This is an unpredictable environment for hotel marketers.  And that unpredictability isn't going away any time soon. A savvy hotel marketer's resolutions put the focus on the things you can control so that you're well positioned when items outside your control occur. 

Demand is difficult, if not downright impossible, for hotels to control. Costs, however, are within your control. Hotel marketers must keep a close eye on their cost of guest acquisition and look for ways to manage those costs more effectively. Focus not only on return on spend, but on the profits your marketing activities drive. 

Google represents an increasing source of higher costs for hotels. Between paid search, SEO, and metasearch, hotels have begun to depend on Google as much, or more than OTAs. But with huge changes coming in the search ecosystem — driven by recent announcements of machine learning models like ChatGPT and Bard into Bing and Google search results —  hotels should consider ways to reduce their dependence on the search giant. Work to build your direct connections with guests using email and social channels. That way you won"t find yourself struggling for traffic and revenue in case we see huge shifts in the ways search works. 

When times get tough, many hoteliers launch rate-driven promotions to maintain demand. However, research and real-world experience shows that hotels that cut their rates find it harder to claw their way back to profitability when the market rebounds. Instead, focus on packages, value adds, and upsells to increase your share of wallet from guests while they're shopping for travel and when they're in market. Again, you can't always control demand. You can, however, strongly influence how much revenue you earn from each guest. 

Finally, this is likely to be a highly uncertain year. Guests worry about the economy just the same as you do. The hotel marketing and revenue generation teams that succeed most often in these uncertain times are those that react quickly to changing conditions. Keep track of your data. Pay attention to shifting guest behaviors. And practice bringing new ideas to market in a more agile fashion so that you're able to quickly adapt as guest behaviors change. Together with your increased focus on profitable guest acquisition, reduced dependence on Google, and continued focus on revenue/profit per guest, you'll be well positioned to have a very Happy New Year in 2023… and beyond.