5 Amazing Travel Marketing Insights from the Past Week: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

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Hey, Big Thinkers! No big setup today. Just 5 amazing travel marketing insights from the past week for your benefit. Enjoy:

1. Econsultancy looks at “Airbnb and How Its Customer Experience Is Revolutionizing the Travel Industry.” We’d looked at Airbnb quite a bit in last week’s round-up of “6 Crucial Insights Into the Future of Travel Marketing” but would recommend you look at these posts that ask “What Business Is Airbnb In? Hotels? Or Hospitality?” and “How Safe Are Independent Hotels from Airbnb?” in particular.
2. Geekwire talked with Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi about VR. And Dara said that “I think that VR can certainly play a part in your research in travel and your being inspired to go to amazing places on earth,” but when it comes to the actual travel experience, he went on to say “I hope it fails miserably because I want people to go places.” Clearly, we’ve noted our disagreements around Expedia’s Accelerator Program and overall role in hospitality in the past, but in this case, all we can say is, Amen, Dara.
3. While we’re talking about VR, you might want to check out “VR, AI, and UX: 7 Posts Highlighting Top Trends for 2016” when you get a moment.
4. TrustYou takes a look at how to “Win Direct Bookings with Post-Stay Feedback” that’s well worth your time. Long-time readers know that we think of managing ratings, reviews, and customer feedback as “The Single Most Effective Way to Improve Your Brand’s Digital Marketing”. They also play a critical role in driving your overall revenue strategy, a topic our own Tim Peter covered in a recent presentation to HSMAI’s New York Chapter. You can review the slides from Tim’s talk here:

   Revenue Strategy: The High Cost of Ignoring Value from Tim Peter
   (And, yes… you can hire Tim to speak at your next event, too).
5. Finally, let’s close out this week’s list of 5 amazing travel marketing insights from the past week with these “6 Quick Hotel Distribution and Digital Marketing Insights” from the Hospitality Marketing Link Digest series.

If you’re looking for even more hospitality marketing goodness, you might also want to take a moment to review the slides from Tim’s recent seminar, “Digital Marketing Directions 2016: The Key Trends Driving Your Hotel Marketing Next Year” here:

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

• Is Social a Waste of Time for Hotel Marketers?
• 5 Fantastic Insights Into 2016 Travel Marketing Trends: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest
• 6 Key Hotel E-commerce Tips: A Cheat Sheet to Drive Direct Business
• 5 Hospitality Marketing Trends You’ll Want to Keep in Mind: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest
• Expedia’s Accelerator Program: A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
• For Travel Marketers, Content is Still King
• Trends in Hospitality Digital Marketing for 2016
• 8 Great Posts About 2016’s Top Trends: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest
• 5 Key Facts About Mobile, Millennials, and Hotel Marketing
• How Safe Are Independent Hotels from Airbnb?