Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing

Turning digital discovery into direct bookings and repeat guests

Platform:

Online

In-class

Revised and Updated: 08 October 2026

Date	Venue	Duration
09 - 13 November 2026	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
22 - 26 February 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
12 - 16 April 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
28 June - 02 July 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
27 September - 01 October 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
08 - 12 November 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days

Course Introduction

Guests increasingly discover, compare, and book hospitality experiences online before they ever contact a property directly, and more of that discovery now starts in search, maps, social platforms, and AI assistants. This Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing course builds practical digital marketing and sales capability for hotels, lodges, and hospitality venues, from online travel agent (OTA) and metasearch strategy to direct-booking conversion and reputation management.

Through practical sessions using worked examples and real campaign cases, participants work through distribution strategy, search and local visibility, social media and content, review management, email and messaging, and promotional packaging, all within South African marketing and privacy rules. When delivered in-house, the sessions can use your own property’s listings, booking data, and accounts. Participants leave with a draft marketing plan for their own property, ready to put into action.

Course Objectives

This Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing course equips you to build a distribution, digital marketing, and sales strategy that grows direct bookings, strengthens reputation, and supports occupancy year-round. By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Map the modern hospitality booking journey across OTAs, metasearch, search, social, and direct channels
Develop a distribution strategy that balances OTA reliance with direct bookings
Apply search, local visibility, social media, and content techniques to a hospitality property, including how AI-powered search and assistants surface properties
Build an email, messaging, and guest database strategy that drives repeat bookings and complies with POPIA
Use guest reviews and online reputation as a marketing and sales asset
Design promotional campaigns and packages that drive off-peak occupancy without undermining rate integrity
Measure marketing return on investment using booking and conversion data
Build a complete, property-specific marketing plan with a budget and KPIs

What Delegates Leave With

Reduced OTA Dependency: A distribution strategy that grows direct bookings without sacrificing overall occupancy.
Sharper Digital Presence: Search, social, and content techniques built specifically for hospitality, not generic marketing.
Reputation as a Sales Asset: Turning guest reviews and ratings into a driver of bookings, not just a scorecard to monitor.
Smarter Off-Peak Campaigns: Packages and promotions that fill rooms in low season and open new market segments.
A Marketing Plan, Not Just Theory: A draft marketing plan built specifically for your own property.

Who should attend?

Hospitality Sales and Marketing Managers and Executives
Reservations and Revenue Teams Involved in Distribution Decisions
Property Owners Managing Their Own Marketing
Marketing Staff Moving from General Marketing into Hospitality-Specific Roles
E-Commerce and Distribution Managers
Digital Marketing Agencies Serving Hospitality Clients

Training Methodology

Our diverse instructional approaches ensure effective learning:

– Lectures & Presentations: Engage with expert-driven, stimulating content.
– Course Material: Access well-crafted supporting resources.
– Group Work: Collaborate on discussions and case studies for practical insights.
– Workshops & Role-Play: Participate in immersive, scenario-based activities.
– Practical Application: Focus on applying theoretical knowledge in real situations.
– Post-Training Support: Receive extensive support after training for skill implementation.

Training Outline

Day 1 — The Booking Journey and Distribution Strategy

Module 1: The Modern Hospitality Booking Journey

Mapping the path from discovery to booking across channels
The roles of OTAs, metasearch, search and maps, social platforms, and AI assistants in how guests find and compare properties
How guests compare and evaluate hospitality options online, including the role of reviews and photos
Identifying where your property is winning or losing bookings
Practical Exercise: Map your property's current booking journey and identify drop-off points

Module 2: Distribution Strategy: Balancing OTAs and Direct Bookings

Evaluating OTA commission and cost against reach and volume
Building direct-booking incentives and a booking engine experience that converts
Rate parity: what it is, and how the 2024 Booking.com settlement with South Africa's Competition Commission lets accommodation providers price lower on their own channels
Setting a realistic direct-to-OTA booking mix target, and the role of the channel manager
Practical Exercise: Draft a distribution strategy with a target direct-booking mix

Day 2 — Digital Visibility, Social Media and Content

Module 3: Digital Marketing Fundamentals for Hospitality

Search visibility and basic SEO principles, including a complete and accurate Google Business Profile and local search
Staying visible as AI-powered search and assistants summarise and recommend properties: clear, factual, up-to-date content and listings
Social media strategy and content that converts browsers into bookers, including short video and guest-generated content
Choosing the right channels for your guest profile, and advertising and influencer disclosure rules (ARB and ASA codes)
Practical Exercise: Draft a one-month social media and content calendar for your property

Day 3 — Reputation and Guest Communication

Module 4: Managing Online Reputation and Guest Reviews

Monitoring reviews and ratings across platforms
Responding to positive and negative feedback effectively, and what never to say publicly
Using reviews as a marketing and sales asset, within platform rules and the Consumer Protection Act (no fake or incentivised-for-positive-only reviews)
Encouraging satisfied guests to leave reviews, and using AI tools to summarise review themes, with a human check
Practical Exercise: Draft response templates for common review scenarios

Module 5: Email, Messaging and Guest Database Strategy

Building and segmenting a guest database, and handling guest information under POPIA
Direct marketing rules: consent, the existing-customer exception, and opt-out (POPIA section 69 and the Consumer Protection Act)
Designing email and messaging campaigns, such as WhatsApp Business, that drive repeat bookings
Personalisation, and balancing promotional and relationship-building content
Practical Exercise: Draft an email campaign targeting a specific guest segment, with a compliant opt-out

Day 4 — Sales Strategy and Packaging

Module 6: Sales Strategy and Packaging

Designing packages that drive off-peak occupancy
Identifying and targeting new market segments, such as corporate, groups, events, and local and regional leisure
Pricing promotional packages without undermining rate integrity
Coordinating sales and marketing campaigns for maximum impact
Practical Exercise: Design a promotional package targeting a low-season period

Day 5 — Measurement and Your Marketing Plan

Module 7: Measuring What Works and Building Your Marketing Plan

Tracking website conversion rates and cost per booking
Calculating marketing return on investment, including commission-adjusted channel profitability
Choosing the right metrics for ongoing campaign review
Compiling insights into a complete property marketing plan
Practical Exercise: Build a draft marketing plan for your own property, including budget and KPIs

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FAQs – Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing

Build hospitality sales and digital marketing skills covering sales strategies, online marketing, social media, customer engagement, bookings, revenue growth, and brand promotion.

What is covered in the Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing course?

The course covers hospitality sales strategy, customer segmentation, sales planning, digital marketing, online visibility, social media, content marketing, direct bookings, campaign performance and revenue-focused marketing.

Who should attend the Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing training?

The training is suitable for hotel and hospitality sales managers, marketing managers, revenue managers, business development professionals, reservations teams, general managers and hospitality professionals involved in sales or digital marketing.

Does the course cover hospitality sales strategies and customer targeting?

Yes. Participants explore hospitality sales strategies, customer segmentation, target markets, value propositions, sales channels and approaches for converting prospects into guests and increasing business.

What digital marketing channels are covered in the hospitality course?

The training covers digital channels used by hospitality businesses to reach and engage guests, including websites, search, social media, online content, email marketing and other digital touchpoints across the guest booking journey.

Does the training cover direct bookings and online customer engagement?

Yes. Participants learn how sales and digital marketing activities can support direct bookings, improve online customer engagement, strengthen the guest relationship and reduce reliance on third-party booking channels.

Are practical activities included in the Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing training?

Yes. The training includes practical, hospitality-focused activities that allow participants to apply sales and digital marketing concepts to real business situations, campaigns and customer engagement opportunities.

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Hospitality Sales and Digital Marketing

Turning digital discovery into direct bookings and repeat guests

Course Objectives

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What Delegates Leave With

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