A Dog-Eared Guest Book Saves The Day

When I bought The Acacia Hotel ('no money down' but that’s another story) back in 2003, it had been hosting overseas nurses who worked at the local hospital. My team of builders was hard at work renovating the place for an early summer opening, but I had a big problem—there was no ongoing marketing to rely on. No listings with the local tourist offices, and I couldn’t even make a website yet because I didn’t have any photos to use.

Having just borrowed half a million pounds, the pressure was on. I was both the hotel owner and the only marketer, and the pressure to fill the hotel was mounting with summer fast approaching.

That’s when I stumbled upon a dog-eared guestbook left behind by the previous owners. It was filled with comments from past guests who had clearly loved their stay, and that’s when it hit me—I could try to reconnect with these previous guests.

But there was a catch. The only contact information I had for them was a bunch of old postal addresses, and many of these would likely be out of date.

It felt like a long shot.

One morning, in the shower, I had a genius idea. I could write to all those guests, letting them know The Acacia was being fully refurbished and that we were re-opening as "Worthing's First Boutique Hotel."

But then reality set in—if people had moved, the letter would just get tossed in the bin. My goal wasn’t just to reconnect; I wanted them to visit a website, enter their email addresses, and stay in touch for future offers. I needed something that would grab their attention even if they weren’t living at the same address.

That’s when I thought, what if I sent a colorful postcard instead? No envelope meant the message would be right there for anyone to see. But now I was looking at a financial commitment—hiring a Virtual Assistant to input the data from the guestbook and paying a print shop to produce the postcards, not to mention the postage costs.

Plus, I still had no photos of the hotel, so I had to get creative with what to put on the front. I decided to use pictures that embodied the vibe and mood of the hotel rather than specific rooms.

How to make a 'no brainer offer'? One that would turn names & addresses into guests?

I offered a free prize draw. Each week, I would randomly pick one winner from the email list to enjoy a two-night break at The Acacia with breakfast included. All they had to do to enter was go to the website and submit their details. Even if the original guest had moved away, who could resist a chance to win a free stay? I took a gamble, sent out the postcards, and hoped for the best.

To my relief, it worked. The postcards started generating interest, and people were signing up for the prize draw. The mood-based imagery resonated with people, and I started building a small but engaged email list. Meanwhile, I invited local artists to display their work in the hotel’s themed rooms, which earned me a lot of free local PR. I even threw an opening party and invited all the local influencers and potential referrers in the form of HR Heads at all the local Head Offices and other business people, which created a buzz around the re-opening.

In less than 12 weeks, The Acacia was fully booked—and I didn’t spend a single penny on traditional advertising. On top of that, I set up a blog and an email newsletter, and I may have been one of the first hotels in the country to do that. The blog helped with search engine optimization and kept The Acacia top of mind for people visiting the South Coast.

I called the newsletter 'The Diary Of A Seaside Landlady'.

By blending creativity with personal connections and learning a few digital marketing tricks along the way, I was able to create a launch strategy that filled the hotel and built relationships with previous guests. That approach became the foundation of my future marketing efforts, proving to me that sometimes, a little old-school personal touch combined with modern marketing can work wonders.

And then came Google Adwords...