With the promise of long, warm days and lazing outdoors, hotels are kicking off their summer marketing campaigns. While occupancy tends to be higher during the summer, the market is competitive as travelers put their time and effort into planning these much-awaited getaways.

Whether you’ve noticed peak occupancy slipping or simply want your property to stand out, revisit your summer marketing campaigns and try something new to make a splash (and earn loyal guests!). 

Family Travel

With school out for the season, summer is the favorite time of year for family vacations. Highlight amenities at your property that families are most likely to enjoy, such as the pool, breakfast, playground, BBQs, or game rooms. In-room mini-fridges or kitchenettes are also particularly helpful for these travelers. 

Budgeting matters for families, with 37 percent who say affordability is an important factor in picking their destination. However, this doesn’t mean you have to slash your rates. Instead, consider the value your accommodation and packages provide. When designing packages, team up with other local businesses such as tour operators and attractions to leverage both your strengths. Theme park or zoo passes, festival tickets, trail rides, and boat rentals can all be packaged as part of a family-friendly stay. 

While these activities work well for children, family travel isn’t all about kids. Think about the movies (Shrek, Inside Out, Toy Story) you’ve watched with your kids—the good ones have jokes for the parents too. Parents are the ones choosing the trip, and they’re much more likely to choose something they enjoy. So what “adult-friendly” activities and amenities can you provide?

Even if your packages don’t include an activity, you can still let families know about local activities via your “things to do” page, blog, or digital guide. 

Make sure that your property management system has strong group booking capabilities for events like family reunions, and consider software like WebRezPro that enables you to sell multiple rooms as a single “virtual” unit for larger family groups. 

Summer Events and Holidays

Take advantage of the buzz generated by local summer events (like parades, sports games, and festivals) by creating packages and themed campaigns around them or simply providing information.

Does your town have any especially unique or culturally significant festivals or events? If so, be sure to mention it on your website. For instance, Ontario hosts Poutine Feast in the summer where attendees can sample poutine from various food trucks. It’s both kid-friendly and budget-friendly and unique to Canada. 

Don’t have a special feast? Don’t worry. You can always create your own event or stick to the staples. Who doesn’t remember watching the Independence Day fireworks? 

Food

Appealing to your customer’s appetites is a great way to celebrate summer—after all, the way to a guest’s heart is through their stomach!

Shake up your menu with new items, such as grilled meats and seafood, bright salads, fun drinks, and cool desserts. You could even throw a weekly outdoor cooking class, BBQ, or wine tasting soirée (in the garden perhaps?). As always, include options for people with dietary restrictions so that everyone can eat.

There’s something special about dining al fresco and, come summer, patios are in hot demand. Spruce up yours with a fresh coat of paint, hang flower baskets, and replace those faded sun umbrellas to get guests in a warm-weather mood. Be aware though, nights can be chillier than people think, especially when summer is just beginning. Invest in outdoor heaters to be sure everyone stays comfortable. 

Properties without a restaurant can still put a gastronomic spin on their offerings. Tailor your dining recommendations to the summer crowd, suggesting great spots with patios and live music. Whether you simply highlight restaurants on your website, put together a self-guided restaurant tour, or partner with nearby restaurants to offer guests discounts, the foodies are sure to come.

Health and Wellness

Hibernation is over, and there are plenty of wellness activities you can do outside in the summer sunshine. The best part is that you don’t have to maintain gym or spa facilities to make these activities work (if you’re a small B&B without the extra room indoors, that’s okay). You can host yoga, meditation, or even massage sessions in your garden or team up with other businesses like golf courses, farm tours, or dive guides.

Equipment rentals are a staple for many properties as well. Swimming in the lake nearby is cool and refreshing, but guests can see more if you let them borrow a kayak. When renting out equipment like kayaks or bikes, offer guests a map before they peddle off into the sunset. If you have local outdoor knowledge, share it. Tell your guests which path has the most huckleberries and make sure they know how to recognize poison oak. (A lobby sign with “trail tips” may be useful here.) 

Content Marketing

Use your website, blog, social media, and newsletters to excite your guests about summer travel. Freshen up your website and other online content for the season; this isn’t the time guests need those ski pics. All rates, packages, and amenities should be current. 

Provide helpful content across digital channels about your favorite beaches, restaurants, festivals, trails, and attractions. Search engines love this content because it’s exactly what travelers google this time of year. And who knows? A guest that lands on your blog may make their way to your booking engine… 

Think about the questions you’re asked at the front desk and start from there, or you can reverse engineer those SEO queries. If people google “best beaches in [your town]” that’s a good place to begin. 

Reviews

During peak travel season, you have an opportunity to amass online reviews, which add to your credibility and make guests more likely to choose you. Those reviews—and your responses—matter, with 54.7 percent of consumers looking at four or more prior to buying. Whether you ask politely at check-out or email your request later, every guest should be invited to provide feedback. 

Although you’re busy, it’s important to monitor guest feedback and respond, whether reviews are positive or negative. More eyes see your reviews during the high season. Remember that your response isn’t only for that one customer.

Keeping Cool

With climate change on the rise, more guests are concerned with keeping cool during the summer. If you’re located in a cooler destination, now is the time to market that. If you’re somewhere warmer, be explicit about how guests can get relief from the heat. Do you have a pool or beach nearby? What activities can you do to help guests catch a break/breeze? 

Use these tips to make your property stand out this summer and create memorable experiences that keep guests coming back!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published June 2015 and last updated May 2024.