Top Marketing strategies for your Hotel to Chinese tourists
Ctrip, Qunar and elong are the equivalents of Booking.com
Have a strong presence on Chinese search engines
Firstly the Chinese consumer will use search engines in China (notably Baidu) to look for hotels. It is vital that you are one of the top hotels listed in the search results. Optimizing your status and presence on Baidu and other Chinese search engines is the first step.
Manage your e-reputation in China, because nobody wants to sleep in a Dirty Hotel
Market effectively on social media, maximize the word of Mouth
Having a strong presence on social networks increases the chances of your hotel being shared amongst users social networks. The Chinese trust their friendship circle and family and are very influenced by others recommendations, experiences and opinions.
Weibo: Weibo is a micro-blogging platform which works in essentially the same way as the American ‘Twitter’. Users can exchange any type of content with their friends. With 500 million registered accounts it is the key social network to be engaging with if you are attempting to enter the Chinese market. Weibo is the place to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s popular in China. It’s a very ‘open’ social network and is therefore very effective for marketers.
Wechat: Customers can add and subscribe to your brand account using QR codes to spread the news about the hotel. Once customers are following your account you can promote special discounts or content exclusively for subscribers.
Have Quality Photographs & Videos
Create a ‘narrative’ and shareable content
Customers will be seeking a prestigious hotel, maximize positive news
Utilize Key Opinion Leaders, they will test and recommend your Hotel to their followers
The benefit of this trend is that a ‘KOL’ can be recruited by your hotel and become instrumental in spreading a positive message. In this way, you can benefit from the KOL’s large online community and reach thousands or even millions of potential consumers in one go. Look for endorsements from celebrities who have visited.
Partner with Chinese travel agencies
Partnering with local, Chinese agencies who specialize in this market and have established connections is key. The vast majority of tourists will make bookings through these travel agencies online. Your online campaign has to be effective, coherent and far-reaching.
Agencies take care of Chinese tourists and can offer hotel packages in addition to flights and tours. Agencies will often organize ‘group’ travel. For your hotel, this is beneficial as it is likely to increase the number of potential guests. According to a report by the national tourism agency in China, 70% of Chinese people travel through agency organized groups.
Agencies can be generally hard to find, they have specific requirements and may already be working with contractors for many years. Having a strong digital media marketing campaign is important to enhance your reputation.
– Build connections with agencies so that your hotel is highly recommended or included in a package.
Due to tourists predominantly searching for information and booking holidays online one must understand the digital market and have close connections in China that enable the implementation of a marketing strategy. We are a highly reputable digital agency with a unique and specialist understanding of what the Chinese tourist is looking for, we specialize in implementing an effective strategy in this complex market.
Read also : China hotel online marketing
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We are a Marketing Agency based in China and help the company to get Chinese clients.
