In addition to the two projects* I mentioned in last post there's one that I am particularly looking forward to, The Hotel Yearbook 2019, I'm honored to be the guest editor for this edition and we have been working with a bunch of exciting contributors such as KasselsKramer, citizenM, Ctrip, Paolo Torchio from Two-Roads Hospitality, Philippe Vaurs from Elegancia Hotels and many more. Digital marketing has changed from the pure performance and clicks that we used to associate with it. We'll cover topics like how brand building and brand integrity is now managed online. Excited to show it to everyone.

*The two projects I mentioned are Tell. Trends a paid quarterly report of the trends in hotel marketing and you can get on the waiting list. And the Marketing Workshop for Hotel Technology Companies happening later this year.

Food for thought.

Google Maps becoming the ultimate travel app

It is arguable that Google Maps is the most used travel app. The reviews are growing at an incredible pace, the contributor community is actually a community with exclusive events at Google Offices and that's just a small part of it. With recommendations this is growing even more and removing the travelers "where should we eat tonight" struggle. For hotels and trips this eventually means more (paid) opportunities to get discovered at the right moments.

ANALYSING GOOGLE TRAVEL APPS

The change in hotel search

Hotel marketing has changed a lot over the last few years, the really short version is that today marketing a hotel is more about building a brand (through the experience) and great revenue management. The search for hotels is mostly about matching price, experience and location than it ever has been. As search platforms grow it more accessible building fewer generic hotels and more personalised experiences. There will always be tension between direct and third parties because third parties will try to lower costs to consumers and increase fees to partners, but they don't matter if one can charge the right price to the right guest.

GOOGLE SEARCH AND HOTELS

Deloitte looks at the future of tech in travel

"Over the past two years, travel start-ups raised a cumulative $30 billion in funding - almost totalling the amount raised over the past 10 years." Deloitte's recent look into the future of travel tech is quite interesting and includes a very easy to understand overview of the 5 main sectors of travel technology that will shape the future: Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, Voice, Automation and Blockchain.

WHAT TECH WILL SHAPE TRAVEL

Preparing for Voice tech in Hotels

That voice technology is coming to hotels is not new. We know it is coming, the problem with such new technologies is what should hoteliers do, today, to prepare for it when it comes. It isn't viable to invest into such technologies heavily today since we don't know where it will go. But if anything, online distribution has taught us that waiting it out is a bad idea. Because nobody knows exactly when and how it will change, the only thing to do now is get prepared. This article has some pragmatic steps to do to prepare for the coming changes.

GETTING READY FOR VOICE

Marketing Lessons from the Movie Industry

The movie industry has built one of the most efficient marketing machines we know. The risks are huge, the costs are extraordinarily high and the product has a limited lifecycle. Many similar (but smaller) conditions exist in the hotel industry, so learning from some of their marketing ideas can only help. Even if they have the star power, budgets, storytelling and graphic teams that beat any hotel or hotel group, there is still something to learn.

SPENDING MILLIONS

Martin Soler
Soler & Associates