6 Superb Hotel Marketing Insights: The Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

Not a lot of setup this week, Big Thinkers. Instead, let’s just get right to this list of 6 superb hotel marketing insights: the hospitality marketing link digest. Enjoy:

1. First up, TravelClick takes a look at the TripAdvisor effect, a review of how much the review site matters to your hotel’s revenues. And, for the record, it really does matter. In fact, managing your hotel’s ratings and reviews represents the single most effective way to to improve your brand’s digital marketing.
2. nSight offers up its top trends in leisure travel. Good stuff.
3. I outlined 3 keys to compete with OTA’s in 2015 and beyond that you really need to read.
4. Want another great way to compete with OTA’s? Hotel News Now reports on a big one: hoteliers adopting storytelling as marketing tool. This is a really big deal. So big a deal, in fact, that you should check out this post that asks ‘what is a “brand story” anyway?’, these tips for building your brand story, and this look at how to use emotion and storytelling in digital marketing.
5. Another huge topic that you must know about—and one I’ve talked about before here and here—is net neutrality. Tnooz has an excellent piece that asks “what are the implications of Open Internet for the travel industry?” Great stuff and well worth a few moments of your time.
6. Finally, this list would be incomplete without a reminder to check out the “6 Winning Travel Marketing Posts: The Top Hospitality Marketing Posts from January.” Good reads, all.

Looking for even more of the best hospitality marketing advice and insights? Be sure to check out my round-up of these “6 Totally Brilliant Travel Marketing Posts,” these “5 Outstanding Posts to Kick-off a Successful Hotel Marketing Week,” and these “7 Remarkable Posts about Mobile Marketing in Travel” from our hospitality marketing link digests (part of the ongoing E-commerce Link Digest series).

And if you want to learn even more about how customers changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing, be sure an register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

Plus, don’t miss these slides and video from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions: Three Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year”:

Finally, you might also want to check out some of our past coverage of the mobile, local, social web and how to make it work for your business, including:

• 10 Key Posts about Millennials and Mobile: E-commerce Link Digest
• The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
• Should Marketers Really Trust Google in 2014?
• The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
• 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
• Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
• Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
• Your 2014 Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions – Thinks Out Loud Episode 56