Don’t Miss These: The Top Five Hotel Marketing Posts of July

We’ve reached that time once again when we round up the top posts from the past month to see what you liked, linked, and loved for the past 30 days. And now that I’ve seen the list, it’s critical you don’t miss these: the top five hotel marketing posts of July. Enjoy:

1. By far the biggest post of last month asks, “How Safe Are Independent Hotels from Airbnb?” Airbnb may not represent an existential threat to independents, but most hotel marketers will definitely want to keep their eye on the hospitality startup.
2. I don’t typically include Roundup posts in these roundups. However this collection of “15 Key Travel Marketing Posts of 2015 (So Far)” proved far too popular for me to ignore. And it would be a shame if you missed it.
3. HITEC represents one of the highlights of each summer’s conference schedule and this year was no exception. I was truly fortunate to be part of an outstanding panel that talked about revenue strategy for hotel marketers and the slides from my presentation on the panel, “Key Revenue Levers Driving Profitability,” gained lots of attention from your fellow Big Thinkers. Be sure to check them out when you get a chance.
4. Just like a whole heaping chunk of relationships on Facebook, most hotel marketers would represent their view of OTA’s as “complicated.” While most accept OTA’s as part of a balanced distribution diet, most are also more than happy to get business from sources other than OTA’s, both to contain costs and to connect more deeply with guests. So these “6 Key Hotel E-commerce Tips: A Cheat Sheet to Drive Direct Business” should help you do just that.
5. Finally, it’s no secret that many readers of this blog continue to enjoy entries from our Hospitality Marketing Link Digest series. Two recent entries, “9 Killer Blog Posts for Travel Marketers This Week” and “5 Fast, Fantastic Hotel Marketing Posts” were among the most visited and shared posts of the past month. Pretty killer indeed, eh?

And there you have it folks, the top five hotel marketing posts of July. If you like this list don’t miss other collections including “6 Spectacular Mobile Hotel Marketing and Distribution Posts, “ this group of “8 Deep Hotel Distribution Dispatches,” and these “6 Super Hotel Distribution Strategy Posts” all from our hospitality marketing link digests (part of the ongoing E-commerce Link Digest series) and these 5 Fantastic Hospitality Marketing and Distribution Dispatches: The Top Travel Posts for May (Travel Tuesday).

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