Apple’s Latest iOS 18.2 Email Update: What Hotel Marketers Need To Know
Get ready for the latest Apple iOS 18.2 update to shake up strategies for hotel marketing with a redesign that affects how users engage with emails. As a digital marketing agency for hotels, we’ll remind you that iPhones make up over 50% of the share of smartphones in the U.S., so we don’t recommend ignoring this software update.
“Standing out in Apple Mail’s new promotional folders will push marketers to develop more creative, fine-tuned email campaigns or risk losing visibility with a large percentage of their audience.” – Pete DiMaio, Chief Operating Officer
Let’s examine the changes hotel marketers need to know about the Apple iOS 18.2 update and how to remain competitive on any email client.
Apple iOS 18.2 Changes
The good news is that the Apple iOS 18.2 email update will affect only email marketing for hotels—you should not need to change your website or social strategies in response to the new functionality. The bad news is that email is one of the most profitable marketing channels for hotels, and this update could affect your ROI, which averages 36x according to Backlinko’s 2024 stats.
Hotel marketing teams should know about these three major changes the iOS 18.2 update triggers for Apple Mail users:
- Inbox Categorization: Sorts mail into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions
- Digest View: All non-Primary emails are grouped by sender into threads
- Email Summaries: AI email recaps replace preheader text
Categorizing emails into folders isn’t new—Gmail has been slotting messages into Promotions folders for a decade, but now that Apple is also on board, hoteliers who haven’t accounted for this are past due.
Tips From a Digital Marketing Agency for a Hotel’s Future Email Marketing
There’s a good chance that emails for hotels will lose visibility and engagement from the iOS 18.2 update if hoteliers don’t consider making these strategic changes:
