Sales & Marketing USA & Canada Opinion Articles - Hospitality Net

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Opinion Article

November 10, 2009

Carlson, IHG and Wyndham leaders sound off on recovery plans

After any natural disaster, it’s important to check in with affected parties to survey the damage. The same is true for an industry battered under a deluge of economic recession. During the Hospitality Leadership Forum held Saturday at New York’s Javits Center, moderator John Russell of NYLO Hotels asked for status reports from leaders of three major hotel companies during a CEO leadership panel. Their answers were heavy on challenges, but showed a resiliency and optimism that reflect the green shoots that have begun to sprout up throughout the industry

Opinion Article

November 10, 2009

Packing the PR Punch | The Power of Public Relations Is Now vs Later

Over the past 18 months, one of the many casualties of cost cutting, downsizing, and elimination in the hotel industry, has been the commitment to comprehensive, strategic, creative, and proactive public relations communication. Much of the public relations activity in recent months has been reactive or related to dealing with the many perils and fallout of a struggling industry. Reduced travel, spiraling rates, image adjustments tied to consumer perception anxiety, crisis management with defaults, receivership, and trying to stay one step ahead of the next wave of bad news.

Carol A. Baetzel , CBPR

Opinion Article

November 6, 2009

How OTAs boost bookings on your own Web site

The Choice Hotels-Expedia brouhaha of recent weeks has shined a scorching spotlight on the fickle relationship between hotel companies and online travel agencies. Call it the industry’s version of a celebrity breakup scandal. But while the focus of debate has centered on last-room availability and other contractual terms surrounding room bookings, there’s a fundamental component of this precarious affiliation that’s gone largely ignored: visibility.

Opinion Article

November 5, 2009

Price discovery (aka value) must emerge before recovery can begin

Establishing the value of a hotel in today’s economy is a little like playing darts blindfolded at the local pub—you know the general direction to throw but no one is certain exactly where the dart will stick. Speakers at last week’s ninth annual Fishing for Solutions: Servicing Hotel Loans conference in suburban Dallas reached a general consensus that it’s good to be skeptical if anyone tries to put an absolute value on a hotel. The hip term is “price discovery”—but speakers agreed no matter what it’s called, it must be determined before a significant recovery can occur.

Opinion Article

November 5, 2009

Principles of Success: Closing the Circle in Measuring Performance - Understanding 360° Feedback

My last two columns have addressed the evaluation and measuring performance process for hotel staff and I appreciate reader comments, questions and the opportunity to support hospitality and hotel companies. Those reader questions and inquiries caused me to reflect on the need to complete or “close” the circle of evaluation, which is providing useful and meaningful feedback to senior management.

By John Hogan, CHA CHMS CHE CHO, HoganHospitality.com

Opinion Article

November 5, 2009

“A Hidden Gem!” or “Lame!!!”? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch Out For

In 2007, a traveler wrote the following review of Opus Hotel Vancouver on TripAdvisor: “The GM who thought he was Ian Fleming was a real detriment to a great trip. Shame -- let’s hope the hotel sees sense and releases Daniel to make another movie.” Ouch. The comment was a reference to my James Bond namesake and my secondary career as a mystery novelist, but nonetheless I was baffled by it, having no recollection of any guest encounter that would have provoked a public cry for my dismissal.

By Daniel Craig, Founder & Chief Strategist, Reknown, Reknown Marketing

Opinion Article

November 4, 2009

New construction largely on hold, but opportunities still available

Adding hotels to the existing construction pipeline isn’t likely to for another year, and when such building activity revives, it’ll more often happen in the limited-service and economy segments, said North American developers, construction specialists and consultants. At the same time, opportunities for new-builds in the US$3-million-to-US$10-million range are available, particularly if you follow the interstate highway system, as Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson did in the 1950s and Wilson disciple John Q. Hammons of Hammons Hotels does now.

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Hospitality Net

Opinion Article

November 4, 2009

Full-Service Hotels Look to Gain Group Business as Physicians Avoid Resorts

Much has been written and discussed about the restrictions placed on physicians attending pharmaceutical and other life-science industry corporation training and educational programs, in particular, at high-end resorts throughout North America. It’s no wonder then that many resort operators have limited drastically or even abandoned altogether pursing this lucrative and highly coveted business.

By David Brudney, ISHC, David Brudney & Associates

Opinion Article

November 3, 2009

Positioning Your Hotel For The 2010 Marketplace

We suspect that 2010 will show some signs of recovery mixed with continued hardship for many hotels. We all know what happens when revenue levels are constricted; fewer dollars in, fewer dollars to spend. At this point, careful consideration should be made for every dollar spent to develop business.

Hotel Marketing Coach

Opinion Article

October 30, 2009

Choice, Expedia resume negotiations

Choice Hotels International and Expedia are at the bargaining table looking to hammer out an agreement that would get the room inventories at Choice’s more than 5,000 hotels listed again on the Web sites that Expedia operates. Those Web sites, including Expedia.com and Hotels.com, have not had Choice properties listed in their inventories for about two weeks. In a previously released statement, Expedia said it pulled Choice hotels from its site because of the inability to reach a new agreement after numerous extensions.

Opinion Article

October 29, 2009

Real Time Data: Handle with Care

So, have you heard about balloon boy? Of course you have. You probably heard about it from at least three different sources, all within 30 minutes of that papier-maché and tinfoil contraption breaking free. I'm also guessing that you know what your high school classmate – who you haven't spoken to in 15 years - ate for breakfast while delayed at the Cincinnati Airport. (Maybe it was O'Hare. You get the idea.) Between 24-hour cable news, Twitter, Facebook, various iPhone Apps, Foursquare, FriendFeed and the myriad of other information channels, we are all on information overload. This state of being has allowed us increased awareness of the world around us (think the Mumbai hotel bombings and the Iran election riots) and kept us abreast of important news items, but often this information comes at us so fast that it can lead to rash opinions, speculation, misinformation and - simply put - noise.

Opinion Article

October 27, 2009

Independent hotels join forces for distinct message

Seven “fiercely independent” resorts, each a brand name on its own, have banded together to form Kindred Resorts & Hotels, a group whose aim is to provide a cohesive voice for independent properties like themselves and to tell the story of what these kinds of resorts represent, according to Gregory Riehle, executive VP of Saddlebrook Holdings. The Kindred slogan is: “Authentic in Spirit, Distinctive in Style.”

Opinion Article

October 27, 2009

Travel’s impact on US economy adds up

Struggling to silence pesky naysayers who still doubt the importance of travel in jumpstarting the sluggish U.S. economy? Here’s a number to add to your ammo clip: US$772.9 billion. That’s the amount spent by domestic and international travelers in the U.S. in 2008.

Opinion Article

October 26, 2009

The supply-growth effect

During the current U.S. hotel downturn, it has been painfully clear that the suffering has been shared by properties in each and every chain-scale segment of the industry. Whether you look at the high-end luxury segment or the opposite end of the spectrum in the economy segment, you see occupancy declines of anywhere from 9 percent to 12 percent. However, not all occupancy declines are created equal.

Opinion Article

October 21, 2009

Hilton Worldwide has a nice ring to it

Steve Bollenbach’s dream has been realized. Bollenbach, the financial whiz who led Hilton Hotels Corporation’s growth explosion that was exemplified by the merger with Promus Hotels Corporation on the final day of 1999, envisioned a worldwide Hilton that melded HHC with Hilton International. That vision became reality last month when the company announced its new corporate name and logo. Hilton Worldwide, as the McLean, Virginia-based company now is known, is among the world’s largest hotel companies with more than 3,400 owned, managed, licensed or franchised hotels in its portfolio.

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Opinion Article

October 21, 2009

"Growing Tension Between Hoteliers and OTA's"…NONSENSE! | An Alternative Viewpoint by Neil Salerno

I just got through reading an article titled "Growing Tension Between Hoteliers and OTA's". There are so many of things in this article with which I don't agree, I don't know where to begin. Either the author is attempting to sidle-up to Choice Hotels or he just doesn't get it. I won't go through every detail here; I would need to write a mini-novel. Let's just say I would urge other hotels to consider some facts before acquiescing to the article's implications.

Hotel Marketing Coach

Opinion Article

October 19, 2009

Hotel Hospitality Training Tips For The Era Of Social Networking

Remember in “the good old days” when “all” we had to worry about from a negative guest was that they would tell their family, friends, and co-workers? Most seasoned hoteliers will recall being told in training classes that “a happy guest tells five others; an unhappy guest tells 9-10 others.” It seems like not that long ago I was facilitating workshops where, based on these numbers, we tried to quantify the significant cost of future business that was lost through negative word-of-month advertising, and even then it easily justified an investment in hotel hospitality training.

Kennedy Training Network (KTN)

Opinion Article

October 16, 2009

Hotel Loyalty Programs: An Overview and How They Benefit Hotels

Throughout the travel and retail industries, consumers have been bombarded with countless loyalty programs, the aim of which is to retain customers and increase their loyalty to a specific brand or company. In the hotel industry, hotel loyalty programs or frequent guest programs have been around since the early 1980s, starting with the inception of IHG's Priority Club Rewards program. Since then, all the major hotel companies have created their own version of the hotel loyalty program and are constantly striving to present their program as offering the best value. This article will provide an overview of hotel loyalty programs, focusing on how they potentially benefit hotel owners and operators.

Opinion Article

October 12, 2009

Breaking down demand and ADR for the rest of 2009

As we approach the final months of 2009 we will be watching the weekly and monthly performance results very carefully. In particular, from about now (mid-October) through the rest of the year the two most important factors to watch are demand and average daily rate. While it is obvious that the ADR results will follow demand strength, the industry’s response to the rebounding demand or the lack there of, will be a telling signal for next year.

Opinion Article

September 21, 2009

Hotel Management Strategies For Tough Times

In spite of these tough times, some hotels are doing better than others and a few hotels are actually doing quite well. This anomaly sparked my curiosity; was this solely a result of local market variations or could it be a result of better management in some hotels? My conclusion is that it is more than likely a combination of both factors. As hoteliers, we have little control over market conditions, but total control over how we conduct business and how we react to market variations. It's a matter of how well hotel managers deal with fluctuations in the marketplace and how well they lead their teams during tough times.

Hotel Marketing Coach