How much is a good customer experience worth? Some might argue that it is priceless. Most will agree that the holistic brand experience can make or break effective customer engagement. But will consumers pay more for an amazing experience? Recent data on this subject indicates that consumers do indeed make decisions based on factors other than price. According to a CEI Survey, 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. But only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations. READ MORE

Generating customer loyalty in hospitality is a surefire way to drive sales and revenue, as guests tend to remain dedicated to certain hotels based on positive experiences. However, what it means to have a positive customer experience at a hotel has been transforming as of late, and marketing and sales must keep up with new customer expectations to stay competitive. Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty360, an unbiased, voice of the customer loyalty marketer's association, explores the new landscape of loyalty in his piece “The Loyalty Renaissance: Navigating New Expectations to Deliver an Exceptional Experience in Hospitality.” With expert insight and examples from hotels doing it right, Johnson delivers a must-read piece for anyone implementing a loyalty program in the hospitality industry. READ MORE

There is no question that we will see a tremendous explosion in the use of strategic content marketing in the relatively near future. With the proliferation of mobile devices, and the growth in all things Internet, people will be connecting anywhere, any time. So your brand message had better be ready and able to inform interestingly, entertainingly and with relevance 24/7. This takes what I am dubbing the 5 Cs of Kontent is King. In this article, you'll see how your these 5 Cs can help your hotel develop an effective content marketing strategy for guests and prospective guests alike. READ MORE

The old saying that “everyone's money is green here” might seem like true hospitality in action, but for a marketer with limited resources, it's a recipe for failure. Clearly defining target markets means identifying who we believe will respond first and most often to our concept. However, it also means consciously acknowledging that we can't be everything to everyone for every occasion. Demographics alone are no longer sufficient and marketers must deeply know their guests. Initially, this process can seem time consuming, but it can ultimately lead to stronger brand loyalty and the generation of greater revenue at a lesser cost. READ MORE

It's an ever-changing world for hotel sales, marketing and revenue management professionals. In 2014 we've seen continued global hotel demand growth and moderate supply growth, but we've also seen a focus on integrating the disciplines of sales, marketing, and revenue management more than ever before. As customer acquisition costs continue to grow and erode hotel profit margins, the science of understanding and optimizing the business derived by channel and managing these and other intermediation costs will be paramount to success. READ MORE

Customer experience design (CSE) is the new black, although mostly viewed as a function of big data and digital marketing. This is misguided: customer experience design is neither new nor a function of the digital world. CSE is very much a part of the organization as a whole and should be directed by the marketing department to ensure that all customers experience the products and services delivered by the organization in the context of the brand. The greater the global understanding of the fundamental importance of understanding how customers experience the organization and what it does for them, the greater the importance of the marketing team to every aspect of the organization: rather than displace marketing, customer experience design is elevating the function. READ MORE

If you want to reach 80 percent of your global audience, you need to translate your hotel website into 12 or more languages. But website translation is merely one step of many. You have a lot more to consider on the marketing assets front. To establish and build your hotel brand in new markets worldwide, you need to consider tailoring elements as closely as possible to each audience's cultural expectations. These elements include your color schemes, your website, logo and tagline, marketing campaigns and, of course, the very words on the page. Look to expert guidance from localization experts when it comes to adapting each of these aspects to achieve a local feel in new regions and cultures. READ MORE

What is the difference between traditional media and social media? Many in the hospitality industry are asking that very question. It seems like everyday, there's a new revelation in this arena so what's a hotel, motel or resort to do? Public Relations Professional Susan Hartzler explains the difference between traditional media and social media and how they work together. In this article, you will gain a perspective on how to develop a strong marketing campaign that will brand your property on all the necessary platforms the potential guests use. READ MORE

ometimes it's right under your nose—hundreds, perhaps thousands, of additional room nights for your hotel—not from a previously unknown prospect, but from an existing client. It happens over and over: a hotel sales team happily enjoys the repeat business of a major corporate or government account while never considering that they have barely scratched the surface on the account's potential. Countless times I have discovered that a hotel's best clients are also the best clients of one, sometimes several, of the hotel's competitors. So, I learned that my hotel was not getting as much of my best account's business as I had previously believed. READ MORE

As I write this article, I am working with a plethora of hotels and daily being asked to justify distribution. While I work for Travelzoo, (Nasdaq: TZOO) my background is revenue management based as well as hotel distribution through the Online Travel Agency side. I get it and understand where you sit. So without adding bias, I came up with the following points to help them understand where they should focus their strengths based on what they are capable of affording and managing. First, let us define distribution as outlined for commerce in businessdictionary.com: The movement of goods and services from the source through a distribution channel, right up to the final customer, consumer, or user, and the movement of payment in the opposite direction, right up to the original producer or supplier. READ MORE

The introduction of technology has had a dramatic influence on hotel sales and marketing strategies and tactics. Revenue management and control of distribution channels now dominate the time spent by lodging industry marketing personnel. These changes have impacted the dollars spent at the property level within the Sales and Marketing Department. To gain a better understanding of how U.S. hotels are deploying their unit-level marketing dollars, and the fees they pay to franchisors, PKF Hospitality Research examined Sales and Marketing Department expense data from its Trends® in the Hotel Industry database of annual operating statements. READ MORE

This article reveals the battle-tested tactics of one of the world's leading hotel marketing firms. These hotel marketing practices have been implemented and measured over the last 25 years at properties worldwide. Use these 10 simple methods to avoid costly mistakes and turn marketing into a measurable contributor to revenue. READ MORE

35 percent of leisure travelers engaged in travel-related video activities within the past six months. Online video has become one of the most important elements to marketing destinations, hotels, and travel. Travel is an immersive experience and video has always been a great medium to sell it. Thanks to advances in technology, today's video options are more affordable and marketable than traditional video. READ MORE

The proliferation of China's outbound tourism, while something you should definitely take notice of, is serving to overshadow India's vast growth in this same area. The nation is expected to not only make incredible gains in GDP per capita, but also in the volume of outbound travelers. However, even though India represents a lucrative market for hoteliers to engage new groups of travelers, there are many exceptional factors which might inhibit these connections from properly forming. With an overview of pertinent information about the country for both the present and the future, several clear and simple actionable steps become apparent. READ MORE

A Forrester study found that today's travelers are not only using mobile devices to research lodging and travel options, but also as a transactional tool to book and communicate onsite preferences directly with the hotel. However, travelers are still having conversations with brands offline, which challenges hotel marketers to explore how to distribute their budget—how much should be spent offline and how much should support online initiatives. Gaining advanced attribution capabilities enables hotel marketers to measure both offline and online investments to confidently optimize their marketing strategies and annual budgets. This article dispels common myths about advanced attribution and provides practical advice on how hotel marketers can best leverage this advanced technique. READ MORE

The Millennial generation is a different breed. The way they live, work, and play is contrary to prior age groups, and in order to attract them you have to appeal to how they want to interact. Not only will it involve changing services and facilities within the hotel, but ways in which you market and sell. Keep in mind that Millennials never existed without computers and smart phones and therefore technology is their go-to resource for research and information. They look at everything on a smartphone not a computer, use social media and texts instead of 800 numbers and voicemail, and have a completely different mindset than the rest of us. As a result, how you position yourself going forward to appeal to this generation — which is on pace to outnumber the Baby Boomers — is now more important than ever. READ MORE