A blog is one of the most captivating, and one of my favorite, hospitality marketing strategies.  With a blog you can share information about your destination that your stagnant website can’t, while keeping your site fresh and frequently updated. However,  marketing a hotel with your blog can get...read more

For your hotel to be successful in Google’s world, you have to play by Google’s rules. This means an integral part of your hotel marketing strategy should include high-quality, FRESH and unique online content that authentically drives people to your Web site. But, what would you update on your...read more

This week marks the anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell sending the message, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you" to his assistant using electricity to transmit speech for the very first time. I often wonder what he would think of the developments his ingenuity influenced. The article, "The...read more

A key to repeat business is pleasing the business traveler. As a frequent traveler myself, I like to select my seat on an airplane. I prefer more legroom and an aisle seat. I will even pay a little extra for that comfort. When I take a cruise, I'll pay a little more to select the cabin I prefer,...read more

In her article, Social Media Serves Up Sales, Francine Cohen, the Associate Editor of Hotel Interactive Editorial Division, points out that social media is driving business to hotels by highlighting their  excellent food and beverage offerings. The hotels that reach out using high tech social media,...read more

Watkins Research Group, a business-to-business research organization, published its  2012 Meeting and Convention Planners Survey where they polled 730 veteran planners about their love/hate relationship with CVBs and DMOs. Below is a synopsis of the research as presented in the January edition of...read more

Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and e-readers are outselling standard cell phones and computing devices nearly 2 to 1 according to Forbes magazine. If your hotel property isn't sure about the impact of these devices on the business traveler or group business bookings, you need to...read more

Remember when Grandma's telephone was a shared line with the neighbors (a party line) and the only computers were in big hidden rooms in banks and other businesses? Remember when you got your first cell phone and it stayed in the car because it was larger than a bread box? Remember your first...read more

One of the biggest FAM tour turn-offs starts prior to stepping foot in a hotel. Unorganized FAM tours can give a planner a poor impression of your property and create a negative connotation of what future business would be like. Some of the best practices about creating a FAM tour invitee list are...read more

Leisure, group business, and weddings are three traditional avenues that generate revenue for your hotel. Both a destination and a hotel can have peak, low and shoulder seasons based on how individuals and group business travel; influencers on these cycles can be geographic weather, the fiscal year,...read more

The last few weeks demanded a great deal of energy and time from you as the revenue manager at your hotel, but the 2012 reports are on the books and you have done everything you can with your team to build the bottom line most successfully. Just when you thought you could exhale, the fiscal cliff...read more

Your hotel puts extensive energy into landing the sale, detailing with the planner, and preparing the resume (event detail document). Once a meeting is executed successfully, the guests have moved on and the invoice is presented, a collective sigh is released and the next meeting is fast underway....read more

Remember when special requests were, well, special? Today, group attendees are more discerning than ever in what they want in food and beverage. The growing trend toward more natural foods and aging population will impact what we serve in the banquet room for our group business. Innova, a food and...read more

Meeting planners are continuously seeking the next great idea to add excitement and ROI to their group events. Christine Born and Libby Hoppe discuss "11 Ideas Changing Meetings" in Connect magazine, some of which you can incorporate into your meetings strategy as a hotelier in 2013. Below are five...read more

Of all the social channels out there, Google+ is by far the least understood and the most troubling for hospitality marketing staff. There are no vanity URLs yet (troubling) and it is hard to understand how to get people into your circle (even more problematic).  That being said, Google+ is not a...read more

Planners are ever vigilant when preparing event budgets, particularly the highly optic beverage expense. Increasing your beverage savvy and preparing beverage packages that suit a variety of needs will make you the "go-to" trusted advisor. Building client relationships with word of mouth beverage...read more

Hotel menu and outlet trends for 2013 revolve around sustainability, ethics, and health according to a survey by Horizon's Menurama, the U.K.'s leading analytical database of 115 food service operators. With increased exposure through television, social media and viral marketing, the customer is...read more

True story: A meeting planner who shall remain nameless reportedly booked her entire (petless) group in a pet friendly property based on the fact that she was able to take her four-legged friend who goes everywhere with her, even on business trips. Sound silly? Not to the thousands of pet friendly...read more

Every year, when the air turns a little crisper and the school buses add to my daily commute, I get the urge for fresh paper and pencils and the desire to read, to write and to grasp new concepts. School children and college students are hitting the books, attending lectures and completing daily...read more

Summer vacation season is just tapering off, but those sweltering temperatures are still hanging on. Hard to think about the upcoming holidays, but the time is NOW to design holiday packages that will entice groups to host their special occasions at your resort! How can you create a package that...read more