Email Marketing for Hotels in the UK: A Practical Guide
Email marketing for hotels means staying in touch with your guests before they arrive, after they leave and between stays, so that more of them book directly with you next time. For independent hotels, B&Bs and guest houses, it is one of the least expensive ways to turn one stay into the next.
In the UK, you can email most guests who booked directly with you, as long as you gave them a simple way to say no. This guide covers who you can email, which emails are worth sending, and how to run them without a marketing team.
Why email marketing for hotels pays off
A guest who books through an online travel agency often comes back through the same agency, and you pay commission again. A guest who is on your own email list can book directly, at no extra cost to you.
Most independent properties still let that guest go. When we looked at 40 independent hotel, B&B and guest house websites in the Lake District in October 2026, we found a newsletter sign-up on only 7. The other 33 had no clear way to keep in touch with visitors who were not ready to book that day.
Can you email your guests? PECR and the soft opt-in
The rules come from UK GDPR and PECR (the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations). PECR includes a "soft opt-in" for existing customers: you can email someone who bought from you, or asked you for a quote, about your own similar services, as long as you offered them a way to opt out when you collected the address and in every email since.
What you can do depends on where the address came from.
| Where the address came from | Can you send marketing emails? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Direct booking on your website, by phone or at the desk | Yes, under the soft opt-in | Offer an opt-out at booking and keep an unsubscribe link in every email |
| Enquiry or quote that did not become a booking | Yes, under the soft opt-in | Same conditions as a direct booking |
| Booking through an online travel agency | Usually not | Agencies often pass on a relay address, not the guest's own. Ask guests to join your list during their stay |
| Sign-up form on your website | Yes | Use double opt-in so you can show when and how each person agreed |
Our UK GDPR email marketing guide explains the soft opt-in and its limits in more detail.
The hotel emails worth sending
A few well-timed emails do most of the work. Each one has a single job.
| When it goes out | Its job | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | Right after someone joins your list | Say thank you and give one good reason to book directly |
| Pre-arrival | Three to seven days before arrival | Share practical details and offer extras such as dinner or late checkout |
| Post-stay | One or two days after departure | Thank the guest and ask for a review |
| Anniversary | Around a year after the stay | Invite the guest back for the same time of year |
| Seasonal offer | Before your quiet months | Fill rooms you would otherwise leave empty |
The pre-arrival email answers questions guests already have: where to park, when they can check in, how to get there. Because it is useful, it is also a natural place to offer extras.
How MailGraf runs email marketing for hotels
Build your guest list from your booking system
Most booking systems can export guest details as a spreadsheet. Import that file into MailGraf, match the columns, and keep arrival and departure dates in date fields on each contact. Invalid addresses are skipped and listed in a report.
If the list is old, run the free bounce test before your first send. It estimates the risk from a sample of up to 250 addresses, so you know whether to clean the list first. MailGraf does not connect to booking systems directly; a regular export and import keeps the dates up to date.
Pre-arrival and post-stay emails that send themselves
An automation in MailGraf can start on a date stored on the contact. Set the pre-arrival flow to send five days before the arrival date, and the post-stay flow to send two days after the departure date. Each guest then gets the right email at the right time, without anyone at reception remembering to send it.
A welcome flow starts when someone joins your list, and a condition step can send a follow-up to guests who did not click your offer. Our email automation guide shows how to build a first flow.
Sign-up forms and pop-ups on your website
Add a sign-up form to your website, or a pop-up that appears when a visitor is about to leave without booking. New subscribers confirm by email before they join your list, and MailGraf keeps a record of when and how each person agreed.
Each form also has its own link. Put it in your booking confirmation, or print it as a QR code on a card at reception, so guests who booked through an agency can join your list during their stay.
Segments for different kinds of guest
A family at half term, a couple on a weekend break and a walker on a solo trip want different offers. Store details such as stay type or last stay date on each contact, and build segments from them. Segments update themselves, so a segment such as "stayed in the last 90 days" is always current without anyone sorting a spreadsheet.
Our email segmentation guide covers which segments are worth building first.
Seasonal offers with a deadline
For an early-booking offer, add a countdown timer to the email: every time a guest opens it, the timer shows the time left. Send the offer to a landing page built in MailGraf, with a form that adds new contacts to the list you choose.
Fewer unsubscribes, clear consent
Every email links to a page where guests can update their details or pause your emails for 30, 60 or 90 days. A guest who only travels in summer can step away for the winter instead of unsubscribing.
For guests who joined through a form, the contact's record keeps the time they confirmed and can also keep the consent text they agreed to, ready to download as a PDF.
A simple year of hotel emails
You do not need a weekly newsletter. A plan built around the seasons keeps you in touch without wearing guests out.
| Season | What to send |
|---|---|
| January to March | Early-booking offer for summer, with a deadline |
| April to June | Spring breaks and bank holiday stays for past guests |
| July to September | Short reminders for late-summer gaps and autumn dates |
| October to December | Winter breaks, gift vouchers and New Year stays |
Alongside this, the automated welcome, pre-arrival, post-stay and anniversary emails keep running on their own.
Try MailGraf for your hotel
Import your guest list, set up your pre-arrival email and send a test before you decide. Create a free MailGraf account: 14 days of Pro features, no card needed. You can see the current packages on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Can a hotel email guests who booked directly?
Yes, under PECR's soft opt-in, as long as you offered an opt-out when they booked and include an unsubscribe link in every email. The emails must be about your own similar stays and services.
Can I email guests who booked through an online travel agency?
Usually not for marketing, because you often receive a relay address rather than the guest's own. Invite those guests to join your list during their stay instead.
When should a pre-arrival email go out?
Three to seven days before arrival works for most stays. It gives guests time to plan and to book extras such as dinner.
Does MailGraf connect to my booking system?
Not directly. Export your guest details as a spreadsheet and import them into MailGraf, including arrival and departure dates.
How often should a hotel send marketing emails?
Start with the automated guest emails and one newsletter a month. Adjust from there based on bookings and unsubscribes.
Originally published: Oct 17, 2026
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