9 years
It s the most important thing to give the deals ..
And you know better than us to know the high season.
And you can just share brochures or cards with the hostels in the other cities little bit far away from your place.
Marketing advice/ideas?
Internet Marketing
Hi,
We are the only hostel in our city. Our prices for our 3 dorm sizes are normal and relative to the destination and season. The town is a transport hub but in winter not a huge amount is happening here, but we are in a good location for a national park that is really popular so around now mostly everyone who comes is going there.
The problem is the next city (60km away) has a shitload of hostels. There is a price war happening there with hostels undercutting themselves with ridiculously low bed prices just to get a good ranking on HW searches etc...where beds used to be 10 or 11€ in winter, they are now selling at 6, 7 or 8€!
How should we approach this? Should we even be concerned? Im imagining guests searching both cities in relation to the national park and choosing the other one even though it is further away and more expensive for food etc. but the bed prices are cheaper.
Cheers!
- Comments
8 years
My business has also been affected by a price war in a neighboring city. Guests stay there first and spend almost nothing on accommodation, and then they come to me and complain that we’re overpriced at 12€. Luckily for me though, guests aren’t choosing between the two cities in order to visit the same attraction.
It’s hard to compete with hostels that dump their prices on the OTAs because the travelers may not even bother to look at any additional info you put there. If people come to the area first and then ask what there is to do, it’s even more difficult. If people are coming specifically for the park, then you might be in luck because your own website can give you an advantage.
At one point or another most of the travelers coming to visit are likely to look for some info online. If you can turn your website into a solid resource of information about the park, then people may be very likely to book with you simply because they recognize your name and they trust your knowledge. For example:
- Create your own page with basic useful information like opening hours, prices, warnings, etc. Maybe throw in a weather forecast widget for good measure?
- Make a map/list of hiking trails, and then write your own description for each one as a separate blog
- Make a list of plants or animals that are commonly found in the park, and then write a blog about each one with photos and interesting information. People love fun facts, or lists like “5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Black Bears”
- Make a bucket list of things that visitors should see/do in and around the park. Include other highlights from around your city so that if they stay 60km away they’ll feel like they missed out. Even better if you can put together a short video that shows those things, because Google puts videos at the top of search results.
Do you think something like this would help your situation at all?
8 years
Here is a short overview for surviving a price war that I wrote back in March. Maybe something there will also spark an idea for a solution.
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