8 Awesome Hotel Marketing Posts : Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

Another week, another hospitality marketing link digest for your reading pleasure. This week, I’ve rounded up 8 awesome hotel marketing posts for your benefit. Enjoy:

1. Leading off, Michael McCartan examines OTA vs. meta search and finds the battle gets bloodier. OK… not the most attractive imagery. But, Michael’s got a strong point. I’ve examined how intermediaries drive up your costs and 5 ways to protect yourself. Michael adds excellent insights to that conversation.
2. While we’re on the topic of rising distribution costs, WIT talks with HSMAI’s Bob Gilbert about how hotels are dealing with rising customer acquisition costs. Good read.
3. Tnooz explores how many websites and devices consumers use to research travel. While it’s not as big a number as it once was, it’s still pretty big.
4. Another WIT posts asks (with apologies to Hotel Tonight), just how large is last-minute on mobile? The short answer is: BIG. The longer answer is a bit more complicated and worth checking out.
5. I’ve long considered reputation management the single most effective way to improve your hotel’s digital marketing. Well, now Skift shares research that shows hotels responding to guests on TripAdvisor lead to more bookings. Excellent tips throughout the article.
6. Spekaing of “excellent tips,” you might want to check out these 6 crucial hotel marketing posts for August.
7. Mobile Commerce Daily shows how Hyatt leverages Uber on-demand taxi service to ease travel for guests.
8. And, finally, building on that Mobile Commerce Daily article, HotelNewsNow has an in-depth report about the impact of the sharing economy on hotels. Very worthwhile stuff.

And don’t miss the last few hotel marketing link digests, 5 Exceptional Hospitality Marketing Posts and 8 Key Posts Hotel Marketers Must Read This Week as well as the rest of my E-commerce Link Digest series here.

Interested in learning even more about the future of hospitality e-commerce and marketing via the social, local, mobile web? Register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” Developed specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons can help your business adapt to the changing guest environment. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You may also want to review the tips in my recent presentation Digital Marketing Directions: Three Trends Shaping 2014 Hospitality Internet Marketing. I’ve presented this talk to a number of hospitality and travel-related organizations and you might find it valuable for your business, too:

Finally, you might also enjoy some of our past coverage of the social, local, mobile web and what it means for your business, including:

• Holy Crap! Mobile’s Even Bigger Than You Thought
• How to Use Emotion and Storytelling in Digital Marketing
• 4 Lessons You Need to Know from Google’s Affluent Traveler Report
• What’s the State of Hotel Reputation Management?
• 10 Essential Lessons Learned From HSMAI’s Digital Marketing Strategy Conference
• What in the World are Priceline and TripAdvisor Up To?
• It’s Time You Take Mobile Seriously. Here’s Why
• What Expedia’s Leaders Can Teach You About Digital Strategy
• The 4 Rules of Social Marketing for Hotel Marketers