Summer travel is approaching faster than you think, with sunscreened noses and mojitos at the cabana. Guests are prepared to abandon hibernation and see what your hotel has to offer. Keep reading for the hottest, latest trends and tips to maximize hotel revenue this summer!
Guests this summer are working on more than the perfect tan. They aim to return from their vacations refreshed and revitalized with new healthy living habits to carry with them throughout the rest of the year. From 2025 to 2034, the global wellness travel market is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of over 13 percent.
Post pandemic, wellness encompasses more than a yoga class and deep tissue massage, though those do serve as an excellent starting point. It’s about enhancing all aspects of the guests’ stay to promote longevity, mindfulness, and nutrition. What healthy options are on your menu? Can you supply fresh cut strawberries for breakfast as well as pancakes?
The design of your property also enhances your guests’ wellness experience. Incorporate quieter spaces that encourage contemplation and consider biophilic elements; taking just 20 minutes in nature can alleviate stress. This could be as simple as adding a bench to your garden where guests can relax and watch the butterflies.
Last but not least, ensure every guest enjoys a good night’s sleep! Provide quality, comfortable mattresses and black-out curtains, and use WebRezPro’s banned guest feature to prevent any 3am partiers from returning.
Soft adventure travel is for guests who enjoy venturing off the beaten path to explore the local community and environment but aren’t ready for an IRONMAN. It includes traditional outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, biking, and horseback riding tours, all geared so that beginners can participate safely. Because these activities are widely accessible, they encompass over half of the adventure tourism market.
Unlike more extreme choices, soft adventure does not require a hefty budget or advanced technical expertise. Consider providing kayaks or bikes for guests to borrow and have staff share their best spots for exploration.
Interest in sustainable travel has not dissipated since the pandemic, with 83 percent of tourists worldwide claiming it remains important to them as of 2024. Sustainability initiatives have broad guest appeal, improve your bottom line through energy cost savings, and are simply good for the earth. It’s a win, win, win. These initiatives can be as basic as eliminating plastic bottles or as involved as tapping into alternative energy sources. Promote your sustainability efforts, including metrics, certifications, etc., so guests can make an educated decision to stay with you this summer.
Guests also appreciate hotels that sustain the communities they operate within by hiring local, partnering with nearby businesses, and giving to charity.
People travel for the experience. Between 2019 and 2022, travelers’ experiential spending increased 34 percent. Meet your guests where they’re at by highlighting the unique experiences at your hotel and within the surrounding region to maximize bookings and revenue this summer. Leverage blog posts, social media, and website content to tell compelling stories that speak to the senses and emotions of prospective guests.
Though sustainability efforts remain crucial, weather patterns have already begun to shift, leaving travelers in search of cooler vacations or “coolcations.” If you’re located somewhere typically cooler during summer, now is the time to promote that. Between 2023 and 2024, Google saw a 300 percent rise in searches for “cooler holidays.”
Travelers seeking fresher destinations may also be prepared to visit during the off season, both for the pleasant temperatures and to avoid crowds, providing a steady revenue stream and evening out your bottom line.
Business travel usually dips during summer, but expect workcations to continue, with 41 percent of Americans planning one in 2025.
To appeal to this market, advertise business features—from in-room desks and charging stations to onsite coworking spaces—combined with leisure amenities. Remember that even though these guests may have spreadsheets to comb through, they’re still with you to enjoy themselves. A free drink voucher or an invite to your spa never goes amiss.
WebRezPro empowers you to capture bleisure guests who don’t require an overnight stay with hourly bookings. These guests can use a room as their work station, stop by your restaurant at lunch, and sunbathe by the pool when their tasks are complete, all without paying for a full stay they don’t need. Offering an additional hourly pricepoint allows you to diversify and maximize your revenue.
There are pet-friendly hotels, and there are pet-positive hotels. Tap into this trend by adding flair to your pet amenities to attract travelers and boost ancillary revenue. Owners feel extra welcome with pampered pet perks that include food and water dishes, treats, poop bags, and a map of local pet amenities, from dog parks to pet stores.
Stand-out pet offerings could earn you free PR on social media from your four-legged guests (or at least their owners). As of 2022, over a third of pet owners around the globe had created social media accounts for their animals—and we all know those accounts are adorable!
With schools out for the summer, it’s an excellent time for families to travel. Attract those families to your property with practical amenities such as onsite laundry, cots, and kitchenettes (eating out gets expensive fast!). On the fun side, parents look for pools and playgrounds, in addition to kid-friendly activities like movie nights, art or cooking classes, and scavenger hunts.
The way to a guest’s heart is through their stomach, and that holds true for children as well as adults. Ensure your menu has plenty of kids’ options and feature special treats they might not enjoy regularly at home. Hot chocolate and ice cream are always winners… and their parents may sneak a spoonful too.
Enable guests to expand their experience with packages and add-ons that allow for customization while growing your bottom line. WebRezPro’s booking engine empowers you to offer add-on options in a pop-up modal when the guest books, providing a seamless and convenient way for guests to personalize their stay—and to maximize hotel revenue.
Upsells can also be offered in pre-arrival emails and at check-in. Present perks that align with your guest segments, such as chilled champagne, activity packages, plush robes to take home, luxury toiletries, snack baskets, and room upgrades.
By the time they arrive, guests may be hot, tired, and possibly short tempered from their day in a cramped plane or car. Enable them to reach their rooms as quickly as possible with self check-in technology. Self check-in allows guests to complete the registration process prior to arrival, signing documents, providing ID, and making payments all without stopping at the front desk. It’s a real time saver for both guests and staff.
Integrating self check-in into your operations is easier than you may think. WebRezPro includes customizable guest agreements for online registration that can be configured to collect guest ID and payment. Completed agreements are automatically attached to applicable reservations, and various guest messaging and mobile key integrations are available to elevate the self check-in experience.
Of course, once your initiatives are in place, you have to let your target market know. Harness these trending hotel marketing tactics to attract guests this summer:
Personalization: Once a trend, now an expectation, personalizing the guest experience is the key to winning repeat guests. Use the data in your property management and customer relationship management systems to tailor each guest’s stay and future communications and offers to their preferences.
Artificial Intelligence: Over 40 percent of American tourists have reserved accommodation recommended by AI. Let them discover you by optimizing your online presence for AI search traffic, a process known as AX optimization or AXO. Use conversational keywords, ensure that information is up to date, and promote your property across OTA and metasearch channels.
TikTok: Forty-four percent of American Gen Z and millennials peruse TikTok for vacation inspiration. Despite regulatory concerns, TikTok remains an effective place for properties to showcase content, especially if you’re focused on a younger audience. Its emphasis on authenticity over perfection makes it a welcoming place for new creators as it births trends, drives ecommerce, and bolsters user-generated content.
Making the most of summer requires a comprehensive marketing approach across online and offline channels. Often, the experience at your property varies depending on the time of year, so get ready to switch in your summer content and images. WebRezPro’s booking engine allows you to automatically showcase unit and property photos by season!
Get Ready, Get Set…
Travel has rebounded, and guests are on their way! If your calendar is not looking as full as you’d like, be sure to address the trends relevant to your property to attract guests and maximize revenue. Then, get ready to meet demand by streamlining operations with automated property management software like WebRezPro. It’s going to be a great summer!
