6 Insights About Travel Innovation Trends: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend, Big Thinkers. To get your week started off right, don’t miss these 6 insights about travel innovation trends. Enjoy:

1. Hotel Marketing rounds-up research that shows mobile travel experiences are better than traditional sites. When done right, I’m inclined to agree. For starters, you’ve got additional data and integrated services to reduce friction—think location, Apple Pay/Android Pay, and so on. It should be a better experience. The real question is what you’re doing to do the same for your customers.
2. And, yet… we still have situations where, for instance, only two airlines have embraced Apple Pay a year after its roll-out, according to Skift. This is low-hanging fruit—no pun intended. Increasing payment options consistently improves conversion rates. Every. Single. Time. So why aren’t more travel companies on this? Shaking my head.
3. Meanwhile, Hotel Marketing notes that Airbnb has Airbnb acquired multi-city trip planning service Vamo. So, the folks who are innovating continue to innovate, while the incumbents continue to sit on the sidelines. Anyone want to explain this one to me?
4. Econsultancy highlights one area for innovation in its look at hotels, beacons and the race to the bottom. Good ideas there. You can also check out my look at Facebook’s beacon play here and see some additional beacon insights in this trends round-up.
5. Switching to social, Social Media Today outlines five reasons why you need social influencers for travel marketing. Great tips all around.
6. Finally, you won’t want to miss these “7 Key Insights: The Top Travel Marketing Posts of August, 2015.”

If you’re interested in more insights and information about travel marketing and distribution, be sure to check out these “5 Fantastic Posts Driving Hotel Distribution,” this set of “6 Super Hotel Distribution Strategy Posts,” these “5 Amazing Mobile Hotel Marketing Stories,” and these “8 Exceptional Hospitality Marketing Posts from the Past Week,” 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