Social Networking or Social Notworking?

Here is your guide to making better decisions on how to manage these emerging hotel sales tools.
A basic tenet of sales is to go where your customers are, and yet the hotel sales department has been reluctant to embrace social media. Why?

It’s not only individual travelers who use social media to research trips. Increasingly, group organizers and corporate travel buyers are consulting review sites and social networks when making decisions involving group bookings, corporate travel programs, and meetings and events.

10 things you should be doing on Facebook - but probably aren’t

Why should you invest time engaging people on Facebook? The answer is simple. Google is now taking into account interaction with social websites and Facebook in its search algorithm. This means that you could get higher search engine results and an edge over your competition just by being social, as well as generating a lot of traffic to your website’s booking engine.

Below are some tips on what your hotel should be doing on Facebook.

Facebook Best Practice for Restaurants | Mashable

Everyone has to eat, and 700 million of those people are also on Facebook.


Naturally, there are a lot of restaurants on the world’s largest social network, though there could be a lot more, and many of the ones that do have Facebook Pages could be better. To that end, Mashable spoke with social media stars from the hospitality industry about some best practices when it comes to Facebooking food.

4 Steps to Jumpstart Your Business' Mobile Presence

Unless you’re from another planet, you realize that we’re in a mobile revolution, with mobile devices and mobile technologies taking over our lives. 

Mobile is blending into nearly everything we do, as we carry smartphones and tablets by our side at all times and interact with mobile websites, apps, games, and text message campaigns on a regular basis. 

And this is only the beginning of the potential for mobile. If you’re smart, you recognize the need to figure out what may or may not apply to you and your business, then get going. If you don't, you risk getting left behind like many people who still don’t see the value in social media. (And you’re not one of those types, are you?)

Below are four steps you can take to jumpstart your business' mobile presence.

1) Mobilize Your Website

Tourism Australia and TripAdvisor Form Partnership

Visitors to Tourism Australia’s award-winning website can now benefit from travel reviews and other helpful user-generated content, thanks to a new partnership with TripAdvisor. Under the agreement, TripAdvisor content relating to key Australian tourist destinations is available on nothinglikeaustralia.com, with the content powered by the Australian Data Warehouse (ATDW).

High-End Restaurants Filling Vacant Tables Using New Booking Service

Some of London's most high-end restaurants have signed up to a new service that aims to fill vacant tables, particularly at 'off-peak' dining times, by offering discerning diners discount prices. 

Fergus Henderson at St John Hotel and Pascal Aussignac at Club Gascon have already started using the service called table7.

Video Shows The Future Of Restaurant Menus

A restaurant in London is showing the future of dining with an incredible interactive dining experience which projects menus on to diners’ tables. 

Hotels offer services through tablet PCs

For a night of clubbing in Manhattan on a recent weekend, Seunghee Thomson turned to the iPad in her room at the Mondrian SoHo to ask the hotel’s concierge for a recommendation.

The concierge desk, which received her iPad message, soon called with a name and directions. “While I was waiting, I was thinking maybe I should call back to see if they got my message, but they called me back right away,” says the fashion stylist from McLean, Va. “It’s the first time I’ve had that experience in a hotel.”

Social Media for Hotels: Reaching More Customers With Twitter

Think back a decade ago, how did you find the right hotel for your vacation? Probably either using a travel agent, seeing an advertisement in a magazine or word of mouth. Well, flash forward to 2011 and that’s all been turned on its head.

Yes, those previous forms of communication still affect the hotel/resort industry, but word of mouth no longer means the same thing as it did 10 years ago. Now, people talk about the resorts they enjoy using social media, making word of mouth so much more powerful and effective, and one of the most powerful ways for guests to get their messages out is with Twitter.

New Marriott mobile app a hit

Since its soft launch on August 5, Marriott International’s new cross-brand mobile phone application has been downloaded 87,000 times and cracked the iTunes top 10 list for free apps, where it remained on Thursday.

The new application works on iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices and allows users to search any location worldwide for a Marriott hotel, book a room, access rewards accounts, check upcoming reservations and get hotel details, including photos. It also has links to online features such as city guides.

Move over, TripAdvisor. There’s a new leader of hotel reviews in town!

Move over, TripAdvisor. There’s a new leader of hotel reviews in town: online travel agencies.

According to a PhoCusWright study of 27,000 U.S. hotels comprising 65 major brands, two out of every three online traveler reviews were posted to an OTA. The remaining third, or 34%, were posted to a travel review site like TripAdvisor.

Understanding Key Trends In Mobile Travel - Infographic

I am not usually a big fan of infographics but I am happy to make exception for the following Understanding Key Trends In Mobile Travel. 


It is of critical importance that your on-line strategies fully embrace mobile. The following diagram will help to explain why!

VisitEngland Awards and Sponsorship Opportunities

John Penrose MP talking about the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence

Marriott unveils new “app-like” mobile website

Marriott has launched a new, free mobile app for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. The company has also launched its all new “app-like” mobile website that can be accessed from any web-enabled mobile device.

Marriott highlighted that the site even sports that “app feel”, from taps to finger-swipes.

The new Marriott Mobile tools enable travellers to quickly find nearby hotels, book a room, check their upcoming reservations and get details about their hotel, including photos.

Reputation Management is Revenue Management

"It’s a relatively new phenomenon—customers actually shaping a brand by commenting and sharing experiences. Yet travelers rely so heavily on peer experiences that to not manage it, to not stay on top of guest comments, is to ignore one of the most important parts of your brand."

At the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, like most hotels, guests weren’t happy about paying for things they expected to be free, namely parking and Internet access. The complaint showed up frequently on feedback sites such as Twitter and TripAdvisor.

QR Codes Soon To Be More Important to Local Business Marketing Than Facebook

I know, I’m sticking my neck out with that. But watch what happens as QR codes catch on in the US.

Here is how QR codes work:

A QR or quick response code is a scanable barcode similar in concept to the price barcode you see on products for sale these days. A QR code can be scanned by smartphones, and is created to send the scanner to the internet page or text associated with that code matrix.
 

Innovative Ways to Use Google Maps on your Website

Google Maps is taking over the world. Well, at least the way we see the world online. According to BuiltWith, there are more than a million sites currently using Google Maps. For sites that cater to travelers, providing a map has obvious advantages. 

However, a lot of travel sites have maps that are either overly simple or overly complicated. Amongst the wreckage of boring and/or confusing maps available online, there are a few shining examples proving that a little creativity and knowledge can go a long way. Here are ideas that may be put to good use on your site.

TripAdvisor: How to tell if a review is fake

Researchers reveal how to spot comments posted by hotels themselves.

They have fooled thousands of travellers into visiting hotels which are not what they seem.

But now researchers have finally come up with a way of spotting fake reviews on travel websites like TripAdvisor.

Top Email Design Tips

There are many elements to email marketing that you need to get right in order to maximise the effectiveness of your campaigns. When part of an integrated campaign, email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to engage your audience.

Here's some great advice and Top Email Design Tips from our friends at dottourism...

Social Media And Mobile: The Perfect Addiction

My partner woke up the other morning and said “I love my iPhone”. It is fair to say that I felt a little left out!

People’s obsession with technology, iPhone’s and social media is making laptops our sleeping partners and smart phones our alarms. Technology and the web is invading and permeating every corner of our lives ..and bedrooms! Facebook apps sits on your phone’s menu beckoning you and even daring you to caress its button and see if anyone has left a message or wanted to friend you. The Twitter app almost winks at you enticing you to check your latest tweets.

One Voice / One Message for Tourism Investment

A View from America: Tourism is an Investment!

Reflecting on all the changes in UK tourism over the last 18 months I do not remember a single argument being made by a DMO for the continuation of tourism funding based on the ROI that investment in tourism brings. Seems they have had a similar problem across the pond.

The following article was written by Troy Thompson of Travel2dot0.com

Smartphones set to replace PCs & Laptops

The digital age is entering the "post-PC world," according to new research.  


PCs and laptops are being replaced by mobile handsets and tablets as the favourite devices used to access the Internet.

Advanced mobile usage: what we need to know and do in travel

We have all heard – continuously, almost, for the past few years – how mobile is going to change the travel industry in such a fundamental way.


Now that the process is properly under way, with smartphones outselling older handsets, we are starting to get a better idea as to how the “always-connected” consumer might behave.

Pew Research has some great studies on this, with one.widely reported piece of work on US citizens.

There has also been a similar study outside of the US, for example, by Ofcom (the media and telcoms regulator) in the UK.

Read the full article: Advanced mobile usage: what we need to know and do in travel | Tnooz:

Google is going Places – is your business ready for the ride?

The online travel space is evolving at a dizzying speed, and nowhere have changes been more significant than at Google. 

In the past few months Google has introduced the “+1” button to rival Facebook’s “like”, has launched the Google+ social network, and has removed third-party reviews from Places pages. For hotels it has added rates and availability to Google Maps and Places listings and has introduced Hotel Finder, it’s answer to Kayak, as an “experiment” in the U.S.

What does this mean for hospitality and tourism businesses? 

Google Related - Friend or Foe?

Today Google unveiled its new extension for Chrome called Google Related. 

Google Related finds maps, videos, and other pages related to the site you're viewing, so you don't need to go searching for it yourself.


Google Related is a small bar at the bottom of your screen that pops up when you hover over it with your mouse. If you're viewing a restaurant's home page, for example, it'll provide a map to the restaurant's location, reviews, and other related web sites including other nearby restaurants!

5 Social Media Success Secrets for Small Businesses

Too many small businesses don’t understand how to effectively use social media and they therefore then make the mistake of thinking it’s unnecessary. 


These businesses are missing a tremendous amount of opportunity and keeping their business from reaching its full potential.


The truth is, social media can produce an excellent return and does for small businesses who are willing to learn how to use it and take advantage of the tools available.

Google Plus - How to Get Started

Are you using Google Plus?

Are you waiting for a Google Plus invite?

Do you know what Google Plus is?



Are you aware that Google is rolling out this service globally and quickly - and when Google do things we need to be prepared. Whether you think you need or want Google Plus you might not have any choice - this will be 'another' Social Media tool that will help grow your business! 

Social media: Don’t just sign up. Do it right!

This isn’t one of those typical “get on Facebook or Twitter” articles. (If you haven’t done so already, consider this a friendly reminder.) That’s merely the first step. What really matters comes next: adding value to your followers’ Twitter and Facebook feeds.

The task is easier said than done. As a proud hotelier, you might believe you add value to your guests/friends/followers just by having a presence in the social media world. WRONG! You have to constantly engage the people who “Like” and follow you.

Fortunately, there are many ways to do this—and just as many ways to do it well. Let’s get started …

My 5 Star Rating - Should I Dump It?

If you run a B'n'B and have questions over the validity of the Star Rating Schemes, Quality Assessments, Tourism Board Membership, Tourism Awards and their value for money then read this article (and comments). 

I have read this article several times and whilst I'd like to write a piece on the identical topic there is no way that I can improve on the original. A balanced, honest and practical assessment of the Star Rating system, its costs and its benefits (or not). Please read on...

5 Things All Hoteliers Should Know About Social Media

Social Media - particularly your Hotel's ability to properly exploit it - could mean the difference between your growth and profit or decline and loss. Understanding how Social Media works for your business has never been more important. 

The following article was written by Lucie Hys from Fort Myers, Florida. Lucie is a hotel marketer, social media specialist, and a passionate blogger about all things social media and travel. Her specialty is coming up with a social media strategy that brings her clients at the forefront of competitors on social media channels.

Here Lucy highlights the 5 Things Hoteliers Should Know About Social Media

#1: Social media is not just about Facebook.

Is Social Media Getting Too Personal?

Do Social Media sites get us to reveal more personal and private information than we would normally wish to divulge - especially to strangers or an unknown audience? The video below shows how two Australians fared when asking people the same questions they get asked when they sign up to Facebook. 

Social Media, Mobile and Apps are Changing the Restaurant Industry Forever

Social media, mobile and apps are changing plenty of industries right in front of our eyes but probably none more so than the restaurant industry which is entering a new phase of complete and utter transparency which will only benefit the consumer.

The following article written by Niall Harbisson of Simply Zesty looks at some of the ways in which the restaurant industry is being changed forever right in front of our eyes…

LinkedIn eyes travel in commercial partner push

Professional social network LinkedIn is hoping to establish a greater presence in the UK travel industry touting its ability to offer a more targeted audience for commercial partners.

Combining social media and websites to drive traffic and conversions

A challenge hoteliers experience is how to effectively connect a website with a Facebook page. Here are some ideas and a case study that shows how to cross promote and increase ROI.

From March – June 2011, a hotel experienced the following results:

1. More than doubled the average # of new Page Likes per day
2. Increased the monthly number of people sent to the booking engine from Facebook from 9 to 61

Here’s how the hotel did it and what you could do too:

Expansion of hotel review defamation action, Google added, FBI alerted | Tnooz

Remember Kwikchex, the UK organisation which pledged to come down hard on TripAdvisor for publishing alleged libellous reviews about hotels?

Eleven months since that initial flurry of coverage and many could be forgiven for thinking it was just a publicity stunt to attract new members to the company’s reputation management consultancy.

Not so, according to chief executive Chris Emmins.

Full story: Expansion of hotel review defamation action, Google added, FBI alerted | Tnooz

5 Steps to Optimize Your Email For Social Media

The popularity of social media has not reduced the need to to have an email marketing plan as part of your Internet marketing strategy, but there does need to be a reassessment of how you integrate and optimize the strengths of each of these 2 internet mediums as part of your marketing planning.


It’s no secret that email marketing is an effective and inexpensive lead generation channel. But while email is effective, it is limited by the size of your email list. This may sound obvious and unexceptional, but social media does not experience the same limitation.

The Pentagon has a Social Media budget of $42m

It's a real measure of how grown up Social Media has become when the Pentagon is now allocating enormous budgets and professional expertise to make sure they are not 'caught short'.  



The U.S. military sees social networking as a source of information they can filter to gain insight into global potential conflicts, political unrest, and much more. Now the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has a $42 million budget to pursue developing this idea, the New York Times reported.

Google Hotel Finder - It's All About Local Content

Google’s most recent iteration of its hotel comparison product was released recently as the “experimental” Google Hotel Finder, a build out of the search engine’s Google Places feature that allows users to search for and compare hotels by region, Google reviews and price comparisons.

Story Highlights

• As features such as Google Places and Hotel Finder become more relevant, it will be crucial for hotel owners to make sure their information, photos and videos are updated regularly, according to Max Starkov, president & CEO, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies.
• The information on Google Hotel Finder comes from a variety of sources, according to Deanna Yick, spokesperson for Google.
• One suggestion from Starkov: Provide a coupon on Google.

The Future of Tourism Funding?

Next week (9th August) I will be meeting Lorin Stewart, Executive Director of the San Diego Tourism Marketing District. 




He is in London for a week and has kindly agreed to meet me to discuss the San Diego Tourism Improvement District model and I'm hoping to learn some lessons that can be applied to the UK. 

Apart from my interest in finding new funding models to support tourism I'm particularly also looking forward to meeting Lorin as the man who's earlier career saw him acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now all he has to do is please the several hundred hoteliers who hired him to help market their hotels - in an economy that’s already taking a big toll on the region’s hospitality industry. Lorin’s basic job description sounds simpler than it is: Put more heads on beds.

I will post the interview next week but in the meantime if anyone has any questions you would like me to put to Lorin please contact me asap or leave as comments below.

TripSketch mobile apps fill green travel gap

If you want to pack your green consciousness and take it with you when you travel, then the TripSketch Green Book app makes a lot of sustainable sense.

There are a plenty of green travel apps on the market for mobile-device-wielding travelers, but most focus on carbon offsets or travel to a single city or region.



Why do we like it? A number of reasons really, such as:

1. The content - a virtual guidebook of worldwide eco-friendly hotels, attractions, restaurants etc. (very useful)
2. 20% of all proceeds from app downloads are donated to non-profit social and environmental causes (very worthy)
3. TripSketch is a woman-owned tech start-up (how many of those can you name?) 

The Time for Mobile is Now

Mobile is transforming our lives in almost every way, connecting our physical and digital worlds. 


Smartphones are driving an explosion of the mobile web and mobile search along with it.




Why is going mobile important?

1. 85% of mobile devices will be web enabled by next year.
2. Mobile search has grown 4x in the past year.
3. 1 in 3 mobile searches have local intent.
4. 30% of restaurant searches are from mobile devices.

How the Facebook Jealousy Effect can Boost Sales

Recent research from Teletext has revealed that over 25% of Britons have been moved to book an exotic holiday after seeing their Facebook friends' holiday snaps online. 

What Dell teaches us about Social Media ROI

How is your company determining the return on investment for its social media programs?
At the recent Corporate Social Media Summit in New York City, Richard Binhammer, Dell’s head of social media and corporate-reputation management, said the equation is a little more complicated than simply calculating money in and out. As social media programs evolve, they require a more sophisticated understanding of their benefits, he said.