Hospitality Marketing: Going Mobile in the Digital Age

Tweet

By Rebecca Gardon, Account Executive 

Hotel management consultant Robert A. Rauch of R.A. Rauch & Associates recently hosted his second annual Hotel Forecast and Digital Marketing Conference with additional presentation by e-marketer Adam Brownstein. Brownstein is co-founder of buuteeq, a firm that provides a digital marketing system for hotels. Both presentations offered great food for thought for hospitality marketers.

In his opening, Rauch boldly stated that the information age is over and that we have entered a “digital tsunami age.” He explained that the hospitality landscape is evolving quickly as customers increasingly turn to online and mobile platforms for all forms of communication, sharing, planning and booking. But, now more than ever, the digital landscape is also driving all aspects of customer service and engagement, before, during and after a trip.

Brownstein later noted that while mobile traffic makes up 15 percent of current hotel website traffic volumes, smartphone activity has tripled in the last year alone. Approximately 30 percent of website traffic and 65 percent of same-day hotel reservations now come via mobile phones. He also noted that 57 percent of mobile users will not recommend a hotel with a bad mobile site.

What makes a good mobile site? In a nutshell, it should automatically deliver a tailored experience. A few ways to accomplish this include:

• Resizing and compressing images and enlarging text
• Displaying contact information prominently
• Linking seamlessly to maps
• Not using outdated flash technology
• Using a mobile optimized booking engine
• Running mobile-only promotions to target on-the-go travelers with last-minute deals

But having a mobile site is only one piece of the puzzle. Both Rauch and Brownstein agreed that in today’s instantaneous speed of ingesting information, a hotel’s main site and mobile site also should:

• Not skimp on high-quality photos! Photos sell a hotel even before marketing copy, with nearly 73 percent of users clicking on photos of rooms after visiting the homepage. 
• Keep things simple. As soon as a guest decides a site requires too much focus, effort, or time to find what they need, they will likely move on with without booking a room.

More advice for hoteliers included making sure their brand is on social media, and providing guests the opportunity to book through every applicable platform, such as the hotel’s Facebook page. Rauch also recommended that hotels integrate their TripAdvisor feed on their website. His reasoning? TripAdvisor is a great driver of bookings but also a leak. When potential guests are forced to leave a hotel’s site to read reviews of the property, they end up also reading the competitions’. Lastly, while TripAdvisor is still the leading trusted source of travel reviews, Rauch said to keep an eye on Google. The relentless competitor has made strong forays in hospitality and therefore hotels should at the very least have a presence on Google+ and Google Places.

The lessons imparted by Rauch and Brownstein can be applied to just about any business. Is yours effectively capturing today’s digital generation?

Best Practices for Media FAM Trips

Tweet

By Rebecca Chappell, Account Executive

Facilitating a FAM trip – a free or reduced-rate trip offered to travel professionals to familiarize them with what a destination has to offer – is a great opportunity to build relationships with media as well as provide an experience that they can recreate for their audience.

In the case of our client Wuksachi Lodge, a full-service hotel nestled in the heart of Sequoia National Park and operated by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, our FAMs have focused on what sets the hotel and surrounding area apart from other destinations. By customizing itineraries that showcase unique seasonal and year-round elements (versus one-off news items that have a quick shelf life), we are able to host media from short and long-lead outlets simultaneously. This is important, as long-lead magazines and television shows typically plan two months to a year in advance.

Executing a successful FAM trip requires a great deal of organization and there are a number of items to consider from start to finish. Here are just a few preliminary steps that will help ensure smooth sailing once guests are onsite:

Consider Timing and Resources

You need to first decide on dates for the trip, length of stay and the appropriate number of guests. Media generally prefer midweek to weekends and at least a two-night stay. Avoid holidays if possible. When contemplating how many guests to accommodate be sure to think about sightseeing opportunities. Will your guests walk or do you have a passenger van and trusted driver? And don’t overlook potential weather issues! If it rains on your outdoor activity or a heavy snow shuts down a thoroughfare, what’s the contingency plan?

Design an Invitation

Your invitation serves as pitch to entice media. In addition to the five W’s – who, what, why, when and where – it should convey the answer to the question: What’s in it for me? With all the invitations travel media receive to explore various destinations throughout the world, what makes yours worth saying “Yes!” to?

Find Qualified Participants

A great way to attract media to your FAM is to send your invitation through a professional database that specializes in the travel journalism. But just because someone accepts your invitation doesn’t mean you have to book them as part of the FAM. As part of the qualifying process you’ll want to request credentials, writing samples, links to published articles, etc. You can also pick up qualified leads from trade publications, sales and trade show activity and referrals.

Create an Itinerary

A well-thought out itinerary is imperative. Sightseeing destinations in Sequoia National Park, for example, are a great distance apart. Many require a vehicle as well as walking time. This is the sort of thing that needs to be accounted for when trying to get a media group to a tour on time. Also imperative is providing plenty of down time between activities. Sure, you want to showcase the place, but don’t pack the daily schedule so tight that media have no time to rest or explore at their own pace.

Supply Travel Tips

Before media depart for your destination you'll want to send them a list of travel tips, from driving and/or flight directions to important phone numbers to all the localized things in between. Since there are no gas stations within Sequoia National Park, we provide a list of the last gas stations you can fill up at before ascending the mountain. Because Sequoia is home to black bear, we provide bear safety information. And, as weather in the mountains can be unpredictable, we always offer suggestions for what to wear and what to pack.

These tips merely scratch the surface of what it takes to pull off a successful FAM trip. They do require a lot of organization in advance, but the results can be very beneficial for a client when all goes well!