What Large Hotel Groups Could Learn From Sarova Hotels’ New Websites
I love working with Sarova Hotels. They’re an independent, family-owned company with four beautiful, “individual hotels for individual people” in London, Windsor, Gerrards Cross and the Malvern Hills in the UK.
We are excited to announce that they’ve just launched the first two new websites we’ve been working with them on: The Rembrandt Hotel and The Bull Hotel. EVG created the content, and Sarova’s developer OnCotton came up with this beautiful responsive theme, which showcases the new sites equally well on laptops, tablets and mobiles.
Ready for a shock? Check out the old version in the Sir Christopher Wren’s website, which will receive all new content as well.
Large hotel groups could learn valuable lessons from the way independent hotel groups such as Sarova work. For all you hotel marketers out there, here are a few to help get you started:
Lesson 1: Dynamism
Something needs fixing? Let’s fix it right now! Shall we try this? Yes, let’s do it. If it works, we’ll roll it out quickly. If it doesn’t work, we’ll figure it out fast enough and learn to do it better.
Lesson 2: Focus
Smaller companies are closer to the ground than global corporations. The senior management and marketing department know their properties intimately and understand exactly what guests appreciate about each hotel.
The challenge for our larger hospitality clients is to try to reach a similar understanding of what guests love and hate and why…
Lesson 3: Flexibility
…and to have the flexibility to adapt their content to each particular hotel’s quirks.
We spent considerable time researching each hotel’s unique selling points, using a combination of reviews, guest comments, analytics and the general manager’s insights. Each website’s content is tailored to highlight what makes that hotel special, as well as to appeal to the particular target markets the general manager wishes to attract.
It does help that the hotels themselves are mighty fine, set in beautiful historic buildings in convenient locations and almost all freshly upgraded. So fine, indeed, that I’m writing this from the lounge bar at The Rembrandt, where I’m staying during a quick trip to London. Cheers!
Monica Guy – Director of Content Marketing EMEA
