Hotel magazine ideas & how to create your own

What is a hotel magazine?

A hotel magazine is a print or digital publication created by hoteliers to promote their property, showcase local attractions and enhance the guest experience through curated content.

These independent hotel magazines are different to the monthly hotel business magazines and hotel management magazines that a property owner might subscribe to. They can be thought of as more of a high-end newsletter or brochure for your hotel.

And unlike those paid hotel magazine subscriptions, your free hotel magazine is an entirely complementary offering that pays for itself through marketing, and by enhancing the guest experience.

In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at hotel magazines, to understand what they are, whether you should create your own, and if the answer to that question is yes, how you might go about it.

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Why hotel magazines are important

A thoughtfully designed and well-executed hotel magazine can do a number of things for your hotel:

• As an impressive asset, it can enhance your brand reputation and build trust with your target audience.
• With total editorial control, you gain an authoritative voice, which you can use to promote your own services and upsell more effectively.
• You can also promote your region or partner businesses, which can strengthen your reputation within your local community.
• It’s a unique offering that can help make your hotel more memorable, and also a rather classy touch.

Basically, a hotel magazine can help you attract more customers and can enhance the guest experience in a way that keeps people coming back, ultimately driving more bookings and revenue.

Benefits of free hotel magazines to guests

What’s in it for your guests? A free hotel magazine can enhance the guest experience in a number of ways:

• By alerting the guest to hotel services that they may not have otherwise been aware of, like massages, day spa sessions or local tours.
• By reading your hotel magazine articles about the local area, and enjoying the lesser-known, more unique experiences on offer.
• By finding out about off-site tours and experiences offered by featured partner businesses.
• As a nice way to pass the time while they relax, by giving them something to browse in their room or by the pool.
• As a unique souvenir or keepsake that they can take home with them to remember their stay.

How to create a hotel magazine

Ultimately, a hotel magazine can be good for your business and good for your guests. So how do you create one? Here are some simple steps to follow below. 

1. Plan your magazine

Start by defining your magazine’s target audience, which will simply be the sort of guest you tend to attract. Consider what that audience will want to read in such a magazine. Choose a name and decide how often you’ll publish (e.g. quarterly). Sketch out a rough content plan to balance editorial stories, visuals and potential advertising space.

2. Design and layout

Work with a professional designer or user-friendly tools like Canva or Adobe Express to build a clean, engaging layout. Align the look of your magazine with your hotel brand in terms of colours, fonts and tone of voice. Use high-resolution images and leave enough white space to keep the pages readable and beautiful.

3. Content and advertising

Create a mix of content that entertains and informs while subtly marketing your hotel services, like a profile of your in-house chef or a listicle of unique cocktails (that you happen to serve at your bar). You can also sell ad space to complementary local businesses to help cover your publishing costs, and create cross-promotional material to drum up more sales.

4. Printing

Choose your preferred magazine size and finish (matte, glossy). Shop for a commercial printer – ideally a local business, as this simplifies logistics, although the savings from an online option could be compelling. Consider eco-friendly paper and ink options to reduce your environmental footprint and appeal to environmentally-conscious travellers.

5. Distribution

Place copies on your reception desk, in rooms and in waiting areas. Consider offering a digital version via email or as a download on your website. Expand the magazine’s reach by placing copies in your local visitor centre, transport hubs and complementary businesses.

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Owner

Calder House

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Examples of the best hotel magazine subscriptions

Looking for a bit of inspiration for your own hotel magazine? It could be worth subscribing to the following publications, not just for ideas, but to learn more about your business and industry too.

• Hilton Explore: A digital lifestyle magazine by Hilton that features travel stories, destination guides, food and culture content, all aligned with Hilton properties and experiences.
• Four Seasons Magazine: A high-end print and digital magazine offering luxury travel inspiration, behind-the-scenes stories, and features on the brand’s properties.
• Hotels Magazine: This industry-focused magazine is great for learning about global hotel trends, management strategies and the latest in hotel design.
• Lodging Magazine: A magazine focused on hotel business operations, marketing, technology and policy.
• Travel + Leisure: The hotel section of this traveller-facing magazine can be a great reference for tone, layout and the kind of storytelling that guests respond to.

Another example of a subscription that you can take inspiration from is what you’re reading right now: the Little Hotelier blog.

Not only do we offer up plenty of valuable insights for small, independent hoteliers, we also grant you access to the technology you need to succeed.

By Mark Dawson