Hotel email marketing trends to watch out for in 2022

Every so often, the world of digital ensures it keeps marketers on their toes by announcing a seismic update that means having to promptly learn and adapt the usual processes.

This time, it's Apple's turn to shake up the email marketing landscape. When unveiling its iOS 15 update, they also announced the introduction of MPP – Mail Privacy Protection which strengthens Apple Mail's privacy.

iOS 15 was released on 20th September, so you can expect most users to utilise the feature in early 2022.

Mail Privacy Protection basically means that recipients who open your marketing email on Apple Mail can prevent you from seeing if and when they've opened it, along with their IP address being hidden, so you won't be able to determine their location either. This makes targeting options, particularly geo-targeting, practically impossible.

Email is one of the most effective methods for hotels to engage with their potential and existing guests. Although email marketing is changing, it's not all doom and gloom; there are many trends and opportunities to take advantage of to improve your hotel email marketing in 2022.

Content and formatting
Put customer experience at the front of mind when planning your email's copy and layout. Keep design clean and content short. Dynamic content can also serve relevant content to each subscriber based on different criteria such as their age, gender, location etc. The more personal you get with targeting and messaging, the higher the engagement you'll see.

Interactive
Interactive features will encourage your subscribers to engage with your emails. These can be surveys or quizzes, calls to action, embedded videos, or include your book a room button within the email linking directly to your integrated Booking Engine.

Segmentation
Taking the time to segment your email lists can significantly improve email campaign performance. Dividing your list into specific groups enables you to better target your audience to drive more enquiries and bookings from your email campaigns.

Personalise
Using merge tags to pull through your subscriber's first name isn't enough anymore. Going one step further and using AI-powered platforms that use machine learning to craft email content around the subscriber will give your guest the impression that the email was written specifically for them.

Metrics
Open rate will be directly affected by MPP, so it'll be essential to track other metrics such as clicks, bounce and conversion rates to get an accurate as possible understanding of your email campaign results.

Testing
A/B testing elements such as subject lines, imagery and CTAs will ensure you're getting an ongoing understanding of what works best for continuous improvements.

Email marketing is a highly effective channel for promoting your hotel, acquiring new guests, driving loyalty, and up-selling rooms and experiences. Speak to our HopDigital team about how we can maximise your hotel email campaigns!