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Social media marketing is impacting the hospitality industry and if you don't already have a strategy you need to start one. You can do this by reviewing your goals which might include increasing engagement, brand awareness, analytics, acquisition, content marketing or customer service. Next you will want to pick a social channel to implement your strategy on and be creative with it. Whatever you decide strategy wise start small and build on it to reach new customers and build loyal ones.

This article analyzes how user-generated ratings have a positive impact on hotels revenue growth. It looks at this through three different methods: one, ratings that the uses provide, two at how those ratings are "distributed over the scale," and three, the number of reviews that hotel receives. The article observes 240 small to mid scale hotels in Italy. Some issues we see come up revolve around the subjectivity of user-generated reviews and how that can positively and negatively affect hotel occupancy and interest. Ultimately, it appears that hotels that already have a high star rating will benefit most from these user-generated ratings because they have a stronger bargaining tool. The other benefactor are small, niche hotels whose increase viability and unique qualities help it in encouraging new tourism and high level experiences.

This blog post delves into the world of location-based marketing, shedding light on its mechanisms and significance within the hospitality industry. It demystifies the workings of location-based marketing, where businesses use location data to target and engage potential customers. The post explores how accurate location information enables personalized offers and advertisements, enhancing customer experiences. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of location-based marketing to the hospitality sector, as it empowers hotels, restaurants, and travel services to reach the right audience at the right time. By leveraging location data intelligently, the hospitality industry can create compelling marketing campaigns, foster customer loyalty, and ultimately boost revenue and customer satisfaction.

According to this article, e-commerce such as online activities has been changing how retailers develop their global expansion strategies. As e-commerce is growing so fast, online booking, online shopping and online reservation are more popular than old days. Being a retailer, he has to be adapt to this new e-commerce trend and start to build an  online presence in order to maximize potential advantages from e-commerce. This article also showed top 10 countries in the 2012 E-Commerce index in which China is decided being the leader of the pack. China has 513 million internet users and 164 million online shoppers, which means that China's potential online retail market is expected to develop faster and faster. What's more, there are three main reasons that people in China like shopping online. The first is that there are greater products selections comparing with shopping in some malls. The second reason is that online shopping make customers be able to compare the prices by vendors. The last reason is also the simplest because online shopping make daily life more convenient than before.

This article talked about Sabre Hospitality Solution which is the user-friendly e-marketing tool. The Sabre Hospitality Solution will push your internet marketing program to a higher level of performance through the following five essential elements. First, Sabre Hospitality Solutions developed a proprietary Content Management Tool (CMT) based on the needs of the clients. Second, Sabre Hospitality Solutions provides a full e-commerce solution that enables you to build and manage an E-store that generates significant incremental revenue. Third, behavioral targeting engine of Sabre Hospitality Solutions serves potential guests content based on how they are navigating through the Website; and profiles their keyword search that has led them to the Website. Fourth, flash map solution integrates standard interactive components for any set of floor plans. Fifth, Sabre Hospitality Solutions' Interactive Proposal Service (IPS) is a proprietary system that allows a property to respond to RFP's in a highly customized fashion.

Sabre Hospitality Solutions has designed applications and products to push the e-marketing program to a higher level. It offers a wide range of e-marketing tools. Sabre Hospitality Solutions developed a proprietary CMT based on the needs of the clients. This friendly empowering the clients and is widely used in multiple hospitality websites. It also provides a full e-commerce solution that enables you to build and manage and e-store that generates significant incremental revenue. In addition, the behavioral targeting engine serves potential guests content and the flash map solution integrates standard interactive components for any set of floor plans. Finally, it is a interactive proposal service. This unique online presentation of your proposal will ensure your product stands apart form other competitors.

This article gave us a five new online travel trends.Because travel is a hyper-competitive industry, the most pertinent emerging themes in onine travel are considered and experts insights and predictions are provided in the Las Vegas TDS North America event. First trend is the travel industry need be ready for a mobile-only world. Researches indicates that the mobile sales will increase extremely. Because it is expensive to develop mobile app, so traditional travel companies and online travel companies do not such into launching a mobile app in a short term. Convergence, commerce, content and how these impact customer behavior will be an ongoing theme. There is a risk of firms focus too much on one channel, Customers are using a range of different devices to plan, research, book and review their travel experiences.  Revenue management became essential for the business. It needs to integrate with sales, marketing, channel optimization, loyalty marketing , and operations. Think new markets and new customers like China, India, Brazil and Russia. Firms need to be actively targeting this market and make adjustment such as develop local website etc. Last trend is that there are lots of new development in the industry. Facebook start to monetize travel. Google and Apple are also developing their travel related products. This social travel planning tools become successful. Technology develops and standards emerge, mobile bookings may not just be for the last minute.

Greetings everyone! Proximity marketing is a great success for the companies to share their items available for sale or use. This is also a great way to communicate with the customers from a distance and to have them feel part of the family, an important part. it is interesting how it works and detects users on a radius, but it is also very important to yet be a little distanced and keep customer's confidence safe at the same time. I found this article interesting ...

This article highlights some of the recommended techniques that companies in hospitality should follow in light of changing trends in hospitality. This includes personalized, social media marketing, mobile, dynamic and real-time marketing.

This article talks about 10 ways for a hospititality based establishment to be in know of what is trending in market for them to be in touch with today's world.

In this article it talks about e business strategies. One of them being mobile device because research and booking travel have been so critical for people on the go. The HeBS is a big digital marketing firm for the hospitality industry. There are profitable online strategies to come by in the hospitality industry. These opportunities do not come easy many time it very complex but also very successful if it done right .Hotel budget have come to a plateau. Hotel need to step up the plate because online travel agencies have taken over the industry. In addition social media and smart phone have added new dimension for market that require new skills with their ideas. HeBS face a challenge by multichannel marketing success, improving return on ad spend, and making more online marketing to be able to come back by doing this they would have the solution and the result. The solution being, keeping clients of the curve of the competition by building direct online revenue. The result for that is providing insights. The market and the driving force for the differentiate competitors. The benefits will build a leading- edge for the hospitality industry

Customers at one time used to receive information about a business/ product through a media where there used to be no interaction. With the use of emarketing businesses have become more transparent. So for the future marketing needs to be done to individuals and not groups. " Much has been made of the importance of generational marketing and the need to target specific demographic groups." This is due to the fact that different generations behave differently and use the web differently. " We have a worldwid aging population that has its own needs when it comes to online marketing."

When working in a hotel, the majority of the reservations that come in are done through online booking but what about the reservations made over the phone? Are they still booked as a result of online marketing efforts?  This article from Virtual Strategy Magazine is discusses a brand new data interface developed by NAVIS, the leader in reservation sales systems in North America. NAVIS teamed up with RDP (Resort Data Processing) to create an interface that allows clients to measure how much online and offline revenue is generated from online marketing. Currently, NAVIS is the only company able to offer this service to its clients. The ability of NAVIS to provide this information gives clients the opportunity to decide on where exactly there marketing money needs to be spent and where it needs to be spent less. Having access to all of this new data and information regarding source of revenue will ultimately make a company more successful in the future. 

E-marketing is pretty much an enhancer to revenue management, sustainability in tourism specially in development companies. Nonetheless, e- marketing also encourages individuals to do their booking for hotels and flights via the internet and trains bookers to learn about the search engines when booking flights. In essence, e- marketing encourages to learn about different types of search engines that are available to individuals for traveling and it benefits the different advertising companies as well as the travelers.

"The first role on the internet in the hospitality industry is online booking." With the increase in use of online booking sales of travel related goods and services in the hospitality industry has soared. "In the past, travel agents were the most common source of booking hotel rooms and travel components." The use of the internet has changed this as more and more travellers are booking online. "Another role of the internet is the use of it as a marketing tool." Hotels are able to market themselves; when the internet is used they will be able to set up their own websites where they will be able to showcase the aesthetics of the property and the services offered. This could attract a lot of online users. The customers would be able to see virtually what they are about to purchase. This type of technology also allows the business to reach customers globally. This in turn allows the business to have an idea about the kind of customers they are catering to. Since businesses would be using less of travel agents, there would be some savings and so they would be able to offer customers more competitive rates, there an increase in sales.

This article goes in depth into GDS. It explains the concept of the GDS is and how eaxctly it works. It also gives examples of some major GDSs. It talks about the benefits of using GDS in hotels.

The global distribution system in the hospitality industry is beyond vital in the act of keeping the ball rolling. GDS provides live products and offers to travelers across the globe. Whats really amazing about GDS is that live availability and rates are transferred through a channel manager directly to online booking sites. This allows guests to acquire the best rates the soonest as opposed to waiting to call a hotel or resort to see what they have and at what price.

This article shows us everything we need to know about Hotel GDS. It includes GDS in the hotel industry, GDS work way in travel, seven major GDS systems, the way to access leading GDSs with GDS software, GDS conditions of use, benefits of connecting hotel to the GDS, and how to use the GDS to capture cruise travel bookings at hotel.

The hospitality industry is experiencing a technological transformation. Current technology is improving and being put to better or new uses. According to this article in Hospitality Magazine, there are seven technologies that are taking the industry by storm. 1. Online Booking Systems I agree with the many industry insiders that now consider an online booking system essential. Penetrating the online marketplace is an absolutely mandatory part of the formula for success. However, opinions differ when it comes to how to accomplish this aspiration. As expressed in the article "Taking back control of the direct channel for hotels" posted on the class ScoopIt!, using online travel agents as a properties online booking system has easy setup and maintenance but lacks true customization and can put a sizable dent in profit margins, but building and utilizing a 100 percent customized system does not necessarily grant instant access to hundreds of travels sites on the web. Over all, I am of the opinion that online travel agents are still the best option-for now-because the pros out way the cons. 2. Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) Primarily used for mobile or self-ordering, EPOS systems can replace waitresses' use of paper orders and remote/hidden POS systems. In my opinion, this streamlines the look of the restaurant floor and provides better and more instantaneous service. Panera Bread uses self-order tablets as some of their locations that allow customers who know what they want to order traditional menu items quickly and independently. Having used this system, I find it more of a novelty than a convenience because the system isn't exactly self-explanatory. Currently, the technology is much more enjoyable as an aid to waitresses where the restaurant can experience increased efficiency and a higher standard of service while guests can experience the "that's cool" factor without the frustration of having to navigate the service themselves.

3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) CRM technology provides efficient electronic storage and management of contracts and customer information and many versions also feature cloud-based applications that provide easy access to frontline employees. Electronic storage and online back-up are not totally new ideas (i.e. the floppy disc) and despite the long way these technologies have come is, in my opinion, not enough to do away completely with paper back ups. Even with electronic files, my previous property kept basic papers for 1 year and more sensitive files for much longer. Basically, CRM technology is something we should utilize more, but I doubt many will do away with a paperback up system anytime soon. 4. Marketing Automation Automatic email and text communications have been made possible by the development and improvement of marketing automation technology. Having worked with this type of technology, there is not an overabundance of companies/technologies from which to chose; however, the technology available various greatly in effectiveness and quality. In my opinion, Constant Contact is the best marriage of quality and ease of use for marketing automation technology available. This type of marketing can really step us a properties game, but beware of poor performing products. 5. Social Media According to the article, photos are the most popular posts by social media users, but the arena has become a bonafide space for reviews. While sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia provide a niche arena for travel/tourism/hospitality related communication, general social media sites also invite open, unfiltered discussion. Whole social media is BIG, it is important for companies to assess and utilize only the social media outlets that their demographic are actively using.

6. Smartphones Smartphones are already super convenient. They are constantly being integrated and synced with our daily lives. Applications such as Apple Pay, in combination with CapitalOne, have provided another level of integration. Currently, there is talk and work on guests being able to use their cell phones as hotel room keys but I wouldn't be surprised if in the future we will have QR Code or RFID storage for our driver licenses, insurance policies and other important information. 7. Smart Appliances A part of American households for sometime, smart appliances are beginning to make their way into the hospitality industry. Luxuries such as electronically controlled blinds, thermostats, lights and more are something we can expect to see in hotels sometime in the future. My biggest concern is the time between now and implementation because while these products are available for purchase by consumers directly, they have not taken off nor seemed to gain any ground in the typical household. Could the hospitality industry be just as slow to adopt these technologies? I believe that it is likely so-mainly due to the high cost of implementation. In conclusion, technology is still advancing and most industries are feeling the pressure to update existing technology and adopt new technology. In the hospitality industry this is especially true.

This article addresses what proximity marketing is and how it can be beneficial to marketers and consumers if done right. It talks about how companies throw hundreds of pages of legalese when downloading new apps that people never read. They recommend to include displaying in store signage notifying shoppers that their location data is being collected, letting consumers opt out of analytic services and limiting how data is used without selling personal identifiable data to third party. I believe if companies make it easier for us to trust them with our data more people will use this style of marketing.

Location-based marketing allows organizations to target customers at a personal level with online or offline messaging based on their physical location. LBM use a smartphone's GPS technology to track a person's location. Geo-fencing marketing uses real time geo-location data to target users within a geographic area and deliver content based on where they are or what locations they've previously visited.

Actually, an offline business could be very resource consuming in terms of cost of advertising and promotion through postal mails and networking similar business partners through tele-calling and organizing physical interactive sessions. In e-marketing, the cost of establishing your presence and networking with identical bloggers is nothing compared to offline business. The E-business through the internet obviously has huge benefit for the business nowadays.

Most of the marketing efforts that cater to the organized sector are open 24 hours and 7 days a week. Moreover, the reach is global and customers feel convenient to shop/communicate anytime they want to. The clients are updated immediately about any new modifications and alternations in information through RSS feeds.

This article introduce a new online marketing product that not only can help the hotel reduce cost but also improve the hotel's online presence which results in an increase in direct bookings, less reliance on 3rd party intermediaries, and the best ROI. This new product can up-to-date the hotel's information that will attract more guests that put a hotel miles ahead of the competitors. It also offers an option for guests to choose the phrases that they are interesting. In addition, this product provides the freedom to make convenient updates for hoteliers. The hotel management team does not need the outside support team to manage the e-marketing system.