Hotel target market: the guest profiles worth the most per stay
What the answer looks like
Illustrative output on sample data
Illustrative example: how Lexi answers this for a boutique hotel group with five properties. It groups 12 months of stays by profile, using PMS bookings, guest home location and spend across dining, bar and spa.
- Regional weekenders, within a three-hour drive: 28% of stays, $940 per stay
- Out-of-state leisure couples: 19% of stays, $1,310 per stay
- Corporate midweek travelers: 36% of stays, $520 per stay
- Wedding and event guests: 17% of stays, $760 per stay
What the data shows
Out-of-state couples are the smallest leisure group and the most valuable per stay, mostly from dinner and spa spend.
What it means
Marketing aimed at regional weekenders fills rooms, but the couples who travel further are the target market worth growing.
What to do
Build a two-night couples package with dinner and spa, and promote it in the two states that send the most of these guests.
Want me to build a lookalike seed from past out-of-state couples?
Why it matters
Most hotels describe their target market from instinct or occupancy reports. Ranking guest profiles by total revenue per stay shows who is actually worth the most, so marketing budget, packages and messaging go to the guests who fill rooms and spend once they arrive.
Frequently asked questions
How do you find a hotel's target market?
Start with the guests you already have. Group stays by trip type, home location, party and booking channel, then rank each group by total revenue per stay and how often they return. The groups at the top are the target market to grow.
Should a hotel have more than one target market?
Usually, yes. Midweek and weekend demand come from different guests, so most hotels need one segment for each. Choose a lead segment for each part of the week and season, and keep messaging and packages specific to each one.
What data helps define a hotel's target market?
Booking data from your property management system (PMS) gives trip dates, party size, rate and channel. Adding guest home location and spend in your restaurants, bar and spa shows who each group is and what each one is worth beyond the room rate.