tour of its premises with special emphasis on the hotel’s features including conference rooms, bar, fitness facilities, and of course its rooms. The tour allows viewers to see the whole hotel in true lighting and proper proportions as though they are actually in the hotel themselves.

 

#Video 4: Agrovela Hotel Alacati in Turkey

The short movie-like video presents the authentic aspects of the destination, the characterful hotel rooms, and the visitors’ experiences within this charming Turkish village. The 2-minute video mainly focuses on elaborated and intimate moments of people enjoying themselves in a rustic hotel so you get a good feel of what the hotel has to offer.

 

#Video 5: Cape Dara in Pattaya in Thailand

The immersive 360° VR Walkthrough of the 5-star luxury resort allows viewers to visualise the hotel before making a booking. The main focus of this video is on the guests’ experiences. The audience gets a sense of the scale and size of the rooms as well as the hotel’s exotic surroundings.

 

As the world of technology evolves, so should your hotel marketing strategies. Powerful videos that take the viewers’ experience to another level are growing at a rapid rate. If you haven’t yet started optimizing your audience’s engagement through videos, now is the time to start putting your strategy into practice.

 

Ramy Ayoub