With much uncertainty in the world right now, the travel industry has to be creative to attract customers. 

If you’re running a hotel, motel, bread and breakfast (B&B), or campground, you may have a lot of competition in your area. Or, if you don’t have competition in your immediate area, you might be struggling to attract people from out of the area to come visit your location.

Either way, you need some marketing. 

The Importance of Print Marketing for the Hospitality Industry

Now of course, Internet and social media marketing are still very, very important. On the other hand, offline marketing tools such as posters, banners, car wraps, postcards, tour books, and other print paraphernalia should also be part of your hotel or motel marketing strategies.

Print marketing should not replace Internet marketing at this stage of our technological evolution. However, print should at the very least complement your online marketing, if not be a major piece of your marketing budget.

Because people are bombarded with so much information online, you have to find multiple ways to get their attention. If all you do is buy some search engine ads, you will probably get some traffic from that. But, if you want to really “stick” in someone’s memory, then you might be better off trying to do that via print.

Creative Print Marketing Ideas

Because print is so flexible, it can be used in a myriad of ways to attract attention from a potential customer.

For example, you might want to start a direct mail campaign to target previous visitors to your local motel. You could go with a simple postcard, or perhaps a letter. But think about being creative. 

What if you sent a folded-up poster to your past customers? Maybe it’s something that could be designed for families and thus could be a children’s poster that the kids would enjoy. Maybe the poster is actually kind of like a coloring book, and thus the children could color in the lines and make their own artwork

This is an example of a fun marketing ideal for your hotel or motel, but it will require a wide-format printer.

What Is a Wide-Format Printer?

A wide-format printer is a special kind of computer printer that is able to print on larger pieces of paper and or surfaces. Basic wide-format printers will allow you to print posters and banners that are beyond the typical letter size paper that a normal printer prints on.

Wide-format printing, however, can go far beyond just posters, depending on the type of printer. Some innovative wide-format printers, for example, are able to print on vinyl to make custom car wraps. It depends on the printer and the brand as to what exactly type of print medium you’ll be able to print on.

Wide-format printers come in basic to advanced models, thus fitting into every budget. Because of their versatility and cost-effectiveness, wide-format printers can support all sorts of creative marketing efforts for hotels, motels, inns, and bed and breakfasts.

Need Help Finding the Right Wide-Format Printer?

Whether you run a hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, or campground, Blue Technologies can help you with the right professional print equipment to enable your marketing. We offer a number of wide-format printers of various sizes to meet your specific needs. We partner with some of the best brands in the printing industry, including Konica Minolta, Lexmark, and KIP. We offer both color and black and white printers, with various options for speed and paper size, as well as print media, such as glass, foam core, or wood. 

When you talk to one of our printing experts, we will help assess your needs and target audiences, in order to determine the right multifunction and/or wide-format printer for your hospitality business. We will take the guesswork out of your printer purchase. Additionally, if you need extra support, we can provide ongoing monitoring and maintenance of your entire printer fleet through our Managed Print Services. Professional in-house printing couldn’t be easier.

Enjoy the benefits of an in-house wide-format printer for your hospitality business. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and get a print assessment scheduled today.