6 Black Friday tips to keep website visitors booking your hotel

Black Friday is getting close, and now is the moment to make your hotel stand out. With the right mix of creativity and urgency, you can transform your hotel’s Black Friday campaign into a booking magnet.

The competition for a guest’s booking is fiercer than ever. While Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) offer convenience, securing a booking directly on your brand website is what truly maximizes your profit.

This Black Friday, a well-executed marketing strategy is the bridge between a deal-seeking consumer and a confirmed reservation.

You need to not only grab their attention but also give them compelling reasons to book directly with you. Here’s how you can use the power of Lighthouse to make your campaign unforgettable.

Build buzz around your hotel with a teaser campaign

Build excitement before Black Friday by launching a teaser campaign. Giving your database an early look at exclusive deals creates anticipation and encourages more sign-ups. Teaser campaigns are a powerful way to gather first-party data, ensuring your Black Friday offers reach an engaged audience ready to book directly.

Using the Targeting and Message Creator features of our platform, you can set up a teaser message that appears only to specific user segments, such as first-time visitors. This ensures your message is precisely tailored.

Below, Meininger Hotels also shows how you can get creative with custom image layers in your message, making your Black Friday announcement even more visually appealing.

Don’t miss out! Smart, time-sensitive deals drive bookings

Creating a sense of urgency is key to a successful Black Friday campaign. Consumers have countless options at their fingertips, so you need to make your offer truly compelling; leveraging limited availability offers encourages swifter action by those browsing.

As Numa’s campaign shows below, a countdown clock can be a game-changer, showing guests exactly how much time they have to take advantage of your deals. This simple tactic can prompt quicker bookings by reminding guests that great deals won’t last forever.

Our Message Creator allows you to easily add a countdown clock to your messages, creating that crucial sense of urgency. You can also use Targeting to display these urgent messages to users who have shown high intent, such as those who have viewed a room page multiple times, making your efforts more effective.

Use bold designs to capture attention and drive bookings

Arcotel Camino’s Black Week offer stands out with a creative price tag design that instantly grabs attention. The bold 'SAVE 20% NOW!' message, paired with a 15% cash reward and a striking Black Week price tag graphic, adds unique visual flair.

This design, combined with limited-time availability and direct booking perks, creates a sense of urgency and encourages quick bookings.

Our Message Creator gives you the flexibility to use custom CSS to make your message's design truly unique. You can also run A/B Tests to see which designs perform best with your audience. For example, you can test a simple, text-based offer against one with a striking visual to see which one generates more clicks.

Add some fun with GIFs that guests will love

Animated GIFs are a great way to make your Black Friday messages dynamic, engaging, and stand out amongst any other festive offers.

Moving graphics can highlight key elements like discounts or countdowns, helping your on-brand messages grab attention and add a bit of fun.

Fleming Hotels, for example, used GIFs to promote newsletter subscriptions, allowing subscribers to be the first to know about money-saving Black Friday deals.

The Message Creator supports GIFs and other animated elements, allowing you to sprinkle in a touch of personality to your campaigns. This helps create memorable campaigns that can increase engagement and direct channel success.

Offer your website visitors an extra 24 hours to book

Sometimes, guests just need a little extra time to make a decision. Consider extending your Black Friday deals for an additional 24-hours, as Mansley Serviced Apartments did with their special offer.

This extension can be a strategic way to capture those who hesitated initially, ensuring you don’t miss out on last-minute bookings. Promoting this extension prominently can help catch the attention of guests who may have missed the first round.

Using our Rules engine, you can set up a follow-up message that appears only after the main Black Friday campaign has ended. This message can announce a special 24-hour extension, ensuring you don’t leave potential revenue on the table.

Highlight savings with strikethrough pricing

Emphasize the value of your Black Friday offer by using our new strikethrough formatting option in your website messaging. Showing the original price next to the Black Friday rate creates a visual representation of the savings, making the discount feel more tangible.

This formatting is a simple yet effective way to remind guests of the deal they’re being offered and making it harder for them to resist.

Highlight savings with strikethrough pricing

Emphasize the value of your Black Friday offer by using our new strikethrough formatting option in your website messaging. Showing the original price next to the Black Friday rate creates a visual representation of the savings, making the discount feel more tangible.

This formatting is a simple yet effective way to remind guests of the deal they’re being offered – and making it harder for them to resist.

Ready to make your hotel's Black Friday campaign a success?

With these strategies, you can craft a Black Friday campaign that stands out with eye-catching visuals, creates a sense of urgency, and drives direct bookings.

Learn more and elevate your hotel website’s Black Friday performance this year with Direct Channel Personalization.