As hospitality businesses ramp up for increased bookings during the decline of COVID-19, RV park and campground owners are looking for ways to make their parks stand out. There is a need for software that can support and uplift their financial recovery by enabling effective RV park marketing communications with guests. 

You can look for a reservation management system with the following tools to help you communicate re-opening dates, pandemic precautions, protocols and policy updates, upcoming promotions, and more at your property.

1. Email Marketing

An email marketing module allows you to create custom email campaigns, filter guest records in order to create targeted recipient groups, and schedule future emails or send them right away. An integral part of email marketing is your ability to access reporting to gauge the success of your campaigns. This reporting should include open and click-through rates, hard and soft bounces, and unsubscribe data.

Email Marketing Best Practices

To improve your marketing email strategy, consider the following best practice guidelines:

• Create an eye-catching subject line that entices your viewer to keep reading.
• Include a “call-to-action” link for your reader to click and further engage with your campaign.
• Include the option to unsubscribe from future communications.
• Send test campaigns to your own email address to ensure a clean layout, effective message and working links.
• Send your campaigns on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays at 10 a.m. for maximum views and clicks.
  
  

2. Message Center

The ideal communication hub is a centralized messaging center that lives inside of your reservation management system for efficient communication. From within this message center, you should be able to communicate with current and future guests via email, SMS messaging, and chat.

Email: Your business likely retains hundreds or thousands of email addresses from past guests, or those who have signed up for your marketing communications, so it’s important for your PMS to support email communication tools.

SMS Messaging: Some communications are just too urgent to send via email. Your reservation management system must allow you to reach guests on their phones to send important alerts. A message center enables you to send SMS messages that will instantly reach guests in the event of last-minute updates to check-in protocol or emergency situations.

Chat: You should be able to exchange real-time messages with guests who need assistance. Using a reservation management system with a chat feature enhances your accessibility to guests and expedites communication as an alternative to SMS and email messaging.

3. Automated Correspondence

Using a reservation management system with automated correspondence saves you time and money by enabling messaging to go out at a pre-designated point in time. Automated correspondence is the key to efficient communication when it comes to sending confirmation, check-in, check-out, and receipt messages to your guests. 

Your software should enable you to create these messages as customizable templates that are sent out automatically during various stages of your visitor’s stay. In turn, you and your staff are freed up to tend to other business needs to support recovery.

4. Social Media Marketing

When designing your RV park marketing strategy, it’s important to ask the right questions about your social media presence:

Which platform is best for my RV park? With some reservation software integrations, you can add a Book Now button directly to your business’s Facebook page, to help convert browsers into eager campers. Do some research to find out which platforms your potential campers visit the most.

What type of content should we make? When you create content from blogs to videos, keep your brand in mind, and remember that helpful content is the key to increasing your reputation. 

What is the most important message I want to share on social media? Highlighting the beauty of your park through images and video is a great way to entice new visitors.

Social Media Tips

Once you’ve chosen your social platform, it’s time to create brand-specific hashtags, engage with your audience and community through thoughtful posts and replies, and consider social media ads to increase your reservations. Remember to include links to your website tastefully to attract your audience. 

5. Guest Portal

Your reservation software provider should offer one final tool to enhance your campground marketing strategy: a guest portal. A “Contact Us” tool in the guest portal where guests can instantly send a message while they’re viewing their stay details can improve their guest experience before they even set foot on your property.

On your end, the message will appear in the message center, and your two-way conversation can then be stored under the reservation record for future reference. In addition to being an efficient communication tool, the guest portal can be utilized by guests to view and print receipts, sign documents, and provide your property with any additional desired information.

Take Your Communications Strategy to the Next Level

Effective communication will help keep your business running smoothly despite any disruptions. Additionally, the right campground reservation software can enhance your RV park marketing efforts so you can showcase your brand to the right audience. It will also help you build relationships with guests and retain loyal campers.

Looking for more tips on how to improve your guest communication? Check out our Marketing Toolkit which includes free guides and downloadable email templates to use at your RV park or campground.