Hotel marketing · Template
A luxury hotel marketing plan template for the year ahead
An editable spreadsheet and a printable worksheet for planning a year of campaigns, PR and partnerships, with an invented quarter to show how it works.
What belongs in a hotel marketing plan?
A hotel marketing plan links who you want to reach and what you stand for to a calendar of campaigns, the budget you have and the results you are aiming for. Each activity needs an owner, a deadline, a note of what it depends on in operations and a review date. The plan should cover the property as a whole while leaving room for restaurants, wellness and other outlets to give their own reasons to visit.
This template is for a hotel that is already open. It has a blank annual plan and an invented quarter. An opening follows a different order, so use the hotel pre-opening marketing plan for that.
Download the editable hotel marketing plan (Excel) · Download the printable plan (PDF)
Set the objective before filling the calendar
Start with the business question: which guests need a stronger reason to choose you, and for what occasion? Residents deciding on a restaurant and international leisure guests need different messages and different ways to book.
Write down where you are now, what you want to change and what would prove it changed. If you have no reliable starting figure, getting one is an early task. Agree what the property stands for and the confirmed facts behind it. Leave amenities, menus and collaborations still awaiting approval out of anything you publish.
Give every campaign an accountable owner
Use one row per piece of work. Note the audience, activity, channel and what you want people to do next. Name who signs off the copy, what operations must confirm and when you will review the result.
Marketing owns the communication. Sales, reservations, revenue management and operations own the decisions in their own areas. If a campaign promises a package, those teams need to agree availability, what’s included and how to book before anyone approves the creative.
| Workstream | Marketing’s part | Handover |
|---|---|---|
| Property | Audience, story and distribution | Reservations confirms the enquiry route and offer |
| Outlet | Local audience and reason to visit | Outlet confirms capacity, menu and dates |
| PR | Angle, facts and spokesperson brief | Spokesperson confirms availability |
| Partnership | The shared idea and invitations | Both sides approve delivery and follow-up |
A fictional quarter, with decisions still open
The example tab uses three invented activities: a residents’ dining campaign, a design-focused press visit and a small cultural partnership. None of this is Eva’s client work or reported results, and dates, targets and budgets are left for you to set.
For the dining campaign, first check the outlet can handle it on those dates, then agree how people book. The press visit needs confirmed facts and a spokesperson, and should never be logged as guaranteed coverage. The partnership needs a shared brief before any promotion starts.
Keep the example tab for reference and build your own calendar in the blank one. Mark the months when the team can’t take on anything extra.
Budget and review the plan together
Enter approved budgets in one currency and note who owns each. The workbook’s financial cells start blank, and its total simply adds what you enter. A figure in the sheet doesn’t mean the money has been approved.
Check dependencies before each campaign and results after the agreed period. Note where each number comes from, such as reservations records or an attendance log. Keep enquiries separate from bookings, and attendance separate from how many people were invited. Credit a sale to a campaign only when your tracking supports it.
At the quarterly review, decide what to keep, change or stop, and write the reason beside it. Otherwise next quarter inherits a guess.
Questions about the template
Can this be used as a hotel sales and marketing plan?
It covers marketing and the handovers to sales and revenue teams. Their targets, account plans and forecasts belong in the systems they own, so it won’t replace a full commercial plan.
Does the PDF include a sample?
Yes, it has an invented example quarter and a blank campaign brief. Use the spreadsheet to edit the annual calendar and budget totals.
How should a Dubai hotel adapt it?
Build in your guest mix, outlet demand, event dates and capacity. Check local calendar dates and requirements with the team responsible before you commit to a campaign.
From the worksheet to a working brief
To talk it through with Eva, bring your current plan, who approves what and the decisions still open. Her luxury hospitality marketing advisory covers single campaigns and wider programmes. For collaborations, use the hotel partnership brief alongside the calendar.
Your marketing plan