With mornings becoming chillier and leaves beginning to turn, shoulder season is on its way. However, it isn’t the quiet, sleepy travel period that it used to be as concerns over cost, climate change, and overtourism drive guests to book differently. Seventeen percent of summer trips are planned for September after Labor Day this year, compared with only 12 percent in 2022.

There’s a real opportunity to boost bookings and revenue this fall. If your shoulder season marketing feels stale, now is a good time to look for inspiration. Start by thinking about who your guests are during this season. With the kids back in school, are you welcoming mostly Baby Boomers and Gen Z vacationers? Business travelers? Weekend staycationers? Tailor your marketing efforts to your property’s shoulder season customers for maximum conversions. With that in mind, here are some ideas to work with… 

Review Feedback

Read through the reviews you amassed over summer to find out why guests chose your property, what they liked about it, and what they didn’t. Analyzing feedback is one of the best ways to identify areas for improvement in both operations and marketing. 

Reviews can shine a light on gaps between guest expectation and experience and, therefore, areas in your marketing that may be misleading. Align your marketing more closely with the positive aspects of your guests’ actual experience to reap the rewards of satisfied guests and rave reviews.

These reviews may reveal unique selling points that you have not considered before, offering a fresh perspective to promote. For example, you may be focusing your marketing efforts on your trendy boutique décor, while your customers are actually more appreciative of your central location. 

Highlight User-generated Content (UGC)

Search out guests’ positive tweets and photos about your property on social media that you may have missed over the summer and share them on your own pages. A social listening tool like Hootsuite comes in useful by allowing you to consistently watch for mentions of your brand and other important keywords and collect those mentions on a single dashboard. 

From there, decide which mentions to promote further and respond to. Add comments like, “What a great summer! Thanks for spending time with us, [insert guest name here]! The fun never ends at [insert your property’s name]! The firepits are roaring, and the hot chocolate is on!” Your tone should be friendly, cheerful, and succinct. Be sure to tag or credit the guest on anything you repost.

User-generated content is one of your most powerful marketing tools, with 84 percent of consumers more likely to trust brands who use it. If you’re having trouble generating this content, ask for it in your post-stay feedback request email, on your lobby signage, and at the front desk. 

Celebrate Fall Holidays

There’s plenty to celebrate in fall with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Oktoberfest, and Black Friday. If you haven’t taken advantage of these holidays in your marketing efforts, or you do the same thing year over year, it may be time to spice things up with a big celebration or something subtle yet novel.

Ideas for on-property events include costume parties, cooking classes, wine tastings, or pumpkin carving workshops. If you’re a family resort, make sure you have something for the kids. Kids are often an excuse to celebrate! 

Dining is a big draw as well. If you offer meals onsite, consider a special menu to celebrate the holidays or try out a signature holiday cocktail. Halloween Bloody Mary, anyone? 

Black Friday stands apart because the focus is on deals and discounts to attract guests throughout the next year instead of one specific celebration. This is when your best offers should be available. Communicate far enough in advance that guests know to book, and use the Black Friday deadline to create a sense of urgency. Uniqueness is also critical. You’re competing with other products, other hotels, and even your own previous campaigns. Take another look at your guest and booking data and see what extra perks may appeal to your customers. 

Promote Seasonal Activities and Local Events

From leaf peeping to Halloween festivals, lodging operators can drum up excitement about local activities and events to attract visitors to the area and their property. Develop relationships with tour operators and event organizers to offer packages that include activities, event tickets, and/or discounts. 

However, these seasonal assets should be included in your marketing even if you don’t have partnerships in place this time around. They still increase the appeal of your destination. Brush up your website, blog, and social media channels and make sure to highlight local events and activities for fall. It’s out with the jet ski rentals and in with the haunted corn maze.

Refresh Your Content

Events and activities aren’t the only items that need to be updated across your marketing channels. Your destination itself is different in fall than it is in summer, so make sure the difference shows. It’s especially important to go through and update your pictures. Potential guests can take in visuals 600 times more quickly than text! 

However, this doesn’t mean that you can neglect your text all together. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it still can’t give you the details (there’s a reason we don’t communicate via cave painting anymore). Guests need to know dates, locations, insider recommendations, etc. 

Providing a digital guide within your guest app is a great way to help guests make the most of your hotel and destination. Your guide should include everything a guest needs to know about your property, from services and facilities to the best local hotspots. Adapt content for fall by including the best places for leaf peeping, restaurants offering special fall menus, and where to go for popular fall activities and community events (see above). And let guests know how many layers to bring! 

Alternatively, you can provide printed guides in your lobby and guest rooms. 

Rev’ Up Your Fall Social Media Campaigns

Fall fun provides plenty of inspiration for social media campaigns. In addition to sparking conversations about local events and activities, you can really get creative with your social media efforts and find ways to integrate user-generated content (see above). What about a photo contest for your guests—scariest Halloween costume wins? 

With occupancy levels lower, shoulder season can be a good time for a giveaway to drum up brand awareness or reward loyalty. Know what your giveaway goals are and make sure the terms are clear. 

Advertise Shoulder Season Perks

Shoulder season isn’t a bug; it’s a feature, so advertise it as such. 

Guests can enjoy cooler temperatures and smaller crowds. Socially conscious travelers appreciate the fact that shoulder season travel helps to reduce overtourism while providing the local economy a dependable income stream throughout the year. According to a 2022 Booking.com survey, about a third of respondents said they would compromise on their vacation spot to reduce overcrowding.

Shoulder season also appeals to retirees, workcationers, and others who don’t have to abide by the school calendar. Browse your guest data again and create special packages and promotions geared towards the segments that stay with you. 

Off-peak prices, cooler temperatures, and smaller crowds make fall a great time to travel. Use these ideas to inspire your fall marketing efforts and win more shoulder-season bookings!

Editor’s note: This post was last updated in August 2024.