Louisville, Kentucky Nearly Doubles Year-Over-Year Event Volume, Hits 94.9 Percent Growth in July
Knowland | August 21st, 2024
Flip.to Introduces Photo Advocacy to Global Audience at World Travel Market in London
Flip.to | October 29, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 2014 - Flip.to, the brand advocate platform, will premiere their newest product, Photo Advocacy, to a worldwide audience at the 2014 World Travel Market at the ExCel London from November 3rd through 6th. Photo Advocacy reinvents a hotel's ability to reach new markets, earn new guests and open new revenue streams with the snap of a shutter. Hotels can engage their guests with beautiful, perpetual photo contests and turn memorable moments into amazing brand connections around the world. Photo Advocacy taps into an entirely new marketing channel delivering significant, measurable impact to a hotel's bottom line. World...
Flip.to Helps Florida Mall Hotel Engage Guests Like Never Before, Resulting in Huge ROI
Flip.to | October 22, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 2014 -Even before guests arrive at The Florida Hotel & Conference Center, a public conversation about their upcoming stay is already underway. Flip.to, the brand advocate platform, has helped the hotel staff kick off engagement with their guests right at the time of booking, building brand connections with guests' friends and family and most importantly, earning new guests. "We actively engage with each new guest who shares with their network via Flip.to, and 50% answer and engage in online conversations with us, resulting in more views by friends, direct bookings, more potential customers for the future and mo...
5 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Drive Group Revenues
Tambourine | October 21, 2014
by Dave Spector Ever watch the competition land a big event while you're stuck at a 60% occupancy rate? You know their rooms are full. Their restaurants are hoppin.' And all you can do is scratch your head and hope that meeting planner calls you next time. Fortunately, that's not all you can do. You can build a LinkedIn marketing plan that puts you in front of thousands of meeting planners. In a moment, I'm going to give you some specific tips on building your LinkedIn plan, but first let's get you in the LinkedIn mindset. Remember that it's social media... not "sales media." Professionals log on to gain business insight and connect. Ev...
Nina Kubik-Cheng Appointed Senior Vice President at Dragon Trail Interactive
Dragon Trail Interactive | October 17, 2014
Nina Kubik-Cheng, former Vice President, Sales at Daodao.com and Qunar.com, will join Dragon Trail Interactive as Senior Vice President of Business Development, Beijing based Dragon Trail announced recently. Nina will lead Dragon Trail's Sales, PR and Marketing teams to further expand its digital marketing business in the global travel industry. With Dragon Trail's 100% China focused digital and social media marketing services and solutions, the team will continue to assist global travel brands to reach affluent Chinese consumers online. Since its founding in 2010, Dragon Trail has been serving leading international travel organizations...
Thinking Outside the Vendor RFP Process in Hospitality Digital Marketing
Jason Price and HeBS Digital | October 15, 2014
By Jason Price Background Why do hotel companies go through an RFP process when selecting a website design vendor or a digital marketing firm? For some, this is due to corporate mandates, for others there is a "We have always done it this way" mentality. The vendor RFP process is typically long and drawn out. It consists of selecting a list of vendors known to provide the service/product in question (a PMS, a CRS, website design, digital marketing and consulting services, etc.), preparing an RFP (request for proposal) outlining the hotel company's needs and wants, sending the RFP to an identified list of vendors, conference calls to go ...
Flip.to Drives Off-Season Bookings With the Help Of Peak Season Guests of KeyLime Cove
Flip.to | October 15, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 2014 - Within one month of launching Flip.to during their peak summer season, guests of KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort spread the word about their upcoming trip to over a hundred thousand friends and family around the country, driving future bookings for a time of year that is typically a little slower. "KeyLime Cove launched Flip.to toward the end of a busy occupancy period. Not only did we have nearly 30% of online guests sharing their visit on social media, but we saw a nice boost in inbound visitors to our website and to our Facebook business page," said Jennifer Evans, Marketing Manager for KeyLime Cove....
“Wow Factor” for Travelers: Sleep Inn DFW Airport North Installs FlyteBoard by Flyte Systems
Flyte Systems | October 14, 2014
How Can DFW-Bound Guests Get Real-Time Travel Information? Easy-to-Use FlyteBoard Displays Airline Schedules, Departures, Alerts and Gate Information for Busy Guests CHICAGO, IL - October 14, 2014 - Flyte Systems announced the Sleep Inn DFW Airport North installed a FlyteBoard travel information display. The Sleep Inn recently completed a total renovation and implemented FlyteBoard to boost guest convenience and loyalty with comprehensive real-time DFW airline flight schedules. Click here to request information on Flyte Systems' airport travel and guest information services. "We completed a 100% property renovation in January 2014 and w...
Milestone Captures Silver Stevie IBA Award For Best New Software Product for its Galexi™ Website CMS
the Stevie Awards | October 14, 2014
SANTA CLARA, CA: October 14, 2014 - Milestone Internet Marketing is proud to announce that out of the 3,500 nominations worldwide from organizations of all sizes, it has won a Best New Product Award from the 2014 Stevie IBA Awards for its Galexi CMS 6.0 Internet Marketing software for hotels. Designed for the hospitality and travel industry, this next generation SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform is designed with search engine trends, mobile, social media, and conversion in mind. The Stevie® Awards are the world's premier business awards created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contrib...
What Online Travel Agents are Looking for in Their Hotel Partners
Orlandovacation.com | October 10, 2014
by Trey Duling I have read quite a few articles on hotel-online.com about the difficulties hotels have with Online Travel Agents, and I have also read articles from industry experts that say hotels should limit their exposure with OTA's. This got me thinking? Why would a hotel want to eliminate a pipeline of bookings no matter how big or how small that pipeline is? After all, aren't we all on the same team? Isn't the goal for OTA's and hotels to put guests in hotel rooms. If a hotel general manager, sales manager, or revenue manager is looking to maximize their partnership with their OTA's here a few things to keep in mind: 1) Specials ...
nSight Partners with GCommerce to Bring Enhanced Intelligence to Hotel Digital Marketing
nSight (www.nsightfortravel.com) | October 9, 2014
NASHVILLE, TN - October 9, 2014 - nSight and GCommerce have partnered to make nSight part of the standard GCommerce digital marketing solution for hotels. nSight, the leader in online consumer shopping intelligence for the travel industry, captures more than 80 million searches and bookings for hotels daily across third-party websites worldwide. Utah-based digital ecommerce innovator GCommerce will leverage this marketing-rich data to its portfolio of nearly 1,400 hotel clients to increase hotel market share. With the world's largest database on active travel shoppers, nSight improves hotel marketing and revenue management capability by...
Flip.to Makes Guest Advocacy Incredibly Impactful, Personal and Scalable for NYLO
Flip.to | October 7, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 2014 - "We are delighted with the success of Flip.to," says Michael Mueller, CEO for NYLO Hotels, a unique alternative for business and leisure travelers seeking loft-style living. "It was easily implemented across our chain of hotels, and in three months guests had shared about their stay with 175,000 of their friends." Flip.to is a powerful brand advocacy platform that easily scales across an entire hotel chain, regardless of the number of hotels in a portfolio. Its guest-driven marketing feels natural, personal and individually unique for each hotel, but with the same goal of reaching new audiences and earning n...
The Map Gap: Is Your Hotel Getting Lost on the Web?
Tambourine | October 6, 2014
Please excuse this statement of the obvious: If guests can't find your property, they can't stay with you. These days, "finding you" starts long before they jump in a cab and affects more than their ability to make it to your front desk. With Google's recent updates and the growing importance of local search listings, ubiquitous map presence has become a critical component of hotel internet marketing. Recent changes to Google's local search algorithms allow the omnipotent search engine giant to look more closely at location details. Now, Google searches are more accurate when it comes to distance and ranking. And if you want to compete,...
Due to Growth, ZDirect Expands its Client Services Team
ZDirect | October 2, 2014
Departmental additions include Maria Olson as West Coast Account Manager and Kristen Cavanagh as East Coast Account Manager; Promotions include Devon Ussher to Strategic Account Manager and Kelly Whaley to Account Manager for the Caribbean and South Florida [HALLANDALE BEACH, FL- OCTOBER 2, 2014] -To continue delivering exceptional customer care to each of its hotel clients, ZDirect, the Hotel Marketing Automation pioneer and comprehensive provider of eCRM, eMail Marketing and Loyalty solutions, is pleased to welcome new team members to its Client Services department based in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Maria Olson will now serve as West Coast ...
Flip.to Adds Three of the Travel Industry’s Best People to Stay Ahead of Aggressive Growth
Flip.to | October 1, 2014
ORLANDO - OCTOBER 2014 - Flip.to, the brand advocacy platform that helps hotels earn new guests, is undergoing a massive growth of its customer base and has added three new talented, innovative members to its team. Keith Durden comes to Flip.to as the team's Chief Financial Officer from TravelClick, where he served as Director of Finance and Accounting. He worked previously with Flip.to President Edward St.Onge as Finance Leader at EZYield, an industry leader in Hotel Channel Management. While there he successfully prepared and led the company financially through a sale process to TravelClick in 2011. "Flip.to is growing tremendously, a...
Three Ways Hotel Marketers Can Tap into The Authenticity Trend
Tambourine | September 29, 2014
by Dave Spector It happens every day. Bill and Britney, a couple in their 20s, decide to take their first vacation together. Britney opens her laptop and starts searching while Bill takes to his tablet to see what he can find. Instead of going back to places they've already been... they seek unique, authentic new experiences. They want pictures for their Facebook accounts. They want real interction with local culture. Forget Mickey Mouse ears and mini-Eiffel Tower key chains, they plan to return home with a new understanding and appreciation of life! And they're not alone. While the millennial generation seems to be driving the experie...
PolyU Study Finds Promotion-Focused Advertising Increases Firm Risk for Restaurants
PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management | September 26, 2014
26 September 2014 - Advertising expenditures lead to increased risk for publically listed firms in the US restaurant sector, argue Dr YongHee Kim of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and co-authors in a published research paper. The researchers analyse the financial data of firms listed as 'retail-eating places' by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and find that contrary to intentions, advertising expenditure actually increases total and firm-specific risk. Restaurants, they argue, need to change the focus of their advertising from short-term promotion-related gains to the ...
Hilton Arlington Goes Cool with Flyte Systems Airline Schedule Displays for Guest Convenience
Hilton Arlington | September 25, 2014
Multi-Million Dollar Hilton Arlington Renovation Adds Glance-And-Go Airport Flight Information as Part of 'Accessible Technology' Upgrades for Travelers CHICAGO, IL - September 25, 2014 - Flyte Systems announced that the Hilton Arlington in Texas placed two FlyteBoard displays in its new lobby as part of its multi-million dollar renovation. The transformed full-service Hilton now shows real-time arrivals and departures for nearby Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that provide guests accessible technology and convenience. The Hilton Arlington is owned and operated by Interstate Hotels & Resorts. Flyte Systems is the leading pr...
Limited-Service Chase Hotels Create Broad Appeal with Flip.to
Flip.to | September 24, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 2014 - Chase Hotels operates eight limited-service properties across the U.S., offering premium accommodations to primarily corporate business travelers. Often located in smaller, non-destination cities such as Overland Park, KS, and Newark, CA, Chase was concerned that these hotels might be too limited and out-of-the-way for the brand advocate platform Flip.to to be effective. They were wrong. Within 60 days of going live with Flip.to, guests of Chase Hotels shared about their stay to nearly 40,000 of their connections worldwide - reaching not only their business colleagues, but also their closest friends and re...
Coast Hotels to Launch Holistic CRM Initiative Driven by ZDirect
ZDirect | September 23, 2014
As one of North America's growing - and Canada's largest - hotel brands, Coast Hotels will soon be implementing new technology to optimize its customer relationships by integrating email marketing, guest satisfaction surveys and loyalty rewards into ZMail [HALLANDALE BEACH, FL- SEPTEMBER 23, 2014] - With hotels throughout Western Canada and the Western U.S., the Coast Hotels brand is growing and investing in systems that will add value to its expansive portfolio and its valued guests. Through a new partnership with ZDirect, the hotel franchise, ownership and management group has entered into an agreement to launch a holistic customer re...
Shale Drilling Brought Hotel Rooms & Jobs to Pennsylvania but Boom May be Over
Lodging Interactive | September 20, 2014
Sept. 20--UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Marcellus shale drilling has led to a rapid increase for hotel rooms and jobs -- while also bringing an increase in empty rooms, Penn State University researchers have found. "The overall economic benefit of the drilling boom is still good for hoteliers, but it's just not the bonanza that it used to be," Daniel Mount, an associate professor in hospitality management, said in a statement. "It may be that the newer hotels and the hotel chains are in a better position to withstand the lower demand." According to the report, drilling gave the hotel industry more than $684.5 million, or 32.6 percent, over ex...
Marketing Success of Paris Hotel du Collectionneur Highlights Flip.to’s Global Appeal
Flip.to | September 18, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 2014 - In 2013, the Hotel du Collectionneur in Paris faced a big challenge - it became the largest independent hotel in Paris at 408 rooms when it parted ways with Hilton. They wanted to expand their clientele beyond business travelers to include leisure guests and other visitors, so their Paris-based marketing firm World Independent Hotel Promotion (WIHP) joined forces with Flip.to. "Our challenge at The Hotel du Collectionneur was to attract a new segment of customers, and to drive more people to the hotel's website," said Sébastien Félix, eMarketing Manager for WIHP. "Flip.to helped us accomplish both things...
Why is This New Report Scaring the #%*! out of Hotel Owners?
Tambourine | September 10, 2014
Hoteliers have always felt the pinch of paying third-party fees to attract and retain guests. Now – with the just released results of a multi-year hotel revenue study - that pinch has turned into a full-blown punch. The study, conducted by Hospitality Asset Managers Association and its resulting whitepaper, The Rising Costs of Customer Acquisition, sums it up: Costs associated with acquiring new hotel customers through distribution channels and marketing rose 2-3 times faster than hotel revenue growth. Here's what the Report uncovered: PROBLEMS More Players, Less Profits In addition to OTAs, meeting planners and bran...
Finard Properties Taps GCommerce for Digital Strategy at Two Iconic Properties
Finard Properties | September 10, 2014
September 2014, Park City, UT: Locally owned GCommerce Solutions is proud to announce a partnership with Boston-based Finard Properties, to help enhance the digital marketing efforts of their Harbor Hotel Provincetown and Providence Biltmore locations. Based in Park City, Utah - GCommerce is the digital marketing firm of choice for improving the Harbor Hotel Provincetown's online presence, and to help expand the network of overall exposure for the hotel: a vibrant waterfront property which overlooks Provincetown Harbor and Cape Cod Bay. GCommerce will provide a wide range of expert digital marketing services, support and strategy, from ...
Flip.to Reinvents the Marketing Strategy for Strand Hotel NYC
Flip.to | September 10, 2014
ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 2014 - When Jonathan Hansell, Hotel Manager, The Strand Hotel NYC, learned about Flip.to, he immediately saw the incredible power of social advocacy versus social media. It completely changed both the way the hotel looked at social marketing - and how they utilized their marketing budget. "With Flip.to, we have a greater impact, while spending less money on more traditional marketing methods such as print ads or flyers - it's a no brainer," said Hansell. "Flip.to has led the social advocacy movement in the hospitality realm and we knew it would be successful at our property - and it has. "The level of engagement ...
