Empty Guesthouse Thanks to COVID-19? Recruit Local Creatives to Share Your Brand’s Story

There’s nothing worse than a guesthouse sitting empty. Unfortunately, that’s what so many of the world’s guesthouses are looking like at the moment. Coronavirus is pushing us to get creative when it comes to dealing with the blank spaces in our booking calendars and to seek the opportunities that we can find in this situation. Here at Magpie Creative Co. we are constantly researching, questioning and analysing to find a path through this crisis for our clients. And it got us thinking..

As a purveyor of luxury lifestyles, people look up to you to share a particular way of life that they aspire to achieve. Share this lifestyle with them by sharing stories online. Recruit local talented artists to share your brand’s story with the world. We are all sitting at home right now looking for inspiration, seeking an escape from our current reality and in desperate need of places to daydream about.

So if you have gaps in your accommodation’s bookings due to the new self-distancing regulations but your guesthouse is a great place for people to isolate themselves and supposing you have talented local writers, photographers or artists who are also struggling, why not reach out to collaborate? In exchange for a few nights at your location, you would receive thoughtful articles, beautiful photographs and videos of your guesthouse. This would give you more content to share on your own social media platforms and website as well as spreading awareness of your guesthouse for when the time comes for bookings to begin flowing in again. It would also help local creatives who may be looking for a reprieve from the madness and be grateful for a project to focus on. There’s also a chance that it could forge some wonderful partnerships for the future when the industry begins to re-emerge.

Take care to reassure anyone you reach out to to collaborate with of the steps you are taking to ensure your property is sterilised and that they will be alone while there so they won’t need to worry about being in contact with other humans.

Of course, this is only if your guesthouse is going unbooked anyway so you might as well get some benefits from any vacant slots. We understand that people paying with actual money is what everyone needs right now, but in the absence of that, we must look for the next best thing.

The worst thing that we can do is go quiet during times like these. Don’t silently slip away, curl up into a ball and hide. Be vocal, be proud, you have a beautiful guesthouse, share it online far and wide.

By keeping your guesthouse top of mind during these quieter months with plenty of posting online, from photography to articles to videos and social media posts, you are keeping your guesthouse top of mind. So that when the travel restrictions begin to lift and people start to consider booking their first trip away, your guesthouse is the first place they think of.