5 First-Rate Travel Marketing Posts for the First Of The Year: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

Welcome to 2015, everyone! I’m looking forward to a spectacular year featuring full rooms, big bumps in room rates and RevPAR, and plenty of profits. To get you started, here’s a great look at 5 first-rate travel marketing posts for the first of the year. Now let’s get on with the links:

1. While not specific to the hospitality industry, pay attention to this Search Engine Land article about Google’s launch of “store visits” metric in AdWords to help prove online-to-offline impact. This is really going to shake up the way we all measure mobile attribution in the coming months. So, stay tuned.
2. Speaking of mobile, check out this post that details the 4 signs that hotel marketing’s future is mobile.
3. A big reason behind my focus on mobile relates to things like this pivotal moments in 2014: when mobile overtook desktop. Tnooz outlines the what, where, when and how that you need to know. Check it out when you get a chance.
4. Re/code explains that Google and the wireless industry not down with Marriott’s Wi-Fi blocking plan. I couldn’t agree more. While I’m a big fan of Marriott overall and completely understand the revenue opportunities and impacts, they’re on the wrong side of this one, from a marketing and customer service perspective. Finding ways to stop your customers from doing what they’re going to do anyway (instead of helping them accomplish what they want), is a losing proposition. Look at the music industry’s failure to compete with illegal downloads; it wasn’t until iTunes came around and made buying music simple, inexpensive, and user-friendly that customers preferred to buy music. The hospitality industry would do better to follow iTunes’ example, not the failed model.
5. Finally, for another example of how shifting tech will change guest behavior, make sure to review this 2015 travel e-commerce trend worth watching: digital wallets when you get a chance. Good stuff.

If you’re looking for more link goodness, take a look at these past Hospitality Marketing Link Digests offering “7 Brilliant Insights into Mobile Travel E-commerce,” “6 Great Posts About 2015’s Top Travel Marketing Trends,” “How Hotel Distribution Is Heating Up”and the the entire E-commerce Link Digest series. Well worth your time.

If you’re interested in learning even more about the future of hospitality e-commerce and marketing via the social, local, mobile web, register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” Developed specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons can help your business adapt to the changing guest environment. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You may also want to review the slides and video from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions 2015: Three Key Trends Driving Your Hotel Marketing Next Year”:

Finally, don’t miss our past coverage of the social, local, mobile web and what it means for your business, including:

• Holy Crap! Mobile’s Even Bigger Than You Thought
• How to Use Emotion and Storytelling in Digital Marketing
• 4 Lessons You Need to Know from Google’s Affluent Traveler Report
• What’s the State of Hotel Reputation Management?
• 10 Essential Lessons Learned From HSMAI’s Digital Marketing Strategy Conference
• What in the World are Priceline and TripAdvisor Up To?
• It’s Time You Take Mobile Seriously. Here’s Why
• What Expedia’s Leaders Can Teach You About Digital Strategy
• The 4 Rules of Social Marketing for Hotel Marketers