Navigating New Spam Protection In Your Hotel Email Marketing

Verify Your Identity with Email Authentication

One of the cornerstones of these new measures is email authentication. Simply put, it's about ensuring that the emails you send are indeed from your business and not from imposters. This validation process, implemented through industry standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, helps recipients trust the source of the emails they receive.

• SPF or Sender Policy Framework - This authentication protocol approves IP addresses authorized to send emails on behalf of your property’s domain (i.e. @armourhotel.com). Essentially, it confirms, "These are the designated email addresses associated with your websites... and exclusively these addresses. (stay@luxurhotel.com, reservations@luxurhotel.com)"
• DKIM or DomainKeys Identified Mail - DKIM employs cryptographic authentication (no need to delve into technical details) to verify a domain's identity. This involves attaching a digital signature to each email, affirming, "This is the genuine sender, and the content remained unchanged during transmission."
• DMARC or Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance - DMARC stops domain spoofing and phishing but also dictates the actions your email server should take upon receiving emails, thereby preventing unwanted messages from infiltrating your inbox.

By leveraging these authentication protocols, you not only establish credibility with your guests but also contribute to the overall reduction of malicious emails circulating in inboxes.

Maintain a Low Spam Rate

In addition to authentication, Google and Yahoo! will both enforce a spam rate threshold of 0.3%. This means that no more than 0.3% of your subscribers can flag your emails as spam. Do you know what your lodging property’s email spam rate is? For independent lodging businesses, this underscores the importance of sending relevant and wanted emails to your guests. By focusing on delivering valuable content and ensuring your email practices align with industry best practices, you can minimize the likelihood of your messages being mistakenly filtered out.

Have a Plan for Handling Unsubscribes

Making it easy for your past guests and newsletter sign-ups to opt out of receiving your emails is not just a courtesy—it's now a requirement. Most email platforms have a one-click unsubscribe option where guests can easily remove themselves from your mailing lists, or even better, update the lists they want to be a part of. By honoring these requests promptly, typically within two days, you demonstrate respect for your guests' preferences and contribute to a more positive email experience overall. A good email platform like rezCampaigns will automate all of this for you.

How Does Google and Yahoo Changes Impact your Lodging Business?

A key part of delivering a good guest experience is to ensure that your confirmation emails or the post-stay emails are making it to guests. So, as an independent lodging business, these updates serve as a reminder of the importance of maintaining sound email practices. By prioritizing email authentication, striving to keep your spam rates low, and ensuring a seamless unsubscribe process, you not only comply with industry standards but also enhance the trust and satisfaction of your guests.

Staying ahead of the curve in email best practices is essential for independent lodging businesses looking to foster strong guest relationships and drive bookings. rezStream offers effective hotel email marketing and utilizes solutions that safeguard the integrity of your communication channels.

If you liked this article, you may enjoy these additional topics.

• How to Ensure Your Emails Reach Your Guests
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