If you want a better way to showcase what’s happening at your property, Springnest Events gives you a structured, flexible way to publish it on your website.

The benefits of publishing events on your website

Event content can be practical, persuasive, and discoverable at the same time. It helps visitors understand the experience beyond the room, supports visibility for value-added services, and gives your website more structured information for search and AI tools to work with.

A few ways you can use Events:

• exclusive wine tastings and culinary experiences
• live music and themed evenings
• kids’ holiday programmes
• ranger talks, stargazing, or lodge experiences
• local events worth sharing with your guests
• departure times for activities or experiences

Flexibility was an important part of this release, especially because we’ve heard clear demand for more creative control. That’s why Events includes a Layout Editor, so you can shape the look of your Events feed and decide how much detail to show.

If you want help setting it up, we’ve also published a new series of guides covering what Events is, how to create a new event, and how to edit the Events feed page, in the Springnest Help Centre.

We decided on building this month’s product update a simple reason: an increased number of Springnest customers have been asking about email marketing, and many of them wanted an alternative to the tools they had already tried (or never got around to trying).

Why email marketing matters for accommodation businesses

Most guests who stay with you will not book again unless you give them a reason to think of you. That is not a criticism, it is just how attention works. People forget.

While email might feel “old” compared to the latest string of AI and social media developments, it’s still an extremely effective channel when used right. A well-timed message about availability during a quiet month, a seasonal offer, or a simple "here is what is new" update can bring past guests back to your website. Over time, this builds a list of people who already know and trust your property, and that list becomes one of your most valuable marketing assets.

The challenge has always been getting started. Choosing a platform, setting it up, figuring out what to send. For busy property owners, it often stays on the to-do list longer than it should.

What the Mail Blaze integration does

Mail Blaze is a South African email marketing platform built around simplicity. We have added a native integration to Springnest that lets you connect a Mail Blaze newsletter signup widget directly to your website.

Here is what that means in practice:

• A signup form appears on your Springnest website above the footer, beautifully styled to match your brand and design system.
• When a visitor subscribes, their details go straight into your Mail Blaze account
• You can start building a mailing list without writing any code or installing anything yourself

The setup only takes a few minutes. If you already have a Mail Blaze account, you can connect it right away. If you are new to Mail Blaze, you can create an account and explore their plans on their website.

Why Mail Blaze?

We’ve been in touch with kind folks at Mail Blaze for a good couple of years, and this prouct update felt like a natural progression to integrate with a project that suits the Springnest community: independent properties, small teams, people who need things to be straightforward. Their platform is clean and focused, their pricing is transparent, and their support team is hands-on and responsive.

They are also a South African company, which means local support, local billing, and a team that understands the market you operate in.

What about the Mailchimp widget?

If you are already using Mailchimp and it is working for you, nothing changes. Your existing integration continues to work exactly as it does today.

The Mail Blaze integration is for properties who have been looking for something different, whether that is simpler pricing, local support, or just a fresh start with a platform that feels less overwhelming.

This update is about giving you more choice, not less.

How to get started

1. Log in to your Springnest Admin panel
2. Navigate to the Newsletter Widget settings
3. Select Mail Blaze as your email marketing provider
4. Connect your Mail Blaze account and choose your subscriber list
5. Save and publish

For a detailed walkthrough with screenshots, visit our Help Centre guide:

How to set up the Mail Blaze newsletter widget

Not sure where to start with email marketing?

If you are still deciding whether email marketing is the right move for your property, Pauline Radford-Hayden (COO at Mail Blaze) wrote a practical guide for Springnest Academy that covers exactly that: when you need software, when you do not, and what to look for when you are ready.

Read: Do I Need Email Marketing Software? A Practical Guide for Hotels, Lodges & Guest Houses

Ever heard about email marketing and thought, “I should be doing that” or “I’m losing out”? You are not alone.

Property owners often spend weeks researching tools and then end up using none of them due to overwhelm and complexity. The real question is not which tool is best, but what you actually need a tool to help you achieve versus not using one at all.

Like any platform, email software should support your goals. Before choosing a tool, it helps to understand the basics.

What Does Email Marketing Software Actually Do?

In simple terms, an email marketing platform allows you to:

• Store your subscribers’ information
• Send emails to many people at once
• Track performance like opens and clicks
• Automate common email sequences

This makes it easier to update guests about events or last minute availability, tailor messages for different guest types, and build long term relationships. Over time, this can support repeat bookings and revenue.

When You Might Still Be Ok Without Email Marketing Software

Email marketing sounds appealing, but simple solutions are sometimes enough at an early stage. You probably do not need a platform yet if:

• You have fewer than 50 to 100 past guests
• You send very occasional updates such as seasonal offers
• Your team can manage BCC emails or a basic spreadsheet without errors
• You mainly want to start communicating

In this case, your inbox provider like Gmail or Outlook can work. Use BCC for privacy and a simple spreadsheet to track subscribers. It helps to note when consent was given.

Top tip
Make it part of your check in process to ask guests if they would like to receive emails. Record the date of consent in your spreadsheet. This saves time later and helps with compliance.

When You Should Start Considering Email Marketing Software

If the points below feel familiar, it may be time to move to a dedicated platform:

• You have more than 100 subscribers and manual sending feels stressful
• You want to send different messages to different guest types
• You want more polished and brand consistent emails
• You would like to automate pre arrival or post stay emails
• Managing the process takes more time than creating content
• You want to reduce the risk of human error
• You want insight into what is working
• You are ready to send emails regularly

If you agree with most of these, a platform will likely save you time and effort.

What Should You Look For in a Platform?

You do not need every feature. Focus on what helps you communicate clearly with guests.

Key Features to Look For

Subscriber management
You should be able to store contacts, add custom fields such as guest type or stay dates, and segment your list easily.

Easy email builder
A drag and drop builder lets you create professional emails without code or developer help. Try this during a trial to avoid frustration.

Basic automations
Look for welcome emails, pre arrival emails, and post stay follow ups. These are especially useful for reviews.

Clear reporting
At a minimum, you want to see opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and bounced emails.

Account Level Considerations

• Pricing structure and how it scales
• Quality of customer support and documentation
• Reviews from other users

Things You Need to Know When You Start Emailing

You Will Need to Verify Your Domain

Most platforms require domain verification. This helps inbox providers trust your emails and improves delivery. Support teams usually guide you through this step.

Templates Save Time and Create Consistency

Templates help your emails look familiar and on brand. A simple, well designed base template works best. You can then add personality in the content itself. Mail Blaze offers Springnest specific templates if you want a starting point.

Consent Really Matters

You need clear permission to email people. This means express consent, where the subscriber actively agrees to receive emails.

Every email must include an unsubscribe link. One click unsubscribe is best. Do not take unsubscribes personally. A smaller engaged list is far more valuable than a large unengaged one. Never buy email lists or add people who have not interacted with your brand.

Why Your First Emails Might Go to Spam

Even with correct setup, inbox providers take time to trust new senders. Early emails may land in spam while your sender reputation is being built.

Think of sender reputation like building credit. It improves through consistent, good behaviour over time.

Tips for Building a Healthy Sender Reputation

Start small
Send an initial re introduction email explaining what guests can expect and how often you will email.

Stay consistent
Choose a realistic sending frequency and stick to it. Quality and relevance matter more than volume.

Avoid spam triggers
Avoid excessive punctuation, capital letters, or exaggerated claims in subject lines.

Monitor engagement
Not everyone opens immediately. Track engagement over time and identify dormant subscribers.

Maintain your list
Every 6 to 12 months, review inactive subscribers. Either remove them or send a re engagement email. You can also reduce how often they hear from you.

What to Expect in the First Few Months

Perfection is not the goal. Communication is.

You will make small mistakes and that is normal. Over time, email marketing helps you learn, refine, and stay top of mind with your guests. Trust builds gradually, and consistency matters more than getting everything right from day one.

You can now create an FAQ Page that brings important guest information together. This page gives you a simple way to answer common questions clearly and in one place. It helps guests move through your website with more confidence and makes practical details easier to find when they matter most.

Why it matters

Good FAQ content does two important jobs.

First, it helps people. Guests get quick answers to the details they care about, which reduces doubt and supports confident booking decisions. Search engines like Google have specific content guidelines: create content for real people, not just for search engines. If your content solves real problems, shows real experience, and is clear and honest, it naturally aligns with what Google is trying to surface in search.

Second, it helps machines clearly understand your content. Search engines and AI tools prefer content that answers real questions in a clear, direct way. When your information is easy to understand, accurate, and consistent, these systems are more likely to correctly represent your business in search results and AI-generated answers. A well-structured FAQ page also gives search engines and AI systems a clearer understanding of your property. This helps them better recognise what you offer and when your property is a relevant match for a potential guest’s search.

In other words, one well written FAQ Page can serve both your guests and the systems that increasingly guide them.

What is new?

• A dedicated FAQ Page inside your Springnest site
• A simple way to add, edit and reorder as many questions as you need
• A clean layout that is easy for guests and AI tools to scan

Learn how to create strong FAQs

If you would like guidance on choosing strong questions, writing clear answers and using FAQs as part of your AIO strategy, read our practical guide here.

There are a number of questions we get asked at Springnest at least once a month. Things like “can I use my existing domain to host a Springnest website?” or “can I make changes to my website?”. These things are well documented on our website and sales collateral and to us they seem obvious, but yet, we answer those questions time and again.

Hospitality is no different. Think about how often do you receive questions about airport transfers, wifi, or checkout times.

Even with a detailed website, guests often reach out with questions they couldn’t find or didn’t have time to search for. That’s where a well-written FAQ page really helps.

Why you get the same questions over and over?

Getting repeat questions doesn’t mean your content isn’t working. It means your guests are human.

Most visitors don’t read every page; they scan, looking for quick answers that remove doubt.

Think of FAQs as your website’s "front desk in writing". When written clearly, they handle common concerns long before an email or WhatsApp message arrives. That saves you time and builds trust with travellers who are still deciding where to stay.

How can having a FAQ page benefit your business?

Conversion and visitor experience

Your prospective bookers have questions that stand between them browsing your website, and them booking their stay. FAQ pages can help answer those questions.

SEO and AIO (being cited in AI tools)

Question-and-answer style content provides clear, direct answers to specific questions, helping search engines and AI systems understand the topic and improving the chances of the content appearing when similar questions are asked online.

Saving you and your team time and energy

Less questions means less time responding. Which means more time for running your business and delighting your guests.

Why FAQ pages matter even if you have the information visible on other parts of your site

An FAQ isn’t just another place to list what you offer. It’s where you answer what guests actually ask.

Here’s a simple contrast:

• Amenities page: “We have 24-hour reception.”
• FAQ page: “Can I check in late at night?”

See the difference? The first states a feature; the second addresses a concern. Good FAQs are written in the language of curiosity, not marketing.

A simple framework for writing useful FAQs

Start with what you already know.

1. Collect real questions. Scroll through your inbox or message history. Anything you’ve answered more than once belongs on your FAQ list.
2. Rephrase them in guest language. Write them as questions your traveller would actually type or ask out loud. (“Do you have family rooms?” not “Accommodation options for families.”)
3. Keep answers short, honest, and helpful. You’re not writing an advert; you’re removing doubt. Include what matters most and link to more detail if needed.
4. Optionally, link FAQ text to relevant pages on your site. Guide guests to helpful follow-up information (like rooms, pricing, location, or policies) so they can easily take the next step. Here’s a guide on how to hyperlink your text. This also strengthens your site’s internal linking, which helps search engines better understand your content and improves visibility.

If a guest could say “Ah, that’s exactly what I wanted to know,” you’ve done it right.

What to avoid when writing FAQs for your Springnest Website

Not all questions belong in your FAQ. Poorly written FAQs hurt clarity and don’t help with SEO.

Being too generic and obvious (using FAQ as a SEO tool, rather than a helpful resource)

Poor FAQ: Do you offer tented accommodation in the Kruger Park?

These waste space and credibility.

Better FAQ: Which accommodation options do you offer?

Being too specific (Marketing disguised as FAQs)

Poor FAQ: Is there a shaded area by the pool for kids?

These are selling points, not FAQs. Consider weaving these facts into the Answers, or use them as amenities on Accommodation or facilities pages instead.

Better FAQ: Are you a family friendly?

Conclusion

Writing FAQs might not feel as exciting as crafting blog articles or sharing on Instagram, but it’s one of the most practical ways to improve your guests’ experience before they arrive. Start small; five honest questions are better than fifteen vague ones.

Bonus AI Prompt

Copy and use this prompt in your AI Tool of choice, to brainstorm logical FAQs, using the information you already have available on your website.

Beginning of AI Prompt

I would like to improve the FAQ page on my hospitality website. Please visit this URL and study my business, my location, my rooms, and my guest experience. Then suggest five FAQ questions and short answers based on the following rules.

1. Questions must reflect what real guests actually ask.
2. Questions must be written in natural guest language, not marketing language.
3. Answers must be short, clear, and genuinely helpful.
4. Focus on questions that reduce doubt about booking, for example check in, parking, wifi, meals, family suitability, transfers, payments.
5. Avoid obvious sales questions or unnecessary SEO content.
6. Only include questions that would make a guest say, “Ah, that is exactly what I wanted to know”.

Here is my website URL: [paste your website address here]

Please provide the five FAQs in a simple list.

End of AI Prompt

About a year ago, I attended a hospitality tech industry event where I had a conversation with the MD of a competitor brand about remote work. It was a friendly and insightful debate. At some point they asked me, "doesn't it get awkward when there's no social interaction, though?". Truthfully, the only part about remote work I do not enjoy is how awkward and contrived it can feel on internal virtual calls, especially when it's been a while since an inter-person get-together. With that said, I still find those meetings less awkward than some of the boardrooms I've sat in at office parks while visiting other organisations.

Our annual Springnest Meetups have been a way for us to combat the challenges of remote work over the past couple of years, to ensure we’re all in the same room together, at least once per year. They have since become a welcomed tradition which gave us a platform to share meaningful experiences including a group ceramics workshop, a street art walking tour in Cape Town’s Woodstock neighbourhood, a yacht cruise around Table Bay, working in a mobile trailer on the West Coast, hiking Lion’s Head, and most recently, having a combination of free time and Co-working in Noordhoek. (During the 2020 lock downs we participated in a virtual sandwich making course with New York-based Ben Gollan (aka “A Man & His Sandwich”).

An important component of these get-togethers has always been an intentional theme behind each. I develop these based on the goal of the Meetup, which is created around conversations with the team, discussions between Niel and I, and other business objectives. Some examples are “Evolve” where we reimagined our internal security measures as well as our Customer Success goals, and “Recharge”, which was entirely themed around rest and connection.

This October, we got together under the theme aptly named “Morph”, for which we had two goals:

1. Embark on the first-ever Retreat, where the entire team stayed over at the same location. I.e. Work, cook, relax, and spend time together without anyone rushing to the airport to catch an evening flight home.
2. Have an in-person strategic session about AI, and how we can develop a policy and ethos that ensure that we use AI to offer as much value as possible to our customers, while retaining our human authenticity and passion.

What followed were two fun days of light work sprints overlooking Noordhoek Beach, free time where everyone could choose to lie in, go for a run, walk on the beach, or socialise depending on what would give them energy, cooking a massive portion of Nachos, and finally, a two-hour workshop to tackle the topic of AI adoption at Springnest.

The rough agenda and format we followed:

• Feedback on a team survey I sent out months before to gauge the sentiment and experience level of the team around AI
• Feedback on a lengthy problem mapping exercise we followed for a couple of weeks, with the intention to identify the highest impact/lowest investment opportunities for integrating AI into our work days.
• A collaborative process where we used our company knowledge hub in Notion to write lyrics, which were fed into an AI song generator to write a Meetup Theme song. It’s called Lasso The Sky, and let’s just say we’ll stick to tourism for our day jobs 😳.

Important takeaways from the workshop, and what it means for our community, partners and customers

Curious minds. Healthy scepticism.

There was a general sentiment within the team that AI is a no-brainer when it comes to repetitive, routine writing tasks, where there is now emotional backbone required, the format is heavily rigid, and the time saved can be used to create more value in other areas where human judgment or emotion is required. Examples included generating product tutorials, or internal SOP documents.

On the other hand, everyone agreed that passing purely AI-generated content off as content written by a human raises issues of brand authenticity and quality of the content. These include editorial content, educational articles in Springnest Academy, and personalised email correspondence with customers.

Having transparent conversations about AI at Meetup affirmed that being skeptical is an essential component of intentional AI use.

Lily Padiachy, Customer Success at Springnest

Don’t leave people guessing

AI is inevitable, but nothing stops us from being transparent about when someone is interacting with AI content, and when they are not. The idea of an “AI disclaimer” linked to content came up as a suggestion.

Some use cases are more prone to the AI hallucinating than others

During a segment of the session where we shared our existing experience with Ai at Springnest, we heard about everything from analysing dense SEO reports for consultative support, to writing structured briefs for the handover from Sales to Production, and using AI’s reasoning as a sounding board during difficult, high-pressure situations.

Prioritises value for customers, not just cost and time saving

As a fully remote, proudly lean team, having an army of always-present, never tired, phD-level AI helpers ready to carry our workload is obviously attractive. But there’s a difference between just optimising our business and viewing AI as a way to add more direct value for our customers. We’re committed to honouring that balance.

What to expect from AI and Springnest over the next year

• Faster resolution to consultative and complex support cases as we’re building out our internal knowledge base, housing 15 years of our expert human knowledge and experience
• A brand new series of add-on marketing services, leveraging AI to offer high-value, lower-cost solutions for customers who want to outsource their marketing
• Smarter solutions for multi-lingual Springnest websites
• More raw, video-based learning content, to combat the tsunami of AI slop flooding social feeds and search results

Like you, we’re navigating a rollercoaster of excitement, possibility, anxiety, and doubt about how AI is going to impact our work. What I can assure you of at this stage is that we’re embracing the change, and remain focused on our simple core values of making things to simple to use and easy to understand for you. As long as AI contributes to that, we’ll work to develop a healthy relationship with it.

Thank you for going on this journey with us,

Peter

For a long time, blogging worked a certain way: share a few listicles, include your keywords, and Google might reward your efforts with better visibility. That approach helped many small tourism businesses compete online.

But travellers don’t search like that anymore. They’re not typing “Sea Point guest house” into a search bar as often. They’re asking tools like ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overview questions like:

• “Where should I stay in Cape Town with kids?”
• “Is Sea Point safe for families?”
• “Which area in Cape Town has the best views?”
• “What’s the best lodge near Kruger for a first-time safari?”
• “Which East African island is better for a honeymoon: Zanzibar or Mauritius?”

And here’s the important part: these tools don’t just look for keywords, they look for answers that sound confident, local, and trustworthy.

Why This Matters for You

This doesn’t mean blogging is dead. Far from it. It means blogging needs a shift in approach.

• Old way: Write “Top 10 Things To Do in Cape Town” and hope to outrank TripAdvisor.
• New way: Write “Why Sea Point is one of the best bases for families in Cape Town”, “Why Skukuza makes a great first stop in Kruger National Park”, or “Why Zanzibar is a more laid-back choice than Mauritius for couples”.

That’s the difference. It’s not about tricking search engines. It’s about helping travellers with real questions in plain language.

The Two Types of Blog Posts That Still Work

1. Discovery blogs: Help people dream and plan. Think “Hidden beaches only locals know about in Cape Town”, “5 reasons to visit Kruger in the green season”, or “Local food to try on your first trip to Zanzibar”.
2. Stay-intent blogs: Help people decide where to stay. Think “Where families should stay in Cape Town (and why Sea Point makes it easier)”, “Best safari camps for first-timers in Kruger”, or “Where honeymooners should stay in Mauritius vs Zanzibar.”

Both matter. One gets you into the conversation early. The other puts you right where bookings happen.

What About Linking Out?

For years, the advice was “don’t link out, you’ll lose visitors.” In the AI era, it’s different. Outbound links to credible sources (like Cape Town Tourism, SANParks, or official tourism boards in Mauritius or Zanzibar) make your content more trustworthy, both to travellers and to AI tools. Think of it less like sending someone away, and more like adding a footnote that says, “See? You can trust me.”

Springnest’s Guide to Getting Started

1. Pick One Traveller Question to Answer
   Think of a real question your guests ask you (in emails, at check-in, or on the phone).Examples: “Is Sea Point safe for families?”, “What’s the easiest lodge to reach from Kruger airport?”, “Which East African island is better for diving?”
2. Write a Blog Post Around That Question
   Use the question (or a natural variation of it) as your blog title. Start your post by answering directly in the first 2–3 sentences.
3. Structure it Simply
   Break your content into short sections with clear headings.Use bullet points or FAQs if it helps.End with a gentle link to your rooms or offers (“This is why many families choose to stay at our guest house in Sea Point…” or “This is why our lodge is ideal for first-time safari guests in Kruger…”).
4. Add Trust Signals
   If you reference something official (like a park, transport, or safety guideline), link to the official source. Keep outbound links limited and useful, think footnotes, not distractions.
5. Cross-Share Your Content
   Repurpose your blog into a short Facebook post, Instagram caption, or email snippet. AI tools don’t only read your website, they sample content from across the web.

The Big Shift to Keep in Mind

Here’s the heart of it:

• Old blogging = chasing Google with keywords.
• AI-era blogging = answering travellers’ real questions with authority and personality.

If your content can do that, it has a chance to be pulled into AI search results, building trust and nudging travellers closer to booking with you.

What if your website could showcase your best Instagram moments—without sending visitors away?

We’re excited to introduce the Instagram Widget, a brand-new way to seamlessly display your latest Instagram posts on your Springnest website. If you’re already investing time in creating engaging social content, this widget helps you make the most of it—keeping your website fresh, visually dynamic, and aligned with your brand.

Why This Matters for Your Website

Your Instagram feed is a powerful storytelling tool, showcasing your property’s atmosphere, experiences, and personality. With this update, you can:

Inspire visitors with real-time content, directly from Instagram.
Keep your website fresh without manual updates.
Engage potential guests without sending them off your site.
Customise the look and feel to match your brand.

No extra effort. Just effortless visual storytelling.

Visit the Help Centre for a step-by-step guide on adding yours (or see the instructions in the video above).

Bonus AI Prompt

Use the prompt below, to brainstorm personalised headings for your widget. Customise it with your preferences and run it in your AI tool for choice (ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini etc)

Beginning of AI Prompt

I need 10+ creative, on-brand heading options for an Instagram widget that displays my latest Instagram posts on my website. The headings should:

• Be short (just a few words).
• Clearly communicate why website visitors should engage with my Instagram content.
• Use social media-related language, terms, or playful puns.
• Fit my brand's style and tone.

Business Context:

Website URL: [Insert your website URL]

Brand Style: [Describe your brand’s style— eg. luxurious, trendy, fun, or conservative]

Generate engaging and creative headings that reflect my brand and make visitors want to explore my Instagram content.

End of AI prompt

Before diving into the process of selecting images for your hotel website, it’s crucial to ask yourself a few key questions. These will help you align your visuals with the expectations and preferences of your potential guests.

1. Who are your ideal guests?
   Families, solo travellers, couples, business travellers?
2. What parts of their experience at your property do they typically enjoy the most?
   Look at your reviews to find common themes guests love.
3. What unique features set your property apart from the competition?
   Is it the scenic view, exceptional service, luxurious rooms, or unique amenities?
4. How do you describe your property to guests or partners over the phone or at trade fairs?
   Use this description to determine which images tell the story most effectively.

Next, create a simple content statement

For example, imagine your lodge primarily attracts families and couples looking for a private and immersive nature experience. Reviews highlight the unforgettable game drives with expert guides, tranquil moments in private lodges surrounded by wilderness, and the opportunity to learn about and support conservation efforts. Pair these insights with your unique features, such as world-class wildlife encounters, serene settings, and interactive conservation activities. By selecting images that showcase these elements—a family on a game drive spotting wildlife, a couple enjoying a private deck overlooking the savannah, or guests participating in a conservation project—you can craft a visual story that resonates with your target audience. Take a moment to list your own key themes and features, then think about how to bring them to life through imagery.

A short, simple statement could look something like this: My images should appeal to families and couples, highlighting the privacy, world-class game viewing, and opportunities to connect with nature that make my lodge unique. They should showcase serene private settings, captivating wildlife encounters, and moments of learning about and contributing to conservation efforts, creating a visual story that inspires guests to immerse themselves in the experience.

Practical Split of Types of Images

To create a comprehensive and appealing visual representation of your property, divide your images into three main categories: practical images, atmosphere and details, and lifestyle shots.

1. Practical Images

These images provide clear, straightforward views of your property’s spaces and amenities, helping potential guests understand what to expect.

• Space and Layout
  Room sizes and layouts
• Common areas like the lobby, dining room, and conference facilities
• Environment
  Exterior shots of the property
• Views from rooms or common areas
• Amenities
  Pool, gym, spa, dining areas
• Special features like rooftop terraces or garden spaces

2. Atmosphere and Details

These images capture the finer details and ambience of your property, evoking a sense of place and style.

• Close-Ups
  Decor elements like artwork, furnishings, and lighting fixtures
• Details such as fresh flowers, bedding, and toiletries
• Ambience
  Lighting that creates a cosy or luxurious feel
• Unique architectural features or design elements

3. Lifestyle Shots

Lifestyle images show guests enjoying their stay, helping potential visitors imagine themselves at your property.

• Guest Experiences
  Guests dining, relaxing, or engaging in activities at the property
• Families, couples, or business travellers using the facilities
• Local Activities
  Guests exploring local attractions or participating in cultural experiences
• Special events or activities hosted by the property

Case Study from the Springnest Community: Stil.

Putting It All Together: Curating Your Gallery

Once you have categorised your images, it’s time to curate them effectively on your website.

Homepage

• Signature Shots
  Feature your most visually stunning images that tell the story of your property.
• Key Highlights
  Include images that showcase what makes your property unique.

Room Pages

• Practical Views
  Show different room types with clear, well-lit images.
• Atmospheric Details
  Include close-ups of room features and decor.

Amenities and Services

• Facility Overviews
  Highlight pools, gyms, spas, and dining areas with clear, comprehensive images.
• Lifestyle Experiences
  Show guests enjoying these amenities.

FAQ: Choosing and Curating Images for Your Website

What size should my images be?

While Springnest auto-optimises images to ensure the best possible performance, it’s recommended to use images that are 2000-3000 pixels wide for the best editing experience. This size provides a good balance between quality and load times.

How many images should I use per category?

Less is more. People are used to consuming a lot of visual content and often jump between contexts. Instead of adding 20 similar images, choose your best 2-3 per category. This ensures that each image has a significant impact and keeps your website clean and engaging.

Why should I focus on practical, atmospheric, and lifestyle images?

Dividing your images into practical, atmospheric, and lifestyle categories helps create a comprehensive and appealing visual representation of your property. Practical images provide clear views of spaces and amenities, atmospheric images capture details and ambience, and lifestyle images show guests enjoying their stay. This combination effectively showcases your property and appeals to potential guests.

How often should I update my images?

Regularly refresh your image gallery to keep it relevant and engaging. Update images to reflect different seasons or special events, and add new photos whenever you upgrade or introduce new features.

Can I use images taken by guests?

It is recommended to use professional images on your website to ensure the highest quality and consistency. User-generated content (UGC) is best reserved for your blog and social media channels, where it can add authenticity and engage your audience in a more informal setting.

Conclusion

By asking the right questions and categorising your images effectively, you can create a visually appealing website that attracts and converts potential guests. The right mix of practical, atmospheric, and lifestyle images will provide a comprehensive view of your property, helping guests envision their stay and feel confident in their booking decision. Remember, your images are a powerful storytelling tool—use them to showcase the best of what your property has to offer.

Meet the latest product updates for Springnest Articles, designed to make your blog more engaging and user-friendly:

Introducing Suggested Content: Keep Readers Hooked
Automatically display relevant articles at the end of each post, keeping readers engaged longer. Suggested Content, based on categories, tags, and authors, is active by default and fully customizable.

Grid View for Blog Index Pages
Our new Grid view layout gives a sleek, compact look to your blog index pages on desktop, perfect for showcasing a variety of articles at a glance.

Enhanced CTAs with Summary Fields
Add punchy headlines and additional context to your CTAs with the new summary field, offering more flexibility to drive action.

No More Guessing: We've added an optional international dial code for enquiry forms

The new form element prompts your visitors to easily choose a relevant country code associated with the phone number they share with you. While optional for your visitor to use, it greatly improves the clarity of contact information received through your enquiry forms.

Every so often, we get a support request from a Springnest customer about an email they received from an external SEO consultant or company. These emails usually imply that someone high up like a Manager or Technical Expert took a look at the business' website. They found a series of important problems to solve, and they have the answer to the problem (for a fee, of course).

Below is a screenshot of such a message that made its rounds in the Springnest community recently.

Why am I receiving these emails, and should I be worried?

Think about it: a complete stranger sends you an unsolicited email about your business' website, guaranteeing to solve a series of issues you never worried about until now, and likely don't understand.

Sounds like snake oil to me.

• These emails are sent as part of mass spam campaigns, and are not tailored to your business or website.
• While there are many online SEO reporting tools that could generate SEO summaries for your website without your consent, the person or company who sent this to you, doesn't have the access to information to offer strategic SEO advice.
• Ironically, taking someone up on this type of SEO pitch could cause the very issues they are warning you against.

Why do businesses even care about unsolicited emails from complete strangers?

Because not understanding something can cause panic.

SEO is an inherently technical topic, meaning that the average hotel, guest house, or activity business owner has absolutely no idea how their website is being ranked on Google, or whether they should pay more attention to it. Unfortunately, this makes them vulnerable to opportunistic SEO “experts” (I'm using inverted commas because anyone who needs to send cold emails and use fearmongering to sell SEO services, is the opposite of an expert in my view).

Perceived problems (what businesses feel pressured to solve)

• W3C Markup Validation
• Header response code checkup
• Meta Robots
• Keyword Quantum Leapology (Ok, I made that one up)

Actual, underlying concerns (questions businesses should be asking)

• Am I getting enough value from my website provider for the price I am paying?
• Are there digital marketing tactics that my competitors understand, and I don't?
• Are my competitors getting more bookings this season? Am I missing out on revenue?

Are you saying SEO is a hoax?

Not at all.

SEO continues to be an important tactic to reach guests and raise awareness around your website and business. But it's exactly that, one potential tactic. SEO has also evolved immensely since the days when those SEO spam emails held any real weight. There's no magic wand to wave to get your website to outrank your competitors.

Like any other marketing tactic (paid ads, email marketing, social media marketing, loyalty campaigns, trade fairs), SEO requires a strategy and budget. It can get extremely nuanced and involves much more than a once-off audit or researching some keywords. You can decide whether investing in SEO is a worthwhile investment compared to other tactics. If it is, there are two types of work you should include in your strategy:

a) Technical SEO (minimum requirements of a good website)

• Your website must be fast and easy to use, on all devices. If your website is developed properly this should not be a big concern.
• Your website has technical components like Meta Tags and URLs which should be set up to be search engine friendly. The way your pages are built should also include something called structured data. These are like labels for Google, making it easier to understand your content, and increasing the changes of your website showing up in different types of search results.
• When search engines like Google introduce changes to the way they rank and index websites (also known as algorithm updates), your website needs to meet these technical requirements.

b) Ongoing, strategic SEO (things that will cost additional time and money)

• Keyword and customer research to determine how people search for your product, and which words you need to rank for to get the right people to land on your website.
• Regular, new content (blog articles, destination information, room descriptions, itineraries, reviews), containing the words from the point above.
• Adding alt tags to images (essentially helping search engines understand what your images are about). While Google is becoming good at understanding the contents of photos, there is still a way to go in terms of context. A double bed in Joburg looks the same as a double bed in Cape Town. And Kimberley. And Paris.
• Links from other, relevant websites (also called Backlinks). Think of these as an SEO-vote-of-confidence from other brands and businesses.
• Your profile and activity on your Google Business Profile and Google Maps.
• There are more, but these will have the most impact and will keep you, your SEO agency, or SEO consultant busy for a while.

What SEO is included in my Springnest Plan?

Everything in the technical part (point a 👆)

What can I do to increase my visibility and ranking?

• Ignore future SEO spam emails (and don't click links or open attachments)
• Ask yourself what business problem you are hoping to solve. More traffic? More bookings? Both? How much budget are you willing to allocate to increase these metrics?
• Check your business vitals. Take a look at your website performance report in Springnest Dashboard (or Google Analytics if you have that set up), alongside your booking engine report. This should give you a good indication whether you need to generate more traffic and awareness, or whether you are, in fact, seeing good traffic, and simply need to convert more of your website visitors into bookers.
• If you have the interest and time to do SEO in-house, browse our resources and start educating yourself. Regular content updates, running a blog, and adding Alt tags to your images are practical steps you can ytake in-house without much technical knowledge.
• The other option is to hire a (real) expert. Ask us about Springnest-approved SEO consultants and writers.

Is there anything else you'd like us to write about?

Please let us know by sending an email to help@springnest.com, we'd love to hear from you.

Tourism is one of the largest economic global industries and is also one of the largest energy-consuming industries. In light of a the global energy crisis, and as many countries - including South Africa - grapple with power cuts due to infrastructure issues, many properties are switching to renewable energy sources (eg. solar) or investing in alternative energy sources (eg. inverters/generators). This presents an opportunities for more bookings, and holds immense value for ethical, sustainable and responsible travel, if communicated effectively. In this article, we dive into ways you can communicate how you're using alternative energy sources, and use it as a unique selling point to one-up your competitors.

1. Building confidence with a Pop-Up

Pop-ups are well suited for communicating an important message to potential guests. Whether you’re completely off the grid through solar power, make use of inverters/generators, or are situated in a unique location that does not experience power outages you can put together an impactful pop-up using a straightforward headline and 1-2 sentences that support your headline.  The key here is to raise the topic of power outages or energy shortages, without coming across as alarmist. Here are a couple of suggestions for Pop-up headlines:

• We offer backup electricity
• We’re embracing renewable energy
• Enjoy a stay without power-outages

Need more guidance? Check out these 3 best practices to create an impactful pop-up to inform website visitors.

2. Create a Blog article

Blogging can be a successful marketing tool and can offer your website an SEO boost when executed well over time. A blog article can be the ideal opportunity to draw attention to the specific unique selling point of your Hotel or Guest House being powered by alternative energy sources, in a structured and detailed way.

When putting your blog title and content together, think about what you want this article to achieve (eg. drive direct bookings based on your unique selling point), the positive environmental impact of sustainable renewable energy sources, and the overall value that this information has and will offer guests. We’d recommend highlighting these positive aspects in the blog article, versus shaping the content around terms like loadshedding that leave you with a sense of despair no matter the context.

A blog article is an ideal area to go into more detail on how you’re implementing renewable or alternate energy generating systems, LED lighting systems, and where you are using energy-efficiency appliances. Remember, a well-informed website visitor is more likely to make a booking decision.

3. Add details to your Homepage slider, heading or description field

The homepage slider, heading, and description are areas that are designed to capture a website visitor's attention. Whether you’ve switched to renewable energy sources like solar, or have invested in alternative energy sources like inverters or generators. These two areas are a great way to communicate the unique selling point(s) of your Hotel or Guest House. Keep it short, and to the point.

4. Include your unique selling point in your Homepage SEO Settings

When potential guest searches for accommodation in your area, they are presented with a sea of search engine results. Your meta description can be used as an opportunity to stand out from your competitors.

What we DO recommend:

• Add a short, and impactful 4-5 word sentence to the beginning of your homepage meta description. Solar: Powered by solar energy. Inverters/Generators: Powered by alternative energy sources.Other: We have an uninterrupted power supply.

What to Avoid:

• Do not completely reword, or restructure your existing homepage meta description, this will negatively affect your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts or the efforts of external digital marketing experts that you have hired to work on SEO.
• Do not include words that include more of a negative tone like no power cuts or no loadshedding.

In short, don't simply add a Popup for the sake of using the feature. Remember, you'll essentially be interrupting your visitor, so be sure you make it worth their while. As Lily outlined in this article, common reasons for embracing this feature include:

• Sharing an important notice (inform visitors)
• Promoting an offer or promotion (increase conversion)
• Encourage visitors to join your mailing list (build relationships)

Get your timing right

There are four different "trigger" options in Springnest, giving you control over when a visitor will see your Popup:

Show a Popup on page load: Useful to show a notice that impacts your visitor's experience or decision to book (for example, if you will be closed for a private function, your phone lines are undergoing maintenance, or if your pool is being renovated).

Show a Popup on a timer: This offers your visitor a couple of seconds to digest your most important content and offering, before being exposed to a promotional message or offer. It's a good way to give the impression that you're offering direct bookers some added value, and it could reduce the chance of someone leaving to shop around for a better rate elsewhere.

Show a Popup on scroll: With this option you show your popup to the visitor once they have started scrolling down your page. The benefit here is that you have an indication that they are interacting with your website and content - a Popup could be a good nudge to draw them deeper into your site.

Show a Popup on exit intent (desktop only): Exit-intent implies that you show your Popup to your visitor as they are about top leave your website. Think of this as a last effort to offer some added value, or establish a way to keep in touch with your visitor after they leave.

Create a strong message

Keep it short: The purpose of the Popup is not to cram a page worth of information into a single view - it's about grabbing the visitor's attention, and offering a call-to-action to find out more. A short, impactful headline, paired with a sentence or two works well.

Be mindful of basics: Your Popup already does the work of grabbing the attention of your visitor, avoid the urge to use exclamation marks and mixed capitalisation to create the feeling of urgency and importance. The easiest way to present your brand as professional is simply to follow the basic rules of grammar and copywriting.

Ready to add yours?

Visit the Springnest Help Centre for a guide on adding Popup's

Why? (Define your goal)

The biggest reason why most tourism brands' blogs go dormant is simply that they haven't thought about the return they hope to see from their efforts. There are different reasons to blog  depending on your product and capacity, and the important part is jotting down some broad goals and expectations before you draft your first article. Here are some popular and proven goals for running a blog on your Springnest site. Your strategy can involve one, or many of these:

1. Improving SEO - create articles about topics you wish to rank for in Google search results (more about that in the Insider Tips video)
2. Build trust and emotional connections - create articles about your business, property, or team to create a connection with your visitors
3. Brand awareness - create articles to announce awards, renovations or important changes to keep visitors informed and show off achievements

Who? (Define your audience)

When planning a new article, make sure it will hold value to at least one of your target audiences. These could include:

• Broad market segments - people interested in booking accommodation, attending events, or participating in activities in your destination
• Niche market segments - people with specific interests or needs (eg. honeymooners, business travellers, families, pet owners, thrill-seekers)
• Returning and past customers - people who have stayed at your property and booked an experience with you before, and know your brand
• B2B - if you sell to travel partners, agents or operators

What? (Define your topics and themes)

• Offer advice - publish guides and curated lists about your destination
• Inspire readers - stunning visuals and videos that evoke emotion
• Tell stories - give a peek behind the curtain. Share stories about your team or conservation efforts
• Promote events - create articles to showcase upcoming events at your property or in the surrounding area
• Press Releases and news - corporate news about new products or awards

When? (Define your calendar)

Know your capacity

A brand with a marketing team or string in-house writing skills will be able to produce more content than a lean owner-run establishment. Know your strengths and be realistic about your capacity. Start with a conservative content calendar (one article a month is a good start!) and develop your strategy over time.

Quality over quantity

The rule of thumb here is quality over quantity. Rather blog less often and create meaningful content, than sticking to a rigid calendar and publishing irrelevant or rushed articles.

Plan in advance

Keeping a document with topics and ideas per month or season will help you avoid a the frustration of a last-minute rush, and will produce better results.

After helping hundreds of properties launch professional websites, we've shortlisted these four simple pieces of advice as quick-win tactics to see more direct bookings and revenue from your lodge's website in 2021. Let's jump in!

Reassure your website visitors

2020 brought a new awareness around health and safety for travellers, and it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. As the industry recovers, visitors are concerned about their well-being during their stay and whether or not hotels are taking the right steps to keep guests safe.

Rule out any doubt about whether you are open for business and reassure your website visitors about your health and safety protocols.

Your Action Plan

• Clearly communicate your health and safety protocols
• Adapt your cancellation policy

Springnest has you covered

The COVID-19 Toolkit makes it easy to communicate your health and safety measures in an intuitive way and builds trust from the moment a visitor lands on your site.

"Springnest is the ideal platform to update your website in a very seamless way, we are very happy with the design and various features. During this difficult time in the tourism industry, we found it easy to add our health and safety pledge to ensure we are following protocols."

Maria Malepa

Embrace the era of Instant Messaging

Instant messaging tools like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger give your visitors a direct, personal line of contact which could mean the difference between them leaving to shop elsewhere, or booking directly with your property.

Your Action Plan

• Educate yourself and your reservations team about the requirements of Instant Messaging as part of your marketing and sales strategy
• Integrate instant messaging on your property’s website

Springnest has you covered

Easily add instant messaging to your website with the WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger Widgets.

“I just love being able to update my own website daily. Particularly in these challenging times. And the new widgets, such as the WhatsApp widget, are superb. It has already brought us bookings.”

Chris Harvie, Rissington Inn

Draw attention with Notifications and Nudges

Did you know that you only have a couple of seconds to grab a visitor’s attention on your website? With this in mind, it’s important that you communicate your most important sales messages as quickly and clearly as possible. Consider features like Popup messages and notifications to keep your visitors engaged and to drive them through your booking funnel.

Your Action Plan

• Create regular, timely offers and promotions on your website. Give your visitors an incentive to book directly through your website.
• Leverage pop-up messages and on-site notifications to grab the attention of your visitors at the right time

Springnest has you covered

• Set up unlimited Offers
• Customize Special Offer Notifications to match your preference and brand
• Easily create and manage pop-ups

“By using Springnest Special Offers paired with targeted advertising, we saw an increase of 70% in web traffic to Indlovu River Lodge’s website, and in the same month, an increase in enquiries and direct bookings.”

Lizanne du Plessis

Bring your Social Media content  to life on your website

A mistake many properties make is to send their hard-earned website visitors away from their website, rather than fighting to keep them there. A common example of this is through directing visitors to social media accounts, essentially “losing” them in the process.

By bringing your social media content to your website you can keep visitors' attention and inspire them to book at the same time.

Your Action Plan

• Review your social media icons and links, remove links to dormant or irrelevant accounts.
• Display Instagram and YouTube content on your website, rather than encouraging visitors to view it off-site.

Springnest has you covered

• Show off your latest Instagram content without losing your visitors.
• Easily add video content from YouTube to inspire visitors  across your website.