5 Fantastic Travel Distribution and E-commerce Entries: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

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Happy Sunday, Big Thinkers! Given the craziness of the past week, I’m going to skip the setup and just get you right to this list of 5 fantastic travel distribution and e-commerce entries from the past week. Enjoy:

1. We recently asked (and answered) the very important question, “Is Travel Marketing More Frustrating Than Ever?” The answer? Well, it’s complicated. Just not as complicated as some make it out to be. Be sure to check out the whole post to see why.
2. Helping to prove that point, Skift interviewed Expedia’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, who says “Rumors of an Online Booking War Are Exaggerated.” Um… right. Dara notes that “…hotel loyalty programs are an area where online booking sites like Expedia and hotel chains can partner to build positive results for both parties,” so expect to see a lot more movement in this area — such as what Red Lion has recently done — over time.
3. Another Skift interview, this on with Two Roads CEO Niki Leondakis, argues that “Disruption From Inside Out Is Key to Hospitality Innovation.” This makes sense to me and is well-worth considering for your business too.
4. Barry Schwartz of SEO Roundtable highlights that “Google’s Testing Hotel Booking Ads At Top vs. Right.” While this is hardly earth-shattering news, you probably want to pay attention to how Google displays your inventory to potential guests as well as how those changes affect the costs of your various channels over time.
5. Finally, let’s round-out this week’s round-up of 5 fantastic travel distribution and e-commerce entries from the past week with these collections of 6 Quick Hotel Distribution and Digital Marketing Insights and 5 Fast Travel Distribution and Digital Marketing Insights from the ongoing 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 my 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?