8 Excellent Answers to the Question, How Important is Technology to Hospitality Marketing? Hospitality Marketing Link Digest

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Hey, Big Thinkers! Hope you’re having an amazing week so far. People ask us all the time, “How important is technology to hospitality marketing?” While it’s abundantly clear that we think the answer is “very important,” you’ve also got to balance your dependence on technology with the right strategy and a clear focus on execution. And to help you do that, we’ve rounded up this great list of 8 excellent insights that can help you understand exactly how important a role technology plays in your hospitality marketing strategy so you can develop the right strategy, reach the right guests, and execute on your vision. Enjoy:

1. A recent Hotel News Now column from our own Tim Peter explains why digital isn’t about technology. And it really isn’t.
2. Mitul Makadia, the founder of Maruti Techlabs, has a thought-provoking piece on MediaPost about how the adoption of AI in hotels will affect operational dynamics that you won’t want to miss. While it’s tough to agree with all of Mitul’s assessments, he likely gets more right than wrong.
3. On a highly-related note, we took a look at why AI will change hospitality marketing forever. Believe me, you’re not going to want to miss this one.
4. We also rounded up a set of 9 Airbnb, AI, and additional insights into travel marketing trends this week for a recent edition of the Hospitality Marketing Link Digest that you’ll want to review.
5. Ed Watkins wrote a great recap for Duetto’s blog all about how Marriott leads the battle to reign in acquisition costs, which is a might important topic.
6. Hotel News Now talked with Tim Peter in a detailed Q&A about what hoteliers must know about digital marketing. Truly great stuff there.
7. And in a recent guest editorial for Hotel Executive, Tim argues it's not “mobile first,” it's guest first. Be sure to check out the whole column to see why.
8. Finally, you’ll absolutely want to round out your review of these |???| with this collection of 10 tremendous insights into the trends driving hotel digital marketing in 2018, also from the Hospitality Marketing Link Digest series. Great stuff.

If you’re looking to learn even more about how changing customer behavior will shape your marketing going forward, 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 check out these slides I had the pleasure of presenting recently about the key trends shaping marketing in the next year. Here are the slides for your reference:

Finally, you might enjoy some of these past posts from Thinks to help you build your e-commerce strategy and your digital success:

• 9 Posts Featuring Chatbots, AI and all the Hospitality Digital Marketing Trends of 2018: Hospitality Marketing Link Digest
• Why AI Will Change Hospitality Marketing Forever
• 6 Mobile Commerce and Strategy Insights: E-commerce Link Digest
• Content is Still the King
• The Digital Strategy Myth
• Why Mobile Payments Will Rule
• Driving Seamless Experiences in 2016 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 149)
• Mobile is So Much Bigger Than You Think (Thinks Out Loud Episode 140)
• It’s Not “Mobile First.” It’s “Customer First.”
• 8 Killer Entries About Improving E-commerce Experience: E-commerce Link Digest