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Protect Profitability With Your Digital Marketing Spend
Michael Bennett | November 10, 2020
By Michael Bennett The headwinds remain strong across hospitality. Yet, momentum is building – especially when it comes to digital marketing. At Cendyn, we’re seeing digital spend rebound to about 50% of the levels that it was towards the end of 2019, when spending was at the highest level we’ve seen. The outlook looks more positive into 2021, where larger brands are setting aggressive budgets in a bid to combat OTAs and maintain the profitability of direct bookings. Profitability has also taken pole position for smaller groups and independents. Even as many operate under strict occupancy restrictions (and thus limited revenu...
How to Prepare a Successful 2021 Hotel Digital Strategy & Marketing Budget Amidst COVID-19
Margaret Mastrogiacomo | November 10, 2020
By Margaret Mastrogiacomo Budgeting season is a time to analyze your hotel’s marketing and technology initiatives from the last year and set a new plan in action to achieve greater success. Today, many sources project that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact the hospitality industry for years to come, which makes budget planning for 2021 even more complex. In light of this, it’s important to have an idea of where the industry is heading and keep forecasted trends for 2021 top of mind when determining how to allocate your marketing dollars. When putting together your budget, investing in the right marketing initiatives is j...
Five-Star Park City Hotel Finds Success With Digital Marketing During COVID-19 Shutdown
GCommerce | November 5, 2020
Park City, UT, November 5, 2020- Five-Star Park City hotel, Stein Eriksen Lodge, partnered with GCommerce to run digital marketing efforts during COVID-19 to maintain brand awareness in key markets in order to secure market share upon reopenings. Being aware that the Stein Eriksen Lodge name and brand would still have interest for online searchers even during their pandemic closure, GCommerce kept the “lights on” with paid search brand and name terms to ensure searchers would find Stein Eriksen Lodge’s website when thinking of future stays and vacations throughout the Spring of 2020. “Nobody knew what to expect when the COVID-19...
If You’ve Got It, FLAUNT IT!
Vizergy Digital Marketing | October 28, 2020
Creative ways to invite locals to your hotel October 28, 2020 By Jen Cialfi We often forget some of our favorite aspects of our vacations – the colorful food, the view from the pool, the calming ambiance of the spa. Those activities and moments during your stay are made possible by the amenities offered to you by the hotel. Your unique on-site amenities can help make the guest experience memorable. We’ve talked a lot about putting heads back in beds, so let’s look at some other ways to generate interest and business at your hotel by using what you already have. Work with Your Space Work life has changed. The days you spe...
Sojern Adds Metasearch to Multichannel Digital Marketing Platform Led by New Head of Product
Sojern | October 28, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO – October 28, 2020 – Sojern, a leading provider of digital marketing solutions for travel, today announced the addition of metasearch to its multichannel digital marketing platform designed for hotels, attractions and destinations. Now travel marketers can access all major digital marketing channels from a single provider: metasearch, display, native, video, connected TV, search, and social. For more than a decade Sojern has built tools to help customers drive more direct bookings to their websites. Underpinned by proprietary data science and machine learning technology, Sojern’s Traveler Platform leverages travel data so...
Online, Everyone Is a Guest-7 Ways to Extend Customer Service Through Social Media
Pipeline Social Media | October 26, 2020
By Maiya Wall / Pipeline Social Media What is the first thing that a potential guest does before booking a stay at your hotel? Most likely, it’s not going directly to the hotel website to learn about amenities. We believe they’ll go to your social media profiles and review sites first. They want to know what a stay at your hotel is like, they want to see more photos of your hotel that aren’t staged, and they want to see what other people are saying about you. When potential guests stop by your social channels to take a look, make sure you extend the same level of customer service online as you do in person at your hotel! This arti...
The Truth About Social Media Marketing for Hotels
GCommerce | October 23, 2020
Scott van Hartesvelt | Founder | GCommerce Solutions Every once in a while, a well-intentioned article comes to our attention, providing hoteliers digital marketing advice that flies in the face of our current thinking. It challenges us to re-evaluate our thought processes to determine if our hotel marketing best practices rise to meet the moment. Today, just such an article came to our attention. It suggested that hoteliers should eschew social media marketing in favor of more reliable and profitable channels. The argument goes that in these challenging times, hotels have limited budgets (true) and that hoteliers are paying parti...
Eight Considerations to Help Bring Groups Back in 2021
Larry Mogelonsky | October 21, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) There’s only so long our industry can depend on staycations, drive-to transients, workcations, hotel offices and any other localized travel trend emerging from the pandemic. Many hotels simply cannot justify their existence without a solid stream of midweek group blocks to pad topline revenues, so my hope is that the following will help you to achieve small wins in the MICE arena for 2021 in advance of a vaccine or any large-scale reopening with conventions and big events to follow. The reemergence of groups will start with those under, say, a dozen people before increasing in siz...
Vizergy Receives Multiyear Recognition in Website Design and Development
Vizergy | October 20, 2020
The company’s success and steady growth stem from its expertise in hospitality marketing. JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 20, 2020 – For the second consecutive year, Jacksonville Business Journal lists Vizergy® Digital Marketing No. 2 for Website Design and Development in Northeast Florida, ranked by local employment. Vizergy CEO Joe Hyman attributes this continued recognition to the digital marketing company’s concentration in the hospitality industry. “The concept of being a specialist is a major factor in our leadership position in this space,” Hyman said. “Our sole focus is hospitality marketing.” As industry leaders in hosp...
Top 5 Things You Need to Know Now in Hotel Digital Marketing: October Edition
Margaret Mastrogiacomo | October 19, 2020
By Margaret Mastrogiacomo As hotel marketers plan for a strong Q4, it’s important to keep a pulse on the evolving digital landscape, especially when planning for success in 2021. This month, Google officially launches a new custom audiences feature, YouTube launches YouTube Shorts, and new Google insights might give hotel marketers the campaign inspiration they need. From Search to Social Media and Design, here are the top 5 things you need to know now in hotel digital marketing. 1. Search: Google custom audiences are now officially live to drive persona-based marketing. Last year at Google Marketing Live, Google announced it would ...
HotelSiteXPRESS Offers All-Inclusive Website Solution at Affordable Monthly Rates for Any Size Hotel
Lodging Interactive and Commingle:Engage | October 19, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ – October 19, 2020 - Lodging Interactive, a full-service digital marketing, social media engagement, and reputation management agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry, is making it possible for hotels to upgrade their existing website and digital marketing efforts through the company’s affordable, fully managed, HotelSiteXPRESS services. “With our HotelSiteXPRESS services any property can now afford to upgrade their website to a mobile responsive and ADA compliant online sales machine,” said DJ Vallauri, Founder & CEO of Lodging Interactive. “And with limited marketing budgets going into 2021, pro...
Do You Want Your Emails to Have a Better “Open Rate?” Try These 6 Tipping Points Designed to Help You Accomplish That
Gary Hernbroth | October 15, 2020
By Gary Hernbroth "Irresistible attraction." "Curiosity." "Immediate attention." No, I'm not describing the light-headed feeling of romance. I'm describing three of the most critical elements that the subject line in your emails should contain. Just how important is the subject line? VERY. Without one -- and a good one, too -- your email is more likely to end up in the "delete" trash heap. TechJury reports that our average email inbox is 200 each day, with approximately 50% of them being spam. Alarmingly, 69% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line. Ouch! So what chance does your email h...
Hotel Sales Habitudes for the Long Ride to a Slow Recovery
Doug Kennedy | October 15, 2020
By Doug Kennedy Now that we are beyond six months into this pandemic era, most hotel salespeople and their leaders have come to accept that it is going to be a long, slow ride to a full recovery. For those of us who have experienced loss, the emotions may have felt similar to moving through what grief counselors call the “Five Stages of Grief.” Although losing a loved one or going through a divorce is of course much worse than suffering a career disruption, the salespeople I speak with about this analogy seem to agree that their emotions have followed similar patterns. First, denial and waiting for something miraculous to happen to ...
GCommerce’s Performance-Based Fee Model Increases Website Production by 20% for Luxury Santa Barbara Hotel
GCommerce | October 8, 2020
Park City, UT, October 8, 2020 - GCommerce, a leading hospitality digital marketing agency, partnered with Hotel Californian, Santa Barbara's ultimate urban luxury resort destination, in order to boost the hotel's digital marketing efforts. Looking to drive increased revenue through its website, the property took advantage of GCommerce’s Performance-Based Fee Model, which provided access to GCommerce's full suite of digital marketing services for a nominal commission on direct bookings. Linked through Preferred Hotels & Resorts Alliance Partner program, the two launched their partnership in January 2020, and despite the effects of ...
Google Is Eliminating Third-Party Cookies — What Does That Mean for Your Hotel’s Digital Marketing?
Gina Ciarrocchi Zech | October 8, 2020
By Gina Ciarrocchi Zech Earlier this year, Google announced it would phase out third-party cookies from its Chrome browser over the next two years. Marketers have since been speculating on the negative consequences this could have on targeted campaigns and reaching new customers. This reaction is understandable. Third-party cookies are integral to tracking users and delivering personalized ads that target users around the web. However, while big changes are afoot, it’s certainly not all bad news. It’s important to note this phase-out does not include first-party cookies. So you can still monitor how customers interact with your h...
GCommerce and The Hotels Network Announce Strategic Partnership
GCommerce | October 1, 2020
Park City, UT, October 1, 2020 - GCommerce, a leading, hospitality digital marketing agency, has partnered with The Hotels Network, an innovative hotel tech company providing a full-stack direct growth platform. With GCommerce’s proven marketing strategies and The Hotels Network’s tools, this partnership will give clients the potential to increase direct bookings, providing websites with personalized shopping experiences for users and strengthening relationships between hotel brands and guests. “The partnership between The Hotels Network and GCommerce is a natural fit,” stated Lindley Cotton, President & Partner of GCommerce...
Milestone Internet Marketing, Inc. Selected by Choice Hotels as a Qualified Vendor for Property Websites
Milestone | September 30, 2020
Milestone Internet Marketing, Inc., a premiere provider of digital marketing solutions for the hospitality industry, has been selected as a Qualified Vendor by Choice Hotels International, Inc. Milestone will develop property websites for Choice Hotels franchisees across the world in an effort to help drive guests to the properties. Milestone will provide its best-in-class, SEO-first CMS platform technology to Choice's independently owned and operated hotels. The developed property sites will include advanced mobile sites, schemas, speed, voice search, and search engine optimization. In addition to a sophisticated technology platform, th...
Anna Lawrence Joins Hawks Cay Resort as Director of Sales
Hawks Cay Resort | September 28, 2020
DUCK KEY, Fla. – September 28, 2020 – Hawks Cay Resort, an iconic destination resort in the Florida Keys, announces the appointment of Anna Lawrence as the resort’s new director of sales. Having worked in various properties throughout the Florida Keys for nearly a decade, Lawrence brings a deep understanding of the local market and experience implementing innovative sales campaigns. “The ability to create and drive fresh sales campaigns is imperative for the success of Hawks Cay Resort as we continue to adapt to new market trends and traveler preferences,” said Sheldon Suga, Hawks Cay Resort regional vice president and managing d...
Upgrade to a New Affordable ADA Compliant Website, on “Pay-As-You-Go” Model With No Capital Expense
Lodging Interactive and Commingle:Engage | September 21, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ – September 9, 2020 - Lodging Interactive, a full-service digital marketing, social media engagement, and reputation management agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry, is making it easy for hotels to upgrade their digital marketing presence through its HotelSiteXPRESS service. HotelSiteXPRESS provides an affordable way for hotels to upgrade their online presence with a new, fully responsive website and online marketing services on a subscription-based model with no capital outlay. “We believe hotels must make it a priority to upgrade their websites during the current slow-down in occupancies,...
Top 5 Things You Need to Know Now in Hotel Digital Marketing: September Edition
Margaret Mastrogiacomo | September 16, 2020
By Margaret Mastrogiacomo As the holiday season swiftly approaches, it’s important to keep a pulse on the evolving digital landscape to keep your digital strategy ahead of the curve. This month, Microsoft Ads expands LinkedIn targeting availability, Connected TV advertising continues to grow, and mixing realism with illustration is a design trend that arrives just in time for the holidays. From Search to Social Media and Design, here are the top 5 things you need to know now in hotel digital marketing. 1. Search: Microsoft Advertising expands LinkedIn profile targeting to more countries. Microsoft first opened LinkedIn Profile data ...
How to Use Facebook to Improve Your Hotel’s Digital Marketing
Cendyn | September 9, 2020
How to use Facebook Custom Events and Conversions Perhaps more than ever, social media is a valuable pathway for hotels to connect directly with travelers. It’s one of the channels where hotels can nurture relationships with past guests and surface new audiences that may be eager to escape the “work from home” reality faced by many. Social media can also be a place to waste a lot of money! Effective digital marketing has always been about results: capturing the most bookings at the best possible rates at the lowest cost. This imperative has been put into sharper focus due to the budget restraints triggered by the global pandemic. Th...
Reputation Management for the Post-Covid Hotel
Larry Mogelonsky | September 9, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) How has reputation management for hotel brands evolved in the wake of the pandemic? Do travelers rely more or less on third-party reviews? Have their top criteria for judging a property changed? Can we attribute a specific dollar amount for how much a good or bad review will cost an organization? These are some of the questions I ask myself when confronting this relatively new field. So that we’re all on the same page, when we refer to reputation management we are discussing the capacity of user-generated content (UGC) stemming from a guest’s experience to alter another customer...
Uniquely Yours: Personalized Offers for Your Guests
Vizergy | September 9, 2020
Often times we see specials and packages continually repeated while searching for a hotel. If you’re getting tired of seeing the same promotions, so are your potential guests. So get creative with your offers and generate far more interest in your hotel – from both new and returning guests. Here are some ideas how you can do this: Be “Something Different” What can your hotel offer that others can’t? Work creatively with local businesses for the win-win, showcase amenities unique to your property, and offer the little extras that just may make the difference. All of these are sure to pique the interest of potential guests. ...
Why You Should Not Invest in Metasearch Right Now
Stephanie Smith | September 3, 2020
By Stephanie Smith Buckle in kids, this is not a popular opinion. If you had asked me my opinions about MetaSearch pre-Covid, my response would be different. If you need a tutorial on what is MetaSearch, check out this article from Milestone. But, today, cash is tight. Budgets are being squeezed. While I still believe in “Book Direct” and the long time value of the customer, the customer has changed. Your loyal points fanatic is not traveling. Your corporate BT is not traveling. Who is traveling? Your local customer within a 1 to 2 hour radius of your hotel. Even if you leverage metasearch to get them to book direct on ...
