Own BFCM: The ultimate holiday preparation guide

In this episode of Hotel Moment, Bailey Yeats, and Sara Green from Revinate share practical strategies for unpacking the email marketing, segmentation and voice channel strategies behind stronger Black Friday Cyber Monday performance. Drawing on 2025 campaign results and secret shopper research, they explain how hotels can protect email deliverability, target the right guests, recover abandoned bookings and capture valuable phone leads.

What you’ll learn

Prepare email campaigns before the rush:

Why scheduling campaigns at least three days in advance and gradually increasing send volume can help hotels prepare for peak inbox competition.

Build more relevant guest segments:

How to segment guest databases: Use stay recency, engagement, NPS scores and booking history to make campaigns more relevant.

Check your lists before sending:

Exclude unsuitable OTA email addresses and guests with upcoming stays, and check frequency caps before launching campaigns.

Don't overlook unbooked leads:

Combine automated email nurture with timely agent follow-ups to turn abandoned bookings and unbooked calls into future revenue.

Ask better questions during reservations calls:
Revinate’s secret shopper research found that 92% of unbooked calls captured no contact details.
Make campaigns more engaging:
Learn from real examples involving countdown timers, GIFs, geotargeting and A/B-tested subject lines.
Learn from real hotel campaigns:
Connect guest information, campaign timing and personalized offers to create a more effective BFCM strategy.

The common thread? Reaching more people doesn't necessarily mean generating more bookings. Bailey and Sara explain why preparation, relevant offers, and consistent follow-up can make a difference to hotel revenue.

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Episode Highlights

[07:12] The three-day rule for campaign scheduling

Sara Green recommends finalizing and scheduling Black Friday Cyber Monday campaigns at least three days ahead of launch. During peak sending periods, hotels compete with retailers and businesses across every industry for space in crowded inboxes. Preparing campaigns early gives teams time to finalize their audience segments and avoid last-minute decisions during the busiest part of the season.

[16:12] Build smart segments instead of blasting your entire database

Bailey and Sara challenge the idea that a larger audience automatically produces better results. By segmenting guests according to stay recency, engagement, NPS scores and booking history, hotels can send more relevant offers to the people most likely to respond. They also explain how dynamic segments reduce manual work and help marketing teams keep their targeting current.

[19:40] Exclude OTA domains and guests with upcoming stays

Sara highlights two important list hygiene practices: filtering out unsuitable online travel agency email addresses and excluding guests who already have future reservations. These checks can help reduce avoidable bounces and prevent awkward situations in which guests receive promotional offers after already booking a stay.

[30:35] Train reservations agents to ask discovery questions

Revinate’s secret shopper research highlights a significant opportunity to improve phone lead capture. Sara and Bailey explain why reservations teams need to go beyond quoting room rates by asking about travel purpose, guest preferences and intended experiences. Capturing contact information when a caller does not book immediately creates an opportunity for relevant follow-up rather than allowing the lead to disappear.

[34:09] Use countdown timers, GIFs and A/B testing to boost engagement

Bailey and Sara review examples of hotel campaigns that use visual urgency, animated creative and tested subject lines to stand out during BFCM. They explain how hotels can learn from successful campaigns, adapt ideas to their own audiences and combine creative decisions with strong segmentation instead of relying on discounts alone.

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Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.

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