Entries from November 2009

Successful Ritz-Carlton Business Model: Location, Products and People

November 30th, 2009

Simon Cooper, who has led Ritz-Carlton for the past eight years, talks with Forbes magazine about what makes Ritz-Carlton, well, the Ritz.
Ritz-Carlton has become a leading brand in luxury lodging by rigorously adhering to its own standards. It is the only service company in America that has won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award twice, [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Travel Marketing

For the Hotel Industry, Recovery is a Long Way Off

November 27th, 2009

Hotel operators, who recall past cycles when booming growth came after business downturns “have to get over the idea that things are going to get back to the way they were,” said Lalia Rach, the dean of the hospitality program at the Tisch Center.
Every couple of months, I like to take the temperature of the [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Travel Marketing

Time to Strongly Consider Going the Coupon Route

November 27th, 2009

Experian Marketing Services released data from its coupon report: Benchmark Data and Analysis for Email Marketers. Among their findings, was that 80% of online coupon mailings garnered higher transaction-to-click rates and transaction rates than non-coupon campaigns.
Sources Say Coupons Are Big, Particularly in Email Marketing
In other words, if you are using email marketing, you may want [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Social Media Marketing for Hotels

Customized and Digitized Postcard to Target Travelers

November 26th, 2009

The current economy is a bumpy trail for many travel marketers. But Backroads is finding a clear path thanks to postcard mailings using personal URLs and other digital enhancements.
The high-end adventure travel company — which markets trips typically costing between $2,500 and $4,500 — first tried the tactic last winter with a 30,000-piece campaign that [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Internet Marketing · Travel Marketing

Yes, Facebook is a Business Tool

November 25th, 2009

Facebook is a “social utility” designed to facilitate connections between people as well as businesses. It can be highly useful as a business tool. This article addresses various ways that businesses can market using Facebook.
Facebook Public Profile
A Facebook Public Profile (aka a Facebook Page) is an ideal place for businesses to establish a beachhead within [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Internet Marketing · Social Media Marketing for Hotels

What makes an excellent Hotel Website?

November 24th, 2009

There are numerous factors that will determine whether a hotel website is great. Such factors like simplicity of navigation, easy understandability of information and powerful functionality could all affect the user experience which in the end will be the deciding report card of the hotel website.
Hotels often take great extend in trying to provide the [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Social Media Marketing for Hotels · Travel Marketing

Eight Mistakes that may Ruin Your Social Media Strategy

November 23rd, 2009

So you’ve set up a company fan page on Facebook and you’re letting your employees fire off messages to the world via Twitter — or you’re at least thinking about it. Well, congratulations! Hold on, though. While social media might sound simple, there are as many ways to screw up in this new world as [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Internet Marketing · Social Media Marketing for Hotels

RevPAR down 19.2%, but worst should be over for Europe

November 23rd, 2009

A report produced quarterly by Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has found that year-to-September hotel performance fell across Europe. Revenue per available room (revPAR) performance in European hotels was down 19.2% to €58. This decline was driven by a 12.3% drop in average room rates to €108, while occupancy levels fell to 61.6%.
Commenting, Alex Kyriakidis, [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Travel Marketing

The Time is Now for Hotels to Create Social Media Marketing Strategy

November 20th, 2009

A healthy skepticism can be a good thing when it comes to social media, as it is a new idea for most hotels and destinations. But for the general public, your target audience, social media has become a part of everyday Internet life. The benefits of social media are real, abundant and measureable.
The Internet has [...]

[ Read more → ]

Tags: Hotel Marketing · Internet Marketing · Social Media Marketing for Hotels · Travel Marketing