cogwheel marketing
Developing a Social Media Plan for Your Hotel
Stephanie Sparks Smith | August 29, 2024
In the past article, we discussed who should be in charge of the social media for your hotel. Whether you are tasking your in-house team or outsourcing to an agency, resources must be determined to dedicate to social media. This includes resources of both time and money. Now, it is time to make and execute a plan. Developing a Content Strategy While you are likely to quickly post your upcoming holiday deal, slow down. A good rule of thumb is no more than 20% of your posts should be an offer. Think first of your audience. Who are your followers? What are the challenges you are solving for them? What do they care about? Many ...
Hospitality Organizations and Resources for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Stephanie Smith | March 25, 2024
By Stephanie Smith Previously, we published the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Defined article by Gissell Moronta, which gave you an understanding of the terminology and why DEI is important. The next step in learning more about DEI is to get involved. It doesn’t matter where you start, but you need to begin. We have compiled a comprehensive list of hospitality resources for you to get involved. Hospitality DEI Organizations These organizations outwardly support and create awareness for underrepresented communities in hospitality that allow anyone to participate. It is not applicable to organizations with internal departments or...
Create Your Hotel Digital Marketing Strategy Before Jumping Into Tactics
Stephanie Smith | March 1, 2024
By Stephanie Smith Owners and operators know the importance of online presence, however, they don’t always know how to efficiently and effectively impact revenue-generating change. Guests in the pre-booking phase, either transient or group, have so many touchpoints throughout their journey, where do we, as marketers, start? Understanding the Entire Online Space While we ideally want all guests to book direct on the first visit, there are many other places influencing their hotel selection process. Other realms are common, like OTAs (online travel agencies), social media, and Google. When you dig deeper, there are travel agencies, CVBs,...
6 Marketing Tactics To Boost Revenue at Your Hotel Restaurant
Alison Wilson | September 28, 2023
By Alison Wilson As a hotel general manager and restaurant owner, driving revenue growth for your establishment is an important priority. To achieve this goal, implementing effective marketing initiatives is crucial and in this article we’ll share, we present five tactical marketing strategies that can help elevate your hotel restaurant’s revenue and set it apart from the competition. 1. Establish an Irresistible Online Presence Ensure your website showcases the unique qualities of your hotel restaurant, from its ambiance to its delicious menu offerings. Include high-quality photography to entice potential diners. Boleo in...
Hotel Marketing KPIs Must Change to Achieve Commercial Strategy
Stephanie Sparks Smith | September 5, 2023
By Stephanie Smith If you are measuring your marketing success today the same way you did last year, you are not providing the value that your external stakeholders and ownership expect and that your internal business partners, like sales and revenue strategy, deserve. It is not enough anymore to measure how many guest rooms are booked per dollar spent on your paid marketing. Instead, focus your attention on two specific areas: Are my marketing plays moving the needle relative to the competition in the channels of business that are actually booking right now? Are the dollars invested really changing the overall revenue picture of t...
The Power of Influencers: A Guide for Hotels on Successful Collaborations
Yana Petrova | August 16, 2023
By Yana Petrova In today’s digital age, social media influencers have become powerful voices that can greatly impact consumer behavior. For businesses in the hotel industry, partnering with influencers can be an effective strategy to enhance brand exposure, engage with potential customers, and create compelling content. However, before diving into any collaborations, it is essential to ensure that your social media channels are in top shape to maximize the success of your influencer partnerships. In this article, we will explore the key considerations and steps for working with influencers. Align with Brand Standards Maintaining c...
Navigating Traveler Behaviors: Key Insights for Hotel Marketing Pros
Stephanie Sparks Smith | August 7, 2023
By Stephanie Sparks Smith Recently Expedia Group released their 2023 Q1 Traveler Insights Report. I brought this interesting piece of research to the great minds at the HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board to discuss the trends and explore if they align with what we are seeing in the industry. Booking Window Patterns While short-term bookings were common during the pandemic, many in the group have noticed a shift towards longer-term bookings. Some noted that leisure travelers are booking closer to 60 days out for some of their properties. One interesting point was that hotel bookings are being made further in advance compared to flights, indi...
Hunter Hotel Investment Conference: Revenue Strategy Panel Recap
Stephanie Smith | March 30, 2023
By Stephanie Smith Our team at Cogwheel Marketing attended the 2023 annual Hunter Hotel Investment Conference for a consecutive year and we wanted to be sure to share with our network the 10 Key Takeaways we extracted after packing in 3 days of education, collaboration and relationship building with hotel industry experts. The Hunter Hotel Investment Conference welcomed attendees to Atlanta in March 2023. The revenue strategy panel included: Isaac Collazo (Moderator) of STR Alex Cisneros of Red Roof Inn Casi Johnson of M3 Kate Burda of Kate Burda and Company Sarah Williams of Intermountain Hotels 10 Key Takeaways...
