The best marketing is word of mouth.
One way to jump-start word of mouth marketing is to go to travel-related events, especially when they involve people who are active online -- like travel bloggers and Twitter addicts.
Two good places to find these kinds of meetups are on twtvite.com and meetup.com.
Twtvite is for tweetups (meetings of Twitter users). Here's an example travel tweetup in Washington DC:
http://twtvite.com/d89cga
Meetup.com helps you find meetups on any topic, including travel.
Networking with local travel people can help get the word out about what you're doing. When people come to your town, they might ask a local for advice (online or offline). The travel bloggers might mention you in their blogs. By letting locals know about your hostel, it can help get the word out...
14 years
The best marketing is word of mouth.
And it is the cheapest.
Many Guest today have their own Travel Blog, are active on Facebook and other social sites. They , as well as the Marketers mentioned above, Have a vast network, compared to Guest of 10 yrs ago.
Keep your Guest happy and many new guest will tell you they heard of you from "My Friend".
It compounds quickly these days and a referal from a friend is trusted more than anything else.
14 years
So true. Has anyone tried sending out press releases, or invitations for a free stay to travel bloggers they know are in the area? I was thinking of giving it a shot but would love to hear of other people's experiences first.
14 years
So true. Has anyone tried sending out press releases, or invitations for a free stay to travel bloggers they know are in the area? I was thinking of giving it a shot but would love to hear of other people's experiences first.
Press releases can work if the news in the press release is newsworthy. When writing the press releases, look at it from the perspective of the journalists -- they are looking for something interesting to share with their readers. Direct sales pitches don't work well :)
I like the idea of giving well-know bloggers VIP treatment and even some free accommodation. I don't think the relationship should be "I'll give you a free bed if you write a good review or blog post" but more along the lines of "if you're in our country, come stay with us for a few nights and we'll show you why we're the most fun hostel in town -- no obligation or anything expected in return." It only works if the hostel is good and can provide them with a great time :)
14 years
Sweet. I was figuring that as well - no expectation of a good review, no obligation (just being damn sure not to mess up their stay!).
14 years
Hi all, first of all an introduction, my name is Leo and I'm about to open up (November 15th grand opening!) a Hostel in Costa Rica (web site still in progress @ http://www.yurusticostaricahostel.com)
Hostelmanagement.com has been a tremendous resource of valuable information, this is my first post ;).
Now to my question, I find the ideas posted on this thread in regards to travel bloggers and their impact on positive word of mouth very interesting, how does one go about finding these bloggers though? Might sound like a stupid question but bear with me as I'm just getting started on the industry, I'm sure if I google "backpacker blog" I'll find thousands of them, what's a good way of determining the actual following of a particular blogger?
I can think of looking at the number of twitterers following the person in case of twitter, or the average number of replies posted to any one blog entry, but I still wouldn't feel confident I'm focusing my resources on the right person just by using those variables as my ground.
Saludos!
14 years
Hi all, first of all an introduction, my name is Leo and I'm about to open up (November 15th grand opening!) a Hostel in Costa Rica (web site still in progress @ http://www.yurusticostaricahostel.com)
Hostelmanagement.com has been a tremendous resource of valuable information, this is my first post ;).
Welcome to the site :)
...what's a good way of determining the actual following of a particular blogger?
I can think of looking at the number of twitterers following the person in case of twitter, or the average number of replies posted to any one blog entry, but I still wouldn't feel confident I'm focusing my resources on the right person just by using those variables as my ground.
There are so many travel bloggers, it's difficult to know which ones have readership.
None of these ways are accurate by themselves, but they can get a general ideas:
A good place to start is by talking to people on Twitter and getting to know them.
Some places to start are Twitter lists. Here are several hundred hostel companies on Twitter:
Everywhere Trip has some great Twitter lists for bloggers and tourist boards:
14 years
nomadicmatt and everything-everywhere are two popular travel blogs. If you follow their blogs and their twitter you should be able to find more travel bloggers with decent followings.
I had this idea also to get travel bloggers to stay at your place for free. One of the problems is however, they don't just do hostel reviews on their site, unless it was some kind of place extraordinary.
So at the most you might only get a mention on their twitter account or facebook.
I wonder if you offered a special discount to any travel bloggers who mention your hostel on their website. Travel bloggers who write for fun, rather than for commercial gain, might be more open to writing more about your place.
13 years
Hi Leo,
A good place to start is with Lonely Planet's Blogsherpa program. They browse the web for the best travel blogs and post the material on their own site.
I think it is important that you state upfront to any travel blogger that you are giving them some free accommodation so as to simply give them a chance to see why your hostel is so great (as was said above).
(disclaimer: I'm one of those bloggers on the LP program)
Good luck :)
12 years
As a travel blogger, I also recommend Facebook groups. Travel Bloggers and Global Blogger Network are a great place to start. It also helps that once you work with one blogger, they will recommend you to others.
11 years
A great deal of research finds that word of mouth is more effective than other types of marketing. Whether compared to traditional advertising, media mentions, or promotional events, word of mouth is more useful in creating new users and customers. Not surprisingly, we trust our friends more than we trust ads. Word of mouth is also more targeted.
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