Siegel Sez: Not Your Father’s Power Socket
September 3rd, 2021
The Most Important Hotel “Salesperson” Right Now Is Working Behind Your Front Desk
Doug Kennedy | July 22nd, 2020
3 Pillars of Effective Branding for Travel Technology Companies
Alan E. Young | April 6, 2016
By Alan E. Young One of the most vital components of a successful company is an effective branding strategy that creates deep interest and loyalty among its targeted consumers. Although this is a clear focus in many industries, the branding of many travel technology companies speaks primarily to the functionality of products, while failing to connect with the emotional aspect of their target audience. A successful brand is a driving force that has propelled some of the world's most game-changing billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs - from startup phase to the top of the food chain. Because of the rapid pace of change ...
The Show’s Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings…
Georges Panayotis | March 31, 2016
by Georges Panayotis Customers have become increasingly difficult for hotel marketing managers to comprehend, perceive, satisfy... Good old-fashioned segmentation by income and basic motivations has changed. The 21st-century guest has changed and, as a member of Generation Y or influenced by the different practices of these "millennials", deserves a new hotel marketing approach that goes beyond the last century's methods, which get a new digital lift. Kardex is now CRM. The plastic loyalty card has evolved into a more sophisticated Loyalty Program that attempts to achieve One to One relations and more personalized offers. But like combu...
Upgrade Your Digital Presentation With Cinemagraphs
Larry Mogelonsky | March 30, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Let's talk tech. It's 2016 and we all know that visual content for your digital channel mix is essential – even more so now for streamed videos. To update an old adage: if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand pictures. But embedded videos can be a pain in the donkey because they slow down page load times. Good thing there's a happy medium in the form of cinemagraphs… For our purposes as hoteliers, cinemagraphs are essentially a form of animated GIF with a short, repetitive action to give the appearance of continuous movement. With smartphone cam...
Can’t Scare Me!
Georges Panayotis | March 24, 2016
By Georges Panayotis In the ongoing restructuring of the hotel landscape worldwide, three major models will coexist. Each is representative of a specific strategy that is part of the hotel industry's recent history. Historically the oldest, the Western model has evolved out of a blend of the three businesses of investor, operator and distributor that form the foundation of most groups. This division of activities, driven by the asset light strategy, resulted in global giants that primarily focus on operational management on behalf of investors and brand franchising. With revenues sourced from oil and other primary materials, Middle East...
Finding Success in the Travel App Landscape
Alan E. Young | March 23, 2016
It's hard to drive travel app adoption but signs show that some are succeeding, and some are not. By Alan E. Young With millions of apps to choose from, why should a consumer choose your travel app — and why should they keep it on their phone? It's a question being debated across the industry as new travel apps take off, and others close their doors for good. Before we discuss just why certain travel apps succeed, and other's don't, let's take a look at the landscape itself: of the over two million apps on the major app stores, 5% are in the travel category. According to Criteo's latest mobile commerce report, these travel apps ar...
Intrapreneurs are the Lifeblood of a Hotel
Larry Mogelonsky | March 23, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Up until Julius Caesar reformed the calendar that would become the one we use today, the Roman year began in the month of March, named after their god of war, Mars. And to do their god proud, March was a time for preparations, for movement and for action. With spring now upon us, it is time for you too to embark upon a grand adventure. As a senior manager, though, it's often hard to find the time for such ventures. Instead, what I propose you focus on this year is team empowerment and imbuing your team with a refreshed sense of ambition. What you need is a corporate culture that nurtures it...
Nobody Asked Me, But…No. 158: Hotel History: Chatwal New York Hotel (1905)*
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | March 21, 2016
Available Now: My New Book "Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry" By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: Chatwal New York Hotel (83 rooms) Before becoming The Chatwal New York and The Lambs Club Restaurant and Bar, this iconic Stanford White-designed building was the epicenter of American theater for the 20th century. The building originally opened in 1905 as home to the prestigious Lambs Club, America's first professional theatrical club. Organized in 1874 by a group of actors and enthusiasts, The Lambs occupied a series of rented quarters before settling in at 44th Street. The American club took their n...
Four Horsemen of the Hotel POST-Apocalypse
Larry Mogelonsky | March 16, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Last year, I wrote a sensationalist article playing off the common religious story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Giving each a hotel inference, the four became: PLAGUE (red horse) – The OTAs WAR (white horse) – Airbnb FAMINE (black horse) – Too Many Brands DEATH (pale horse) – Lack of Entrepreneurship While there was some disagreement over what the four hospitality horsemen actually were, one truly insightful complaint was that I only identified and explained the issues without offering any clear and present solutions. Thus, this sequel article is wha...
Grow to Gain Strength
Georges Panayotis | March 10, 2016
by Georges Panayotis Not so long ago, the natural growth of hotel groups led them to build solid foundations on their national market place in order to gradually make their foray onto neighboring markets as soon as they were well established. Like sponges gradually soaking up water, groups enriched their supply through organic growth or by absorbing local partners, accumulating assets when that was still popular. The quest for geographic balance across the continents was intended to offset regional cycles, to accompany their countries' nationals in their travels abroad and capture growing international markets. But this thought-out ...
Never Try To Prove Guests Wrong, Even When They Are!
Doug Kennedy | March 9, 2016
By Doug Kennedy Coming up through the ranks in the hotel industry, I remember well hearing my managers use the old adage "The customer is always right." At one hotel they even put a sign up that said: "Rule number one: the customer is always right. Rule number two: when the customer is wrong, see rule number one." In recent years I have learned that the original phrase dates back to 1909 and is now credited to Harry Gordon Selfridge, who was the founder of Selfridge's department stores in London. Of course in the hotel business we refer to our customers as guests, but the idea is the same. As my frontline career progressed from being a ...
Second Assurances
Larry Mogelonsky | March 9, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) The funny and scary thing about first impressions is that you only get one. One chance to nail that perfect handshake at the start of a job interview. One chance to set the mood for an outstanding hospitality experience upon guest arrival. I've long argued that in the hospitality space, first impressions are first assurances – subconscious cues for the guests that they will be safe within the confines of your property, that their needs will tended to and that they are about to experience something great. There are many aspects involved in a first impression, from cleanliness and strik...
Nobody Asked Me, But…No. 157: Hotel History: Ocean House (1868), Watch Hill, Rhode Island*
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | March 7, 2016
Available Now: My New Book "Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry" By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: Ocean House (50 rooms) Well-known for its warm yellow facade and spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ocean House opened in 1868 just after the Civil War. Over the years, many additions and improvements were made to the hotel but never heating, air conditioning or ventilation. It was a seasonal hotel open only for about three months a year. In 1916, a motion picture starring Douglas Fairbanks called American Aristocracy was filmed at the Ocean House. After a disastrous fire at the Great White S...
I Heard It Through The Greece Vine
Larry Mogelonsky | March 2, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Maybe it's cheesy to borrow from a Marvin Gaye song, but while the snow beats down against my window pane, all I can think of is sunny, hot days against calm, azure water. And if a nation like Greece happens to have a god of wine its pantheon (Dionysus), then you know the grapes are good. In fact, Greece's wine culture goes all the way back to its time as Mycenae (Greece before it was called even that) when our modern pedigree of grape vine was developed and perfected for growth in the dry summers, ample sunlight and mild winters of Southern Europe. While the country fails behind three big ...
The Hotel Industry Needs Refreshing so it Won’t be Strangled by Deflation
Georges Panayotis | February 25, 2016
by Georges Panayotis The hotel industry is said to be one of the oldest in the world. Indeed, over several thousands of years of history, accommodations ranging from taverns to hostels, cottages to inns, hostelry to hotel-clubs, boutique hotels to palaces, concepts have succeeded one another and diversified, adapting to the times as they went along. The hotel industry is anything but linear. It is, by nature, cyclical despite all attempts to smooth out peaks and valleys. It follows the evolution of traveler flows, the economic dynamism of destinations and source countries, consumer demands. In a Europe that is gradually getting out of t...
ADA Compliance & Defense Lawyer Update: Lawmakers Consider Steps to Limit Abusive ADA Lawsuits
Jim Butler | February 24, 2016
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® 24 February 2016 As the number of ADA lawsuits continues to explode, both Federal and California lawmakers are considering steps to limit abusive ADA lawsuits. Here is an update on these positive developments from my partner, Marty Orlick, who heads JMBM's ADA Compliance & Defense Group that has defended more than 600 ADA cases and DOJ investigations. Amid Growing Concerns Over the Proliferation of ADA Lawsuits, Congress and the California Legislature Address Measures to Curb ADA Abuse by Martin H. Orlick, Chair, JMBM's ADA Compliance and Defense Group Since 2004, more than 20,000 ...
Enhancing Your Voice Channel Sales with ‘Moments in Time’
Larry Mogelonsky | February 24, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) In this era of electronic communication, where faceless automated RFPs prevail, the challenge of booking corporate groups has exploded. With the advent of the electronic RFP, the number of actual submissions has increased exponentially, making it incredibly difficult for a single property to standout. This article is specifically addressed to your sales team members. In particular, those individuals who are charged with the daunting task of continually filling in your meetings space for group events. How do sales team members differentiate your property from competitors? How do they express...
Why Guests Still Call Your Voice Reservations Channel And What You Should Do About It
Doug Kennedy | February 22, 2016
By Doug Kennedy If someone would have surveyed hoteliers in the early 2000's as online bookings were growing exponentially each year, few would have predicted that by now anyone would still be calling to make a reservation. Yet here we are in 2016 with the phones still ringing; and ringing they are, with many hotels even experiencing an increase in calls as those who search on smartphones use the "click to call" feature. It is difficult to get hard industry-wide data to benchmark the contribution of voice channels as the margins vary greatly according to a number of factors such as if the hotel is branded or independent, leisure vs. bus...
Investigating Duplicate Content: Hotel Marketing Strategies for Success
the Author and HeBS Digital | February 19, 2016
By Megan Harr Defining Duplicate Web Content Even the most discerning digital marketing professionals and hoteliers need to be cognizant of the dangers of duplicate content. Content that appears on the Internet in more than one place (i.e. on more than one URL) and is identical or very similar in nature is regarded as duplicate content. Google defines duplicate content as "substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content or are appreciably similar." Whether these two pages exist on the same website or on two different websites, duplicate content makes it difficult for search engines to d...
Hospitality: A Team Sport
Georges Panayotis | February 18, 2016
by Georges Panayotis Destinations and especially major cities are the focus of events communications. Such coverage generously offers free media coverage, but also a major need to master and encourage it intelligently. Yesterday London, tomorrow Rio, and then Tokyo... all are riding the Olympic wave. Paris, Moscow and Doha are all snapping up the attention of soccer fans; Dubai is busy preparing Expo 2020 while Paris, Rotterdam and Osaka are all vying for Expo 2025. They are all formidable work sites and challenges to mobilize new investments, to present an image of success, to federate diffused energies. But sometimes one wonders if th...
Get Your Logo In The Background
Larry Mogelonsky | February 17, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Firstly, a definition is in order. A photobomb is when photograph is ruined by someone unexpectedly appearing in the background, distracting from what was originally intended for the image's framing. Typically, photobombs occur in crowded areas frequented by oblivious or harried passersby, or interlopers commonly spoil pictures as a practical joke. Definitions aside, photobombs seem like something for drunken college students. What do they have to do with hotels? Photobomb marketing is a very niche tactic housed under the greater banner of experiential marketing, and it harks back to the re...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 156: Hotel History: Old Edwards Inn and Spa (1878), Highlands, North Carolina*; Hot Off The Press: My New Book
Stanley Turkel | February 15, 2016
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: Old Edwards Inn and Spa (68 rooms) The Old Edwards Inn, Highland's earliest boarding house was built in 1878 by John Norton and known as the Central House. Norton combined four lots and constructed a two-and-a-half story frame structure with a gabled roof and a two-level front porch. The town of Highlands was founded in 1875 by Kansas developers who drew two lines on a map, one from Chicago to Savannah, the other from New York City to New Orleans, believing that the intersection would be good for trade. In 1880, Norton exchanged Central House with Joseph Halleck for Halleck's just comple...
The Tallest Tree Grew out of a Single Seed
Georges Panayotis | February 11, 2016
By Georges Panayotis In the 4th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Thukydides said: "History is a perpetual new beginning." In fact, the squabble between the VTCs and taxis, and before them between hoteliers and shared accommodations platforms, reminds us of the Canut Revolt of the silk weavers of Lyon against the weaving machines developed by Monsieur Jacquard. History should remind us that the battle is lost before it has begun because progress is underway and unstoppable so no position is acquired. It should incite us to better prepare the transition, rather than experience it as an affront. The change in economic model is evident; ...
7 Content Marketing Hacks For Travel Brands
Alan E. Young | February 10, 2016
By Alan E. Young From startups to Fortune 100, companies of all sizes struggle with keeping their content fresh, exciting, compelling and unique. Bill Gates famously proclaimed that "Content is King" in 1996 and now, almost two decades later, content has certainly become a major player in the world of travel technology marketing. With this in mind, we've compiled some easy to implement hacks that will help you in your efforts to create outstanding content. 1. Write Headlines Last Although headlines are a very effective way to grab a reader's attention, your content must be substantial and interesting to create a memora...
Gourmet Hot Chocolate – A Marketing Boon
Larry Mogelonsky | February 10, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) The harsh cold winds and blizzards demand a hot F&B counterattack. Soup is a good start. But what about beverages? To me, nothing solves the challenge of delivering immediate warmth better than a hot chocolate beverage. Too many restaurants consider hot chocolate to be nothing more than a powdery mix from a pouch, perhaps adding milk instead of hot water. These are probably the same folks who take a generic tea bag and serve it to you with a metal pot of tepid water. As is the way most any other food product, quality goes a long way. Remember the way your mom or grandma used to make hot...
