German and English copywriting for hotels, holiday rentals and restaurants
Speak to guests the way they speak.
You can spot a machine translation instantly, and guests from Germany and Austria don’t like it. We write your copy in German and English with the right words and the right tone: website, menus, price lists and messages.
Menus and price lists from €120, guest kit €290. Plus VAT.
01
German as a German speaks it
02
Clear, friendly English
03
The right tone
04
Menus that make people hungry
05
Clear house rules
06
Fewer repeat questions
07
Allergens explained properly
08
Copy that Google finds
09
Translated sites put right
10
One dedicated contact
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Sound familiar?
What foreign guests read
The copy is there.
It just doesn’t speak to them.
Many websites and menus in Lignano have a German and an English version. Often, though, they were done in a hurry or with a machine translator. These are the problems we see most often.
Menu
“Allo scoglio” becomes “on the rock”.
Dishes translated word for word, wrong ingredients, allergens nobody understands. Guests order the wrong thing, or go where they can read the menu.
Tone
“Du” instead of “Sie”.
Using the informal “du” with a German guest you don’t know sounds odd, just like stiff, over-formal phrases in English. The wrong tone is noticed before any mistake.
Website
The German version hasn’t changed in years.
Old prices, expired offers, missing pages. Visitors from Germany see a different site from the Italian one, and a less cared-for one.
Messages
Only Italian speakers understand the house rules.
Check-in, recycling, parking: if the message isn’t clear, the questions arrive at midnight. Or end up in a review.
What we do, what it costs.
01 / Menus and price lists · from €120
A menu people understand and order from.
Menu, wine list or price list in German and English, up to 2 pages, with dishes and ingredients explained properly. We hand it over ready for layout.
02 / Guest kit · €290
Everything you write to guests.
Booking confirmation, welcome message, house rules and check-out instructions in German and English. Ready to paste into Booking.com, Airbnb, email and WhatsApp.
03 / Website review · from €490
Your translated website, put right.
We review and rewrite up to 5 pages of your site in German and English, using the words guests actually search for on Google. To add a new language from scratch, prices start at €350 per language.
One sentence can win a guest.
Machine translation puts the right words together the wrong way. Readers notice within a line. Drag the line and see the difference.
Send us your copy ↗Before
Wir sind froh, Sie in unserer Struktur zu begrüßen. Die Rezeption ist offen von 8 bis 20.
After
Herzlich willkommen bei uns! Die Rezeption ist täglich von 8 bis 20 Uhr für Sie da.
DACH market · Austria, Germany, Switzerland
We write German like a German.
German-speaking guests are many, loyal and attentive to detail. They notice copy written for them, and they notice when it isn’t. We use their vocabulary and their tone, and we do the same for English.
D
Germany
A
Austria
CH
Switzerland
IT
Benvenuti! La spiaggia è a 3 minuti a piedi.
Ombrellone e lettini sono inclusi nel prezzo.
DE
Willkommen! Zum Strand sind es 3 Gehminuten.
Sonnenschirm und Liegen sind im Preis inbegriffen.
EN
Welcome! The beach is a 3-minute walk away.
A parasol and sunloungers are included in the price.
Not the same sentence in three languages: the same welcome, said the way a local would say it.
Our approach
Copy ready to use, no hassle.
You send us the copy in Italian, we send back German and English versions ready to use. You read them before they go out.
01 / 04
You send us the copy
Menus, messages, website pages: Italian is enough, even if it’s rough. If you already have a translation, send that too.
02 / 04
We write in German and English
We don’t translate word for word: we rewrite in the tone and vocabulary of your guests. If needed, we’ll ask a few questions about the dishes or the property.
03 / 04
You read and approve
We send you the copy with the Italian meaning alongside, so you always know what you’re publishing.
04 / 04
We put it online
If you like, we’ll add the copy to your website, your Google profile and your Booking.com and Airbnb listings.
FAQs
Before you send us your copy.
The questions we’re asked most. If yours isn’t here, drop us a line.
Not sure where to start? The check-up ↗Do you use machine translation?
It can help with a first draft, but every text is rewritten and checked by a person who knows the language and tourism. It should read as if it were written in German, not translated.
Do you work in other languages?
We work in German and English, the languages of almost all Lignano’s foreign guests. For other languages we can point you to the right people.
Do you reply to German reviews too?
Yes, with Google profile management we reply to every review in the language it was written in.
How long does it take?
A menu or guest kit usually takes a week. A website review depends on the number of pages: we’ll tell you before we start.
Human + SI.
A guest who understands is a guest who comes back.
One dedicated contact looks after your copy, in all three languages.
No call centres or tickets: you always speak to the same person. If you change a dish or a house rule, you know who to message.
Contact
Send us your copy.
Tell us what you’d like in German or English: menu, website, guest messages. A real person will reply, with a first practical opinion.
Lignano Sabbiadoro · Friuli Venezia Giulia