By Silindzelwe Nxumalo
ESWATINI Tourism Authority (ETA) is on a cheerful mission! The holiday season is here, and it is an extremely important period for hotels all around the world. It is their opportunity to make better sales and increase revenue. However, not every hotel has the right tactics to milk the most out of this beneficial season.
After a day-long tour with ETA, there were discussions about some of the tried and tested holiday marketing strategies for hotels to make the most of this holiday season. The first stop was with Hilton Inn Garden Mbabane, the seven-floor hotel was abuzz with activity, and there was a group of tourists who made a stop.
Hilton Garden Inn Visitor Supervisor Phikisile said it was important for tourist places to prepare the hotels for the holiday season by marketing their activities as early as possible.
The tour, which was graced by the country’s journalists and prominent digital promoters, proved to be necessary as more information and marketing pointers were shared. “This will give you a time frame to try and test your campaigns. If any campaign isn’t effective, you can quickly tweak it accordingly,” she said.
She stated that it was a norm that people start planning for their holidays at least a month before which was why it was important for hotels instead of waiting, they run their marketing campaigns a month early.
“Now, we are not only running better campaigns but also acquiring more bookings,” she said.
She further went on to share how the institution wishes to host Paris Hilton.
ALSO READ: National Climate Change Bill on the cards – Government
“Contrary to popular belief, Paris Hilton is not the owner of Hilton Hotels. However, she does have a strong connection to the Hilton family through her lineage,” said Phikisile. She said it was worth mentioning that the holidays provide wonderful opportunities for hoteliers as guests tend to be in more of a spending mindset, and the new year brings opportunities for celebrations and vacation planning, of which ETA has found a way to promote these local hoteliers.
The ETA team also visited places like Swazi Candles which is an organization that is currently taking in over three buses of tourists a day followed by a trip to Manzini at Global Village. “During this time of the year we see a huge number of tourists, it gets exciting because we love to showcase what we do,” said supervisor Dumisani Msibi.
Global Village Assistant Marketing Manager Lungile said that even though the Covid-19 episode has almost come to an end in many countries, people were still wired to safety measures. She said this was why it would be good practice to adhere to safety measures and protocols. She said assuring guests about their safety helps.
“We gain more bookings, because, if guests feel safe, they are more likely to boast about their experience to others, and, they will be more likely to stay with us in the future,” she said. In addition, she said, promoting safety measures through their marketing activities brought them a lot of business.
“Just make sure you get the messaging right in marketing. If we can show guests that we really care about their safety, they will be happy with our seriousness and come back again,” she said. The group then moved to the newly opened JK Steakhouse in Matsapha.
According to their senior waiters, they have made going contactless easier, from an operational standpoint.
“Our restaurant platform allows customers to book, order, and check in. This can be done virtually, while our entire management system moves certain processes, such as billing and reviews to be online and contactless,” said one of the senior waiters.
