5 winter travel strategies to help hotels boost bookings

The festive season is one of the most exciting times in hospitality. Cities come to life, guests are full of holiday cheer, and hotels have a unique chance to turn that energy into results. With demand at its peak and competition to match, a thoughtful strategy can make all the difference. 

It’s also the perfect time to show off your hotel’s personality.

A few well-timed offers, a touch of creativity, and a clear plan can turn festive interest into measurable results. 

From gift vouchers and longer getaways to standout dining and New Year’s celebrations, hotels that plan early (and think beyond the usual discounts) are the ones that truly make the most of the season. 

With that in mind, let’s explore winter travel strategies that will help your campaigns shine brighter this festive season.

1) Turn the holiday season into the ultimate gift-giving opportunity

When it comes to festive shopping, more travelers are choosing experiences over things. That makes this a natural moment to position your hotel as part of someone’s celebrations. 

A voucher for a weekend stay, a spa day, or dinner in a great setting is a perfect way to increase revenue beyond rooms. They’re simple to buy, flexible to use, and they keep your brand front of mind long after the holidays are over.

Arnica Scuol promoted vouchers front and center on their website, pairing winter visuals with clear, friendly copy that appealed to both local guests and long-distance travelers looking for a thoughtful, experience-led gift.

If you’re planning something similar, keep the message visible and uncomplicated. Add a clear call to action on your homepage, use seasonal artwork that fits your brand, and set an expiry date to keep momentum. Vouchers may not be the headline act, but they’re one of the most dependable ways to drive off-peak revenue and attract new guests into the new year.

_{Giving is Fun! Arnica Scuol highlighted their special vouchers with a perfectly snowy winter layer, capturing the magic of a festive escape.}

2) Peace of mind and longer getaways: the recipe for seasonal success

Winter travel plans can be unpredictable. Weather, illness, or shifting schedules often make guests hesitate before confirming a booking. Offering a small layer of reassurance can remove that barrier.

Verdi Hotels addressed this by including complimentary travel insurance for guests who booked direct. The message was straightforward: book through our website and you’re covered. It made the booking decision easier and encouraged guests to stay two nights or more to qualify for the offer.

Your version of this could be flexible cancellation, a stay extension, or a value add that shows confidence in your own product. When booking feels simple and secure, conversion tends to follow.

_{Verdi Hotels offers a unique perk for booking direct, building guest trust.}

3) Celebrate the New Year in style

In many markets, New Year's Eve is the busiest night of the year. But it's also crowded with offers that look and sound the same. Most guests already have plans and are just looking for a hotel that matches the celebration they have in mind.

The AMANO Group understood that. Their campaign promoted New Year’s dinners and midnight events with a design that mirrored the energy of the night; bold visuals, simple text and mobile-friendly layouts that made it easy to book.

They added a live countdown on their site to build urgency and timed their messages to appear only in the final week of the year, when last-minute planners were most active.

For your own campaign, use a similar approach tailored to your property’s unique charm. Show guests what you’re offering without overloading them with details. Make sure the booking path works seamlessly on mobile, and let timing do some of the selling. A clear event, a visible offer, and smart scheduling can lift conversion far more effectively than a long list of included perks.

_{AMANO Group showcased exclusive New Year’s Eve packages in a mobile-optimized layer to attract celebratory guests.}

4) Unforgettable festive dining experiences

Festive dining can be one of the strongest revenue drivers of the season. Guests are already in the mood to celebrate, and a well-thought offer gives them a reason to do it with you.

The Thief in Oslo leaned on its brand identity to create something truly memorable. Their Christmas campaign promoted a three-course menu designed as a full evening experience, complete with live jazz and a Gatsby-inspired atmosphere. The campaign was visible across the hotel’s website and matched the same high-end design guests already associated with the brand.

It worked because it treated dining as part of the overall guest experience, not a one-off event. The offer felt considered, consistent, and worth making plans around.

Many hotels run Christmas menus as side promotions. The Thief’s campaign worked because it didn’t. It felt like a natural extension of the brand as opposed to an add-on, which most guests are looking for at that time of year.

_{The Thief elegantly promotes Christmas Menus, seamlessly on-brand}

5) Stretch the season

After the holidays, bookings often slow, but demand doesn’t necessarily disappear. Many travelers prefer to plan trips once crowds thin out and prices ease, creating an opportunity for early-year stays.

Keep your December campaigns visible a little longer, but swap the festive theme for relaxation and winter calm, highlighting the benefits of staying longer: an extra night, a spa offer, or a late checkout.

You can also use this time to test different audiences or messages. Try targeting locals with short-stay deals or return guests with loyalty perks that bring them back before spring.

Hotels that stay visible with targeted January messaging are better placed to pick up last-minute demand. Staying visible and relevant while guests are still in travel-planning mode means you can stretch that holiday momentum well into the new year.

How to use hotel data and personalization to drive festive results

The festive season rewards hotels that plan and act with clarity. Each offer, from vouchers to dining and New Year’s events, performs best when it’s backed by real insight and consistent follow-through.

Start by reviewing what’s worked before. Business Intelligence helps you analyse last year’s festive performance to see when bookings peaked, which promotions converted, and where demand slowed. These patterns are your foundation for stronger planning.

Then, look ahead. Market Insight lets you tap into where travelers are searching, what dates they’re targeting, and which source markets are heating up. Use that data to spot rising interest around your peak festive dates and to identify new guest segments before competitors take notice. With that information, you can target the right traveler while they are still weighing up their plans.

Finally, connect insight to action. Direct Channel Personalization helps you adapt your website to each visitor in real time. In the busy winter period, that might mean showing a local guest a dining voucher, a traveler browsing late December for a New Year’s package, or someone looking at January dates, an offer for a longer stay. It reads intent and context, then displays messages that fit, keeping guests engaged throughout the booking journey.

Your team can react to changes in demand without rebuilding campaigns or flooding the site with offers. Over time, that kind of targeted communication turns seasonal traffic into steady, direct revenue.

When hotels combine data and personalization, they move from reacting to demand to shaping it. So, how would that look on your website this festive season? Find out here.