The holiday season is fast approaching. For hotels and resorts, it’s one of the most important (and competitive) times of the year to stay front & center in your guests’ inboxes. But no matter how enticing your holiday offers or how polished your creative, none of it matters if your emails never make it to their destination.
Deliverability is the unseen engine behind successful campaigns. It determines whether your message lands in your guest's inboxes—or gets lost in the shuffle. Below are proven deliverability strategies designed to help you reach more guests, drive more direct bookings, and finish the year strong.
Build (& Protect) Your Sender Reputation
Your hotel’s domain and IP reputation determine whether inbox providers like Gmail or Outlook trust your messages—or flag them as spam. Think of it like a digital guest review score: a good reputation earns you front-row placement (the inbox), while a poor one leaves you buried (the spam folder).
Private vs. Shared IPs
- Private IPs: Best for larger hotel brands or management groups sending consistently throughout the year. You control your reputation but need to maintain steady send volumes.
- Shared IPs: Ideal for independent or seasonal properties. Shared volume helps maintain healthy deliverability, even if your email frequency fluctuates outside of peak seasons.
Best Practices
- Use a branded sending domain (e.g., email.staywithmyhotel.com)
- Gradually warm up new domains or IPs
- Monitor your sender reputation with tools like Google Postmaster Tools or SenderScore
Authenticate to Build Guest Trust
Guests trust the familiar—your brand name, logo, and tone. Inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo work the same way. They rely on authentication protocols to verify that the emails claiming to come from your hotel are actually sent by you—not by a scammer or a spoofed domain. Proper authentication is your digital equivalent of showing valid ID at check-in—it instantly builds confidence and credibility.
At Ascent360, authentication is managed automatically and seamlessly sets up & maintains three key protocols on your behalf:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Verifies that SendGrid is authorized to send on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Ensures email integrity and authenticity by signing messages with cryptographic keys.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Helps protect your domain from spoofing and phishing by enforcing alignment between SPF/DKIM and the “From” address.
Best Practices
- Ensure your DNS records are correctly configured while onboarding to a new ESP or CDP
- Use a branded sending domain (e.g., email.staywithmyhotel.com)
- Periodically review your domain’s authentication status using tools like MXToolbox or Google Postmaster Tools
When properly configured, authentication not only safeguards your reputation—it also improves inbox placement and ensures that every campaign, special offer, and booking reminder reaches your guests reliably and securely.
Keep Your Guest List Clean & Engaged
Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is one of the most effective ways to improve deliverability and campaign performance. Today, sending to engaged individuals is more important than ever, as ISPs increasingly use engagement signals to determine inbox placement.
Why It Matters
- Reduces bounce rates and spam complaints
- Improves sender reputation and inbox placement
- Maximizes ROI by focusing on recipients who are most likely to act
Engagement-Based Filters to Use
To ensure you're only reaching active and interested customers, we recommend filtering your list using criteria such as:
- Opened an email in the last 30, 60, or 90 days
- Clicked a link in the last 30, 60, or 90 days
- Made a purchase or visited your website recently
- Subscribed or opted in within the last 6 months
These filters help you focus your efforts on recipients who are most likely to engage, improving deliverability and campaign effectiveness.
Best Practices
- Regularly suppress unengaged contacts from bulk sends
- Use re-engagement campaigns to win back inactive users
- Remove hard bounces and invalid addresses automatically (Ascent360 handles this automatically)
- Monitor list performance and adjust segmentation strategies as needed
- Consider an At Data email validation run
Craft Content That Converts (& Lands In The Inbox)
Your email content plays a major role in whether your message lands in the inbox or the spam folder. Spam filters evaluate everything from formatting and wording to code structure and sender behavior. Optimizing your content is essential for maintaining deliverability and driving engagement.
Key Elements of Optimized Content:
- Subject Line Best Practices
- Keep it short and relevant (under 50 characters is ideal)
- Avoid spammy phrases like “Buy now,” “Free,” or “Act fast”
- Personalize when possible (e.g., “Bob, your room is ready”)
- Body Content Guidelines
- Maintain a healthy text-to-image ratio (avoid image-only emails)
- Avoid excessive use of ALL CAPS, bold, or exclamation marks!!!
- Use clear, concise language that matches your brand tone
- Include a clear call to action (CTA) with a visible button or link
- Personalization & Dynamic Content
- Use merge tags to personalize with names, locations, or preferences
- Segment content based on behavior, interests, or purchase history
- Dynamic blocks can tailor messaging to different audience segments
- Mobile Optimization
- Use responsive design to ensure readability on all devices
- Keep paragraphs short and scannable
- Use large, tappable buttons for CTAs
- Compliance & Trust Signals
- Include a visible unsubscribe link and physical mailing address
- Avoid misleading headers or deceptive subject lines
- Use branding elements (logo, colors, sender name) to build trust
- Preheader Text
- Use preheader text to complement your subject line
- Avoid leaving it blank or repeating the subject line
- Testing & Tools
- Use platforms like Litmus or Email on Acid to preview your email across devices
- Run your email through Mail-Tester.com to check spam score
- Monitor engagement metrics to refine content over time
Maintain Predictable Sending Patterns
Your sending volume and frequency have a direct impact on how ISPs perceive your email traffic. Sudden changes in volume or erratic sending patterns can trigger spam filters or throttling.
Why It Matters
ISPs monitor your sending patterns to determine whether your emails are trustworthy. Consistent, predictable behavior builds credibility, while spikes or irregularities can raise red flags—even if your content and authentication are solid.
Start Slow, Build Trust
When launching a new domain or IP, it’s critical to gradually increase your sending volume over time. This process, known as warming up, allows ISPs to observe your behavior and engagement metrics before granting full inbox access.
Recommended Ramp-Up Guidelines:
- Start with small batches (e.g., 5,000–10,000 emails per day)
- Increase volume incrementally every few days
- Prioritize sending to your most engaged users first
- Monitor bounce rates, open rates, and spam complaints daily
- Ascent360 handles new IP warming automatically on your behalf
Maintain Consistent Patterns
Once warmed up, consistency is key. ISPs prefer senders who follow predictable schedules and maintain steady volume.
Avoid Risky Behaviors
- Don’t send to your entire list all at once after a long pause
- Avoid sending to unengaged or stale contacts during ramp-up
- Don’t switch IPs or domains frequently without proper warm-up
Best Practices
- Send on regular days/times (e.g., weekly newsletters every Tuesday)
- Avoid large spikes in volume, especially after periods of inactivity
- Use segmentation to spread sends across time zones or engagement levels
Measure Engagement Like You Measure Guest Satisfaction
ISPs closely monitor how recipients interact with your emails to determine whether your messages are wanted—or should be filtered to spam. Engagement is one of the most powerful signals influencing inbox placement, especially with Gmail and Yahoo’s evolving standards.
Key Engagement Signals ISPs Track
- Open Rates: Indicates interest and relevance. Low open rates can signal poor targeting or weak subject lines.
- Click-Through Rates (CTR): Shows deeper engagement and content effectiveness.
- Spam Complaints: Even a small number of complaints can severely damage your sender reputation.
- Unsubscribes: A natural part of email marketing, but spikes may indicate poor targeting or frequency issues.
Why Engagement Matters More Than Ever
- High engagement improves inbox placement and sender reputation.
- Low engagement can lead to throttling, filtering, or outright blocking. Pro tip: Use A/B testing and segmentation to improve performance
- ISPs now prioritize recipient behavior over sender volume or age.
Tools & Resources
- Google Postmaster Tools: Monitor Gmail-specific reputation, spam rates, and domain/IP performance
- MXToolbox: Check DNS records, authentication status, and blacklist presence
- Mail-Tester.com: Analyze your email’s spam score, authentication, and content quality
- At Data: Validates and enhances email addresses to improve list quality and reduce bounce rates
- SenderScore: Rates your IP reputation on a scale of 0–100 based on email sending behavior
Holiday Cheer (& Precise Marketing) Delivered
The holiday season is a prime opportunity to connect with travelers when inspiration—and inbox traffic—is at its peak. Strong email deliverability ensures your offers and experiences reach the right guests at the right time, driving more direct bookings and repeat stays. By following these best practices, your property can protect its sender reputation, strengthen guest trust, and maximize every message you send.
With Ascent360, your guest data becomes the foundation for smarter, more personalized marketing all year long. Our proven & powerful Customer Data Platform helps you reach the right guests with the right message at the right time—every time. Ready to elevate your email performance this holiday season and beyond? Let us help make your next campaign your most impactful yet.