Marketing was like a black box for us - you invest a lot of money and don't know what comes out of it.
This is how Sarah Keller Pricher, hotelier at Stroblhof Active Family Spa Resort, describes measurability in online marketing.
Classic online marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) such as impressions, reach or clicks often provide insufficient information about the marketing results achieved. This creates uncertainty for many hoteliers as to which online marketing activities are really profitable and whether they will bring the desired success for the hotel.
Measurability is King
Through data-driven online marketing, hotels can optimize their marketing campaigns and measure success based on KPIs such as bookings, inquiries, reservation revenue and value added. A key indicator for determining success is ROI (return on investment), a classic financial management metric. ROI allows the hotelier to determine whether an investment, such as an ADDITIVE online marketing campaign, is worthwhile.
The A+ ROI doesn't lie - only revenue and added value matter
ADDITIVE goes one step further and expands the classic ROI to include other key indicators that are of great relevance in online marketing, especially for the hotel industry. The result is a meaningful benchmark for evaluating campaign success.
The ADDITIVE+ ROI compares the reservation revenue generated and the added value achieved in online marketing to the advertising budget and agency costs incurred. Specifically, the value added takes into account the number of (direct) bookings, reservation requests, newsletter subscriptions, voucher purchases, in addition to the reservation revenue generated.
David Weitlaner, Head of Digital Marketing, on the results achieved in 2022:
In 2022, an average of 50% of ADDITIVE partners have achieved an A+ROI of 1000%. In other words, they have created an average of 10 Euros of value for every Euro invested.
Depending on the budget invested and the hotel's occupancy targets, an individual target ROI is set for each campaign. This is usually between 500 and 1200 percent.
Why is value added included in A+ ROI?
Achieving business goals
Hotels have different business goals that they want to achieve through online marketing. By including value creation in the A+ ROI, the hotel's specific goals, such as generating new guest leads, are already taken into account. This makes it possible to quantitatively assess the efficiency and success of individual marketing activities in terms of goal achievement. As a result, hoteliers can make more informed decisions about their marketing budget and better allocate resources to achieve their goals.
Improve the decision-making process
In addition, hoteliers can better assess the overall success of their marketing efforts and quickly make adjustments as needed. Ultimately, the entire decision-making process is improved because the success of the investment can be clearly measured. As a result, investments are made only in those activities that are truly valuable to the hotel.
Focus on relevant guest touch points
The inclusion of value added makes it possible to measure the most relevant points of contact with (potential) guests along the entire customer journey. Each touch point can be analyzed and adjusted individually. By focusing on the most relevant touch points, hotels can budget their marketing activities in a more targeted manner. The touchpoints that generate the most value are given higher priority and a correspondingly larger budget. This enables hotels to develop a comprehensive overall strategy that meets the specific needs and desires of their guests.
Identify future potential
In addition to evaluating current successes such as bookings and revenue, Value Creation also considers future potential for reservations and bookings. For example, contacts who have subscribed to a hotel's newsletter are more likely to book in the future than mere visitors to the hotel's website. This is because registrants can be continuously targeted by the hotel with personalized emails and emotional messages, guiding them through the customer journey to a booking.
Consideration of overall success
The link between revenue and value creation not only reflects sales-oriented activities, but also the overall success of the hotel's online marketing. This means that the A+ ROI not only takes into account the ratio of revenue to costs and thus the profitability at a certain point in time, but also the investment in future guests and bookings.
The ADDITIVE+ ROI thus provides a clear relationship between the success of the marketing measures implemented and the amount of the advertising budget invested. The key figure enables a precise budget evaluation and the identification of profitable and promising marketing activities.
Would you like to learn more about ADDITIVE+ ROI and how you can profitably use online marketing in your hotel? We would be happy to advise you in a no-obligation initial meeting.
