8 Deep Hotel Distribution Dispatches: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

As I mentioned the other day, Big Thinkers, I’m traveling around France this week, so I don’t have a lot of setup for you. Instead, here’s just a great collection of 8 deep hotel distribution dispatches for you. Enjoy:

1. Venture Beat has an outstanding article, “Expedia CMO Doctorow: ‘Last touch’ mobile marketing attribution is dead.” I know I talk about this. To. Death. But understanding where your marketing spend works—and doesn’t —represents a key contributor to the success of OTA’s these days. Absolute must read.
2. Tnooz reports “Google quietly adds instant booking for hotels, copying TripAdvisor.” Um… yeah. This ain’t over.
3. HotelNewsNow highlights a great “Q&A: Accor’s Vivek Badrinath on distribution.” Thought-provoking.
4. Here’s something undoubtedly true: HotelMarketing says “OTA consolidation bad news for hotels.” Yep.
5. Another Tnooz article outlines “Everything you need to know about Demand Generation for hotels.” Very good read, though I much prefer this “cheat sheet to drive direct business” from HotelNewsNow. To be perfectly fair, I might be biased given that I wrote the second piece. Here’s an idea for you: Read ’em both and decide for yourself.
6. For a couple last distribution focused pieces, be sure to check out this Tnooz article: “TripAdvisor peers into the mouth of the travel transaction funnel;” and these “6 Super Hotel Distribution Strategy Posts” from our Hospitality Marketing Link Digest series.
7. TechCrunch goes “Hands On With HotelTonight’s New Concierge Service, Aces” and, generally, likes it. Items like this make me ask “How Safe Are Independent Hotels from Airbnb?” and “Are Hotel Brands Doomed?” In both cases, you have room to win, but only if you act now.
8. Finally, you won’t want to miss these “15 Key Travel Marketing Posts of 2015 (So Far),” a fine way to round out the week.

Want more to get you through the rest of this weekend and the week ahead? Be sure to check out these “5 Amazing Mobile Hotel Marketing Stories,” a great set of “8 Exceptional Hospitality Marketing Posts from the Past Week: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest,” a terrific round-up of “7 Remarkable Posts about Mobile Marketing in Travel” and these “7 Brilliant Insights into Mobile Travel E-commerce” from our hospitality marketing link digests (part of the ongoing E-commerce Link Digest series).

And if you’re looking to learn even more about how changing guest behavior shapes hospitality marketing, e-commerce, and distribution, 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.

You might also want to take a moment to review the slides from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions 2015: Three 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 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