The revolution has started and it is killing off the old SEO strategies that used to shape hotel marketing. If you want to survive, it's time to learn new skills.

There are paths to prosperity ahead - especially for DOSMs at independents and in small groups - but finding the way will mean unlearning the old rule book. Throw it on a bonfire. It no longer works.

Back when, hotel DOSMs bought themselves lots of keywords and they patted themselves on the back for getting traffic that might otherwise have landed at OTAs.

That was the second leg of this failed strategy - disintermediating OTAs and seeking to maximize direct bookings. That's obviously still the goal of the biggest hotel operators - think Marriott and Hilton - but, increasingly, smart independents and small groups are seeking to find paths to co-existence with the OTAs.

That's because the OTAs - essentially marketing companies - spend huge amounts advertising their services direct to consumers. Literally billions of dollars annually.

Maybe a big hotel player - a Marriott - can go toe to toe with the OTAs, using perks to loyalty program members as a tasty carrot to encourage direct bookings.

An independent hasn't a prayer.

What should an independent do? Find ways to work with the OTAs. Compete with them in ad spending and you are doomed. But they welcome partnerships and are becoming more creative - and flexible - in finding ways to work with independent hotels, especially since it is plain that independents and OTAs honestly need each other.

That's just the beginning of what a DOSM has to do in 2016.

Next step: really focus on a lively social media strategy.

Get active across multiple channels - Facebook, Instagram, probably Snapchat, possibly Twitter. Where will you find your prospective guest and current guests? Be there. If your guests aren't there, don't bother. Focus on what matters.

Go heavy on visuals. Good images sell on social media - they stimulate engagement. They get reposted, passed around, talked about.

Be clever. I cringe when I see a post consisting of a static, sometimes blurred plate of food and a caption: "Hungry? Stop by today for a taste of the chef's special."

Really? That just is not good enough. Be clever. Be memorable. Be fun. And always use very good images. That's the whole secret to success on social media. Is it easy? No. But success on social media is worth the hard work because it's the place to communicate directly with guests and prospects.

Also play on the free parts of TripAdvisor - and be clever about responding to a sampling of guest postings. Be courteous, empathetic, and kind - be the perfect host - and do that even when a guest's comment stings.

Crankiness happens on TripAdvisor. But you can't respond in kind. Always ask: "Am I coming across as fun? Caring? Likeable?" If in doubt, don't post.

Here's the third leg of the 2016 marketing platform: focus on creating unique guest experiences and support those experiences with fun, clever custom content on your site.

Be firm about both parts.

Guest experiences - to sell - truly need to be unique and authentic. I still recall one resort that bragged on its "unique" hiking - and the hiking actually was quite good but 99% happened on federally-owned lands near the resort.

There is no unique there.

What are you offering that isn't common in your market? Where can you create a potent unique selling proposition?

Now tell the story - vividly, personally, and written in the language of writers, not marketers.

And watch that story bring in a stream of clicks from guests and prospective guests. That - compelling custom content (not overpaying for AdWords) - is the how to of driving traffic to a hotel's site in 2016.

To reprise:

  • Buying AdWords is RIP. Too expensive. Stop it.
  • Slugging it out with OTAs is stupid for independents. Forge partnerships.
  • Get creative - and visual - on social media.
  • Win guests with unique experiences - and post colorful, fun content to support the experiences.

Three steps to marketing success. How hard is any of this? Not very. The wonder is that so many DOSMs still don't get that the whole marketing terrain now is different. And that means different tactics are needed to succeed.

Babs Harrison
Babs Harrison + Partners
Babs Harrison + Partners