8 Great Posts About 2016’s Top Trends: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

Hey, Big Thinkers, hope you’ve had a great weekend and are getting set for your end-of-year holiday plans. Who can believe we’ve only got a few weeks left in 2015. With that in mind, take a few minutes to review these 8 great posts about 2016’s top trends. Enjoy:

1. The fine folks over at Tambourine lead off with a list of 10 things hotel marketers are thankful for this year. Really good read.
2. PSFK spoke with Airbnb’s head of product on the future of travel experiences. Absolute must-read for anyone looking to see what guests increasingly value.
3. On a highly related note, USA Today says that Millennial tastes are changing the hotel experience. They’re absolutely right.
4. Mobile Marketer reports that Walt Disney World takes fans on 360-degree tour of attractions. I strongly suspect video will emerge as one of the three trends to watch in 2016 and it’s interesting to see an industry leader like Disney jumping onboard (BTW, the growth of Millennials in the USA Today article highlighted above represents another of those key trends you’re going to want to watch).
5. We recently took a look at why Priceline believes in the death of search engine optimization (SEO)—or at least acts like it does. Be sure to read the whole post though to see what’s really happening there.
6. A recent Travel Tuesday post asked, “Is Social a Waste of Time for Hotel Marketers?” The simple answer is “no.” But check out the whole post for the full story of why social has its place in most hotel marketers’ toolkits.
7. Our followers on Twitter recently rediscovered and retweeted this look at the hidden factor OTA’s use to get between you and your guests. You’ll really want to see why for yourself.
8. And, finally, don’t miss these mind-blowing mobile stats for hotel marketers from Google as you finalize your plans for next year.

If you’re interested in more insights and information about travel marketing and distribution, you’ll definitely want to check out these “4+ Fantastic Travel Marketing Posts: the Top Posts Of October, 2015” and be sure to check out this list of “4 Tremendous Travel Marketing Trends From the Past Week,” a great set of “7 Key Insights: The Top Travel Marketing Posts of August, 2015” 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