2013 HeBS Digital Articles
A Call to Arms: How to Shift Market Share from the OTAs to the Hotel Website
OTA dependency isn’t new. What’s new is the pain to the bottom line inflicted by the fat commission checks hoteliers are now paying Expedia and other OTAs, due to the widespread adoption of Expedia’s and Booking.com’s agency model in the U.S.
By: Max Starkov
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A Blueprint to SEO Success: Creating Professional and Engaging Copy for the Hotel Website
The look and feel of a website may initially grab the user’s attention, while the copy contains the core information about the hotel that will convince to click “Book Now.”
By: Erica Garza
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From Dreaming to Booking: How Facebook Graph Search Plays a Role for Hotels in the Travel Planning Process
With 87% of online users reporting Social Media recommendations impact hotel choice, it is no secret that social media influences the travel planning process. With the launch of Graph Search, a feature that helps users discover common interests with friends and discover places to visit, social media’s impact on travel will become even more significant.
By: Margaret Mastrogiacomo
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How Real Are the Challenges to Dethrone Google as the King of Hotel Distribution?
The following article is Max Starkov’s latest contribution to tnooz.com
For years now hotel marketers have claimed that search engines are on the way out as a viable marketing and distribution channel in hospitality. Some point to “declining” number of hotel and travel searches, supposedly evident from Google Trends, as the ultimate proof of the demise of the search engines. But how much of it is hard fact?
By: Max Starkov
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Getting Ready for the 3-Screen Battle in 2013
The following article is Max Starkov’s latest contribution to the “Successful eMarketing” blog on HOTELS magazine’s website about creating and managing digital content across three distinct marketing and distribution channels (desktop, mobile, tablet), as well as publishing the hotel’s latest specials offers and promotions on the hotel’s social media profiles.
By: Max Starkov
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Responsive Web Design, Demystified
In recent times, a careful analysis of the hospitality industry reveals that majority of “mobile” bookings, nights and revenue are generated by tablet devices such as the iPad, Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus, not by “pure” mobile devices like the iPhone and Android smartphones. Therefore mobile and tablet devices and their respective marketing and distribution channels should be treated as separate device categories and hoteliers should pay special attention to the “Three Screens” in 2013: desktop, mobile and tablet.
By: Max Starkov
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The Smart Hotelier's 2013 Top Ten Digital Marketing Resolutions
What business goals were you able to achieve in 2012 that you want to improve this year? What did you not achieve? Were you distracted by the next big thing and lost sight of hotel digital marketing fundamentals? What strategy should hoteliers adopt to stay competitive in this ever changing digital world? As we find ourselves in a new year full of possibilities, now is a good time to plan your digital marketing efforts throughout 2013.