6 Spectacular Mobile Hotel Marketing and Distribution Posts: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

No big setup this week, Big Thinkers. Just a brief round-up of 6 spectacular mobile hotel marketing and distribution posts for your reading pleasure. Enjoy:

1. Mobile Commerce Daily talks about how Yelp is getting deeper into the local business game with a new shopping feature. Yelp offers an interesting alternative to Google in local search, so bears watching.
2. A recent post here on the blog asked “Are Hotel Brands Doomed?” Given the rise of OTA’s, metasearch, Google, and others, you really want to keep an eye on this topic.
3. Tech in Asia reports Expedia gives up on its China partner, sells off $671M majority stake in eLong. This has got to be a short-term move — I’d be stunned if Expedia pulled out of China altogether — but time will tell.
4. Sticking with the intermediary space, we also recently asked “What’s Amazon’s Travel Offering Really About?” here on the blog.
5. Skift says the hotel smartphone app will control room service and everything else.
6. Finally — though it should come as no surprise to any long-time readers ’round here — Tnooz has data showing desktop travel bookings tipped for rapid drop and mobile becoming a booking mainstay. No doubt.

Want more to get you through the rest of this weekend and the week ahead? Be sure to check out these “5 Quick But Cool Travel Marketing Posts,” another set of “5 Amazing Mobile Hotel Marketing Stories,” and these “8 Exceptional Hospitality Marketing Posts from the Past Week: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest,” 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