So a recession is reputed to be here - or on the horizon depending upon which camp you pitch your tent in. This leads any business owner to wonder how that will affect the bottom line. As a lodging profider, you may be asking yourself how you can weather an economic storm relatively unscathed. It IS possible - if you look to a new (or maybe underutilized) market to pull you though. If the dollar is weak and a recession is near - that means someone traveling from Europe could buy a heck of an American vacation - for a great price.

According to Michael Fishbin, Ernst & Young’s US Director of Hospitality and Leisure, “The continued weakness of the dollar is producing multiple beneficial effects on the US hotel market which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future and which may pull the sector through current recessionary pressures.”

Today one Euro is worth 1.57792 US Dollars. A traveler from England who was budgeting to spend €4000 on a trip actually will be able to spend $6,300US if they book a vacation in US Dollars - are you looking for these travelers? Do you have an international marketing strategy?

The most nimble form of marketing to foreign countries is using paid search. A campaign can be set up and running in just a few hours - and you’re gaining traffic from search engines like Google.co.uk and Yahoo.de. There are a few things to keep in perspective though:

1. Searchers behave differently depending upon culture, demographics, and location. Terms that are used for searches in the US, may not work in England or Germany. A “vacation” for example is referred to as a “holiday” in the UK. Make sure your your paid search vendor is using the right tools to find keywords for your campaigns.
2. Consider building a few new landing pages for these international visitors that help them understand local customs and nuances that might be - for a lack of a better word - a bit “foreign” to them. Maps and transportation options are a great idea along with shopping information. Optimize these pages for terms that are prevailent in the country they target - consider using a foreign language landing page that explains what you offer and guides them into your English language website. By having the pages optimized you could see some organic traffic, and your paid search quality score will increase - making the cost per click go down.

You can prevent a downturn in your bookings by supplementing yoru marketing now and targeting international visitors. This will be more effective in some areas than others - East coast destinations are more likely to attract European visitors unless you have an international airport in your vicinity. Conisder these factors when you look at international marketing and give it a try - it could be lucrative enough to stave off recession woes and even boost your revenue.

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