Unlocking revenue potential: how small to medium hotels can capitalise on sale periods

In an increasingly competitive hospitality landscape, small to medium hotels must think more creatively to grow brand awareness, generate forward bookings and boost revenue. One often-overlooked strategy is leveraging retail-driven sales events such as Black Friday, Boxing Day Sales and Click Frenzy – traditionally the domain of major retailers: to create urgency, attract new guests and reward your loyal ones.

Why Sales Periods Matter for Hotels

Sales periods are no longer just for retail with consumers now expecting travel deals during these windows, and hotels that participate can benefit from:

• Increased visibility during high-traffic shopping times

• Higher conversion rates due to time-sensitive offers

• Opportunities to fill low-occupancy periods.

• Strengthened brand loyalty through exclusive member or direct-booking deals.

Strategic Ideas for Hotels to Leverage Sales Periods

Here are several ways that hotels can turn seasonal sales into strategic revenue opportunities:

• Create limited-time packages.

o Bundle accommodation with value-adds such as breakfast, food and beverage spend, spa treatments or late check-out.

o Collaborate with complementary local businesses to offer exclusive bundled experiences that not only add value for guests but also strengthen your relationships within the local community and expand your marketing reach.

o Make the offer time-sensitive to drive urgency.

• Promote direct bookings.

o Use sales periods to highlight the benefits of booking directly: better rates, flexible cancellation or included value adds.

• Segment your audience.

o Tailor offers to different guest types: couples, families, solo travellers or corporate clients.

• For example, EOFY deals could target corporate event planners with enhanced packages, or a special offer on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to encourage forward bookings for the year ahead during need periods.

o Set up audience segmentation within your email marketing system - using tags or groups – allowing you to deliver personalised, relevant messaging to each market segment.

• Ensure you are familiar with current Spam Acts or Privacy Laws and that you have consent to communicate with your database.

• Use email and social media to build anticipation.

o Start teasing your offers early.

o Use countdowns, sneak peeks and early-access promotions to build excitement and drive traffic to your booking channels.

• Leverage guest loyalty.

o Reward your regular guests with exclusive early access or additional benefits during sales periods.

• This not only drives bookings but also strengthens long-term relationships.

• Incorporate the year-round sales events within your annual marketing calendar.

o Include all relevant sales periods: identify and incorporate key dates that are appropriate for your property such as Mother’s Day, school holidays, EOFY, Valentine’s Day, Singles Day. These events should be mapped out across your calendar.

o Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your promotions: begin thinking months in advance to ensure your campaigns are well-timed and well-executed.

o Ensure your revenue and marketing strategies are fully aligned - your pricing should complement your promotional messaging and be supported by consistent, targeted content creation.

• For example, if you are offering a family package during school holidays, your pricing should reflect the value of the inclusions, and your content should speak directly to that audience.

Measuring Success - Key Metrics to Track

To effectively measure the performance of your sales campaigns, it is essential to monitor several core metrics throughout the sales window:

• Booking volume during the sales window: track the total number of bookings made throughout the promotional period to determine the immediate impact of your campaign.

• Direct vs OTA bookings: compare the proportion of reservations made directly through your channels versus those made via OTAs to understand where your sales efforts are generating the most traction and to assess the effectiveness of your direct booking incentives.

• RevPAR: monitor this important metric to evaluate how well aligned your pricing and occupancy strategies are during the campaign.

• Guest acquisition cost: calculate the average cost of attracting each new guest during the campaign period. This helps determine the efficiency of your marketing spend (if relevant) and allows you to refine future promotional strategies for a better return on investment.

Beyond Immediate Revenue: Building Brand Awareness and Future Opportunities

In addition to monitoring sales-related metrics, it is important to recognise that the success of a campaign extends beyond the immediate revenue generated. Well-executed campaigns serve as a valuable means to increase brand awareness and develop future business opportunities. Even if a specific campaign offer does not appeal to every traveller, it can still attract potential guests to your website and social media channels. Once there, travellers may discover and book alternative dates, rates or packages that better suit their requirements, resulting in additional bookings and long-term benefits for your business.

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Data: see what people do on your website during the sales campaign. This helps you identify where visitors come from and which pages or offers get the most attention.

• Google Business Profile (GBP): monitor your GBP results to see how your business listing performs during the campaign. Check things like views, website visits and phone calls to identify if you are reaching more people.

• META Analytics: review data from META platforms like Facebook and Instagram for the campaign period. Look at insights such as reach, clicks and actions to understand which posts or ads work best with your audience.

Use these insights to refine future campaigns and identify which sales periods yield the best ROI.

Sales periods offer more than just a chance to discount rooms – they are a strategic opportunity to drive revenue, build brand awareness and engage guests in meaningful ways. With thoughtful planning and targeted marketing, you can can turn seasonal promotions into powerful growth opportunities.

Published: October 2025