Hotel Marketing
-
Obsession, not aspiration, drives direct bookings. Which one is yours?
Obsession, not aspiration, drives the direct bookings. Which one is yours?During my best years, we were able to get close to 40% of online business direct. Some properties even surpassed the 50%-60% mark. Of course, OTAs had an upper hand during some years, but direct was always the single largest channel. Isn't that good for a small regional chain?My decision-making has always been guided by the following principles.👉🏼 The direct channel is the most important of all.👉🏼 The proportion of direct business validates the strength of my brand and strategies.👉🏼 Unless I'm constantly looking for new ways to get more direct business, my job isn't worth it.👉🏼 Never stop promoting…
-
How messy is your hotel’s distribution strategy?
How messy is your hotel’s distribution strategy?I like to break it down into the components shown in this diagram. 🟢 Full control: double down on these and get them right. No compromises here. 🟡 Partial control: understand your limitations, then double down on the rest. ⛔ No control: good to know. It is as simple or as complex as you want it to be. How would you describe your property’s distribution strategy?
-
Rate reduction is not always a bad idea. Please hear me out.
It's fashionable to say, "Once you dump your rates, it'll take months or years to get them back up." Senior executives don't want hotels to play the volume game, and for many owners, a high rate level is a source of pride. Whatever the reasons for this attitude, I've seen it play out in ugly ways at hotels.They artificially raise online prices while selling super low rates to offline agents and groups. I've also been asked about ways to secretly discount OTAs without affecting public rates. Even properties under global chains are not immune to this.1️⃣ I've seen too many hotels keep their prices high, especially in the most visible…
-
GMs/Revenue leaders, here are some key questions to ask your Distribution/E-Commerce Manager.
Nowadays, most hotels generate 60-80% of their revenue through online channels. It is critical for all relevant team members to cover all bases.➡️ What online channel grew the most in the last 30 days, and why?➡️ What are our conversion rates on the top three OTAs, and what factors are driving their growth/decrease/stagnation?➡️ What has been the most successful promotional campaign/offer in the last 30 days, and why?➡️ What key trends have you noticed in the last three months, such as ADR changes, guest nationality movement, and channel shifts?➡️ What do you want the Revenue Manager/Director to do to help you improve your numbers?➡️ What assistance and resources do you…
-
Five times, promotions on OTAs are working against your property
Most hotels feel like they have to offer deals on OTAs. It is critical to be strategic with these. The promotions are bad for your hotel when No incremental revenue - your overall revenue from that OTA remains flat Revenue disappears when promotion is turned off - you gain no additional momentum. Guests are more difficult to convert to direct channel - you are attracting die-hard OTA customers. Better ROI elsewhere - additional promotion distribution costs are higher than with other OTAs or direct channels. Forgot a long-term promotion - forgotten promotions (on extranets) are often the cause of rate parity problems. I've always said that pricing is more important…
-
What do the best E-Commerce/Distribution Managers have in common?
Over the last 15 years, I've had the pleasure of interviewing, training, and mentoring dozens of E-Commerce/Distribution Managers. The best of the best all had these qualities in common.✅ They understand their annual targets and keep track of them by breaking them down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily objectives. ✅ They raise issues such as pricing, conversion rates, parity, price difference with wholesale, and segment shift during revenue and other meetings. ✅ Based on performance data, they constantly tweak their packages, offers, add-ons, and upsell items. ✅ They keep in touch with the market managers of OTAs, but they also know what they can't do.✅ They understand how algorithms affect page views,…
-
The ten things I will never understand about hotel budget practices
Being in the digital transformation business, having an outsider perspective on the hospitality industry I serve has always helped me. That's why I don't understand the following.🤔 Regardless of the opportunities or pitfalls in the coming year, the previous year remains a benchmark.🤔 After the initial submission, owners or corporate/regional offices always want more revenue.🤔 GMs are aware of this and will submit a version with a buffer built in for the next submission.🤔 Dumping everything in the retail segment or high and peak season when there is pressure to achieve more.🤔 OTA commission costs can go over budget, but digital marketing costs cannot.🤔 Even though it can save on…
-
How does Hick’s Law apply to hotel distribution and marketing?
Hick's Law is a simple idea that says that the more choices you present your users with, the longer it will take them to reach a decision. Although I have always struggled with it, I have never stopped advocating for simplicity and fewer options when presenting options for our hotel guests to book. You can also interpret the time scale differently. The longer it takes for your website, booking engine, or app to load, the lower their conversion rates. One more way for hoteliers to look at this law is in the context of wait times in front offices, restaurants, and for guest service requests, as well as the number…
-
Ten things their digital marketing team/agency wishes hotels knew
My team was in charge of digital marketing for more than 50 properties. The budget we used was in the seven figures (USD) per year. The ROI and CPA requirements were stringent. The team frequently lamented that a distribution, E-commerce, revenue manager, or general manager did not understand what it took to run a successful digital marketing campaign.It was incredible to see so many ideas, tactics, and team members come together beautifully in a perfectly choreographed delivery of amazing numbers like 20 in ROI and under 2% in CPA when it worked. When that happens, the properties know how to handle it properly.Preparation period/ optimization timeWhen it comes to guest…
-
Does your hotel need an app?
For most hotels, the answer is still “No". It's time to skip, move on, and browse away!However, if you're interested in how guest behavior has changed as a result of the pandemic, what hotel apps can do these days, whether they can drive revenue, and whether they're a good fit for your property, keep reading.Let us begin with the guest behavioral changes hastened by the pandemic.They can use an app to order food from the comfort of their own homes.Shopping apps allow users to order almost any product and have it delivered to their home.They have access to any type of entertainment on demand.Most apps learn about the user and…
