Hotel brochure: A small hotel owner’s guide

What are hotel brochures?

A hotel brochure is a marketing tool that showcases a hotel’s amenities, services and location to drive more bookings.

As sales collateral, hotel brochures are distinct from other documents like welcome books and local directories, which are simply there to provide information to guests.

Hotel brochures are traditionally printed and put on display in transport hubs, tour offices and visitor centres. But they can also be digital, emailed to potential guests or partnering businesses as a neat summation of what your hotel has to offer.

In this guide we’ll look at everything an independent hotelier needs to know about hotel brochures: why they’re important, the ins and outs of hotel brochure design, and the hotel brochure content you should be sure to include.

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Why a hotel brochure matters

A well-designed hotel brochure isn’t just a way to tell the world about your hotel. If it’s done well, it can prove to be a surprisingly powerful sales tool.

The right brochure in the right place will catch the eye of potential guests in a moment when they’re considering accommodation options, like when they’re asking for advice at your local tourist hub.

It will deliver information efficiently and compellingly, telling the potential guest exactly why your hotel is the right choice for them, and relieving your front desk of the work of sales all the while.

Perhaps most importantly, it can earn you the most valuable type of reservation: direct bookings. You’ll avoid the 15-25% commission fees charged by OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb, keeping that significant amount of extra revenue for yourself.

Hotel brochure examples: Inspiring designs that work

What does a great hotel brochure look like? That will depend on the property. If you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, the hotel brochure samples below are a great place to start:

• Sofitel London St James: Elegant, opulent and historic, this hotel has produced a brochure to match. The document pairs beautiful imagery with a classy and minimalist design, and uses grand and evocative language to describe the property.
• Wildes Boutique Hotel: A simple hotel brochure example is provided by this hotel, which offers up the most important info in easily digestible form, to cater to a more practical, salt of the earth type of guest.
• Hotel Alhambra: One of the most stunning, eye-catching brochures you’ll see comes from this hotel, which combines colour, texture and gorgeous imagery to walk the reader through the history of the hotel, and the experience they can expect.

How to create a successful hotel brochure

Creating a hotel brochure should be seen as an opportunity, not an obligation, because the best brochures will do the selling for you. Here’s how to create a truly effective sales document.

Hotel brochure layout

There are three main elements that make up a hotel brochure:

• Cover page: Tasked with grabbing the audience’s attention and tempting them to learn more. The best will feature bold and stunning aesthetics, clear branding and a snappy tagline.
• Inside pages: Devote sections to rooms, amenities, dining and services. Keep the information punchy. Write in a voice that aligns with your brand, whether sophisticated, cheeky, dreamy or matter-of-fact.
• Back page: Tell the reader the next steps you want them to take with a clear call to action (CTA): ‘call now’, ‘book here’. List your contact details and drive home why you’re the right choice with real reviews, ratings and other social proof.

Hotel brochure details to include

Be sure to include the following information in your hotel brochure:

• Hotel overview: Introduce your hotel with a brief description of the property, location, guest experience and any unique selling points.
• Room types & features: Highlight the different room categories and features, with an emphasis on upselling guests to higher priced rooms.
• Amenities & facilities: Showcase on-site offerings like dining, wellness areas, event spaces and recreational facilities.
• Nearby attractions: List popular things to do in your area, and key amenities like shopping, dining and entertainment.
• Guest reviews & testimonials: Include short reviews or quotes from happy guests.
• Strong call-to-action: End with your contact details and a clear invitation to book. You’ve saved on OTA fees, so consider offering a special brochure-only deal or discount.

Hotel brochure template: Design structure

The hotel brochure should be distinctly yours. It should be heavily branded, dressed up in your logo and colours. As mentioned above, the design should also align with the personality of your hotel.

One area to play it a little safer can be the font, as the readability of the text takes precedence over the look. A neat sans serif typeface will convey important information efficiently, and is best for the bulk of the text, although the titles and headings can be dressed up a little more.

Little Hotelier has given me more freedom because I have the app on my phone. I can pick up any of the bookings and manage it remotely. We can relax, take a step back, and let Little Hotelier run our business.

Elaine Milne,

Owner

Calder House

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Business hotel brochure: Choosing print vs. digital

A printed brochure or a digital brochure: which is best?

Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so the best approach is to capitalise on both.

• Printed brochures are more expensive, but they are effective at advertising your hotel to audiences who may not have otherwise found you, like travellers in bus stations and visitor information centres.
• Digital brochures don’t really cost anything to distribute, but only tend to be seen by people who already have an active interest in your hotel, and get the brochure via email or as a download from your website.

The same brochure can be used for both the print and digital version. Distribute printed brochures anywhere a potential guest might land: transport hubs, visitor centres, local attractions, bars and cafes.

And to make the most of the digital version, you can lean on a tool like Little Hotelier, which can help you to spread this sales material far and wide.

By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).