The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today revealed the first wave of headline speakers for its milestone 25th Global Summit in Rome, which includes a glittering line-up of some of the most influential figures shaping the future of the sector.
Many of you asked and we listened! With so many people away on summer holidays, we have extended the Early Bird rate for the DigiTech & Commercial Strategy Forum in the Netherlands. This gives you a little extra time to secure your place at the best available rate.
According to HotelMarketingWorks.com, most hotels allocate between 4-8% of their total revenue for marketing activities. New hotels: 10% of projected revenue Established properties: 4-6% of actual revenue Luxury hotels: Up to 8% of revenue Seasonal adjustments are also recommended as follows: High Season: Increase budget by 20-30% Shoulder Season: Maintain regular budget Low Season: Reduce budget by 20-30% or redirect to advance bookings
The question of what percentage of total revenue should hoteliers be spending on marketing should not be answered by comparing with OTA, but rather by looking at product lifecycle and corporate goals. By product lifecycle, we mean where the hotel is standing in terms of lifetime existence: launching stage, early growth, maturity, descaling or declining?
Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with SYDEL, a French real estate investment company, to establish Dusit France – a joint venture created to bring Dusit’s unique brand of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality to France for the first time.
The rumors about the inevitable end of the "traditional" search engines like Google at the hands of AI Search are highly exaggerated. According to latest data by SEMrush, based on the last 12 months, people interact with search engines 34 TIMES more often than with AI search.
This is ongoing learning, as LLMs continue to learn. But GEO is built on top of SEO. It has to get its knowledge from somewhere. It means UCG (ie reviews) is more important, specific content is more important and understanding your target market is more important.
I work with many hoteliers and when it comes to the topic of online discovery, the first question I ask is: have you tried to search for your property, or lodging in your area, on different AI tools lately? It's quite surprising how so few have done it.
The speed of change is extraordinary! This rapid shift to AI summaries and conversational search marks a critical turning point for hotel content. Simple keyword-stuffing is ending; AI thrives on deep context and relationships, not raw data.
Nestled in the vibrant heart of London, Stand Palace, part of L+R Hotels, is a historic landmark that has welcomed travellers since 1909. Moments from landmarks like Trafalgar Square and the lively atmosphere of Covent Garden, this 788-room hotel seamlessly blends modern comforts with traditional British charm. The hotel provides guests with an ideal setting for both leisure and business.
The Hotel Marketing Association (HMA) has officially unveiled the shortlist for its prestigious 30th annual Hotel Marketing Awards – marking a major milestone in championing marketing excellence across UK hospitality.
For some, the Eurovision Song Contest is just another TV show on a Saturday night, but for many, it is THE event of the year! To countless viewers, it’s the Olympics of music - a moment to share with friends and family, and to root for your favorite entry. For some lucky die-hard fans, it’s even time to travel to Basel, as the live broadcast is staged in front of a large, enthusiastic audience. As such, the Eurovision Song Contest represents a unique opportunity for the city's hospitality sector to showcase its offerings on a global stage. Beyond the spectacle, Eurovision is a prime example of – a growing travel trend where fans journey to experience live music events. Let’s review how such a cultural event can drive “event tourism” to Basel and impact the city's international attractiveness.
Why are we always trying to oppose one against the other in terms of online search? Organic search and paid search should be seen as a single, unified digital marketing strategy. They complement and amplify each other. Why? they have a shared goal: visibility, traffic, credibility and conversion amplified by AI personalisation, the data analysis synergy: it allows to focus only on the 'converting' terms and inform the SEO content actions.
The answer is rather straightforward: if somebody is bidding on your brand terms (OTAs and affiliates, for example), you are leaving clicks and bookings on the table if you do not: that additional spot in the SERP affects your conversion rates significantly.
Who searches your hotel by its official name? These are your past guests, people referred by friends and family, people influenced by word-of-mouth, people who have read positive reviews on social media or PR about the property.
The 8th annual Luxury Hospitality Symposium (LHS) successfully concluded on March 19th, 2025, at the Autograph Bankside Hotel, London, leaving a lasting impact on aspiring luxury hospitality professionals.
HBX Group (HBX.SM), a leading independent B2B travel technology marketplace, shares a first glimpse into MarketHub Europe 2025, scheduled from April 1 to 4, 2025, in the Algarve, Portugal. Hosted at Tivoli Marina Vilamoura Algarve Resort, part of Minor Hotels, this invitation-only event will convene industry leaders for discussions, insights, and networking opportunities that will shape the future of travel and tourism.
The highly anticipated 8th annual Luxury Hospitality Symposium (LHS) will take place on March 19th, 2025, at the prestigious Autograph Bankside Hotel in London. This premier event, organized by academics and students, serves as a vital bridge between aspiring luxury hospitality professionals and luxury hospitality industry leaders.
Groupe Floirat, the long-standing leader in French luxury hospitality, announces its rebranding to Floirat Signatures, reflecting the group’s continued commitment to delivering exceptional experiences while embracing a refreshed identity.
Taking as its slogan ’The World of Travel Lives Here’, ITB Berlin 2025 is taking place from 4 to 6 March 2025. Fully booked halls and a record number of 5,800 national and international exhibitors (5 per cent more than in 2024) from over 170 countries underline the global reach of the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show, while the ITB Buyers Circle with its 1,300 senior buyers is an indicator of the industry’s upturn. Particularly in the key travel segments of Cruises and Travel Technology for example, but also in the dynamic markets of Southern Europe, Asia, Africa and the Arab states, there has been significant growth. Albania is presenting itself as the host country with the slogan ’Albania All Senses’. Taking as its heading ’The Power of Transition Lives Here’, the ITB Berlin Convention will address the challenges and opportunities of a changing market with high-profile speakers from companies including Expedia, DERTOUR, Google, Uber, Booking.com, Microsoft Advertising, Wyndham, UN Tourism, TUI, Ryanair and many more. The latest World Travel Monitor® findings of IPK International reflect the industry's positive mood.
Truly, there’s no place like Rome. The Eternal City is forever a delight to visit for work or for pleasure. Over the past five years, the Italian capital has gone through a hospitality renaissance, with incredible hotels opening (or reopening) throughout its ancient center. This has forced every market participant to step up their game.
According to guest evaluations, the best hotel in Bulgaria for 2024 is the five-star Voya Beach Resort in Sveti Vlas, closely followed by Kashmir Wellness and Spa (Velingrad) and the Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia.
The challenges and tasks facing a tourism industry in transition are the focus of the ITB Berlin Convention 2025, which takes place from 4 to 6 March at the Berlin Exhibition Centre. Under the motto ‘The Power of Transition lives here’, trade visitors can look forward to an ambitious and comprehensive programme with high-profile presentations and discussions on the future of travel.
UN Tourism’s (former UNWTO) new headquarters presentation is expected to take place amid upcoming elections for the Secretary-General, which will be held in May in Madrid, the capital city that hosts the UN agency.
Traditional SEO is not dead, but traditional search is! Consumers simply do not search as they did 10 or 15 years ago. Social search is now a big component of the customer journey: from TikTok to YouTube to Instagram, the platforms are diverse and usage greatly vary depending on age and traveler habits.
In spite of all the buzz around genAI, the AI Search market share today is estimated around 6% of the total search market, and estimated to go up to 14% by 2028 (Search Engine Land). Google's own Gemini AI has already been made available to Google's 84 billion monthly users - compare this to ChatGPT's 121 million users!
I don't believe that SEO is dead. I am of the view that the role of SEO is going to develop in alignment with the evolution of search. After all, it doesn't resemble the way it began with the incumbent approach. The challenge remains how to be found.