Brandt Dainow writes about Google Adwords accuracy when it comes to reporting traffic generated and offers an experiment, with the official response to his claims included. Small discrepancies are to be expected in tracking and reporting, of course, but the author claims it's the addressal of these issues that makes the difference.
"I have asked Google how accurate they consider the system to be. So far they have declined to provide any answer, so they haven't actually claimed 100 percent accuracy. Let's give Google the benefit of the doubt and consider the possibility that AdWords' click count is 99 percent accurate. This would make it the most accurate web analytics technology on earth by a long stretch. It would also mean it had mis-billed over $60 million last year. If it was 95 percent accurate, then it mis-billed $285 million last year."
Travelocity and Telestial team up to offer mobile solution
Travelocity is teaming up with Telestial in a clever business move to provide users access to low-cost mobile phone / cellular services.
"Telestial, a leading provider of low cost mobile phone solutions for the international traveler, announces an agreement with Travelocity that will offer overseas bound Travelocity customers the lowest rates and options for avoiding excessive fees typically associated with international cell phone calls.
In conjunction with a purchase of international airfare, airfare/accommodation or car rental on Travelocity, Telestial will be offering Travelocity customers a savings of 70% off already low Telestial package rates. Telestial charges far less than cell phone rental companies and also less than what U.S. carriers charge for international roaming, giving customers access to the local call rates at destinations that Telestial covers around the world.
...In an integrated campaign of advertising, e-marketing and promotion, Travelocity customers will be offered exclusive savings on Telestial products and services including the purchase of unlocked GSM world phones and a variety of pre-paid SIM cards (no contracts necessary) with free incoming calls around the world."
HSMAI and Travelclick are expected to present an award honoring the eMarketer of the Year. Early submission deadline is 1st Sept and the winner will be showcased on 29/012007 at the New York Marriot Marquis during the 17th Annual Adrian Awards Gala.
"Recognizing eMarketing excellence, the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has joined forces with TravelCLICK to pay tribute to the "eMarketer of the Year" at the 50th Annual Adrian Awards."
Google launches Google Apps for Your Domain - Education and Business Sectors to benefit
Google has launched Google Apps for Your Domain: www.google.com/a
"Google Apps for Your Domain lets you offer our communication and collaboration tools to your entire organization customizable with your branding, color scheme and content through the administrative control panel, and with no hardware or software to install or maintain."
Tools and services available with this new service include Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar and Google Page Creator. All these services will be available to schools, universities and companies for free.
Selling to your emotions - the new hospitality strategy
The Sheraton "Belong" Ad Campaign - appealing to emotions and lifestyles
Since late last year, many big hospitality / hotel companies have been scrambling to redefine their image and stand out from a growing herd of brands and franchises. The drive behind this is the understanding / realization that humans tend to be creatures of emotion...rather then logic, and the very elements that have helped companies build successful brands with a fan-following can be utilized to stand apart in the hospitality industry too!
After all, the hospitality industry today is saturated with an influx of new rooms, properties and brands - just how does a customer make up his/her mind? Starwood kick-started a superb branding initiative in 2005, with a differentiating exercise for each of its brands, including defining a unique image and core values associate with each brand. Also rolled out this year were various advertisement campaigns and property-level initiatives to build on brand uniqueness, e.g. Sheraton's "Belong" campaign, the simplicity factor associated with Four Points, the "address" and exclusivity offered by St.Regis, etc.
Marguerite Rigoglioso writes about the power of second (and more) impressions...and how they can make or break a career.
"According to Jerker Denrell, assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, what's key in dispelling negative images is making sure you get a second and third and fourth chance. Having the opportunity to show different sides of yourself to bosses and colleagues in numerous situations, both social and professional, in fact, critical to your career advancement."
The above may be stating the obvious...and so is the fact that people normally tend to stick to social circles that they find most comfortable by default...however the article has an important message...you simply HAVE to break through the "first impressions or nothing" cliches and take control...for the sake of your career!
Khemraj Lakai tells us about his recent visit to Leysin, Switzerland to attend a CHE workshop, and his hopes and dreams of a career and network in hospitality.
May 2001 - a fairly long but mild winter in Switzerland was already on its way out and the bare trees were coming alive with budding leaves and colourful flowers, all adding to the tranquility and homely ambience of the small town of Chur. The smell of freshly cut grass and the sound of cowbells already proliferated the hills and people were venturing out again (Leute beim Wandern, as the locals called it). Graduation was fast approaching and classmates were still working on the yearbook, as part of their school project. Despite the approaching finals, the year-book team was running and approaching students with a question “What would you like to become in the future?” Simple as it sounded in the beginning, the question hit home harder for me, as I clearly knew that the dreams, career predictions and paths are never easy as they first seem to students. A dream that I had prior to landing in Switzerland was no longer valid to be considered as dream. However, I felt a few things in common with most graduates…uncertainty, but positive energy and lots of hope.
"The USPTO published yesterday a patent awarded to Google that provides clues to Google's plans for social search, including details about how Google will use human editors to help facilitate algorithmic search.
The patent, system and method for supporting editorial opinion in the ranking of search results, describes processes whereby Google can better judge user search intent based upon whether the query matches a "theme" of queries on Google's servers."
Suppose that the nature of online social networks would definitely prompt such a move, in order to make sense of the growing volume of data - interesting to see where this is headed in the mid to long term.
Marriott expanding its pre-arrival messaging to meetings and events worldwide
As part of its "Spirit to Serve our Guests" initiative, Marriott is expanding its pre-arrival messaging service to meetings and events worldwide.
"As a part of the pre-arrival planning for groups, Marriott will make the optional service available to meeting planners so attendees can receive details of their stay five days prior to arrival. Resort meeting attendees will receive an e-mail 14 days in advance. The pre-arrival e-mail will include a reservation confirmation, information about property-specific amenities, the weather forecast, maps, directions and transportation from the airport and local area information."
This should be available at over 2500 hotels soon and is not unlike pre-stay messaging already employed by some other hotel chains for its guests. Pre-stay messaging, moving beyond just confirmations sent upon reserving a room are becoming an important part of the hospitality online marketing approach.
The Journal News reports that Starwood Hotels & Resorts may be looking for a new HQ. Currently the company is based in White Plains, New York.
"The company is looking for 400,000 square feet in the region to accommodate its 1,085 local employees. That would nearly double the size of the current 205,000-square-foot headquarters at 1111 Westchester Ave. in White Plains. Starwood will consider sites in Westchester County as well as Norwalk and Stamford, Conn., as sites for the headquarters, said spokeswoman K.C. Kavanagh. The company denied rumors that it might move to Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta or another region."
Hilton wants full booking capability in Chinese by 2008
Hilton Hotels are looking to offer a fully Chinese-capable booking solution by 2008...this should move beyond offering just static content in Chinese to fully integrating the booking process into the language as well.
"Hilton introduced a pilot Chinese website, hilton.com.cn, in July this year. The company expects full booking capability in Chinese language to get completed by 2008."
Pegasus signs up with ICE Portal Inc and Leonardo to ease rich media content distribution
A good move by Pegasus to ease delivery of rich media by hotels through the ODD through ICE Portal and Leonardo:
"Pegasus Solutions, Inc. today signed an agreement with ICE Portal, Inc. that will allow hotels to easily host, manage and distribute rich media content through the Pegasus Online Distribution Database (ODD) at savings of more than 40 percent. The ICE Portal agreement represents another improvement that Pegasus is making to the ODD, aimed at reducing maintenance costs for hotels and assisting them in increasing online reservations. Recently Pegasus has announced agreements with Leonardo Media to improve the quality and quantity of the more than 200,000 still images in the ODD and with GIATA mbH to provide a translation service that will allow hotels to promote their properties in additional languages."
Marriott allows guests to track their progress on promotional offers
This is a superb intiative by Marriott...availing and keeping track of special offers and promotions can sometimes turn out to be a hassle - this is bound to simplify the process and give guests some control over the same too.
"Marriott Rewards is making it easy for members to track their progress during a promotional offer, like a double points offer or Marriott Rewards' ever popular MegaBonus. This new Promotion Tracker functionality is now available to all members online at MarriottRewards.com. Marriott Rewards' members simply sign-in to their account to view the specific offer or offers for which they have signed up and the page will display the number of stays or nights needed toward reaching their goals. In addition, Promotion Tracker can also let members know about other promotions that they have not signed up for but are eligible to participate in. Promotion Tracker means that members now have their promotional offer information available at their fingertips, as well as enjoying a more personalized experience on MarriottRewards.com."
Adding a personal touch to advertising - are we there yet?
The tech program "Click" on BBC recently ran a feature on how advertising is taking on a whole new level of personalization, with ads moving from print to video (billboards, ad displays) and also adding interactivity.
"If you believe some agencies anything that is currently paper and paste is going to become video. This not only gives the benefit of looking snazzier, but you can change the ad to anything you want, anytime you want. All of a sudden ad campaigns do not last a week, they last 10 seconds."
While converting print ads to video is a expensive undertaking, if done properly, guarantees better targeting and utilization of ad real estate, plus a better chance to reach out to the right audience, at the right time.
In a fresh development, Google is now eyeing the Television Advertisement arena...with its huge $74 Billion potential.
"Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes television viewers should not have to stand for tv commercials that are "a waste of your time."...Google is preparing to deliver “targeted measurable television ads” and Schmidt says Google has “a good shot at it.”....
This could have a tremendous impact on the way we view ads, with the level of targeting available (we've seen it work with Adsense/Adwords and transform online marketing) - viewers can potentially be presented with changing ads, unrestricted to particular channels and the usual framework, plus supporting program and actor information from the web, etc. The potential is HUGE...and it just may make those adverts on TV a little less drab and irritating!
Read the original post here: » Google CEO wants $74 billion TV ad market | Digital Micro-Markets | ZDNet.com
Visit http://checkout.google.com for an overview of Google's new online payment system, which promises shoppers a safe and secure online shopping experience. Users create one account with credit card info with Google's Checkout tool and don't have to share their email address and credit card information again with retailers that support the Google Checkout option.
thisismoney.co.uk reports on a travel scam that left hundreds in the cold...with no holiday and possibly no way of getting their money back...in what is being called a new high in UK online travel booking scams.
...internet messageboards were flooded with stories similar to Gary's. Complaints centred on a number of companies – Unbeatableholidays.com, Sunmedresorts.com, Holidaysforunder200pounds.com, Holidayrez.com and Holidayez.com. Chris Brown, director of Holidaywatchdog.com, said: 'It has been the biggest incident of this type that we have seen. It started with one but there were more and more posts about it every hour. Around 10,000 people have looked at the thread and so far 290 people have posted with their experiences. Most of these have been ripped off.'
Is this the new breed of online travel scams? A slick operation that most price-motivated travellers won't think twice about trusting with their hard-earned money? 3rd party online bookers have become a part of the online distribution network and a vital resource for those looking to book packaged travel and great deals. But has the clamor for great deals led far too many to hunt for that elusive, "unbeatable" offer...no matter who offers it?
Leveraging online user-generated content in the hospitality industry
John Bray's (PhoCusWright) article on online user-generated content outlines how some switched-on online marketers are moving beyond the "stonewalling" approach to social media and user-generated content...to embracing and using the same to generate traffic, credibility and a "real" image online. Great initiatives in the hospitality industry include fourpoints.com, with its sleek, simple search-engine inspired interface and sheraton.com, with its superb, high-visibility user content (where guests share their stories and experiences with Sheraton hotels around the world). Hotels and chains are also starting to embrace review sites like TripAdvisor.com, e.g. Movenpick Hotels & Resorts.
Social Media Optimization and the Hospitality Industry
Read an interesting post by Cameron Olthuis on an introduction to a newly coined phrase..."Social Media Optimization". Basically an SEO-like approach to fast-burgeoning social media like blogs, vlogs, wikis, etc.
"Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a new term that was recently coined by Rohit Bhargava and has since been taking on life of its own. In his introduction to SMO, Rohit draws similar comparisons to SEO. SMO tactics can drive huge amounts of people to a website and can also determine whether a startup, website or idea will make it or not. It involves driving traffic to a website through new channels because search engines aren't the only sites that drive big traffic anymore. While it's not taking over SEO yet, it has the potential to someday soon."
It would be very interesting to see where this goes when it comes to business...particularly the hospitality industry. Social Media is all about people...and guess what...so is Hospitality!
Roger Yu writes about the new initiatives by hotel companies to move beyond the traditional piped and elevator music to something that guests really want! High time, too! There's nothing more boring that listening to the same old music day-in, day-out at every other hotel you visit. According to his article, the key trends seem to be:
(1)Centralizing. Traditionally, the chains let hotel managers pick their own music, creating something of a musical mishmash. Hyatt and Omni have contracted with Muzak, the music programming company, for centralized song lists. Muzak transmits songs to hotels via satellite... (2)Changing through the day. They're also changing music throughout the day to fit the mood... (3) Getting creative. Muzak has programmed Hyatt hotels to play songs that match the flavor of the hotel's location: local bands in Austin, Hawaiian music in Honolulu, urban music in Chicago...
eHotelier reports on the 2nd installment of the culinary extravaganza to be held in Thailand, with a price tag of one million bahts per person! The event will feature the culinary talents of many a renowned chef (most of them with the 3star Michelin rating).
"A remarkable 1,000,000 baht (US$25,000) per head gala dinner will form an unprecedented extravagant grand finale for "Epicurean Masters of the World", a gourmet food and wine extravaganza to be held at Bangkok's award-winning rooftop dining destination, The Dome at State Tower, from November 28th to December 2nd, 2006."
Hotels aiming to please the younger generation of travellers
With the new brands and efforts by major hotel chains, it is becoming more visible that concerted efforts are being made to woo the younger generation of business travellers. From an article in USAToday:
...professionals in their 20s and 30s look for a midprice business hotel designed for them instead of their parents. That means edgy design, stylish decor, fun hangouts outside the guest rooms and flat-screen TVs...
A recent article "Five spa trends, from wellness to good food" featured on USA Today outlines the trends shaping the Spa industry today...
...today's spas are integrating cosmetic treatments like facials and manicures into holistic approaches to well-being.
From more holistic approaches to treatments to a move beyond serving tasteless veggies...the article goes on to describe how authenticity and fun elements are being introduced...oh, and the increasing number of males who opt for spa treatments and vacations.
Read the article here: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2006-08-07-spa-trends_x.htm?csp=34
Shangri-La Academy and Sun Yat-Sen University Launch Hotel Management Programme
Shangri-La Academy in Beijing, the centralised employee training centre of Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel group, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, has teamed with distinguished Sun Yat-Sen University to launch two-year hotel management programmes starting September 2006.
The "Shangri-La Class" objective will be to instill the skills, management ability and flexibility to produce talented hospitality industry professionals. Sun Yat-Sen University will focus on academics, while Shangri-La Academy will provide industry-specific training. Graduates will receive both an associate degree from the university and a hotel management certificate from Shangri-La Academy.
The Starwood Grand Tour - 600000 Star Points up from grabs
Came across an interesting campaign by Starwood Hotels & Resorts for US and Canadian citizens - first prize is 600,000 Starpoints (about USD $15000 value)...now thats a LOT of starpoints!! Superb for that world tour you've always been planning! ;) Check out all the details here: THE STARWOOD GRAND TOUR
Google Adsense - making the most out of colors and placements
The Google Adsense Blog gives some great tips and advice on ideal ad placements, colors and context. Also an interesting post on Heat Maps and how optimal placement influences clickthroughs.
"Tip: ... Their design should be determined with respect to their surroundings (your site) and their viewers -- your site's users.
Blending your ads in with the color scheme of your site decreases ad blindness and in most cases can increase revenue. However, you should always keep in mind how your users will respond, and test what colors your users will respond to. (Sometimes it's okay to stand out a little.)..."
"If you remember, we had the 1 million dollar page not so long ago. Well now, we have Hotelier.com who sells pixels for Hotels advertisers."
Interesting to see Hotelier.com pick up this concept and actually make it work...I actually hadn't heard of the site until now. A nice twist is the free section when you scroll down, where sites can add their listings /logos for free for upto a month. The pagerank of the site is still 2 / 10 so not really excited about spending the money to advertise on it yet.
"Sometimes your street name can be irksome, especially if you live on Kaka Street in New Zealand. According to ABC News, the double meaning of Kaka is prompting a street name change."
It's funny (and in business and marketing, sometimes disastrous)how often product names and slogans go wrong when traslated literally abroad. Some more great examples of marketing / brandname and slogan goofs...
A long time coming - but a great initiative, coupled with the Arabic language interfaces and news - this will go a long way to establishing a strong presence in the Middle East for Google.
"A spokesperson for Google, the world's leading search engine, has told ACN that it will soon be opening an office in Egypt to concentrate on its Arabic services. The regional office in Cairo will be the first to open in the Middle East and will be headed by Sherif Iskander, the regional head for Google Middle East and North Africa."
An interesting piece with visions of the hotels of the future:
"Imagine a hotel designed like a gigantic terrarium, set in the center of a modern metropolis. No, wait, make it an oceanfront resort where your guestroom is also a houseboat that can be sailed around the local waters. Oh, what the heck, how about a high-rise that hangs down from the Antarctic ice sheet?"
"London, Dubai, 18 August 2006 - Dubai International Capital LLC ("DIC"), the international investment arm of Dubai Holding, today announced that it has agreed to acquire UK-based Travelodge Hotels Ltd ("Travelodge"), Britain's fastest growing hotel company , for £675 million from the Permira Funds. The acquisition is expected to complete in late September. Travelodge's senior management team will remain in place under DIC."
“We are delighted to have successfully acquired Travelodge,” said Sameer Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai International Capital. “It is a strong brand with good growth potential, and an excellent fit for DIC. The budget hotel sector is growing and, in our view, has immense potential in the UK market. Travelodge's outstanding management team has an aggressive expansion plan which we are confident will give us an excellent return on this investment .”
Online hotel bookings and loyalty - whats the trend?
Loyalty is on the rise, report Jonathan Barsky and Lenny Nash in their article "Are Online Customers Less Loyal?" but how does this tie in with online bookings? It's no surprise to find that guests who patronize higher-end hotels tend to be more loyal, while those who frequently choose low to mid-end hotels are more price-conscious and tend to be less loyal.
"Among the largest hotel chains, there is a significant difference in loyalty between guests who booked offline and those who booked online. Online bookers tend to be more loyal among higher priced chains ($102 average rate) and less loyal among lower priced chains ($66 average rate). For example, Hilton guests that book online are 4% more loyal than Hilton guests who book offline. But Super 8 guests are 4% less loyal when booking online."
Interestingly enough, the study shows that people booking with Central reservation systems tend to be most loyal, as compared to those who book directly with the hotel. Travel agent bookings, of course, account for the least loyal customers.
The HTW has launched a bi-annual newsletter called "Voyage" for the alumni and current students of the E-MBA (Executive MBA) in Tourism Management. The E-MBA program was first launched in 2001 and has so far been taken by over 60 students.
This first edition of the newsletter includes the following articles:
- HTW Chur Commences Accreditation Process
- Presenting the Institute for Tourism and Leisure Research
- Lecturer Researches the Ageing Population and Tourism
- CEO of ArabellaSheraton Visits the E-MBA Program in Chur
- From Idea to Success: An Interview with Gregory Root
- Two Programs: One Ambition 3
Westin College of Hotel Management, Vijayawada, India
- review by a former student
A little bit about yourself: My name is Chandu Kiran. I finished my higher secondary education in Atkinson High School and my intermediate classes 11th & 12th.
Why Hotel Management? Basically I am a kind of person who likes to interact with others and come up with creative ideas, so I was looking for a good course which would enable me to develop my communication skills, talent and help me to come up with my creative ideas over and above show a pathway to a good future.
Tell us more about your college: Through some of my friends and well wishers I came to know about the hotel management field and realized that it was best fit for me. So then I joined Westin College of Hotel Management which is the best college in our city. I joined a three year course which would open doors for all my ideas to flourish.
Starwood Honored with Corporate Partnership Award at UNICEF 60th Anniversary Celebration
Starwood Hotels has won the prestigious Corporate Partnership Award in recognition of its significant contribution to the work of UNICEF UK. The award, which is only granted every ten years, is given as a way of acknowledging the exceptional contribution of an organisation to the fulfilment of UNICEF’s mission for children during the last decade.
Starwood Hotels has been a committed and dedicated global corporate partner of UNICEF since November 1995, through the innovative and extremely successful Check Out for Children programme, which operates in 232 hotels in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Celebrates The Opening Of The Marqués De Riscal Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel Designed By Frank O. Gehry
A masterpiece between the Rioja Alavesa vineyards whose doors will open the 1st September 2006. Winegrowing tradition and avant-garde art: luxury, vineyards and relaxation
15 August 2006, Manama, Bahrain – The Marqués de Riscal Hotel, a Luxury Collection hotel in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa region in Spain will be opening its doors the 1st of September. Designed and built by Frank O. Gehry, one of the world’s most renowned architects and author of works of art like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, The Marqués de Riscal Hotel merges deep rooted wine-growing tradition with twenty-first century avant-garde design.
Aloft Hotels to Be the First Hotel Brand to Open Its Doors in Virtual Reality
"This September, aloft, A Vision Of W Hotels(SM), will become the world's first hotel brand to place a 3-D computer generated replica inside a virtual world when it debuts an aloft hotel inside the popular online game Second Life. A virtual environment in which players create digital alter egos and exchange virtual currency for digitally rendered goods and services, the Second Life metaverse is currently inhabited by more than 350,000 people worldwide."
"Westin Hotels Celebrate Six Smoke-Free Months With "Breathing Lights" Art Installations in Lobbies"
Personal Downloads to Count Fresh Breaths and Support Smoke-Free Living
WHITE PLAINS, NY – August 8, 2006 – Westin Hotels & Resorts is marking the six-month milestone of its smoke-free conversion in North America with Breathing LightsSM installations in its lobbies nationwide. The artistically designed projections count the number of fresh breaths taken by each Westin guest each day. The design can be viewed by guests and visitors to Westin lobbies nationwide, or by visiting www.westin.com/breathe.
First Holiday Inn Hotel and School in the works for Panama
"InterContinental Hotels Group Signs Agreement With Empresas Bern to Open the First Holiday Inn Hotel and School in the Republic of Panama"
MIAMI (August 4, 2006) - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, today signed a letter of understanding with Empresas Bern to open the Holiday Inn Hotel and School Panama Canal at the City of Knowledge in Panama. The hotel and school, which in its initial phase will have 110 rooms, will be the first educational institution for InterContinental Hotels Group Latin America.
"Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) today announced that it has begun testing mobile wireless check-in for Microsoft's Windows Mobile®-powered devices on end-to-end Intel Architecture for a select group of travelers to Redmond (Wash.) Marriott Town Center."
We're happy to announce the Summer Competition on the Talent Jungle Hospitality Alumni Site: www.thetalentjungle.com/alumni
The Competition: Share your views and experiences in the form of an
original article / story (minimum 250 words, maximum 2000 words) with or without photos / pictures on any one of the topics below:
My experiences in the Hospitality Industry
What makes a good Hotelier?
Any Hospitality & Tourism related trend or innovation
Hospitality education - a review of a school, university or a course you've taken
Things to do / not to do when you're a ________ (job position in the hospitality / tourism industry)
Career - tips / advice / experience for those choosing the hospitality or tourism industry
The Hospitality Industry in pictures: ______________ (pictures or photos must be your own, and topic can be serious or humorous)
AOL has just brought to light the risks posed by Search Engines to user privacy. The latest fracass, following months after the subpoenas to major search engines, is a goof-up by AOL in releasing the search behaviour of thousands of its users online...data which has already been lapped up from far corners of the net by enthusiasts, data analysts, reasearchers, laymen and possibly hackers. While user handles are not identified, the search data is quite revealing. This brings us to the important question of user privacy with Search Engines...should they be allowed to store and use such data as they see fit? Or should strong legislation and safeguards be put in place?
The mistake occured, AOL says, because the proper internal procedures for such postings were not followed. "It was an innocent enough attempt to reach out to the academic community with new research tools, but it was obviously not appropriately vetted, and if it had been, it would have been stopped in an instant," the company said.
"First Hyatt Place Opens In Lombard, Illinois: Rolling out the welcome mat and inviting guests to a new lifestyle hotel experience, the staff of the first Hyatt Place and company executives celebrated the property's grand opening today in Lombard, Illinois."
With an emphasis on stylish design, innovative services and high end amenities, Hyatt Place offers a new approach within the select service hotel segment, reflecting the comfort, flexibility, technology and taste that people incorporate into their daily lives at home.
The Lombard location is the first Hyatt Place-branded hotel to open following Global Hyatt Corporation’s recent acquisition of the AmeriSuites hotel chain. More than 140 additional Hyatt Place hotels are scheduled to open in 2006 and 2007 as many Amerisuites properties continue to undergo renovation and repositioning under Hyatt’s newest brand.
The latest trend on the user-generated content and social networking front seems to be a foray into the world of advertising. Could this be the new revolution in online advertising? Or is it just a trend that'll fizz out as the novelty wears off?
A good example of this is companies encouraging users to come up with ads that match a particular theme or slogan...though hardly any of these amateur efforts, however creative make it to media besides the Internet. Of course, inadvertant amateur ads do create a splash at times, especially on video sharing sites like Google Video, etc which are fast gaining popularity.
The ultimate result of this trend is likely to be a 'controlled chaos' approach by companies wanting to get their brand and message out to the public, with as little distortion as possible.
