In the April 2013 edition of PCMA Convene magazine, Michael Gehrisch, President & CEO at DMAI summed up the future of DMOs the following way: "We're really committed, from a DMO standpoint, to help shape services that we provide to meeting planners so that they are planner-focused and relevant for...read more

“This business is all about being seen, and the more people see you the better.” - actress Debra Wilson   Exhibiting at trade shows is one of the many ways hotel sales teams can meet new prospective clients and increase group business. But you shouldn’t exhibit at just any trade show. You’ll want to...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

If you want a full house at your hotel, there are tactics and strategies to dominate your city’s market and sell out for events.   Once you capture the market, there are hotel marketing strategies to increase group revenue in various departments. To boost sales in a tactful way, focus on the needs...read more

Hotels offer points for guests who book and complete a stay at one of their locations. And in general, people feel accomplished and satisfied when they’re striving towards something that will offer a return. Think about the sandwich shop you visit at lunch - it’s all about getting another stamp for...read more

In the 4th quarter of 2012, Frequent Business Traveler magazine conducted research from a sample of 1,349 international business travelers to gain insight into their overall plans for travel in the coming year. In addition, the researchers learned about hotel and airline preferences which may have...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

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are terms that continue to create buzz in the hospitality and events industry. But what do these terms really mean and how can your convention center or hotel property start to engage in this process?  First, the definitions:...read more

Some hoteliers have identified a strong playing power that wins new group business. A typical contract between a hotel and planner lists services that are contracted for the particular group. However, the hotel winning group business is the one who can add the most goods and services valuable to the...read more

With the number of Facebook users at over 1 billion and given 79% of all organizations have a Facebook Fan page, it’s understandable that every hospitality marketing organization is clamoring to get noticed on Facebook.  The way you get noticed is through an algorithm Facebook derived called...read more

What’s the return on social media for unique meeting venues, hotels and conference centers? Great social media can build new relationships, strengthen customer loyalty and amplify the hotel’s message, while unmanaged social media can destroy customer relationships and churn a negative hotel...read more

After recent scandals about loosely spent money on a conference, it’s no surprise the meetings industry is changing. But on the flip side, scrutiny on business travel budgets will have a positive effect on meetings-focused venues. More specifically, training and meeting facilities with a type of...read more

In April of this year, The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) released their US Business Travel Quarterly Outlook which hailed some positive, some negative, and some cautionary statistics and information for those entities that are marketing toward business travel. The GBTA study was...read more

It’s true, the traditional conference design with seats facing the front of the room is an easy go-to, but it’s a passive learning set-up and it doesn’t market your venue’s space adequately. Innovative conferences like Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) are focused on space and design to...read more

Conference centers are often confused for hotels or convention centers. If you have experience selling or marketing a conference center, you are already well-aware that planners (both seasoned and new) have a misconception about what makes each of these venues distinct and unique in their own way....read more

Have you ever wondered how you could increase your CVB and DMO Internet marketing efforts with planners? How you could be more enterprising and unique? A recent article in MPI's one+ brought forth some interesting ways entities are enhancing their group travel marketing efforts. Below is a synopsis...read more

Negative social media reviews are a hotel marketing staff's nightmare. Every social media presentation I have attended in the last year, invoked a question from a hotelier as to how they can delete, avoid, or hide these type of reviews. The short answer: You can't and you shouldn't want to! This...read more

Sometimes when marketers begin establishing email campaign ideas, they lose sight of their audience's interest. First, the most important note to make is that while Facebook and Twitter may be a channel of communication for planners and guests, it should not be the only means of communication for a...read more

The region surrounding London is gearing up for a lucrative today and the building of a better tomorrow in the local hotel industry. With so much attention from the Olympics there are unique issues challenging the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the...read more

    According to many hotel owners and general mangers, the first 15 minutes a guest is on property "makes or breaks" their opinion of your venue. Mickael C. Damelincourt, General Manager of Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto said, "If you lose them at the beginning, it is very hard to...read more