In a tough economy, when your marketing budget shrinks, you need to be careful about how you invest your money. The return on investment (ROI) for online marketing spending is faster than almost any other form of hotel marketing.
Introduction
In a struggling economy, businesses slow down. This is especially true for hotels as their growth is directly related to the health of the economy. Consequently, your marketing budget shrinks and you need to be careful about how to spend your marketing budget wisely. In other words, identify what marketing methods work, and what don’t. It is more important than ever that you pay attention to your return on investment (ROI).
In 2008, 37%-38% of all hotel bookings will be generated from the Internet (one-third in 2007, 29% in 2006). At least another third of all hotel bookings will be influenced by the Internet, but done offline (call center, walk-ins, group bookings, etc). All major hotel brands are already generating an excess of 40% of the (CRS) bookings via their brand websites. By the end of 2010, over 45% of all hotel bookings will be completed online.
The internet has surfaced as the leader in travel and hotel sales. It has established itself as the most important distribution and marketing channel in the hospitality industry. Since this is the case, it only makes sense for you to give some serious thought and planning to Internet-related campaigns in your hotel’s marketing mix. In other words, when your marketing budgets shrink, you could benefit by accentuating your online strategy versus offline strategy. The bonus is that Internet marketing is almost totally measurable, which allows for quick evaluation and continual adjustments to improve results.
Marketing on the Internet
The primary objective of all your online marketing efforts should be to attract the right visitors to your web site and to encourage them to make a reservation. Of course, bringing more and more visitors helps in brand building exercise too. There are several ways to promote your website online. Below we list just a few of them.
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