KEEP GUESTS ENGAGED

It is crucial to maintain communication with your past, current and prospective guests throughout the entire process. Send out regular renovation updates through email blasts, photos on Facebook and actively engage with your guests on Twitter. Even if it’s just quick posts like “the new carpet was just placed in the lobby .” Give the guests a reason to follow the social media posts by getting them excited early on.

Be sure to pay special attention to the guests staying at the hotel during the construction, not only because they stand to be the most inconvenienced, but they are also the most captive audience. If they get an email message about a cool new addition, it’s easy for them to stop by and check it out on their way in or out of their room. Also, if guests are significantly inconvenienced by construction work, don’t just apologize and tell them what’s happening; offer alternative solutions that meet their needs. Sometimes this involves getting the creative juices flowing. For example, if your restaurant is shut down, set up a reservation and provide a shuttle service to a nearby restaurant. Another tactic is to put a letter personally signed by the general manager under their room door each morning conveying the changes occurring and what you are doing to ensure the guest is still the priority. The opportunities are endless to remedy the situation; you just have to use your imagination.

On a construction update wall you can post color samples, fabric swatches and artist renderings of completed construction so guests can envision what the new space is going to look like. If the contractors working on the site are willing and aware that they are going to be on display so to speak, take guests on hardhat tours or invite them in for cocktail parties in the physical construction zone when the work is done for the day. Don’t fear the “mayhem” of construction.” Use it to your advantage as a unique and memorable experience for your guests. It’s a great way for them to connect with the finished product, and down the line even boast, “I saw it when…”

Make your new restaurant/ lounge/ fitness center/ spa a focal point of your marketing efforts to guests and other visitors. Consider offering packages that combine dinner and hotel stays and/or discounts for guests. Publicize the renovation to repeat guests through e-mails, newsletters, advertisements and public relations activity.

SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTO POST IDEAS

CLOSE UP PHOTOS

Social media is a wonderful tool for the travel industry. Since repeat customers are so valuable, being able to keep in touch with your fans is a great way to develop an extremely powerful revenue stream. It’s far easier to earn another booking from an existing customer than it is to reach a new one.

Take close-up photos of the new design elements and ask people to guess what the image is of. You can even reward the correct answers with something like a free item from the hotel market or a drink the bar. 

TIME LAPSE SERIES

Do a time lapse of various renovation projects. A mobile app like Hyperlapse can help make this easier. 

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS

Before and after photos are an obvious way to display all the hard work and improvements your property has made. To create a buzz before completion, post before photos and the artists renderings or concept drawings of what the renovations will look like. 

DAILY UPDATE SHOTS

Just a quick update of where the renovations stand.