6 Key Mobile Posts for Hotel Marketers: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

Crazy, crazy travel schedule the last few weeks, Big Thinkers. So how about we skip all the setup and get straight to the links? Without any further ado, here are 6 key mobile posts for hotel marketers you must read this week. Enjoy:

1. In a simply must-read article, Tnooz explains how online travel is shaking out in a mobile-first country. This past weekend’s regular link digest covered the growth of mobile at length. All the big OTA’s and upstarts like AirBnB have well-established mobile strategies. The real question you’ve got to ask is, where’s yours?
2. Following up that piece, Skift says that mobile technology’s making further inroads into in-market travel decisions. Just one more thing to consider as you develop a compelling mobile strategy for your hotels.
3. In another great piece, Lahary Ravuri, writing for Hospitality Net explores how mobile marketers can reach the traveling consumer. Excellent read.
4. Business Travel News looks at mobile disconnections in the age of smartphones and travel apps as well as their implications for your traveling consumers.
5. Shifting gears to distribution overall, Skift rounds-up Expedia’s CEO on the convergence of everything, meaning how search, metasearch, and OTA’s increasingly represent the same set of services for guests. I’ve talked about how metasearch and OTA’s will become one thing as far back as April of last year (not to mention here, here, and here). What matters now is how you incorporate that into your distribution strategy.
6. Finally, you really want to check out these “4+ Fantastic Travel Marketing Posts: The Top Posts Of October, 2015” as you prep for next year. You’ll be glad you did.

If you’re interested in more insights and information about travel marketing and distribution, be sure to check out this list of “7 Insightful Distribution and E-Commerce Trends,” a great set of “5 Hospitality Marketing Trends You’ll Want to Keep in Mind,” and a terrific round-up of “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 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 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