Black Friday is a shopping event that shapes consumer behavior across industries, and hospitality is no exception. For hoteliers, it presents valuable opportunities to boost direct bookings. To measure its impact, THN carried out an in-depth analysis of 2024 data from more than 4,300 hotels. We compared website performance during the Black Friday period (November 3–December 2, 2024) with the previous month (October 3–November 2, 2024) to better understand how the season influences direct booking trends.
Hotels that launched Black Friday campaigns on their website saw impressive results, with direct bookings soaring by 63.8%, website conversion rates climbing 36%, and direct revenue nearly doubling with a 97.5% increase. Meanwhile, hotels that didn’t participate missed out on this opportunity and experienced declines or only modest growth across key metrics.
To help hoteliers make the most of the shopping frenzy Black Friday creates, THN created an inspirational guide with tailored strategies for the hospitality sector. The guide highlights practical approaches that can be adapted to different needs, making it easier to boost direct bookings and capture more value from this key sales period. So let’s jump in and explore some of the most effective tactics and real examples from hotels that turn Black Friday into a success story.
Capture, Connect, and Convert
Don’t let website visitors leave without leaving a trace. Adding a Layer with email capture is a simple way to collect first-party data and start building relationships with future guests. One effective approach is to announce your Black Friday sale with a countdown and invite users to sign up so they don’t miss out. The Bear’s Paw Warmingham used this strategy to boost revenue beyond bookings by promoting vouchers. Try incorporating similar tactics to capture valuable leads and maximize the impact of your Black Friday campaigns.
Layer capturing emails for future marketing campaigns
Let Your Perks Do the Talking
Black Friday is the perfect moment to showcase the benefits you offer guests. Use a Layer with exclusive perks to clearly communicate the advantages of booking direct. For example, Dhigali Maldives promoted benefits like resort credit, a spa discount, and a room upgrade as a limited-time deal with a countdown. This approach helped the hotel increase ancillary revenue without sacrificing ADR. Consider highlighting your own direct booking perks in the same way to capture more value from Black Friday.
Layer promoting direct booking perks
Make Connectivity Part of the Guest Experience
This Black Friday, rather than focusing only on discounts, provide guests with something they’ll find truly valuable: seamless connectivity. Travelers today expect to stay online wherever they go. By offering a simple but highly valuable perk like free eSIM data, you can instantly ease their arrival experience and reduce the stress of figuring out connectivity abroad. Presenting this benefit through a sticky Layer with a clear call-to-action that links directly to your booking engine makes it both visible and easy for guests to claim. The result? Guests feel cared for from the start, and their stay begins on the right note.
Sticky Layer promoting eSIM
Don’t Limit Yourself to Friday
The shopping frenzy of Black Friday lasts longer than just one day. You can benefit from the change in your potential guests’ shopping habits and launch creative campaigns for other days during that period. For instance, hotels can use Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday to extend the momentum with limited-time offers, bold designs, and countdowns that create urgency. Adding Black November into the mix stretches the shopping spirit even further, keeping potential guests engaged throughout the month and creating more opportunities to secure direct bookings. These campaigns not only stand out amongst the flood of Black Friday deals but also encourage travelers to book sooner, boosting your hotel’s revenue during the season.
Creative layers around the Black Friday season
Black Friday presents hoteliers with a unique opportunity to capture the attention of potential guests, stand out with creative campaigns, and drive more direct revenue during the busiest shopping season of the year. The examples shared in this blog highlight just a few of the strategies you can put into action. For deeper insights, check out THN’s analysis of last year’s Black Friday to see its full impact on hotel website performance, and download our Black Friday Playbook to discover direct channel best practices for the season ahead.
