Here’s what to include in workation and staycation landing pages.
We’ve come a long way since the height of the pandemic…
Not too long ago — before vaccines, revenge travel, and the “summer of air travel hell” — hotels were hurting due to painfully low occupancy levels. Feels like an entire lifetime ago but, during those days, hoteliers were seriously pondering how to make ends meet.
Enter so-called “workation” and “staycation” packages.
These promotional offers were designed to appeal to locals, to fill in the gaps left by a hotel’s usual clientele. But here’s the thing: Creating an enticing offer wasn’t — and still isn’t — enough to increase bookings. People actually need to know about your promos!
Except, how do you advertise hotel packages on a restricted budget? Simple: Through search marketing.
To be more precise, you won’t even have to eat into your ad spend to see results. All you really need are exceptionally-written landing pages! And if you want an even better response, email marketing helps. That way, offers land straight in a potential guest’s inbox with a link to various staycation landing pages. And, of course, your booking portal.
First, a reminder as to why your hotel should use landing pages
If you’re a regular on the Radiant Copywriting blog, then you’ve already read my post on the benefits of hotel landing pages.
But if this is your first visit (hi ?, great to have you here) or if you’re on the fence about landing pages, then keep reading for the most compelling reasons why these special types of web pages should be part of your hotel marketing strategy.
✅ You’ll get your offers in front of higher-quality leads
Landing pages are designed to target specific market segments at crucial moments in their travel purchase journey. The goal? Attract qualified leads, i.e. individuals most likely to make a booking. That’s why landing pages focus on just one topic per page. For example: A 3D2N family staycation with pool package.
In short, landing pages get your brand in front of the right people, at the right time with conversion copywriting that matches the searcher’s intent.
✅ Landing pages are more convincing
Because landing pages center on one topic and one topic only, you get to be very deliberate about both design and wording. The result is a persuasive page that boosts conversions.
Because unlike a general page elsewhere on your website, where the reader may have to navigate multiple pages to find what he’s looking for, everything the person needs on this one topic is clearly outlined in one place.
And since the page doesn’t inundate readers with endless options, you minimize indecisiveness stemming from the paradox of choice.
No clicking away. No information overload. No losing interest.
✅ It’s easier for prospects to take action
Landing pages are carefully designed to guide visitors towards one compelling call to action. Because there are no competing calls to action or messages vying for the reader’s attention, it’s much easier for prospects to follow through on their intent and take action.
What should you include on your staycation landing pages?
Building your first hotel staycation landing page? Here’s what you’ll need.
✅ An eye-catching headline
This is one of the first things visitors will see, which is why your landing page headline has to pack a punch! You want to motivate prospects to keep reading.
A striking headline is:
- Relevant – it matches the visitor’s search terms so they know they’re in the right place
- Concise – it is easy to understand and easy to remember
- Interesting – it has to entice people to want to read more
✅ An awesome hero image and appropriate graphics
A hero image is hard to miss—it’s normally placed towards the top portion of the landing page and can shape a visitor’s first impression of your offer. That’s why your chosen hero image has to be a professionally-taken photo that’s related to your staycation landing page topic.
For example: If you’re promoting a couple’s staycation, a suitable hero image would be of a happy couple toasting to their staycation—not kids splashing around your pool.
✅ Apply established copywriting best practices
Aim for tight yet captivating copy. You want to set the stage without being long-winded. That means short sentences and the use of bullet points.
You also want to counter any objections prospects may have (that will get them backing out of the booking) and answer their most important queries right on the page.
That means your copy would include such details as:
- Package inclusions
- Sample itineraries
- Package pricing
- Available dates
- Booking and cancellation terms
- Your COVID-19 safety measures notice
- Contact data (email, phone number) for any inquiries
✅ A prominent call to action
You can’t have a landing page without an easy-to-spot call to action. But don’t stick with defaults. Go ahead and test color choice, placement, and your actual call to action copy to find the optimum combination that will win you more conversions.
✅ Only include links that will help you convert
Experts say landing pages shouldn’t include outbound links—except wherever the call to action button leads. This is because (1) you don’t want to distract from the page goal and (2) you want to minimize exit opportunities lest the visitor clicks away then doesn’t return to complete the booking.
That is not to say, though, that special package pages would not benefit from giving prospects additional, useful information that could help them in their decision making. In that respect, a wise solution might be a link for a downloadable PDF file or a ‘mailto’ link.
Here’s an example:
Clicking to view their suggested itinerary opens up a 2-page PDF that outlines what you could do on day one and day two of your staycation.
Just remember that if you do add outbound links, it should contribute to the goal of that landing page. You should also benefit from it in the long run. So whether you have zero links or multiple links, always test for effectiveness.
For more tips before creating your staycation landing pages, take a look at these suggested guidelines.
But it doesn’t end there!
Completing your landing page doesn’t mean your work is done. There are still a few things you’ll need to work on for the best results. Let’s take a closer look at what still needs your attention.
❓ Have you modified the page’s meta description?
This post on search snippets explains why a meta description is important and why it’s worth customizing them. To put it into perspective though, check out the example below to see for yourself just how much of an impact a custom meta description can have when a searcher comes across your staycation landing page on search engines.
❓ Have you included a package overview on your Offers page?
Yes, you want your offers to be easily discoverable on search engines but you also want visitors to your website to be able to find them. That’s why your “Offers” page should also link to your special deals and packages landing pages.
❓ Have you ensured message match for paid ads and staycation landing pages?
Prevent confusion by making sure that your ad copy matches the message of your landing page. So, if your ad promises a staycation and breakfast offer, then the page it links to should be about your staycation and breakfast offer.
There are two compelling reasons for this. First, you don’t want visitors to be disappointed in you because you promised one thing and delivered something else. Second, you don’t want to waste precious marketing resources on clicks that won’t convert because they didn’t get what they were looking for!