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We鈥檝e all seen (and deeply related to) . ICYMI, texts are the preferred means of communication for 鈥� just about everyone. With consumers of all generations glued to their phones, brands have a vast audience within easy reach through the latest SMS marketing trends. Let鈥檚 get straight into it.

First, is SMS marketing effective?

Absolutely! Industry studies and surveys have unveiled these compelling statistics:

• 90-98% open rates
• 45% response rates
• 21-35% average click-through rates
• 20-45% conversion rates
• 90% of messages are read within three minutes

Trends to hop on right now

Destination and hospitality brands can and should target travelers at every stage of the customer journey. Here鈥檚 how current trends can play into your SMS marketing strategy:

Dreaming

This is your opportunity to inspire wanderlusters before they鈥檝e decided where they鈥檒l be vacationing.

• Send video using RCS (Rich Communication Services) 鈥� read up on the tech with explainers from and 鈥� to promote visually irresistible spots across your destination or resort.
• Got influencers? Have them share exclusive dispatches from your destination or resort as they are experiencing it. These texts should be written in a casual friend-to-friend style.
• Leverage interest in major events that will be hosted in your destination by having travelers opt in for early access alerts.

Planning

Now that you鈥檝e won over the traveler, you need to ensure their upcoming trip will be all they dreamed of to earn those all-important recommendations and repeat visits. SMS marketing can do the heavy lifting in this stage too:

• Travelers can tap into the power of Agentic AI to seamlessly find and book accommodations, admission to attractions, tours and more.
• Marketers can share snackable content through SMS. Rather than sending a link to a full itinerary or blog post, you can 鈥渄rip鈥� snippets of the content through a series of texts.
• Or have travelers tell you what interests them by texting, 鈥淩eady for your trip? What are you most excited about: A) outdoor recreation, B) dining or C) arts & culture?鈥� When they respond, you can direct them to inspirational content on your website.

Experiencing

Once visitors have arrived in your destination or guests have checked in to your property, there are several ways to boost their spending through text communications:

• Employ RCS to send a scrollable carousel of activities, events or attractions for visitors to plan their days.
• Using zero-party data, Agentic AI can serve a traveler or guest with a triggered text that promotes things to do based on their proven personal interests.
• Share a digital passport that allows visitors to check in to participating attractions and collect points that can be redeemed for rewards.

Sharing

After travelers return home, they are ripe for messages reminding them of the amazing experience they just had. This is the time to lock in those positive feelings through SMS marketing:

• As they鈥檙e leaving, send an RCS message that allows the traveler to share a digital postcard with family and friends.
• Make the memories last by sharing a link to a curated playlist.
• Stay top-of-mind with milestone messaging along the lines of 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a year since you鈥檝e visited, and we miss you.鈥�

The future of SMS marketing

As you probably gathered by now, RCS is becoming the next-generation, more powerful alternative to SMS thanks to its ability to share higher-resolution, more engaging content. Agentic AI will also play a role in its all-in-one approach to searching and directly booking experiences. Brands will also have access to zero-party data that allows them to reach travelers with personalized targeting 鈥� even before the dreaming phase kicks back in.

If you鈥檙e feeling FOMO right now, relax. As the Hospitality Business Review , Dana has the know-how to quickly develop and execute a results-getting SMS marketing strategy for your brand. To start the convo, contact Lynn Kaniper at 609.466.9187 ext. 117 or lkaniper@danacommunications.com today.