Mobile technology is no longer something we are simply anticipating. The development of new technologies and ideas has brought about higher expectations from your potential guests. With the increase in smartphone use and android applications, it’s evident: the mobile trend is here…and it is here to stay.
This explosion of the mobile web over the last 10 years places an important burden on hoteliers to implement a mobile-ready website. Why? The growth of mobile usage among the travelling public is increasing at an astonishing rate. The statistics speak for themselves – the number of mobile subscribers will surpass 5 billion in 2010, over 70% of the population. Every day, more and more people are surfing the internet from their mobile devicefor travel related purposes. By not being a part of the mobile world, your hotel has limited exposure and will miss out on reservations. Research demonstrates that around 10% of hotel guests with mobile phones with data plans have used them to reserve rooms. Furthermore, mobile bookings are expected to exceed $1 billion in 2010.
Smartphone users are technically savvy and expect to be able to interact with your hotel via their mobile devices. If your hotel does not have a “mobile ready” website,you run the risk of losing business to hotels that do provide access to their information in a convenient and easily accessible format. Your hotel must therefore develop a mobile strategy in order to keep up with these growing expectations, as well as to reap the benefits this new technology brings with it.
The growth of mobile use within the travel industry means some hoteliers are left behind. How can you keep up?
“You can’t literally translate the conventional website for the wireless world,” Starkov said during the European Hospitality Technology Educational Conference. “There are many limitations, primarily (which) come from usability and the inability to organize huge amounts of content on your mobile Web.”
The trick is to keep it simple by getting a mobile-ready website designed and developed for viewing on mobile screens. Include only the most important information relevant to consumers on-the-go. It is vital that the functionality and navigation is clear and includes call-to-actions that give your site the best chance of converting your mobile visitor into a paying hotel guest. Presenting this information in an easy-to-read format and avoiding the use of multiple images is vital to keep your mobile audience engaged with the site. You must also consider the differences in mobile devices - some phones support Java, others don’t. Compatibility with iphone is important but make sure your website is optimised to work on any phone that has the internet.
A recent EyeforTravel report states that the use of mobile in travel distribution is “unavoidable” and is “the key to success of any travel business in the future.” Whilst a standard website is vital for desktop users, a mobile website is crucial for smartphone mobile users.
Mobile websites and applications are designed specifically for mobile use and are made so your guests can effectively navigate through your website. By ignoring this fundamental requirement, your hotel may be missing out on reservations.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides hotel reservations and digital marketing solutions for hoteliers globally including mobile-ready websites.
Why choose a GlobRes.mobi website?
• Optimised to work on any phone and adapts to any screen size
• Easy-to-update by anyone via a content management system (CMS)
• Book via ‘click2call feature’ which allows guests to call the hotel direct from their phone
• Website visitors are automatically redirected to the mobile site when they navigate to your website via a mobile device.
To start with a .mobi website or ask additional questions, simply CLICK HERE and complete the short online form and one of our sales executives will contact you. Alternatively email marketing@globres.com for further advice.
Follow our blog: www.bloglines.com/blog/globres
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/globres
Showing posts with label hotel marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotel marketing. Show all posts
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Online hotel reviews are at the heart of any good reputation management strategy
The explosion of consumer generated content has led to a very specific and important requirement for hoteliers to engage with online reviews, communities, and dialogue regarding their property. The days of measuring customer satisfaction via the traditional hotel comment card are long gone. Reviews are now online and there for the public to see, as are quality ratings. Moreover, research demonstrates that travellers are seeking out hotel reviews and consider the online review a vital decision-making component for their future travel plans. Trip Advisor states that over 50% of consumers will not book a hotel unless they have read reviews. Online reviews empower the consumer but for many small, family run hotels this new era of information sharing is scary. Not necessarily because they do not fare well in the review stakes, but simply because they do not understand how to effectively manage their online reputation. Traditionally, hotels are comfortable with private reviews and feedback, but the Internet has enabled public scrutiny. Many hotels have not gotten as far as devising an online reputation management strategy and more worryingly, some hotels have no clue about what (good or bad) is being said about them on the internet.
So where should you start? Resource limitation and budget constraints are common problems for smaller hotels. Investing in an automated reputation monitoring tool may therefore seem a long way off, especially if you have only recently implemented a web booking engine. You may be reluctant to pursue trends you do not view as ‘proven’ to generate revenue. But the facts cannot be ignored - credibility of reviews among consumers is high within the hotel sector and therefore has a direct impact on your revenue.
Firstly you must identify what is being said about your property on the most popular review sites on the internet. Don’t expect to monitor hundreds of sites effectively - the sensible places to start are TripAdvisor, Expedia and Google. Hotels have the opportunity to respond publicly to reviews on each of these platforms. Posting management responses to reviews is a great way of demonstrating commitment to customer satisfaction and it will enable you to remedy any complaints or issues that might have a negative impact. The key is to respond quickly and politely and to follow through on any reassurances or promises. If the complaint escalates, you should encourage the customer to discuss the matter privately.
If you dig a little, you will find that there are hundreds of online reputation monitoring tools available. Be wary of paying for them as there are great tools available at no cost. There is little point in paying for a tool when applications like Google Alerts and Minggl serve the same purpose for free. The key in identifying an online reputation management service worth paying for is whether it adds value by providing you with something you don’t have the capacity for in-house i.e. professionally written management responses which are far more beneficial to the busy hotelier. Automated monitoring tools which post standard responses to reviews undermine the purpose of the exercise – ultimately to cultivate long standing relationships with previous guests, listen to their feedback, learn from their comments and keep them coming back to your hotel as often as possible.
Social media websites such as Facebook can also play a vital role in online reputation management, enabling you to cultivate relationships over the web with potential guests. Ideally, there should be synergy between social media marketing and online reputation management strategies. Consistent messages should be reflected through all mediums. If you get great feedback on a review website, you should encourage that person to follow your hotel on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace or alternatively to follow your blogs. Social media pages go further than simply providing a forum for reviews; they facilitate photo-sharing, comments, conversation and are a perfect arena for subtle and effective marketing campaigns. Launching promotions specific to your social media audience is a sure fire way of acquiring more fans and followers. Whilst this does not necessarily impede any future negative reviews, it is a fantastic method of engaging positive reviewers and potential guests sourcing future travel destinations and hotels.
When managing social media profiles, here are some key principles to keep in mind:
• The conversation about you will go on with or without you. Make sure you’re taking part or even steering it.
• Present your social media profiles as a way for people to connect with others to discuss your hotel - not solely to receive marketing messages. Encourage your fans to “tell the story”.
• Promote photo-sharing to your fans. Maybe consider a photo-contest.
• Get hotel staff involved in blogging, posting and interacting.
Hoteliers have sources at their finger tips to ensure happy guests are nurtured and public negative reviews are avoided. By demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction to past and potential future guests, you are giving your hotel the best possible chance of securing future reservations and evading any damage to your hotel’s reputation.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides online reputation management services and social media management services to hotels globally.
GlobRes connects hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to marketing@globres.com
So where should you start? Resource limitation and budget constraints are common problems for smaller hotels. Investing in an automated reputation monitoring tool may therefore seem a long way off, especially if you have only recently implemented a web booking engine. You may be reluctant to pursue trends you do not view as ‘proven’ to generate revenue. But the facts cannot be ignored - credibility of reviews among consumers is high within the hotel sector and therefore has a direct impact on your revenue.
Firstly you must identify what is being said about your property on the most popular review sites on the internet. Don’t expect to monitor hundreds of sites effectively - the sensible places to start are TripAdvisor, Expedia and Google. Hotels have the opportunity to respond publicly to reviews on each of these platforms. Posting management responses to reviews is a great way of demonstrating commitment to customer satisfaction and it will enable you to remedy any complaints or issues that might have a negative impact. The key is to respond quickly and politely and to follow through on any reassurances or promises. If the complaint escalates, you should encourage the customer to discuss the matter privately.
If you dig a little, you will find that there are hundreds of online reputation monitoring tools available. Be wary of paying for them as there are great tools available at no cost. There is little point in paying for a tool when applications like Google Alerts and Minggl serve the same purpose for free. The key in identifying an online reputation management service worth paying for is whether it adds value by providing you with something you don’t have the capacity for in-house i.e. professionally written management responses which are far more beneficial to the busy hotelier. Automated monitoring tools which post standard responses to reviews undermine the purpose of the exercise – ultimately to cultivate long standing relationships with previous guests, listen to their feedback, learn from their comments and keep them coming back to your hotel as often as possible.
Social media websites such as Facebook can also play a vital role in online reputation management, enabling you to cultivate relationships over the web with potential guests. Ideally, there should be synergy between social media marketing and online reputation management strategies. Consistent messages should be reflected through all mediums. If you get great feedback on a review website, you should encourage that person to follow your hotel on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace or alternatively to follow your blogs. Social media pages go further than simply providing a forum for reviews; they facilitate photo-sharing, comments, conversation and are a perfect arena for subtle and effective marketing campaigns. Launching promotions specific to your social media audience is a sure fire way of acquiring more fans and followers. Whilst this does not necessarily impede any future negative reviews, it is a fantastic method of engaging positive reviewers and potential guests sourcing future travel destinations and hotels.
When managing social media profiles, here are some key principles to keep in mind:
• The conversation about you will go on with or without you. Make sure you’re taking part or even steering it.
• Present your social media profiles as a way for people to connect with others to discuss your hotel - not solely to receive marketing messages. Encourage your fans to “tell the story”.
• Promote photo-sharing to your fans. Maybe consider a photo-contest.
• Get hotel staff involved in blogging, posting and interacting.
Hoteliers have sources at their finger tips to ensure happy guests are nurtured and public negative reviews are avoided. By demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction to past and potential future guests, you are giving your hotel the best possible chance of securing future reservations and evading any damage to your hotel’s reputation.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides online reputation management services and social media management services to hotels globally.
GlobRes connects hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to marketing@globres.com
Monday, January 25, 2010
Innovative Hoteliers are Set for a Lucrative 2010
Despite the doom and gloom of the recession, GlobRes hotels have thrived throughout the year. Using a blend of innovate marketing, appropriate hotel technology and dynamic rate management, these hotels have not only weathered the storm, but are set for a lucrative 2010. GlobRes is pleased to share these good news stories from hotels that do not simply enjoy success based on a brand name, or successes of the past, but are constantly refining their internal processes and strategies to ensure success in the future.
The Miller of Mansfield in the United Kingdom epitomises a ‘hands on’ approach to maximise distribution, using special promotions and loading dynamic packaging into the web booking engine. The hotel has also implemented stay restrictions, which have been hugely beneficial in generating more revenue. Playing to its strengths and unique selling points, the hotel attracts many business travellers through the week. The promotion of the hotel’s restaurant plays a vital role in this; it has become very well known throughout the area. Despite being a small property with only 13 rooms, the hotel’s bookings through the GDS continue to rise every month. This is due to the hotel’s continued commitment to managing the GDS effectively with the help of GlobRes.
Marketing opportunities through new websites, pay-per-click adverts, online PR and blogs can seem endless, but because they have become travelers' tools of choice, marketing through these mediums needs to be effective. Embracing this, the Akassia resort in Egypt overhauled the design of their website earlier this year. Wissam Jindy at the Akassia found the thought of a complete redesign very daunting, but was relieved when the Digital Marketing Team at GlobRes took the reigns. Wissam commented “The new website is far more user-friendly and is simple, compact and to the point.” Wissam chose from a plethora of website templates available from GlobRes. The chosen design fit the hotel’s digital image and guaranteed a good solid foundation with best practice on-page SEO incorporated. The Akassia resort had, until now, shied away from any specific digital marketing initiatives through concern that the website would not convert visitors into reservations. With the new website live, Wissam is now embarking on a Google AdWords campaign through GlobRes to generate quality, targeted traffic direct to the site. Hence, 2010 promises to be another exciting year for this forward thinking hotel.
Social Media networks are rapidly consuming the online environment and evolving the use of the Internet for hoteliers. Michael Vogt at the Layana Spa Resort in Thailand has jumped on board the social media bandwagon and created a number of social media networks. He engages with the hotel’s online followers on a day-to-day basis, maintaining effective relationships with potential and past guests. “I feel Facebook looks much better than the other social networks – and really gives you a ‘fan club’ feeling. I have now connected two systems, which means that if I update something on Facebook, it will also be linked to a “tweet” on Twitter. Because of this, I only work with Facebook and have twitter updated automatically.” Hotel social media management promises to play a critical role in customer relations and online reputation management in the future. For this reason, Michael is looking forward to capturing more of his online audience by creating a MySpace page in the New Year.
The Arenula Hotel in Rome, Italy, owes much of its success through 2009 to strong direction, management and a ‘hands on’ approach to technology. This hotel engages with the systems in place, to ensure the very best is achieved through the GDS. Listening to advice from GlobRes, the team are proactive and update prices and extra rooms in their inventory on a daily basis. The hotel also invests time in RedX, loading promotional rates and offers. This kind of commitment has resulted in monthly increases of up to 50% in terms of reservations. The Manager at the Arenula commented “the Support Team was very helpful during the installation and training of the program. We receive prompt replies in case of any questions we may have concerning the system.”
There is no defined list of do’s or don’ts for sustainability during the recession – what works for some hotels will not work for others. Ensuring you move with the times in terms of distribution is certainly vital, but your level of engagement with it will impact on the degree to which you are successful. The City Hotel in Dubai has proved this. GlobRes identified that fundamental changes to the rate structures on the GDS were required in order to maximise production. Therefore, their account manager suggested a simplified rate and room structure, which was taken on board by the hotel. These vital changes made the property easier to view, sell and manage on the GDS. Furthermore an “early bird” rate plan suggested by GlobRes has been very popular. Travellers benefit from a 10% discount if they book a week in advance, payment must be made upfront and the hotel will not accept cancellations. Ultimately, this type of engagement with the GDS has played a major role in increasing the hotel's revenue.
In spite of the economic downturn and its’ impact on the travel industry, GlobRes hotels are seeing high occupancy levels and increasing revenue. These hotels are forward thinking, creative and innovative and do not simply attempt to weather the storm by relying on outdated strategies. Hotels receive invaluable support and guidance from a proactive team of professionals at GlobRes resulting in more revenue, happy guests and happy staff.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
The Miller of Mansfield in the United Kingdom epitomises a ‘hands on’ approach to maximise distribution, using special promotions and loading dynamic packaging into the web booking engine. The hotel has also implemented stay restrictions, which have been hugely beneficial in generating more revenue. Playing to its strengths and unique selling points, the hotel attracts many business travellers through the week. The promotion of the hotel’s restaurant plays a vital role in this; it has become very well known throughout the area. Despite being a small property with only 13 rooms, the hotel’s bookings through the GDS continue to rise every month. This is due to the hotel’s continued commitment to managing the GDS effectively with the help of GlobRes.
Marketing opportunities through new websites, pay-per-click adverts, online PR and blogs can seem endless, but because they have become travelers' tools of choice, marketing through these mediums needs to be effective. Embracing this, the Akassia resort in Egypt overhauled the design of their website earlier this year. Wissam Jindy at the Akassia found the thought of a complete redesign very daunting, but was relieved when the Digital Marketing Team at GlobRes took the reigns. Wissam commented “The new website is far more user-friendly and is simple, compact and to the point.” Wissam chose from a plethora of website templates available from GlobRes. The chosen design fit the hotel’s digital image and guaranteed a good solid foundation with best practice on-page SEO incorporated. The Akassia resort had, until now, shied away from any specific digital marketing initiatives through concern that the website would not convert visitors into reservations. With the new website live, Wissam is now embarking on a Google AdWords campaign through GlobRes to generate quality, targeted traffic direct to the site. Hence, 2010 promises to be another exciting year for this forward thinking hotel.
Social Media networks are rapidly consuming the online environment and evolving the use of the Internet for hoteliers. Michael Vogt at the Layana Spa Resort in Thailand has jumped on board the social media bandwagon and created a number of social media networks. He engages with the hotel’s online followers on a day-to-day basis, maintaining effective relationships with potential and past guests. “I feel Facebook looks much better than the other social networks – and really gives you a ‘fan club’ feeling. I have now connected two systems, which means that if I update something on Facebook, it will also be linked to a “tweet” on Twitter. Because of this, I only work with Facebook and have twitter updated automatically.” Hotel social media management promises to play a critical role in customer relations and online reputation management in the future. For this reason, Michael is looking forward to capturing more of his online audience by creating a MySpace page in the New Year.
The Arenula Hotel in Rome, Italy, owes much of its success through 2009 to strong direction, management and a ‘hands on’ approach to technology. This hotel engages with the systems in place, to ensure the very best is achieved through the GDS. Listening to advice from GlobRes, the team are proactive and update prices and extra rooms in their inventory on a daily basis. The hotel also invests time in RedX, loading promotional rates and offers. This kind of commitment has resulted in monthly increases of up to 50% in terms of reservations. The Manager at the Arenula commented “the Support Team was very helpful during the installation and training of the program. We receive prompt replies in case of any questions we may have concerning the system.”
There is no defined list of do’s or don’ts for sustainability during the recession – what works for some hotels will not work for others. Ensuring you move with the times in terms of distribution is certainly vital, but your level of engagement with it will impact on the degree to which you are successful. The City Hotel in Dubai has proved this. GlobRes identified that fundamental changes to the rate structures on the GDS were required in order to maximise production. Therefore, their account manager suggested a simplified rate and room structure, which was taken on board by the hotel. These vital changes made the property easier to view, sell and manage on the GDS. Furthermore an “early bird” rate plan suggested by GlobRes has been very popular. Travellers benefit from a 10% discount if they book a week in advance, payment must be made upfront and the hotel will not accept cancellations. Ultimately, this type of engagement with the GDS has played a major role in increasing the hotel's revenue.
In spite of the economic downturn and its’ impact on the travel industry, GlobRes hotels are seeing high occupancy levels and increasing revenue. These hotels are forward thinking, creative and innovative and do not simply attempt to weather the storm by relying on outdated strategies. Hotels receive invaluable support and guidance from a proactive team of professionals at GlobRes resulting in more revenue, happy guests and happy staff.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Create an online marketing strategy for your hotel to maximize your web exposure
Whilst traditional marketing in the forms of radio, TV, print advertising and public relations can be effective for brand promotion and brand reinforcement, the direct impact on generating hotel bookings is limited and the bookings it does generate cannot be measured accurately. Alternatively, online marketing allows you to target potential guests who are actively looking for hotels like yours. Online marketing encompasses varying activities ensuring you target potential guests based on their needs and requirements matched to your hotel offerings. Instead of casting your net wide you are pin-pointing your audience guaranteeing a return on investment that is better and measurable.
Online marketing includes a range of activities that should be considered for your hotel’s marketing strategy. Every hotel is different and needs to be treated accordingly; therefore a blend of website development, search engine optimisation, social media and pay-per-click advertising should be used where appropriate.
Hotel Website Development:
Your hotel’s website is the digital image of your hotel. With most travelers turning to the internet to find suitable accommodation, your website is the first impression a potential guest will get of your hotel. Therefore its importance to drive online sales must not be underestimated - hoteliers must cast a critical eye over the website, its design & format, content, page titles, and images. From a user-friendly perspective it must be easy to navigate around, from a technical perspective it must be search engine friendly and quick to load. I see hotel websites every day that are completely aesthetically unappealing – ranging from bad colour schemes, invisible page titles, poor quality images to overly flashy with no substance. In this “digital era” this is tantamount to internet suicide. Choose your website developer carefully, hotel websites should be designed by people who understand hotels and have experience working for or with hotels. Website development can vary in cost depending on your agency choice. The return on investment anticipated for a good website redesign means that if it is required, you should invest that money. In a HeBS case study a redesigned hotel website paid for itself within 3 months in online sales.
Search Engine Optimisation:
Having a search engine friendly website is the first step towards search engine visibility. Ensuring you have a search engine friendly website means the search engines are able to index every page. It is the indexing process that determines the sites value and relevance for search terms. Therefore, you must go further than simply making your site index-able. You must proactively encourage the search engines to return to the site by updating your website with fresh and exciting content regularly. You must also create inbound links to your website from other relevant sites – if no other sites are linked to yours the search engines will register that no other sites find your website valuable or important. Distributing PR about your hotel to destination related websites and a selection of social media and travel blogs is a quick, easy and effective way to start. Hotel SEO can be managed and delivered in-house if you have the resources, but for most hoteliers handing over these activities to professionals means time is better spent elsewhere.
Social Media
Online conversations regarding your hotel continually reinforce its online presence to your target audience. Therefore the importance of tactical social media activities cannot be ignored. Hotels are finding out the hard way that conversations about them are happening online and online communities can be breeding grounds for speculation and rumours. Using social media to manage this risk and to deliver positives to counteract any negatives can be more than just effective in terms of negating any bad press, but also to build your positive “brand noise” and create “brand buzz” around your hotel’s website. Social media is personal and it’s interactive. By utilising this 21st century means of reaching a target audience hoteliers can build deeper relationships that last longer and customer loyalty is reinforced rather than a thing of the past. The Layana Resort in Thailand uses a Facebook page to keep its “fans” updated. The page attracts past and potential guests alike and allows them to share experiences and pictures. It is also the perfect arena for the hotel’s manager to advertise special offers and promotions. This online community is growing daily and is the digital alternative to “word of mouth” the power of which is endless.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising:
Developing a paid search campaign gives your hotel an instant presence in the search engine page results. Best of all you can control where your adverts are positioned on the page with your bid price per keyword. Making your adverts attractive and relevant to the search is imperative to attract the visitor. You must also ensure the landing page of the advert is the most relevant page of your website, and if you have adverts in different languages, the landing page should be the webpage in the corresponding language. For hotels with a global client base cultural search behaviours and buying patterns must be incorporated into both your website and marketing strategy. Pay-Per-Click requires budget investment. It is certainly worth establishing how much you need to be spending to get relevant traffic to your website. Google actually provides you with an online estimator where you can choose your keywords and see how much it costs. Using a professional hotel pay per click agency to plan, develop, optimise and manage your campaigns means you can let the professionals do the work and be kept updated with detailed reports and statistics.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with the web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Online marketing includes a range of activities that should be considered for your hotel’s marketing strategy. Every hotel is different and needs to be treated accordingly; therefore a blend of website development, search engine optimisation, social media and pay-per-click advertising should be used where appropriate.
Hotel Website Development:
Your hotel’s website is the digital image of your hotel. With most travelers turning to the internet to find suitable accommodation, your website is the first impression a potential guest will get of your hotel. Therefore its importance to drive online sales must not be underestimated - hoteliers must cast a critical eye over the website, its design & format, content, page titles, and images. From a user-friendly perspective it must be easy to navigate around, from a technical perspective it must be search engine friendly and quick to load. I see hotel websites every day that are completely aesthetically unappealing – ranging from bad colour schemes, invisible page titles, poor quality images to overly flashy with no substance. In this “digital era” this is tantamount to internet suicide. Choose your website developer carefully, hotel websites should be designed by people who understand hotels and have experience working for or with hotels. Website development can vary in cost depending on your agency choice. The return on investment anticipated for a good website redesign means that if it is required, you should invest that money. In a HeBS case study a redesigned hotel website paid for itself within 3 months in online sales.
Search Engine Optimisation:
Having a search engine friendly website is the first step towards search engine visibility. Ensuring you have a search engine friendly website means the search engines are able to index every page. It is the indexing process that determines the sites value and relevance for search terms. Therefore, you must go further than simply making your site index-able. You must proactively encourage the search engines to return to the site by updating your website with fresh and exciting content regularly. You must also create inbound links to your website from other relevant sites – if no other sites are linked to yours the search engines will register that no other sites find your website valuable or important. Distributing PR about your hotel to destination related websites and a selection of social media and travel blogs is a quick, easy and effective way to start. Hotel SEO can be managed and delivered in-house if you have the resources, but for most hoteliers handing over these activities to professionals means time is better spent elsewhere.
Social Media
Online conversations regarding your hotel continually reinforce its online presence to your target audience. Therefore the importance of tactical social media activities cannot be ignored. Hotels are finding out the hard way that conversations about them are happening online and online communities can be breeding grounds for speculation and rumours. Using social media to manage this risk and to deliver positives to counteract any negatives can be more than just effective in terms of negating any bad press, but also to build your positive “brand noise” and create “brand buzz” around your hotel’s website. Social media is personal and it’s interactive. By utilising this 21st century means of reaching a target audience hoteliers can build deeper relationships that last longer and customer loyalty is reinforced rather than a thing of the past. The Layana Resort in Thailand uses a Facebook page to keep its “fans” updated. The page attracts past and potential guests alike and allows them to share experiences and pictures. It is also the perfect arena for the hotel’s manager to advertise special offers and promotions. This online community is growing daily and is the digital alternative to “word of mouth” the power of which is endless.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising:
Developing a paid search campaign gives your hotel an instant presence in the search engine page results. Best of all you can control where your adverts are positioned on the page with your bid price per keyword. Making your adverts attractive and relevant to the search is imperative to attract the visitor. You must also ensure the landing page of the advert is the most relevant page of your website, and if you have adverts in different languages, the landing page should be the webpage in the corresponding language. For hotels with a global client base cultural search behaviours and buying patterns must be incorporated into both your website and marketing strategy. Pay-Per-Click requires budget investment. It is certainly worth establishing how much you need to be spending to get relevant traffic to your website. Google actually provides you with an online estimator where you can choose your keywords and see how much it costs. Using a professional hotel pay per click agency to plan, develop, optimise and manage your campaigns means you can let the professionals do the work and be kept updated with detailed reports and statistics.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with the web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Monday, August 10, 2009
Be creative and maximise your hotel’s revenue, discounting is not the answer!
While hoteliers suffer sleepless nights the debate continues as to whether they should discount prices in light of the economic climate. In reality, it has never been more important to revisit your revenue and pricing strategies. Research shows that discounting prices can have both long and short term negative effects and when one hotel discounts prices, the competition soon follows. This renders the activity purposeless and can potentially damage future profitability. This isn’t to say that Revenue Managers cannot respond to the down-turn appropriately with calculated alternatives that will ensure sustainability during these challenging times. Creative thinking and marketing is certainly key - but where should hoteliers focus their efforts?
Hotels will always approach the concept of “special offers & promotions” differently according to their budget and clientele. A hotel in Melbourne is currently offering the chance to win a SMART car if you choose to host your conference, meeting or exhibition at the hotel. This promotion is used to incentivise potential clients into booking this venue above the competition. Of course, many hotels will not have the budget to offer such a prize but this does not mean the concept wouldn’t work on a smaller scale. A spa resort in Thailand is currently offering a weather guarantee too all guests at the hotel during the rainy season. If there is a full day of rain guests are entitled to gain a full refund in credits for treatments at the hotel’s spa.
Generating ancillary revenue is a further innovative way of optimising your hotel’s profits–maximise revenue from your existing bookings rather than culling your prices in an attempt to gain more reservations. Offering local tours and activities have proven to boost revenue, this also serves to add value to your website in terms of content. Remember, guests generally choose destination before hotel. Therefore adding web page content that relates to the destination (and your relationships with it through tours and activities) will only have a positive influence on a potential guest’s choice. The new pages will also be indexed by the search engines and should enhance your overall online visibility for new search terms.
Using opaque channels is a simple way to get rid of distressed inventory and best of all you can maintain rate integrity. An opaque channel makes parts of the online sales process hidden, for example the hotel name. By using opaque channels you can offer prices that are significantly lower than published rates. Hotels can price discriminate between those customers who are sensitive to service characteristics and those who are not and profit from such discrimination. Taking a look at your customer segments can also be beneficial in establishing how to tackle discounts and special offers. Customers vary in terms of price sensitivity; there are still potential guests who do not expect discounts! Make sure you consider this fragment of potential guests.
Hoteliers must adapt revenue management and pricing strategies to take advantage of new trends in customer behaviour and distribution. For that reason, appropriate representation on GDS channels and IDS channels will increase electronic sales for suitable hotels. The number of reservations being generated through these channels is growing steadily. GDS and IDS account for 60% of online bookings so for suitable hotels, there couldn’t be a better time to invest. Hoteliers must remember the majority of potential guests are not brand loyal nor do they have a fixed booking pattern; they simply book from the hotel offering them the best deal. The unpredictability of such behavior means that hotels must maintain a presence on all possible distribution channels if they want a sizeable share of the online market.
Creative ideas, promotions and marketing are effective alternatives to discounting your prices. Maximising revenue from existing bookings and adding value to your guest’s experiences will ensure more repeat business and optimised profits.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Hotels will always approach the concept of “special offers & promotions” differently according to their budget and clientele. A hotel in Melbourne is currently offering the chance to win a SMART car if you choose to host your conference, meeting or exhibition at the hotel. This promotion is used to incentivise potential clients into booking this venue above the competition. Of course, many hotels will not have the budget to offer such a prize but this does not mean the concept wouldn’t work on a smaller scale. A spa resort in Thailand is currently offering a weather guarantee too all guests at the hotel during the rainy season. If there is a full day of rain guests are entitled to gain a full refund in credits for treatments at the hotel’s spa.
Generating ancillary revenue is a further innovative way of optimising your hotel’s profits–maximise revenue from your existing bookings rather than culling your prices in an attempt to gain more reservations. Offering local tours and activities have proven to boost revenue, this also serves to add value to your website in terms of content. Remember, guests generally choose destination before hotel. Therefore adding web page content that relates to the destination (and your relationships with it through tours and activities) will only have a positive influence on a potential guest’s choice. The new pages will also be indexed by the search engines and should enhance your overall online visibility for new search terms.
Using opaque channels is a simple way to get rid of distressed inventory and best of all you can maintain rate integrity. An opaque channel makes parts of the online sales process hidden, for example the hotel name. By using opaque channels you can offer prices that are significantly lower than published rates. Hotels can price discriminate between those customers who are sensitive to service characteristics and those who are not and profit from such discrimination. Taking a look at your customer segments can also be beneficial in establishing how to tackle discounts and special offers. Customers vary in terms of price sensitivity; there are still potential guests who do not expect discounts! Make sure you consider this fragment of potential guests.
Hoteliers must adapt revenue management and pricing strategies to take advantage of new trends in customer behaviour and distribution. For that reason, appropriate representation on GDS channels and IDS channels will increase electronic sales for suitable hotels. The number of reservations being generated through these channels is growing steadily. GDS and IDS account for 60% of online bookings so for suitable hotels, there couldn’t be a better time to invest. Hoteliers must remember the majority of potential guests are not brand loyal nor do they have a fixed booking pattern; they simply book from the hotel offering them the best deal. The unpredictability of such behavior means that hotels must maintain a presence on all possible distribution channels if they want a sizeable share of the online market.
Creative ideas, promotions and marketing are effective alternatives to discounting your prices. Maximising revenue from existing bookings and adding value to your guest’s experiences will ensure more repeat business and optimised profits.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Monday, June 15, 2009
Do you read your Hotel’s reviews on Trip Advisor? If not, it’s certainly time you did…
The explosion of consumer generated content on the web means that more than ever hoteliers should monitor their brand online and respond to reviews and forum posts accordingly. Statistics show that over 24 million consumers are reviewing hotels on Trip Advisor every month! Here is a little advice on making Trip Advisor and other hotel review sites work for you rather than against you.
Many hoteliers feel animosity towards Trip Advisor believing it to be a breeding ground for disgruntled ex employees or competitors writing bogus negative reviews. In truth these types of occurrences are few and far between and Trip Advisor has put measures in place to ensure the validity of the reviews that are placed on the website. One measure is to show users previous reviews by the same reviewer making it easier to gauge a real review against a fake one.
Hoteliers must accept that Trip Advisor is not going anywhere, it is time to engage with the website and work the system. In doing this you ensure that you are aware of what your guests are saying about you, responding publicly to these comments and therefore interacting with your online community. You can upload images, factual information about your hotel and upload new content. If you feel you wish to respond to a review, write a “management response” this could be an explanation, a correction or if appropriate, a compliment to a reviewer. It enables you to give your side of the story as well as give your potential guests confidence because you are demonstrating that you care enough to monitor what your customers say about you. A well crafted management response can go a long way.
Some hoteliers have been caught trying to cheat Trip Advisor and write their own reviews however there is monitoring practices in place to detect this activity. If you really want to positively influence your hotel’s ratings do it the best way possible – truthfully! You may send Trip Advisor any missing articles and reviews on your hotel, why not ask your guests to write a review? If a guest leaving the hotel drops a complimentary comment your way ask them to share this on Trip Advisor. Over time this activity will add up to a profile on Trip Advisor that reflects your hotel fairly.
Don’t bury your head in the sand, your guests deserve better! Use Trip Advisor to your advantage. The power of online reviews should not be underestimated – good reviews mean more reservations.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com
Many hoteliers feel animosity towards Trip Advisor believing it to be a breeding ground for disgruntled ex employees or competitors writing bogus negative reviews. In truth these types of occurrences are few and far between and Trip Advisor has put measures in place to ensure the validity of the reviews that are placed on the website. One measure is to show users previous reviews by the same reviewer making it easier to gauge a real review against a fake one.
Hoteliers must accept that Trip Advisor is not going anywhere, it is time to engage with the website and work the system. In doing this you ensure that you are aware of what your guests are saying about you, responding publicly to these comments and therefore interacting with your online community. You can upload images, factual information about your hotel and upload new content. If you feel you wish to respond to a review, write a “management response” this could be an explanation, a correction or if appropriate, a compliment to a reviewer. It enables you to give your side of the story as well as give your potential guests confidence because you are demonstrating that you care enough to monitor what your customers say about you. A well crafted management response can go a long way.
Some hoteliers have been caught trying to cheat Trip Advisor and write their own reviews however there is monitoring practices in place to detect this activity. If you really want to positively influence your hotel’s ratings do it the best way possible – truthfully! You may send Trip Advisor any missing articles and reviews on your hotel, why not ask your guests to write a review? If a guest leaving the hotel drops a complimentary comment your way ask them to share this on Trip Advisor. Over time this activity will add up to a profile on Trip Advisor that reflects your hotel fairly.
Don’t bury your head in the sand, your guests deserve better! Use Trip Advisor to your advantage. The power of online reviews should not be underestimated – good reviews mean more reservations.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
