Say Goodbye to Google, Hoteliers
Now Is a Good Time To Reduce Your Hotel’s Dependence on the Search Engine Giant
The watchword for this year remains uncertainty.
Hoteliers, Don't Presume the Worst About 2023
With Proper Preparation, New Year Offers as Many Opportunities as Challenges
As the travel and hospitality industry prepares for next year, let’s not kid ourselves: It’s likely not going to be as great as this past year.
Don’t Let This Weird Economy Throw Off Your Direct Business
Plan Ahead for Budgeting Season To Weather Uncertainty
It’s budget season again. Yet even after two-plus years of pandemic-forced closures, a brief recession, labor challenges, a significant (permanent?) decline in business travel and ...
There Is No Such Thing as Free
Driving Reservations Comes at a Cost; Here’s How To Make That Investment Pay Off
2022 is a genuinely weird year.
The Role of Technology in Addressing Your Hotel’s Labor Woes
Hotels Can Use Digital, Technology To Meet Industry's Labor Shortages
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest employment numbers recently.
How Hotels Can Use Digital to Survive Long Road Ahead
The hotel industry will bounce back from COVID-19, but probably not for a while. Digital tools and knowhow can help hotels manage the long road ahead.
Hotel owners and marketers are now entering a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ve lived through the initial wave of virus, shutdowns, and whatever passed for summer “peak.” ...
Digital Tools Help Answer Guests’ Post-COVID Questions
Guest behavior is changing rapidly in response to COVID-19. Fortunately, digital tools help us understand and respond to those changes in real time.
In a previous column, I wrote about how you can use digital to do the heavy lifting for your property during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given all the changes we’ve seen in just the las...
In Difficult Times, Digital Must do the Heavy Lifting
Use the extra time you and your sales team have on your hands to improve your digital sales strategy so that once the recovery begins, you’ll be ready to compete with the online booking heavyweights.
If there's one fact the coronavirus (COVID-19) has demonstrated, it's the limitations of face-to-face. We're seeing in real time what people can't do. And we're seeing in real time...
Your Digital New Year's Resolutions
The new year provides hotel marketers an opportunity to reset their priorities and grow their business. The following digital New Year’s resolutions offer a simple playbook to help you do just that.
Welcome to 2020, everyone. A new year. A new decade. A new beginning.
The ‘traffic Toll’ Driving up Costs for Hotel Marketers
Hotel distribution continues to evolve. Google increasingly sets the agenda for hotel owners, operators, brands and OTAs alike. Here’s why that matters for your hotel this year.
There’s one huge problem with direct reservations that no one seems to be talking about.
The Distribution Trend You Care About Most in 2019
Hotel distribution continues to evolve. And, increasingly, Google sets the agenda for hotel owners, operators, brands, and OTAs alike. Here’s why that matters for your hotel this year.
Let’s talk distribution for a minute. Yeah, I know, distribution is one of the least sexy aspects of the hotel industry. It’s also one of the most important, especially for hotel o...
Digital Trends to Watch in 2019
There’s been a massive shift in guest behavior and booking habits due to trends like artificial intelligence and mobile usage. But the question isn’t whether these trends are important; the real question is are you ready to make these trends work for you?
Every year around this time, it’s worthwhile to look at where we are right now and where we’re likely to be down the road. Despite the hype around several trends—I’m looking at you...
To Succeed in Driving Direct Bookings, Invest in It
There’s a lot of talk about driving guests to book direct, but it takes more than lip service to make it happen. Hoteliers must actually invest both effort and money to make it work.
Here we are in mid-2018, gearing up for our 2019 budget season, and once again everyone’s talking about how important it is to get guests to book direct.
Digital Isn’t About Technology
If you’re constantly chasing the “latest and greatest” without integrating those into a more thoughtful, strategic approach, you’re really just chasing your own tail.
I don’t know about you, but I’m done hearing about the tech that will save the day for hoteliers.
Don’t Wait to Use Emerging Tech to Market Your Hotel
Whether you act now or in the future, any technology you use to market your hotel comes back to content.
Your hotel could be in big trouble. Recent data suggests we’re heading for decline in occupancy in 2018—and potentially further declines to follow. Worse, online travel agencies an...
With Preparation and Foresight, the Machines Won’t Win
Artificial intelligence isn’t science fiction; it’s happening now. Here’s some advice for how you can make it work for you rather than against you.
Bill Gates once wrote, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10.” And when it comes to n...
Why Airbnb Is Winning With Guests and How You Can, Too
Airbnb makes a habit of asking guests want they want and delivering. Hoteliers have to do the same to get guests talking via social media.
Where does Airbnb get off? Seriously. During the Christmas holiday, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky used Twitter to engage in a lengthy dialogue with customers about where Airbnb might be ...
Focus on Channels That Drive Strong Business Results
It’s not time to give into the OTAs; it’s time to create a clear distribution strategy and focus on channels that drive strong business results in efficient ways.
I had a discouraging discussion with an outstanding GM recently who complained that her property’s struggles with rapidly shifting guest preferences, an evolving distribution lands...
The Most Capable Revenue Generator Is You
Think the OTAs have it in for you? Think again. On the contrary, you can learn useful revenue strategies from them to help rebalance the competition.
While attending the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference a few weeks ago, I spoke with a number of hotel owners and operators who are struggling with what to do ...
Why Hotel Marketing Success Depends on Personalization
A 2014 survey found that travelers aren’t as loyal to a brand as loyalty membership programs suggest. Increasing personalization is the best method to make your product stand out in an overcrowded marketplace.
When do you suppose your guests last had difficulty finding a place to stay when traveling?