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Sales & Marketing

Press Release

Ludacris Becomes Booking.com's Newest Host, Offering The Ultimate Family Travel Experience At His Atlanta Home

An A-Town adventure awaits! Digital travel leader Booking.com has teamed up with legendary Grammy Award-winning rapper, actor and philanthropist Ludacris for an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime, family-friendly experience at his iconic Atlanta mansion. For just $4.04, a nod to the renowned Atlanta area code, four lucky guests will have the opportunity to stay at Ludacris’ luxurious compound for a two-night stay starting on September 3, 2024, exclusively on Booking.com. This unique getaway offers an immersive experience into Ludacris’ world, featuring his personal touch and favorite family-friendly activities, with the added thrill of meeting Ludacris himself during the stay.

Booking.com
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Press Release

Local travel on the rise: See the top trending destinations locals love

Guests are increasingly discovering amazing stays closer to home. Over the past five years, nights stayed by Airbnb guests within 300 miles of their home (which is about a tank of gas away) have nearly doubled.1 Although international travel has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, the trend of traveling locally shows no signs of slowing. In fact, local travel is growing twice as fast as long-distance travel on Airbnb.2

Airbnb
United States
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How to increase conversion rates on a hotel website

Today's consumers expect online experiences comparable to top-tier eCommerce brands. The guest's first touchpoint with the hotel is almost always the website, and too often hoteliers overlook this digital real estate. Getting users to book direct requires a few different things: the website needs to provide relevant information and value, inspire trust and credibility, and reduce friction during the process.

Tina Markowitz
View by Tina Markowitz, Vice President, Global Strategy, Cendyn™
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How Hotels Can Increase Their Website Conversion Rate in 2024

There is no magic formula to drive direct reservations. There's no one, perfect booking engine that will immediately increase conversions exponentially. If there were a single, proven fix that works every time, you'd have done it by now. The truth is that improving conversion rate takes dedication. It requires focus. And, it takes a willingness to invest in your property's future. 

Tim Peter
View by Tim Peter, Founder & President, Tim Peter & Associates, Tim Peter & Associates, LLC
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Max Starkov
By Max Starkov
Expert Views (16)
Erik Muñoz
Erik Muñoz, Business Development Director EMEA, TrustYou

Many hoteliers have adopted interactive widgets on their homepage as well as on pages deeper in the hotel booking funnel. The benefit of using widget technologies such as Userguest, The Hotels Network and TripTease (to name a few) is to attract and convert the website visitors into hotel bookers.

Charlie Osmond
Charlie Osmond, Co-Founder & Chief Tease, Triptease

For those languishing under 2% CVR, the answer is usually pretty obvious. The best way to increase your conversion rate is to 'think like a booker'. Find ten minutes. Make a cup of tea, and before you pick up your phone or open a browser window, think about your ideal guest.

Frederic Gonzalo
Frederic Gonzalo, Travel & Hospitality expert. Digital Marketing & Strategy Speaker and Consultant, Gonzo Marketing

Improving conversion rates on a hotel website should ALWAYS be a priority, not just in 2024. Indeed, hoteliers invest quite a bit into SEO, paid search, paid social media as well as content strategies across various digital outposts (newsletter, blog, social media, SMS, etc.).

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Two main reasons why Amazon will not become a major player in travel

Amazon missed their one and only chance to enter the travel space by not acquiring Orbitz or Travelocity when these OTAs were for up for grabs. Now it is too late - the consolidation In the travel intermediary space has already happened. Unless Amazon acquires Expedia with its $18.5 billion market cap, I don't see Amazon entering the travel space organically, though many hoteliers would love to have another player in addition to the current OTA duopoly Booking-Expedia.

Two main reasons why Amazon will not become a major player in travel:

Max Starkov
View by Max Starkov, Hospitality & travel technologist and digital strategist, Hospitality Net
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Amazon is sure to partner to conquer travel!

With its massive traffic, incredible insights into customer behaviour, and powerful consumer brand, Amazon has the potential to disrupt practically any market it chooses to attack. However, travel may be the exception given its unique double-sided natue.  In addition to cost effectively finding customers (something with which Amazon should have had little problem, given its existing customer base to who travel products could easily and effectively be cross sold), to be successful a travel intermediary must also assure cost effective access to sufficient and suitable inventory to meet customer demand, with "full" coverage of the market a key success factor. 

Peter O’Connor
View by Peter O’Connor, Professor of Strategy, University of South Australia
Max Starkov
By Max Starkov
Expert Views (8)
Max Starkov
Max Starkov, Hospitality & travel technologist and digital strategist, Hospitality Net

Amazon missed their one and only chance to enter the travel space by not acquiring Orbitz or Travelocity when these OTAs were for up for grabs. Now it is too late - the consolidation In the travel intermediary space has already happened.

Erik Muñoz
Erik Muñoz, Business Development Director EMEA, TrustYou

Today Amazon has approximately 200 million Amazon Prime members globally. To put this into perspective, if Amazon Prime was a country, it would be the 8th biggest in the world measured by population. With this enormous membership size, or 'captive audience', Amazon has the necessary market reach to monetize any travel-related product or service.

Frederic Gonzalo
Frederic Gonzalo, Travel & Hospitality expert. Digital Marketing & Strategy Speaker and Consultant, Gonzo Marketing

I laughed at first when I saw this topic, as I recall vividly having had this discussion in the past. In fact, I wrote a blog post titled Will You Book Your Next Hotel on Amazon?... back in 2014!! Amazon did indeed tip its toes into travel distribution but the journey was short-lived.

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Press Release

Be More Outdoors: World of Hyatt Announces Exclusive Alliance with Under Canvas, the Leader in Upscale Outdoor Hospitality, Adding More Immersive Experiences for Guests and Members

World of Hyatt is inviting guests and members to immerse themselves in memorable outdoor experiences and stays at Under Canvas’ 13 outdoor resorts, including Under Canvas’ new luxury outdoor resort, ULUM Moab. The new alliance provides members with unprecedented access to iconic, upscale experiences across many U.S. national parks and other notable outdoor destinations. World of Hyatt members can now book their stays at Under Canvas camps and ULUM Moab through Hyatt to start earning and redeeming points.

Hyatt
United States
Supplier News

WORLD24 Set to Galvanize the Travel Industry with Advanced Education, Networking and Awards

WorldVia Travel Group, a collection of leading travel companies in the United States, is set to host WORLD24, its premier annual conference, September 11-13 at Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Funner, California. This education and networking event is expected to draw hundreds of travel professionals from across the nation, offering three days of intensive relationship-building, learning opportunities and award celebrations.

WorldVia Travel Group
United States
Press Release

HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference Welcomes Record Attendance For Two Days of Collaboration

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas, proudly concluded its highly anticipated first Commercial Strategy Conference which took place from June 25-26, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The sold-out event, an evolution of HSMAI’s Marketing Strategy Conference and HSMAI ROC, brought together a record-breaking 860 industry professionals from 152 unique hotel brands and management companies, and more than 40 partner companies, from across the hospitality sector to explore the latest trends, strategies, and innovations shaping the future of commercial success in the industry.

HSMAI (USA)
United States
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Tambourine
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Texas Beats Florida in the surge of 4th July hotel bookings compared to last year!

The 4th of July sparks vibrant domestic travel across the U.S. Families and friends celebrate with fireworks, parades, beach outings, and barbecues. This holiday encapsulates the diverse beauty and rich culture of America, making it a prime time for exploring national parks, historical landmarks, and new cities. As Americans plan their vacation, here’s how the travel trends are shaping.

World on Holiday
United States
Press Release

Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration Bestows 2024 Cornell Hospitality Icon and Innovators of the Industry Awards

The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration held its annual Icon & Innovators Award Reception on June 4th at The Gotham in New York City. Cornell alumnus Keith Barr ’92, IHG’s former chief executive officer, was the recipient of the 2024 Cornell Hospitality Icon of the Industry Award. Chef José Andrés and Rob Wilder, co-founders of World Central Kitchen and José Andrés Group, were the recipients of the 2024 Hospitality Innovators of the Industry Award.

Cornell
New York, New York, United States
Press Release

PRG Hospitality Group Announces Rebrand And New Moniker, “Common Thread Hotels”

PRG Hospitality Group, the independent hotel brand behind award-winning destinations including Sparrows Lodge, Sands Hotel & Spa, White Water Cambria and more, today introduces its newly reimagined parent brand, Common Thread Hotels, which will replace the PRG moniker across all facets of sales, marketing, branding and corporate relations. Common Thread, the company’s new identity, has been brought to life with a new portfolio website, branding and messaging, designed to cohesively represent their vision of contemporary, design-centric boutique hospitality.

Common Thread Hotels
California, United States