Building a Strong Stream of Return Guests Through Email Marketing and Direct Bookings

Tips to Maximize Your Occupancy Rates:
Written by Odile Micheletti for Kayenne Caribbean Consultancy
To reduce reliance on OTAs and boost long-term guest loyalty, property managers in Curaçao should focus on building direct relationships with guests through email marketing and direct bookings. This strategy not only enhances profitability but also fosters a steady stream of repeat visitors over the years.
Why Direct Bookings and Email Marketing Matter
OTAs charge significant commissions, reducing profits for property owners. Direct bookings eliminate these fees, allowing property managers to manage guest communication and branding more effectively. Email marketing is a key tool for nurturing long-term relationships with guests by keeping them informed, inspired, and engaged well beyond their initial stay.
Emails provided through platforms like Airbnb or Booking are temporary and typically expire after a set period, making it crucial for property managers to collect guests’ personal email addresses to ensure continued communication beyond the booking platform.
Steps to Success:
Build an Email List with Practical Tactics
Create Engaging Campaigns: Develop personalized content that resonates with your guests. Share local experiences, property upgrades, and exclusive offers, ensuring that emails offer more than just sales pitches.
Use Automation: Automation is key to streamlining email marketing efforts. There are many services available that make it easy to collect guest emails, send automated follow-ups, and manage bulk email campaigns. Platforms like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and HubSpot allow property managers to automatically gather emails through forms on their website or during the booking process. These tools also enable automatic email sequences for specific triggers, such as pre-arrival information, post-stay thank-yous, or seasonal promotions.
Incentivize Direct Bookings: Offer exclusive discounts or perks—such as complimentary early check-ins, local experiences, or loyalty rewards—for guests who book directly through your platform.
Monitor and Adjust: Regularly track email open rates, click-throughs, and booking conversions. For example, if emails with local tips perform better, focus future content around similar topics to drive engagement.
Practical Example for Collecting Emails
After guests have booked, they receive a link to a digital guidebook via email. In this guidebook, there’s an option to subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for a 10% discount on future bookings. Additionally, a follow-up email a week after check-out invites them to subscribe for exclusive offers, travel tips, or local insights for their next trip to Curaçao.
Direct email marketing can be a powerful tool to fill gaps between reservations. By sending last-minute offers or exclusive deals directly to previous guests, property managers can quickly fill open dates in their calendar, turning potential downtime into revenue opportunities.
Conclusion
By building an effective email marketing strategy and focusing on direct bookings, Curaçao’s property managers can reduce OTA costs, create lasting guest relationships, and ensure a steady flow of return visitors over the years.
This personalized approach strengthens guest loyalty and supports a thriving, sustainable tourism industry.