This is great news for Hoteliers with a basic Internet marketing structure...looking forward to seeing this in action!

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Interactive technology drives qualified demand, maximizing campaign performance through advanced keyword optimization with enhanced direct revenue tracking

"MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 19, 2006, HITEC Conference) -- TravelCLICK, Inc., the leading provider of hotel business process management (BPM) solutions, today announced that it is implementing new paid search technology that continuously optimizes key word selection in Internet marketing campaigns for the hotel industry. With real-time management of key words that drive demand to a hotel web site, hotels can receive more, higher qualified traffic and generate greater revenue per campaign. The new solution is part of TravelCLICK's comprehensive initiative to generate greater, measurable hotel return on investment, with a strong level of control over spending, through its integrated portfolio of Internet marketing services."

Hotel Reservations & Web Booking Engine, Internet Marketing, Travel Agent Marketing, Competitive Intelligence %u2013 TravelCLICK %u2013 Complete Hotel Distribution Solutions

The best brands offer many reasons for both purchase and continued loyalty. Two aspects of remarkable branding are critical: identifying the key moments in the buying process, the Moments of Truth, and branding them. Branding a Moment of Truth requires the business person to orchestrate the tangible aspects of the buying process to deliver on the Functional promises (My product/service is superior because of these features…). Then, and here’s the kicker, elevate those moments to bring the customer to a heightened emotion that has nothing to do with the practical pluses of the product/service. Remarkable brands imbue each Moment with the emotion they seek to evoke in the customer. A remarkable brand inspires a state of mind, entirely separate from the brand, to which the customer wishes to aspire. Think Lexus as the symbol of ‘living the good life’ or the Nike whoosh representing ‘being a champion’.

This May I finally had the chance to return home to Kenya…leaving the growing heat of Bahrain, and work, behind for a few weeks for a brief (isn’t it always?) respite. This East African country is not only the gateway into East Africa but also comparatively a stable, progressive republic with a breathtaking variety of landscapes and holiday options. There is something truly captivating about Africa that only be experienced in person…and one way to do this is to go on a cross-country Safari!

William Lozito from Strategic Name Development takes a look at hotel brand names:

"The names that seem to dominate the industry are synonymous with office parks and strip malls. Hilton%u2019s Homewood Suites and Marriott%u2019s Residence Inns for example. But Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc is honestly trying to revamp the product offering and gives us what I think are the best names in a pretty stale sounding industry."

Read the post: Brand Names You Like to Live Inside: Strategic Name Development Product Naming Blog

Starwood Hotels Unveils Plans for New Extended Stay Brand; With the DNA of Westin Hotels, 'Project ESW' to Provide a Haven that Allows Guests to be their Best when on the Road for an Extended Period of Time

With the DNA of Westin Hotels, “Project ESW” to Provide a Haven that Allows Guests to be their Best when on the Road for an Extended Period of Time.

White Plains, NY – June 1, 2006 -- A year after shaking up the select service segment of the hotel industry with the launch of its stylish aloft Hotels brand, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today unveils plans for a new upper upscale extended stay brand inspired by Westin Hotels. Code named “Project ESW,” the new brand will feature a sophisticated, residential product designed to be a refreshing haven in a space rendered rote with look-alike brands and generic features. Starwood will debut the yet-to-be-named brand to top hotel developers next week at the New York University International Hospitality Investment Conference.

Ouch! Another one in a series of horrific data losses. Some strict protocols on the use and transportation of sensitive data has got to be adopted by the industry to avoid such fiascos in the future!

"Hotels.com is warning nearly a quarter of a million customers that they may have had their credit card numbers stolen, following the theft of an unencrypted laptop belonging to the travel Web site's auditor, Ernst & Young Global."

Hotels.com Customer Data Stolen - Yahoo! News