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A BrightEdger
M Posted 9 years ago
t 4 min read

Hospitality Marketing Best Practices

For professionals working in the hospitality industry, online marketing presents its own set of challenges. Our own research has indicated that businesses in these industries have a very high rate of engagement with online content - up to 87 percent. Customers are paying attention to what hotels have to say, but you need to make sure you are getting the right information in front of the right customer. We have worked to bring together some of the brightest minds in the industry to Share15 so that those representing hotel brands could walk away feeling confident in their online marketing strategies. We look to tackle some of the biggest issues facing this vertical.share15 - brightedge

Dealing with an international audience

By their very nature, hotels and others in the hospitality industry regularly welcome people from far outside their local area. Many larger brands are also interested in growing their brands beyond their native borders to other countries where they can further serve their clientele.

Learning how to write content to engage and international audience is crucial. Creating an international website requires careful thought and consideration. Translations themselves can often be an issue as the literal translation of an English word might not be the term used in another language. It is also important to know about the search engines that dominate other countries and how to reinforce a brand when facing an international audience. Melissa Walner, the Director of Global SEO for Hilton Worldwide, will be one of 6 speakers who will be addressing these issues for those in the hospitality industry and others interested in international search. Her unique perspective on taking a hospitality brand worldwide should offer fantastic insight for those in the hotels vertical.

Facing the competition in an engaging and competitive marketplace

There are nearly 53,000 hotel and lodging properties with at least 15 rooms in the United States and the total industry revenue was $163 billion in 2013. Those in the hospitality industry face stiff competition as they seek to get their locations noticed. Richard Mastriani of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts will be speaking about how brands can find their unique spot in the digital ecosystem and engage with customers across search and social through outstanding content. His insight into reaching audiences across the various parts of the web will providing an incredible amount of information for attendees.

Felipe Carreras of Best Western will also be speaking about making content stand out in an intensely competitive marketplace. Along with his co-speakers, he will focus on using tools and strategies to manage content and brand strategies. They will touch upon leveraging the different channels and how to use amplifications, influencer marketing and other techniques to ensure that the brand’s information is heard.

The role of earned, owned and paid advertising for hotels

Earned, owned and paid advertising all have vital roles for hotels. People traveling for both professional and personal reasons often end up staying in hotels for lodging. Surveys conducted by TripAdvisor found that 70 percent of those who travelled during the summer of 2013 planned to stay in a hotel. The high rates of hotel booking and value per transaction means that those who offer lodging can also use paid advertising to drive traffic to their websites when people search for travel terms or visiting sites related to travel, such as booking a flight or researching attractions. As already discussed, hotels tend to experience high engagement with their content, which means that their owned media is also critical. An estimated 57 percent of all travel reservations are made online and 65 percent of hotel reservations made on the same day are made from a smartphone. These customers expect content that answers their needs. It is also worth noting that hotel guests read 6-12 reviews before booking according to another TripAdvisor survey.

The value of earned, owned and paid media cannot be overlooked in the hospitality industry. Those who learn to get these components to work together will experience tremendous online success. That is why Alex Edlund of Marriott International will be joining a few co-speakers to explore the intersection of these three components and how to leverage them for online success. The hotel industry continues to grow and change to meet the demands of modern consumers.

At Share15, we believe that we have brought together a fantastic lineup of experienced professionals who can offer you unique insights about how to succeed in the competitive modern marketplace. If you have not yet registered to attend, we invite you to do so on our event page. We look forward to seeing you there!

Conference Details September 21-23 Westin St. Francis San Francisco, CA.