Hotel Signage
Good hotel signs at the front of your property are important. Though it might seem obvious at first, many hotel and holiday rental owners make mistakes when designing and erecting a sign. Having a great sign can also serve as a useful tool to gain more direct bookings.
How is this possible?
Well, the most obvious answer is that it will attract bookings from people who drive by your property. You can still get a bit more creative, though. You can include the #bookdirect logo on your sign, as well as direct contact details and take a photo.
Uploading this photo to your website and social media headers might just encourage some guests to contact you directly. You can even upload it to your OTA listing!
So from local regulations to important design aspects, here are the things you should look out for.
Hotel sign regulations
There’s nothing worse than spending time and money on a great sign, only to have the local council tell you it needs to come down.
Visit Britain suggests that you double-check everything with your local authority before going ahead with putting up the sign. They have a great guide to all of the hotel sign regulations you need to watch out for.
If you are putting the sign up within the premises of the building, you will usually be fine, but definitely double-check. There will likely be some regulations about the size and what you can put on the sign. Also, make sure that the OTAs will not remove your listing for including the image. Direct bookings are best, but OTAs are still a good place to market your business.
Make sure your hotel signage serves its purposes
In its blog, Every Sign Possible runs down your sign's main purposes: helping existing customers to find your premises, attracting new customers, and strengthening your brand identity.
To help existing customers find your premises, the sign should very clearly display the name of your business. Ideally, the largest text will be the name you have given to your property on your website. This is particularly important in neighbourhoods with no clear address markers, such as door numbers.
To attract new customers you need to make sure the sign is visually appealing and displays all the necessary information. If you have multiple rooms available and accept walk-ins, have an area on the sign to advertise if you have vacancies. Hotel signs should also have clear contact details, such as an email address and a phone number.
In order to strengthen your brand identity, you should consider including a logo. The font should be in line with fonts used on other materials. You should also adopt a clear colour scheme that flows with the rest of your brand identity. Finally, you should make sure the design elements fit in with the style of property. Luxury boutique style accommodation won’t benefit from neon flashing everywhere, but retro properties can make good use of this.
Have your hotel signs stand out
How effectively you can do this will depend on local council regulations. Some authorities prefer you keep your sign blending in with the background. In this case, consider bold lettering to get around the colour restrictions.
In other cases, the colour should not match the surrounds. Depending on the vibe of your place, you might not want it to stand out too heavily – but it definitely shouldn't blend in. Deep green hotel signs surrounded by foliage will barely be noticed unless it's on a large white or light coloured background. Aiming for a dark yellow or blue lettering will help it to stand out without it seeming too jarring.
Hotel signs should also stand out in terms of uniqueness. Little Hotelier emphasises this in its blog about gaining more direct bookings. If you are in an area packed with other hotels and B&Bs, you want to make sure your sign is not in the same style as all the others. Your property is unique, and your signage should reflect that.
Once you have taken all of these factors into account, the fun part can begin. Make sure you take the time and effort to design an attractive, eye-catching sign. If you are not sure of your design skills, it is definitely a good idea to spend a little bit extra on a designer. Having a great hotel sign is vital for marketing and customer service, and including great photographs of your new sign on listings might just boost your direct bookings. You can even upgrade the rest of your photography whilst you are at it to really give your sales a boost!
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