Some Practical Internet Marketing Strategy Tips for Hotels
Despite unpredictable economic conditions, one truth endures for the hospitality industry – there is always room for improvement to the guest experience. In tough economic times, improving the guest experience is a worthy investment because the seeds of loyalty blossom into a strong relationship when the spending freeze thaws. In ideal economic times, competition peaks and the key differentiator guests evaluate when determining where to spend their time and money is the experience. Positive statements about “improving the guest experience” are a constant in marketing meetings – but how? When resources are scarce, but investment in the guest experience is paramount, an efficient and accountable approach is vital. The most modern, effective, and accountable approach for improving the guest experience is found in direct digital marketing.
Direct digital marketing is a digital marketing method that delivers relevant marketing communications that are addressable to individuals through the primary online channels of email, Web, and mobile using an email address, a Web browser cookie, and mobile phone number, respectively. Hotel guests value personalized, relevant interactions whether they are on property, reading an email, booking a stay online, or reviewing a text message.
Video - Marriott International shares Hotel Industry Outlook
Arne Sorenson (Marriott International President and COO) talks to CNBC and shares his views on the state of business for the hotel industry and Marriott:
Most people would prefer a great nights sleep to great you-know-what says Westin Study
A GREAT NIGHT'S SLEEP TRUMPS GREAT SEX IN NEW WESTIN HOTELS SLEEP STUDY: In Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Heavenly Bed, Westin Surveys Travelers' Sleep Habits; More than half of travelers prefer a great night's sleep to great sex. Westin Hotels Partners with the renowned National Sleep Foundation to Launch (888) TIME-4-SLEEP Hotline to help People Get a Good Night's Sleep
Video - A lesson in what makes for true hospitality - Guaranteed to make you smile
A short movie about positivity and the impact it has on our lives...and those of others! A true lesson in hospitality for all of us... enjoy:
"Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne. Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Jury Award, Gen Art Chicago Film Festival, Winner - Audience Award, Hawaii Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Comedy, Breckenridge Festival of Film, Winner - Crystal Heart Award, Best Short Film & Audience Award, Heartland Film Festival, Winner - Christopher & Dana Reeve Audience Award, Williamstown Film Festival, Winner - Best Comedy, Dam Short Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Film, Sedona Int'l Film Festival.
Winning in a Downturn – Tactics to Survive and Thrive in Turbulent Times
A number of strategies and tactics that businesses of all sizes can implement to survive the current turbulence and secure the future, from Rohit Talwar, CEO of FastFuture:
Use scenarios to plan for an uncertain future
In this uncertain and turbulent economic climate, businesses no can longer rely on a single business plan or set of assumptions. Instead the most successful are tackling the uncertainty by using scenario planning to prepare for a wide range of possible outcomes and to identify the opportunities that could arise even in the worst case scenarios. At the same time, they are asking themselves tough questions under each scenario:
- Which market segments and aspects of our business would be most at risk?
- What would the implications be in terms of products, pricing and who our key customers would be?
- What resources should we keep or let go?
- Which actions should we be taking under any financial climate?
SEO: Increasing your hotel’s website position on Google does not have to break the bank
The term “search engine optimisation” often strikes fear into the hearts of hoteliers and can be especially daunting for the independent hotel that has no marketing or PR department to charge these activities with. But SEO doesn’t need to be scary or costly if you break it down into segments and allocate time to each. This article will focus on 3 areas of search engine optimisation; content, link building and social media. Each plays a vital role in increasing your hotel’s website positioning in Google for your chosen keywords.
In order to understand the purpose of these activities, it is first crucial that you understand the fundamental reason the search engines reward websites with higher positions in the way they do. As an avid user of Google, I know I can rely on it. It doesn’t let me down. If I type in a keyword, Google returns relevant results for me. But Google has to do better than that – millions of websites competing for the 'top spots’ are relevant to my search. Google’s reputation as the ‘search engine of choice’ rests firmly in the hands of measuring criteria, otherwise known as “algorithms” and if it fails, the risk is that searchers go to an alternative engine. But, how does Google choose which websites to reward with page 1 search results for a given search term?
A student request - we encourage hoteliers to participate and help out...thank you!
Dear all, My name is Iro Depasta and i am a postgraduate student on Tourism Management and Marketing at Bournemouth University.
I am now conducting my dissertation on "The Implementation of Online Advertising in Hotel Industry" and i have prepared a questionnaire in order to study the area of online advertising tools. You would be really appreciated if you could answer the below questionnaire which aims to investigate the existing and emerging online advertising tools utilized in the hotel industry.
I would be really grateful if you could dedicate a few minutes of your time participating in my research and enhancing the quality of my research results. Thank you in advance. Yours Sincerely, Iro Depasta
Aloft Hotels launches funky new website with gaming and high tech guest interaction
Aloft Hotels Launches Ground-Breaking Online Experience for the High-Tech, Gen Y Traveler. Aloft becomes the first hospitality brand to incorporate original gaming into its Web experience
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) and its high-tech, style at a steal AloftSM Hotels brand, today announced the launch of the newly expanded Aloft Web site, www.alofthotels.com/explore , featuring a range of interactive features never before developed by a hospitality brand. The site includes a guided insider’s tour of the hotel, maps and city guides for each location and engages visitors through a series of original, branded games that bring the Aloft experience to life.
World Environment Day - GATE Hotel School Nepal Creates Awareness in Kathmandu
Mr. Giuseppe Luizi Bazzani is a notable hotelier, who has served as a General Manager in over a dozen 5-star hotels, including such global brands as the Waldorf Astoria – New York, Swiss hotels around the world, Hilton London, Sweden, Turkey, Tel Aviv and many more. Mr. Bazzani has also lectured in many universities and hotel schools around the world, including the Cornell University, during his 60-year long hospitality career. When he visited GATE College in March 2009 for his 6-week assignment by referral through a Swiss contact, he was in for a surprise! It was an ordinary Tuesday morning, until all of a sudden he saw the entire GATE College student community dressed in T-shirts, masks and gloves, and armed with brooms, bins and buckets, heading towards the street of Mandikhatar, instead of their classrooms for their regular classes, cooking, and serving.
Swiss Hotel Schools - 97 new Hoteliers MADE at SSTH Passugg
Some more fond memories...and fresh Hotel Management Graduate news from Passugg! At the diploma ceremony of the SSTH Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality 97 hoteliers celebrated the awarded diploma on May 27th, 2009! The ceremony took place on the school campus in Passugg.
Use social media to promote your Hotel’s website and get more reservations today
Online conversations regarding your hotel continually reinforce its online perception to your target audience. Therefore the importance of tactical social media and blogging activities cannot be ignored. Hotels are finding out the hard way that conversations about them are happening online and online communities can be breeding grounds for speculation and rumours. Using social media to manage this risk and to deliver positives to counteract any negatives can be more than just effective in terms of negating any bad press, but also to build your positive “brand noise” and create “brand buzz” around your hotel’s website.
The first realistic Hotelier Business Simulation - Test your Hotel CEO Skills with this game!
If you've always dreamed of sitting at the helm of your global hotel empire...and terms like RevPAR, GOPPAR, bottom line profits and market share come easy, then perhaps it's time you put your skills to the test! YoungHotelier.com is proud to introduce the first-ever real-time real-world business simulation for the Hotel Industry, in affiliation with Tycoon Systems, Inc.
Hotel Management Careers - There’s Room at the Inn
A brief look at the wonderful world of hospitality, some challenges for the industry, and a few reasons why you might consider it as a career - by Andrew Lo
The word hospitality derives from the Latin verb hospitare, meaning “to receive as a guest.” Hospitality may bring to mind the times your relatives stayed over at your home, or the times your family went on vacation and stayed at a resort or hotel. As a guest, what do you need? Traditionally, the requirements of a guest are food, drink, and shelter. If the word hospitality refers to the provision of these three necessities to travelers, then the industry consists of businesses that do this. Some hosts, however, also provide entertainment for their guests, like on a cruise ship or a casino. The entertainment industry is far-reaching, including everything from theme parks to sports events. Unlike hospitality, entertainment is not associated with the provision of a traveler’s basic needs, and is a whole separate industry altogether.
The hospitality industry is, by itself, a giant 3.5 trillion dollar service sector and comprises hotels, resorts, clubs, restaurants, catering, meeting and event planning. According to the International Hotel & Restaurant Association, the hospitality industry includes 300,000 hotels, 8 million restaurants, and employs 60 million people worldwide. Read the entire article here
The results are out for the 21st Annual Freddie Awards, which are designed to award excellence among frequent travel programs in the airline, hotel and credit card industries. Lots of familiar names again, with SPG (Starwood Hotels) bagging 8 awards in 7 categories. View the complete list of winners here.
