Creating a Local Guide

for Your Guests

[+ FREE Local Guide Templates]
Contents

Introduction 3 Our mission at Cloudbeds is simple: More Reservations and

Chapter 1: Getting Started
Choose your Niche
Chapter 2: Curating the Best Options
Chapter 3: Putting it All Together
Chapter 4: Free Local Guide Templates
Conclusion
Happier Guests. We developed our suite of hospitality
4 management software so you can spend less time worrying
about running your business and more time taking care of
5
your guests.
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As your trusted partner, Cloudbeds strives to empower
16 hoteliers and hosts with professional tools and tips to help
you run your property like a pro.
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This free eBook is one such resource, and we made it
20
specially for you. We hope that you not only read it, but also
apply the useful tips and insights at your own property.

Get bright ideas and best practices delivered straight to your

inbox when you subscribe to the Cloudbeds blog.

Cheers,

Cloudbeds

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Introduction

Since you’re in the hospitality industry and you meet new guests every day, you
likely make it a point to know your city or town and have gathered some of the best
recommendations in town. Guiding your guests to your favorite local places in
person is great, but you can provide them value long before they even arrive.

By creating an online local guide, not only will you help potential visitors discover
your property, you’ll also start building a relationship with guests before you ever
say hello. A local guide is a perfect opportunity for travelers to find your property
while they’re actively planning their trip.

Here, we’ll walk you through the process we used to create a sample local guide.
We’ve also included two different templates that you can edit and personalize with
your local content and images to create your own local guide.
1
Getting Started

Getting started is all about identifying your

target market and guest profiles.
Choose Your Niche

Though your local recommendations will be useful for many different types of travelers, choosing a
specific audience and niche will help streamline your local guide. Focus on the type of guests your
property attracts and align your audience with your local recommendations. Do you host more families,
business travelers, or couples? Think about it and orient your dining, attractions, and activities accordingly.

Create traveler profiles based on your property’s guests that will help you pinpoint which local activities
people will be most interested in. Not everyone will fall into a tidy set of categories, but more likely than
not, different groups of guests will share characteristics that you can identify (e.g. adventure seeker,
romantic getaway, family vacation, business trip, etc.)

On the next slides, we’ll point out 8 different types of travelers who might walk through your door. Feel
free to use some or all of these traveler profiles to help build out your own guest profiles for your
property. We kept the details simple in order to demonstrate the wide range of travelers you may
encounter at your property.

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The Casual Traveler

Who they are: The casual traveler typically travels once or twice per year based on their
company’s vacation policy. Individuals in this category will rarely travel alone and will
usually be accompanied by friends, family, or significant others. They generally have a
decent amount of money to spend, but they refrain from spending it freely.

Casual travelers look forward to their vacation time as a time to unwind, relax, an
explore. They’ve likely done a fair amount of research and know what to expect when
they arrive at their destination.

What they like to do: Casual travelers like to hit all the destination’s main attractions.
They may travel back to a destination more than once, but not frequently. So, when
they’re in a place they try to get everything they can out of it. They’ll likely enjoy guided
tours and other group activities.

Where they stay: Casual travelers will seek out accommodations with best value, but
are attracted to established brands. Independent and boutique hotels will likely be their
first choices if they aren’t brand loyal to a hotel chain like Hilton or Marriott.

How to help them: Casual travelers appreciate recommendations and travel tips,
although they may not always seek them out. As mentioned above, they’ve done their
research, so offering some guiding tips will help solidify their plans or slightly modify
them. A map guide could be especially helpful for them.

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The Backpacker
Who they are: While thrifty backpackers skew young, we know there’s a community of
passionate backpackers out there that transcend age. These travelers are price
conscious and only seek out the basics when it comes to accommodations. Free WiFi is
essential to backpackers and could be a deal breaker. These guests tend to go on several
trips a year and will spend more time traveling, typically to many different locations

What they like to do: Backpackers are interested in getting to know their destination
like a local. They want to taste authentic food, stay in local neighborhoods, and
experience the nightlife. A backpacker will typically keep themselves quite busy while
traveling in order to soak up everything the destination has to offer.

Where they stay: Hostels and low-budget hotels are the primary target for these
guests. Communal bathrooms and shared rooms don’t scare backpackers, and the
affordability is well worth the trade off in their eyes. We also find that these travelers
enjoy using Airbnb and staying at stay-share properties.

How to help them: As a property owner, you can help backpackers by having many
local recommendations and maps ready. While these guests will generally know what
they want to do, they leave room for flexibility and exploration. They love local tips and
will likely follow your recommendations.

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The Business Traveler
Who they are: How often a business person travels and what expenses are covered by the company will influence their brand loyalty
and choice in accommodation. Business travelers are often much less price sensitive than others because they’re not footing the bill.
Expect these guests to have tight schedules and to value efficiency.

What they like to do: Though they’re not there to visit the local sites, they will be interested in learning about good restaurants both
for personal and business purposes.

Where they stay: Frequent business travelers are often attracted to branded hotels with rewards programs and free upgrades.
However, independent hotels ranging from mid-tier to luxury will draw business travelers who prefer to avoid large chains.

How to help them: Restaurant and other business service information, such as the nearest FedEx, Kinkos, etc., will be helpful to have
on hand. Local transportation information is also important if the traveler needs to commute to a local office or convention center.
Business travelers may also need laundry and pressing services.

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The Family Traveler
Who they are: Families with children of any age will have slightly different needs than
other types of guests. Families often arrive to a destination with a well laid out plan for
their stay. Like casual travelers, these guests will operate on a schedule and look to
make the most of their trip. Families generally operate on a fairly strict budget, so
getting the most value for their dollar is important.

What they like to do: Organized trips and activities suitable for children are generally a
high priority. Local attractions like theme parks and tourist activities are usually the
highlight of family trips. Alternatively, some family vacations consist of pure relaxation
on a beach or at the pool.

Where they stay: Families tend to enjoy kid-friendly venues such as independent
hotels, inns, and occasionally bed and breakfasts. We expect families to stay at places
with larger rooms and decent array of amenities.

How to help them: Be prepared to provide lists of family-friendly restaurants and

attractions in the local area. As we mentioned, most families will come prepared, but,
they will appreciate good recommendations and informative maps. Restaurants and
other attractions that offer family discounts are much appreciated.

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The Luxury Traveler

Who they are: Well-to-do travelers are less worried about how much they spend and
more focused on getting the most out of their trip at a high standard of comfort. While
prices may not be of the highest concern, value still is. Luxury travelers will often plan
their trip and have a general idea of what they’d like to do. The luxury traveler is typically
older in age, but not always.
These travelers will have higher expectations for their accommodations and the service
they receive. They also tend to travel in pairs or as a part of a group. Luxury travelers
expect excellent service, and they are willing to pay more for memorable experiences.

What they like to do: Luxury travelers often seek out private and group tours, popular
tourist attractions. as well as more rare type of activities that are off the beaten path.
Luxury travelers tend to take more trips and know the types of activities they like to do.

Where they stay: Luxury independent properties, inns, and bed and breakfast are all
favorite options for luxury travelers.

How to help them: Connections to tour groups and knowledge of local restaurants will
be helpful to these guests. Exceptional service and a willingness to help whenever they
have a question is essential.

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The Senior Traveler
Who they are: Senior travelers are often post-retirement explorers. These individuals
likely have a bit more money to spend than other types of travelers. They tend to travel
in pairs or in groups, and they usually don’t have children with them.

What they like to do: Senior travelers enjoy local tourist activities and guided tours.
Accessibility is generally more important to this travel group, so extreme sports and
off-the-beaten-path activities are less common.

Where they stay: Senior travelers look for comfort in their accommodations. They
gravitate towards hotels, bed and breakfasts, cruises, and inns, but the most important
factors will be the amenities and accessibility.

How to help them: Local guides and maps with things to do will be essential. If your
property has a special connection to tour guides or local companies, they will be
beneficial for senior travelers.

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The “Type A” Traveler

Who they are: Type A travelers are planners. They’ve done their research and many of
them have planned out full-day itineraries for their entire trip. These guests are looking
to get the maximum benefit out of every location they visit and activity they do. These
travelers will often have a companion or travel in a group.

What they like to do: Along with planning, Type A travelers like to do a wide range of
activities, ranging from tourist attractions to the off-the-beaten path pursuits. A type A
traveler could also fit in any of the other categories already mentioned, but they
generally place a high importance on organization and timing.

Where they stay: Type A travelers tend to stay in top-rated hotels that have been well
researched. There isn’t one particular property type that a Type A traveler will gravitate
towards, but you can be sure that they did a lot of research and read a ton of reviews
before settling on their accommodation choice.

How to help them: They won’t need much assistance getting around, but being
available to answer questions quickly and efficiently will make for a pleasurable stay.

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The Flexible Traveler
Who they are: Flexible travelers are the opposite of the Type A travelers. These
travelers enjoy getting around with no plans or very loose plans. They don’t like to book
in advance, and they embrace changes along their journey. Flexible travelers can be
found alone or in small groups.

What they like to do: The flexible traveler is great at grabbing last-minute deals and
going with the flow. They often travel to maximize the bonuses they get from miles. They
like “gaming the system,” so to speak.

Where they stay: Flexible travelers come in all shapes and sizes, so you can expect to
find them at a wide-variety of properties. Hostels and independent hotels with
last-minute available beds and rooms work best for these travelers.

How to help them: Local recommendations are a must. Generally a last minute guest
will be more interested in local activities than typical tourist activities. Local guides and
maps will be greatly appreciated by flexible guests.

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2
Curating the Best Options

The next step is to brainstorm a list of

recommendations to include in your guide.
We suggest keeping the list high-level at first,
and then narrowing it down based on your
guest profiles.
Create a Basic Framework:

Before you begin making a list of individual places, remember to consider the guest profiles you created in the last step. Based on
your property or traveler type, you may need to add or subtract some of the categories we suggest below. Use what will work best
for your property and traveler type. For example, it might make sense to have an entire rock climbing section or an entire nightclub
section based on your demographics and the attractions in your location.

Food Drink Activities

➔ Breakfast ➔ Coffee ➔ Outdoor activities
➔ Lunch ➔ Bars ➔ Indoor Activities
➔ Dinner ➔ Breweries ➔ Major Points of Interest
➔ Snacks ➔ Pubs ➔ Hidden Gems
➔ Desserts ➔ Local Hotspots
➔ Nightlife

Once you know what you’re looking for, start creating a list of specific places to include. Start with what you know. Your
recommendations will be more authentic if they come from you, but don’t be afraid to use other sites as research.

BONUS:
For the online version of your guide, you can also include:

➔ A packing list and essential travel tips for your destination, as well as
➔ A map

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3
Putting it All Together

After you create a list of the best places in

town, it’s time to put it all together and decide
how you’re going to share and distribute your
recommendations.
Putting Your Recommendations Together
Now that you have a list of great recommendations, it’s time to create your guide and share it with
travelers and guests. Here are some ways you can distribute your guide:

On Your Website:

First and foremost, you should publish your local guide on your website. Localized content will help you gain organic traffic
and make your property more visible to potential travelers. Design your local guide in a way that puts your property at the
forefront of the recommendations. For example, you can include how far away your property is from your recommendations
and easy ways to get there.
You may want to add your guide to your website as a blog post or give it it’s own page. Make sure to include an introduction
and conclusion to the guide as well as your contact information.

As a Printable PDF:

Though we still recommend that you add your local guide directly on your website to encourage organic traffic, you can also
add a downloadable PDF link for guests to be able to print the guide before they leave for their trip or download it onto their
phones so they can reference it on the go. A downloadable guide will work offline so guests can reference it if they are away
from a WiFi connection.

In print at your property:

While an online local guide will help you attract potential guests to your property, a printed guide will be helpful to guests
staying on-site. Guests will appreciate having a portable guide they can take with them and refer to as they’re out exploring.
As simple as providing a local guide can be, it can be a great resource for elevating the guest experience and motivate guests
to leave a good review.

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4
Free Local Guide Templates

We’ve created four different local guide

templates that you can download, edit, and
customize to build your own guide.
Download your Free Templates

Three of the layouts we’re providing are in a three-fold brochure form and work well if you want to make a short and sweet guide for
your guests. The other layout is a pamphlet so you can add more pages if you’d like to make a longer guide. Download the templates
to add your own content, images, and color scheme. Note that the file is ‘view only.’ Create a copy of the file to start editing.
We’ve added some sample content for a local guide for the city of San Diego, California using a guest profile of individuals in their
mid-20s to 30s who like to feel like a local but still visit some of the city’s points of interest. These individuals usually travel in groups
of two to six. They want a mixture of cultural experiences and outdoor activities.

1. 2. 3.

4.

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Conclusion

Creating a local guide for your website doesn’t have to take a long time or be too
complicated. A branded local guide will help your guests navigate the city or town
and may even help travelers find your property while planning for their trip, thus
helping you get more bookings.

Once you’ve finished designing your guide, place it prominently on your website.
You can create a standalone page for it or post it to your blog. We also suggest
making it available as a downloadable PDF or printing it out to display at the front
desk. The content is valuable across many different mediums.

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thousands of hotels, hostels, vacation rentals, and groups in
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With over 300 partnered OTAs, travel tech partners, and over 3033 5th Ave., Suite 100
$3 billion in room sales annually, Cloudbeds connects to more San Diego, CA 92103
marketplaces than any software in the hospitality industry.
Founded in 2012, Cloudbeds has expanded to hundreds of
team members in 31 countries who altogether speak 17
languages.

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