Weaving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into group meetings goes back a number of years and became almost a given when tragedies hit popular convention locations like New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Planners worked with convention hotels to source community organizations that allowed meeting...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

Any salesperson worth their salt knows that it takes hours to build a professional proposal that is attractive and enticing. Once that proposal is accepted, more, sometimes intense hours are needed to develop a contract that is a winning and representative document for both parties. To get to the...read more

Often, the best marketing comes from trial and error, seeing what works or doesn’t. While it can be an expensive route, everyone hopes to get it right the first time. Yet, most marketers realize there are mediums that won’t always perform as expected – and its “OK” to fail at marketing. There are...read more

Statistics are abundant showing that Internet usage, in particular social media, is growing by leaps and bounds all over the world! Internet Statistics shows an overall growth of over 12% between 2011 and 2012 of those using Facebook and a total of 835,525,280 users worldwide with more being added...read more

Hotels have long vied for the attention of the weary by promising a good night’s sleep. With more and more hotels adopting mascots, counting sheep (or dogs or cats) will be easier for the somnolent traveler. Industry experts know that developing trust and relationships is key when booking group...read more

Last week, I had the honor of attending the annual conference for the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC). After being at the conference for a day, I was able to identify a common theme among the attendees. Most wanted to know how to successfully launch social media as part of...read more

Looking for new hotel market concepts? Providing unusual service offerings can create buzz for your hotel and potentially build brand loyalty. When you advertise for group travel, your property might consider "out of the box" offerings like the ones listed below.  The Benjamin Hotel in New York City...read more

We recently reported 5 Key Meeting Trends for 2012 from a recent survey of meeting planners, buyers and hotel suppliers from around the world that was conducted by American Express Meetings & Events. In its research summary, Amex also highlighted some interesting global projections by region for...read more

Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts recently published a Luxury Trend Report identifying who the luxury traveler is and how resort online marketing should take advantage of these new consumer behaviors. Below, are the highlights of the report, along with some of my own hospitality marketing...read more

Are you looking to drive more visibility and traffic to your property? Duh! Of course, you are! Google recently announced changes to their ranking algorithm that will provide more relevant results to the user, based on the criteria of their search. This new search system will bring fresher content...read more

There are dozens of tactics you can take to increase your transient and group business survey response rates. Last month, I shared my favorite four email marketing tips: grab attention, work off of the existing relationship, make introductions and send reminders. But a good email marketing campaign...read more