Hotel Merchandise Ideas to Boost Revenue and Brand Presence
Creating, promoting, and stocking hotel merchandise is a significant undertaking for busy hoteliers. However, the potential payoff can be worth it. Travelers are always looking to take a piece of their destination home with them or for their loved ones. While selling souvenirs in your gift shop isn’t new, hoteliers are taking this concept to […]
How Hotels Can Harness Popular Culture to Make Money
Have you heard of Taylor Swift? Of course. But have you heard of the Swift Effect? CNN recently reported on the phenomenon of the effect Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is having on the travel industry. As airlines increase seats to locations to coincide with concert dates (bringing enormous wave after wave of Swifties to the […]
How Small Hotels Can Win Bookings
Being a small, independent hotel competing with big chains can feel like a David and Goliath scenario. While brand giants possess resources you don’t, there are plenty of ways to wield your slingshot and compete for bookings. Chains may have more muscle—and money—behind them, but independent hotels are often nimbler and more creative. Here’s how […]
Hospitality By The Numbers: 40+ Stats You Should Know
You can better manage what you measure. Knowing your numbers lends valuable insight for hoteliers as they plan and strategize for the year ahead. Collected here are various statistics and forecasts to inform you of important global and local trends, revenue drivers, cancellation rates, market insights, and guest/consumer preferences. As you plan your 2024 strategies, […]
A Hotelier’s Guide to Responding to Online Reviews
Consumers rely heavily on reviews to make purchasing decisions. The quantity and quality of online reviews help them decide what to buy or where to book, which makes reviews critical to a business’s success. As of 2021, 99.9 percent of US consumers look at them when they shop, at least some of the time. But […]
9 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Hotel Website
Your hotel website is your carefully designed lobby on the internet, and like your lobby, it needs people to make it work. With strong traffic, a website is a powerful asset. It increases brand awareness, adds to the guest experience, and, most importantly, brings in commission-free bookings. It’s the one online space that is entirely […]
Marketing Priorities for Independent Hoteliers This Year
Hotel website, automated emails, reviews, OTAs, digital ads, social media, Google. There’s no shortage of ways to market your hotel. But for busy hoteliers with mounting priorities and limited resources, how do you get to them all? With so many marketing channels and blogs with bright ideas, it can get confusing about which shiny new […]
Harness 2024 Travel Trends to Boost Bookings
“New year, new you” … and a new hospitality industry. From pop culture and special vibes to sustainable practices and wellness retreats, travelers are inspired by many facets of the modern world when it comes to the destinations, experiences, and accommodations they seek. They’re not just checking off bucket lists anymore. Both Expedia and Booking.com […]
Five Habits of a Successful Hotelier
Whether you’ve been running a hotel for decades or are brand new to the game, reflecting on your practices as a hotelier is always a valuable exercise. Nobody’s perfect, but taking the time to consider your methods and improve where you can points you in that direction. Curious if you’re doing everything in your power […]
Data Power! How to Use Your PMS to Drive Bookings
Marketing efforts are usually front of mind when it comes to boosting bookings, but what’s behind a good marketing strategy? In more ways than one, your property management system (PMS) is at the heart of driving reservations—not just managing them. We’re not only talking about decreasing rates when occupancy is low; the secret to generating […]
Why & How to Grow Hotel Partnerships
The hospitality industry is overflowing with countless booking options, guest experiences, and special deals and discounts—each better than the last! Now more than ever, hoteliers must pull out all the stops to stand out. There’s only so much they can do on their own, but partnering with other companies allows properties to diversify their services […]
A Hotelier’s Guide to Collecting and Using First-party Data
In the ever-evolving landscape of the hospitality industry, independent hoteliers are facing a shift. Third-party data—such as data purchased from marketing companies or collected through cookies—was once a cornerstone for understanding guest preferences and market trends but is gradually disappearing due to privacy concerns and changing regulations. While third-party data provides convenience, a move away […]
An Independent Hotelier’s Guide to CAC
Customer acquisition costs (CAC) are more or less what they sound like—how much money it costs to bring in a new guest. OTA commissions, transaction fees, loyalty programs, advertising campaigns, and sales and marketing personnel all contribute to the cost of acquiring new customers. But why is knowing this important, and how do you measure […]
6 Impactful Ways to Adapt Your Hotel to Climate Change
Climate change isn’t coming anymore. It’s here. This year, we’ve seen record-breaking temperatures, devastating wildfires, unusually aggressive storms, and unprecedented flooding around the globe. None of this is particularly good for travel. While you can and should make your hotel as sustainable as possible, you need to find ways to weather climate change as well […]
Social Media Dos and Don’ts: A Hoteliers’ Guide
It’s doubtful any hotel owner in this day and age needs to be convinced of the importance of social media marketing (it isn’t 2004 anymore or even 2014). But acknowledging the need to be on social media platforms isn’t enough. You need to make sure you’re doing it right. Here are the most important social […]
How to Create a Niche Luxury Hotel Experience
Even with post-pandemic uncertainty, plenty of people look to experience the high life when they travel…and they’re willing to pay for it. The luxury travel market is expected to more than double from $638.2 billion in 2021 to $1650.5 billion in 2031. From Rodin-inspired pastries to 24-karat gold facial masks, here’s how to attract these […]
Take Direct Bookings through Facebook
With three billion monthly users, Facebook is the place to be on the internet. The social media giant cannot be ignored by any business that wants to engage with customers. Chances are you already invest plenty of energy into cultivating your property’s Facebook presence, and we think that’s great! Now it’s time to get an […]
If You List It, They Will Come: A Hotel’s Guide to Google Business Profiles
Most people planning a vacation start with a Google search. That’s why you work so hard to optimize your website’s search results placement with SEO strategies. And you should. But it’s not all you can do to make the platform work for you. Maintaining your Google Business Profile is an important step to stay competitive […]
Responding to Positive Hotel Reviews: Are You Making These Common Mistakes?
You have no doubt given much thought to responding to negative reviews, but what about the positive ones? Responding appropriately to positive reviews is also important for maintaining your hotel’s reputation and increasing guest loyalty. Don’t miss this opportunity to build stronger connections and highlight your property’s winning attributes to potential guests. Responding appropriately to […]
6 Ways Hotels Can Boost Midweek Occupancy
Filling rooms during slower travel times is important to ensure your business’s long-term success and relevancy. Contrary to instinct, drastically reducing room rates won’t guarantee midweek bookings. In fact, it eats into your profits and undermines your hotel’s credibility. While price is a major factor in planning travel (especially with current inflation and for millennial […]
Travel Trends and Guest Expectations by Generation
It’s a tall order to find common ground in a group of people born between 1946 and 2012. Spanning four generations, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y/Millennials, and Gen Z play influential roles in shaping the travel industry for different reasons. Much of what you do to target a specific generation will invariably appeal to […]
Pandemic Hotel Trends That Are Here to Stay
The pandemic is slowly fading, and people are just as enthusiastic for travel as they were before. However, the hospitality industry is not returning to 2019 but instead moving forward with innovative concepts and technology accelerated by the pandemic. To look ahead, we need to look back at “pandemic trends” that are now the norm. […]
Why and How to Identify Your Hotel’s Compset
Learn how you stack up against the competition by building an accurate hotel compset. Short for hotel competitive set, this is a group of lodgings that are direct competitors with your own. Analyzing your hotel’s compset unveils information to help you stand out from these competitors and become the most desirable option. Basically, you must identify […]
A Hotelier’s Guide to Social Media Marketing by Channel
The internet is a big place filled with office memes, cat videos, and competitor hotels. And while you don’t have to be everywhere, you do have to be where your target audience is. In addition to a mobile-friendly website, your hotel needs to be on the right OTAs and social media channels. An estimated 4.9 […]
