How can the accommodation industry find marketing breakthroughs amidst the pandemic crisis? (mrhost accommodation platform)

In the early stages of the pandemic, mrhost carefully observed the pressing problems that consumers faced as they cooperated with government measures. They then further utilized a marketing funnel to identify their target customer base and incorporated data tools to enhance their marketing efforts. Even with a decrease in the total number of travel consumers, mrhost successfully overcame the challenges facing the accommodation industry during the pandemic through precise marketing.

mrhost story

If people are used to using Airbnb to travel the world, why not let people all over the world who travel to Taiwan use mrhost?

mrhost was founded with the aim of establishing a mutually beneficial mechanism between accommodation providers and travelers. Accommodation providers could showcase their room features and service advantages in detail through hotel maps and user feedback, with mrhost managing the quality of stay for partner hotels. With this operating model, mrhost achieved stable and impressive results before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in early 2020, the global tourism industry suddenly shrank, catching mrhost off guard. Starting in March 2020, the Central Epidemic Command Center announced a 14-day quarantine requirement for inbound travelers; at this time, mrhost sensed an opportunity for transformation within the policy.

Service First: Successfully Transformed by Highlighting the Strengths of the Accommodation Platform

Even though the tourism industry has lost its business opportunities, the need for travel between countries remains due to global trade cooperation. In 2020, the government’s quarantine hotel information network provided information on hotels for inbound travelers, but this was only a list of hotels in Chinese. Foreigners unfamiliar with Taiwan had to translate the hotel information themselves to compare options and call each hotel individually to inquire about availability, which was extremely inconvenient.

mrhost leveraged its marketing funnel to identify a transformation strategy that utilized its platform features and supplemented official information, launching the “Safe Accommodation Platform . ” This platform provides visitors to Taiwan with a one-stop search for quarantine hotels in both Chinese and English. The mrhost platform offers detailed room type and equipment information, user reviews, an instant booking mechanism, and dedicated customer service . This provides foreigners with a user-friendly support system before their quarantine in Taiwan, addressing the anxieties of “What should I do if I’m locked up as soon as I step into this unfamiliar country?”

These consumers are “isolated from the world” once they arrive at their rooms. For travelers in the past, a room was merely a place to rest temporarily; but today’s consumers spend all their time and energy with “this room.” Therefore, the comfort of the accommodation and the quality of service that provides a sense of security become the most important selling points . What good food and entertainment options are nearby are not important. The mrhost team collected consumer needs for quarantine hotels, further segmented them into three target groups, and provided necessary online information services, such as flight schedules and timely updates on the epidemic prevention regulations of various countries.

In mrhost’s accommodation listings, besides showcasing rooms with lifestyle-oriented images, they also provide lifestyle-focused information, such as whether there are windows, balconies, or bars. This allows consumers to imagine and plan their quarantine life before booking, ultimately ensuring a safe and peaceful quarantine experience.

Introducing Martech marketing thinking to tap into the international student market during the pandemic

After making the aforementioned appropriate transformation plan, mrhost strengthened its efforts to expand its reach to foreign travelers and discovered that there was still a market for international students studying in Taiwan. Utilizing Martech to assist in keyword selection and writing relevant English SEO content articles such as “quarantine in Taiwan” and “learning Chinese during the pandemic ,” they increased exposure by targeting “foreign students studying in Taiwan,” accumulating organic search volume. Simultaneously, they optimized the entire English advertising process based on data , effectively identifying and further marketing to high-potential consumers through data monitoring.

In terms of customer service, based on the pain points that international students experience when they first arrive in Taiwan, mrhost has developed new services to make check-in and on-campus life easier for international students:

• • • Hotel reservation service for epidemic prevention
    • Self-health management hotel booking service
    • Transportation
    • Entry policy consultation services

Marketing results

By employing a three-pronged approach—SEO strategy, advertising strategy, and service operation optimization—the mrhost team successfully implemented this program across major universities and colleges in Taiwan within two months. Ultimately, they established partnerships with 15 universities, Chinese language centers, and other organizations to facilitate the transfer of international students arriving in Taiwan for quarantine in designated hotels. In 2021, mrhost also distinguished itself among accommodation websites, achieving 8.7 million visits and approximately 1.3 million users on its booking platform.

Key to success

A marketer’s strength lies in their ability to think flexibly, react quickly to changing circumstances, identify new consumer needs, and adjust marketing objectives accordingly. At the beginning of the pandemic, mrhost carefully observed the pressing problems that arose as consumers cooperated with government measures. They then leveraged their marketing funnel experience from the “Safe Accommodation Platform” to identify overseas student customers and implemented data tools to enhance their marketing efforts. Even with a decrease in the total number of travel consumers, mrhost successfully overcame the challenges facing the accommodation industry during the pandemic through precise marketing.