Louisville, Kentucky Nearly Doubles Year-Over-Year Event Volume, Hits 94.9 Percent Growth in July
Knowland | August 21st, 2024
The Top 7 Reports Every Sales and Catering Professional Should Be Using
Ryan Hamilton | June 18, 2020
By Ryan Hamilton, Co-Founder, SalesAndCatering.com and Bluebuzzard Technology Group For event planners and hoteliers, the days of manual reporting and venue management are long gone — or at least they should be. The digital age has ushered in an influx of automation, as hoteliers and venue owners leverage new-age sales and catering management technology to streamline their operational efforts and drive bookings. As we know, in the realm of sales and catering, smart data allows for smart decision making. However, if teams are inundated with data across multiple, siloed systems, they may not be able to derive the actionable insights nee...
Milestone Inc. Develops New Digital Recovery Framework to Accelerate Business Stability and Growth
Milestone Inc | June 17, 2020
Milestone Inc, a leader in omnichannel digital marketing software and services, announces a proven program to help businesses recover and rebound as the economy reopens. Born out of its Covid Crisis-Recovery-Growth framework and webinar series, the Recovery Framework redefines new steps in the marketing funnel before purchase to address the significant disruption the pandemic has had on consumer sentiment and the possibility of exposure. The new sub-steps include, 1. Building Confidence, 2. Building Demand, 3. Driving Conversions, and 4. Building Trust. “Businesses must play an active role in evangelizing confidence and safety and...
STS Cloud Sales and Catering System Primed for Remote Sales With ProposalPath Video
SalesAndCatering.com LLC | June 17, 2020
SalesAndCatering.com’s STS Cloud Integrates with ProposalPath’s video Function for Personalized Remote Selling MOUNT PLEASANT, SC, June 17, 2020 – The SalesAndCatering.com STS Cloud ProposalPath Premium Media Package is proving itself a highly effective sales tool in today’s social-distant business environment. Why? Businesses are planning third-quarter company meetings now, and groups that have put social gatherings on hold are scheduling summer events. This makes personalized property video presentations a must have as hotels and event venues ramp up sales efforts. STS Cloud is a full-function, cost effective hotel sales and cate...
Founders Close Softscribe Inc. After 20 Years
Softscribe Inc. | June 17, 2020
Board of Directors of Award Winning Tech PR Company Planned Closure Independent of Pandemic BENTONVILLE, AR – June 17, 2020 - Softscribe Inc., a 20-year-old tech PR and marketing company with a vertical market focus, announced it is ending its run. Both founders confirmed the current pandemic was not the main reason for the decision, the timing is coincidental. “Our Board of Directors began discussing closure during our annual meeting in 2019,” said Michael Squires, Softscribe Inc. president and co-founder. “Closure was timed to support our clients through 2020 HITEC, which is traditionally in June. Bentonville, Arkansas, where ...
Is Your Hotel Sales Team Ready for the Transition From “Fishing for Inbound Leads” to “Sales Hunting?”
Doug Kennedy | June 11, 2020
By Doug Kennedy In the course of a few months the hotel group, conference, event and BT sales landscape has transitioned from a period of historically high demand to near zero. After the tidal wave of cancellations and postponements in March, followed by an eerily quiet April and May when many were furloughed, hotel salespeople are now returning to an entirely new sales habitat. Is your sales team ready? The last 10+ years of growth have allowed hotel sales to be more about "fishing" for new leads. Most salespeople could simply wait for a meeting or event planning “fish” swim by and bite on digital "bait" such as a hotel website or ...
Hospitality International Inc. Launches New Branding Identity
Hospitality International, Inc. | June 8, 2020
Tucker, GA - 6/8/2020 — Hospitality International Inc., a recognized leader in franchising of conversion and new build hotels for economy lodging, today announced “hihotels by Hospitality International” as their renamed umbrella for Red Carpet Inn, Scottish Inns, Master Hosts Inns, Downtowner Inns and Passport Inn. Additionally, they will rebrand their direct booking website from Bookroomsnow.com to stayhihotels.com. This will help to consolidate the brands and strengthen their recognition among consumers and hoteliers in a competitive market. The new identity will provide an improved focus on their position in the everchanging hospi...
RFPAssist Continues to Deliver Wedding and Room Block Leads to Hotels
Lodging Interactive and Commingle:Engage | June 8, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ - June 08, 2020 - Lodging Interactive, a full-service digital marketing, social media engagement, and reputation management agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry, said hotel customers are experiencing a pent-up demand in wedding related RFP submissions through its RFPAssist Messenger service. “In the past two weeks we have seen a lift in wedding related RFP submissions for this fall and 2021,” stated DJ Vallauri, Lodging Interactive’s Founder, President and CEO. “While RFP volumes are not at the same levels as pre-COVID, it’s an encouraging sign of recovery.” RFPAssist is a proprietary Facebo...
GCommerce Releases Summit, a 24/7 Digital Marketing Reporting Suite
GCommerce | June 8, 2020
Hospitality companies will now have a turn-key reporting suite bringing digital marketing data together. Park City, UT (June 8th, 2020) – GCommerce, a leading, hospitality digital marketing agency, announced its release of Summit, a 24/7 cloud-based digital marketing reporting suite, which will give hoteliers the ability to access their marketing data at any time. For the last 18 months, GCommerce’s hotel clients have had access to the company’s online portal where they have been able to access their individual marketing reports built on the same technology as Summit. GCommerce has taken this technology and made it available to al...
Anant Operations Selects SalesAndCatering.com STS Cloud System for 9 Properties
SalesAndCatering.com, LLC | June 2, 2020
Powerful STS Cloud Sales Solution Lets Property Teams Cross-Sell Remotely and Verify Room Inventory, Rates and Meeting Space, Track Sales Revenue for Ownership MOUNT PLEASANT, SC, June 2, 2020 – SalesAndCatering.com announced that Anant Operations replaced its legacy system with the STS Cloud Sales and Catering System at its ten properties. Nebraska-based Anant operates mid-scale Marriott and IHG lifestyle brands. STS Cloud is a full-function, cost effective sales and catering software system used by hundreds of properties and multi-property hotel groups. Click here for information on SalesAndCatering.com. “We recently installed the...
Global DMC Partners Releases Latest Meetings & Events Survey Results
Global DMC Partners | May 28, 2020
Findings reveal the dramatic impact of COVID-19, that incentive programs and face-to-face events are not fully replaceable, and that fear remains the greatest barrier to overcome Washington, D.C. – May 28, 2020 – Global DMC Partners (GDP), the leading global network of independently owned destination management companies (DMCs) and creative event experts, today announced the results of its most recent Meetings & Events Pulse Survey, focusing on the widespread impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic to the MICE industry. Conducted April 27 through May 4, 2020, the survey polled 374 respondents from the meetings and events industry. ...
With Clairvoyix, Hotels Can Direct Market to Their Meeting Planners and They will NOT Have a Payment Due Until 2021
Clairvoyix | May 27, 2020
Clairvoyix extends their successful Rapid Recovery Response program to help hotels and resorts when and how they need it most. LAS VEGAS, NV (May 27, 2020) – Clairvoyix, the leader in enterprise class, hospitality-specific marketing automation, announces their latest program designed to give hotels and resorts who are ready to market to groups some much needed financial relief. The Clairvoyix Rapid Recovery Response – R3© solution is being extended to address the problem of marketing to meeting planners that may not want to book until the fourth quarter of 2020 or even into 2021. “We recognize that many hotels and resorts have h...
Best Practices for Messaging Your Hotel’s Reopening During COVID-19
GCommerce | May 27, 2020
By Lisa McCreary and Amy McNeill When people are ready to travel again they are going to return to brands and hotels they trust. The question is, how can your hotel instill trust in loyal guests and new guests in a post-COVID-19 world? The answer is consistent communication and thoughtful messaging. Your team has been working hard to develop a plan for reopening that follows local guidelines to maintain guest and employee safety. You should share this information and messaging across different channels to help re-establish trust with your customers. This trust will make them feel secure in booking at your hotel to drive the revenue your bu...
Marketing in Uncharted Waters – The COVID Era
Ajay Mehtani | May 22, 2020
By Ajay Mehtani It’s a tough world, a difficult & unprecedented situation as the hospitality sector is on a standstill globally! So, should Marketing Spends be put on hold during this time? Should we all go home and hope to return when demand picks? No. There is no denying the fact that this pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives and changed the way we conduct our businesses. The Marketing teams also need to embrace this change to make their content and messaging relevant for the current scenario. Some of the factors that the Marketing, Revenue & Sales Teams should consider during these unprecedented times include: ...
Lodging Interactive Launches HotelSiteXPRESS Affordable Website Design and Marketing
Lodging Interactive and Commingle:Engage | May 21, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ - May 21, 2020 - Lodging Interactive, a full-service digital marketing, social media engagement, and reputation management agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry, today announced the launch of its HotelSiteXPRESS website design and development service. HotelSiteXPRESS provides hotels with an affordable option for new website development, hosting, SEO, and management. “We wanted to provide an economical way for smaller properties to benefit from having an updated, modern and fully mobile-enabled website to ultimately allow them to better compete within their competitive set,” said DJ Vallauri, Lodging Interac...
The Return to Profitability – Old Sales Strategies Will Not Work
SalesAndCatering.com, LLC | May 20, 2020
Post-CV-19 Hospitality Sales is Not About ‘Social Distancing’ MOUNT PLEASANT, SC, May 20, 2020 – Hotel business will be different in the post-CV world. Corporate account players will change. Execs and meeting planners you did business with might be gone; furloughed, or let go. In their place are new hires and managers doing multiple jobs. They will be unfamiliar with their predecessor’s relationships and the events their company cancelled in March. Their group’s meeting decisions will be based on value and their own criteria; not on a past relationship or what their predecessor planned. Now is the time to pick up the phone and me...
Top 5 Things You Need to Know Now in Hotel Digital Marketing: May Edition
Margaret Mastrogiacomo | May 19, 2020
By Margaret Mastrogiacomo As we prepare for the rebound in travel demand, it’s important to keep a pulse on the latest digital innovations you can leverage across channels to make a greater impact on performance. This month, Google rolled out a major core algorithm update, LinkedIn added new company targeting capabilities, and TV streaming ads rose in popularity. From SEO to Social Media and Design, here are the top 5 things you need to know now in hotel digital marketing. 1. SEO: Google rolls out May 2020 core algorithm update. On May 4th, Google began rolling out the May 2020 core update, which is reported to be a larger, broade...
Vizergy Launches New Website Projects a World Apart
Vizergy Digital Marketing | May 18, 2020
The focus of both projects center on best practices in design, guest engagement, conversion and storytelling. Today, Vizergy Digital Marketing announced the launch of two stunning new websites. The focus of both projects center on best practices in design, guest engagement, conversion and storytelling. In the ultra-competitive hotel wesbite design and development space it is critical that a website communicate a clear guest experience to capture the most shoppers at the highest possible ROI. In Milwaukee, the boutique Dubbel Dutch hotel is putting the finishing touches on the masterfully renovated Koeffler House, a historic mansion in t...
Sojern Launches New Interactive COVID-19 Travel Insights Dashboard
Sojern | May 13, 2020
Real-time travel data provides travel marketers the tools needed to monitor travel demand and plan for recovery SAN FRANCISCO – May 13, 2020 – Sojern, a leading provider of digital travel marketing solutions, today launched a new interactive dashboard providing real-time COVID-19 travel insights. These insights will empower Sojern’s customers, partners and industry leaders to forecast travel demand and make informed decisions about market recovery. Sojern will be providing free and unlimited access to the public via the Sojern website, a service the firm has only ever provided to customers and partners. The dashboard, updated dail...
Commingle:Engage Offers Hotel Business Recovery Marketing Services
Lodging Interactive & Commingle:Engage | May 4, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ – May 4, 2020 – Commingle:Engage, the hospitality industry's premier provider of full-service social media marketing and guest reputation management services today, announced the launch of its hotel business recovery marketing services aimed to assist hotels with their re-opening and recovery stages. Commingle:Engage is providing ‘done for you’ multifaceted hotel business recovery marketing services for even the smallest of properties with plans starting at just $525 per month. “As our country begins to re-open and the hospitality industry moves towards the recovery phase, properties will need to effectively commun...
Lodging Interactive Launches Touchless Digital Menu System for Restaurants and Hotels
Lodging Interactive & commingle:engage | April 29, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ - April 29, 2020 - Lodging Interactive the hospitality industry's premier provider of full-service social media marketing and guest reputation management services today, announced the launch of MyMenusOnline, its new touchless digital restaurant menu system. With MyMenusOnline restaurant guests simply scan a tableside QR code or NFC tag to view the restaurant's menu on their own mobile device. The system is meant to replace traditional printed menus and eliminates concerns in potentially passing germs between in-house dining guests handling the same menus. “The new normal has us all concerned with the cleanliness of every...
As Recovery Appears, Clairvoyix to Drive Business to Hotels, Resorts
Clairvoyix | April 28, 2020
Company to benefit from client properties’ optimistic outlook, SBA assistance LAS VEGAS – After previously announcing its Rapid Recovery Response – R3© solution, Clairvoyix, the leader in enterprise class, hospitality-specific marketing automation, announces it is prepared to address the demand for property level direct marketing, a critical part to properties’ reemergence as safe, clean and desirable hotels. “Clairvoyix and our clients have always benefited from a lean business model that never sacrifices quality or accuracy in our direct marketing deliverables,” said Lisa Phillips, Clairvoyix’ chief operations officer...
Vizergy Launches New Brand Website for Hard Rock International: Focusing on Customer Engagement While Elevating the Hard Rock Experience
Vizergy Digital Marketing | April 23, 2020
Hard Rock has partnered with Vizergy Digital Marketing to launch an innovative new website site that seeks to keep customers engaged with the brand and create awareness with creative functionality and a world class user experience. Having a deep understanding of their customers’ needs, Hard Rock has developed an online platform that caters to a variety of desired experiences, from mobile games for kids, to interactive casino gaming for adults. The Hard Rock team is continuing to find innovative ways to provide their loyal guests with Hard Rock experiences, highlighting their hotels and resorts, cafes, music venues and casinos. Want to...
Assisting Hotels in Regaining Stability, Travel Outlook Gets Armed With Effective Sales Tactics Developed by Kennedy Training Network
Travel Outlook Hotel Reservations Call Center Services | April 21, 2020
Santa Fe, NM – Travel Outlook premium reservation call center, a virtual hospitality company specializing in voice reservations and guest service, uses down-time to upskill with Kennedy Training Network. Like all other hotel reservations and call center teams, during the first 10 days of the COVID-19 crisis, Travel Outlook’s certified call center agents were inundated with calls to cancel or postpone. Now that the call volume has temporarily softened, rather than laying off staff, Travel Outlook is using this quiet phase to upskill its call center team by scheduling additional private, live webcam training with Kennedy Training Ne...
Kennedy Training Network Announces Two New Hotel Sales Team Programs, Delivered Live Via Webcam, to Prepare for a New Sales Habitat
Kennedy Training Network | April 20, 2020
Hotel sales has truly been a seller’s market for a very long time; 10-year veterans have never experienced selling in a recession, while veterans are out of practice at prospecting. Until recently, at most hotels the biggest challenges have been keeping up with the flood of inbound RFP’s, as third-party meeting and event planning websites made it too easy to request a proposal. Smart sales leaders will wisely use the current lull in sales activity to upskill their teams for what is sure to be a buyer’s market for the near future. This week, KTN is introducing two hotel sales training programs, personally delivered live on webcam by K...
