Carin Cowell

Links, news and thoughts on online marketing, travel and the hospitality industry. @CarinCowell

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Podcast/Article: How We Love URL: Love is instinctive and essential, but what is it that brings certain people together? In this hour, TED speakers examine the mystery of connection and relationships. (Original broadcast date: April 25, 2014). This content comes from: TED Radio Hour URL: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510298r we@

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Really great interesting video from Triptease with loads of useful tips and insight from Google's Terri Scriven. Watch it to find out how you can get more direct bookings with Google Hotel Ads and more.

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A super online marketing guide for small hotels

This guide gives easy to follow steps on how to improve your online presence and get more bookings. 

If you would like any independent advice on their recommendations or how to implement them, get in touch!

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Industry Icons: The Sarkies Brothers

Clockwise from top: Arshak, Tigran and Aviet Sarkies. Public Domain The Sarkies brothers (Martin, Tigran, Aviet and Arshak) were among the first wave of Armenian refugees fleeing the tyranny and persecution of the Turkish and Russian empires. They came from a long line of Persian merchants,

The Strand Hotel (Yangon), E&O (Penang) & Raffles (Singapore) are probably my three favourite hotels for their colonial charm. The fact that these hotels still rank as some of the best in the region is testament to the vision of the Sarkies back in the 19th century.

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A major reason why hotels struggle to get on top of direct distribution is that there is no-one directly responsible for it.

http://www.triptease.com/en/direct-better-according-hebs/

Too right, the marketing budget always loses out to more expensive solutions that offer quick wins. Independent hotels need to reclaim their independence by setting up a direct marketing strategy that allows them to stand on their own two feet.

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The Best Sites Like Airbnb: Top 4 Competitors

Airbnb isn't the only online option for finding alternative, deluxe, or just downright cheap accommodations.

From all the news and media reports, it seems like AirBnB is the best. But do you prefer these other options? 

Let me know your experiences and what you look for when booking a vacation rental. 

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2016 will see adventure and experiential travel gain in popularity, as high-end wealthy Chinese travellers continue to become more sophisticated in their tastes.

Quintessentially Lifestyle

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Personalisation is one of email marketing’s most effective tools. But use it with caution. Here we can see how Booking.com is trying to get me excited about a very dull, mundane overnight stay near the airport. Not all hotel stays are holidays! 

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Carin Cowell, from Yieldify’s Client Success team, considers the latest trends in online travel and outlines how travel brands can flourish in 2016 and beyond.

Hey Travel Marketers! Yieldify just published my blog on the Future of Online Travel, where I share my insider tips on the strategies top travel sites will be using in 2016. Have a read and let me know what you think.

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Travel: 5 Key On-Site Optimisation Tips

Yieldify Account Director Ky Ismet shares his onsite optimisation advice for travel brands ahead of the new year.

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Mobile and tablet bookings are overtaking PC bookings. And it’s mostly being done through third parties. How can hotels fight back? How can they differentiate themselves and increase customer loyalty?

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Hostels Embrace Airbnb in Effort to Escape Rising Booking Fees

As major online booking sites raise their commissions, hostels are embracing Airbnb for its friendlier fees and more transparent reviews.

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Take a look at these hospitality trends to see what the best are up to. How can you integrate these ideas into your travel business? 

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Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Review?

Anyone who knows anything about marketing knows that "word of mouth" is the most effective medium. So, in today's online society we can consider social media to be our new "electronic word of mouth" [eWOM] . For hoteliers, this manifests itself in the scary beasties that are online reviews. Leaving yourself  and your establishment open to such public critique can be unnerving, but it actually isn't as bad as you think.

The smart people of Cornell University recently published a study which showed that reviews are really positive, and not only for potential holiday-makers. Their study showed that positive reviews are more common than negative ones and that the more reviews you get the better they get!

Well, that's a relief! Many times I've heard people say that they are more likely to leave a review after a bad experience than a good one, so it's nice to hear that that's not actually true.

With that in mind, here's a tip for the modern hotel manager:

Get as many reviews as possible from your guests. - Send a link to your TripAdvisor listing to past guests (you've got them all in a database, right?) - Put posters up around your establishment reminding your guests to leave reviews. (Request your TripAdvisor sticker) - Ask them...Yes, I know it's a little uncomfortable, but as long as you're polite it wont sound demanding and the positive effect vastly outweighs the slightly awkward moment.

How to deal with dreaded negative reviews: - Respond quickly, be polite and apologise. Even if you think they are in the wrong, you are a service provider and you aim to please, and in this case you have "failed" (I know, you can't please everyone!). - Address their comments directly. Illustrate what measures you will take to ensure that future guests won't suffer the same. - Welcome them back. Even if you never want to see their face again, the internet is a public forum and you must show your establishment to be a hospitable place.

How to avoid getting a negative review in the first place: - Don't oversell you property. Keep descriptions accurate and images untouched. Despite the temptation to present your premises as though it were the Ritz to get the bookings flowing in, if they are disappointed when they arrive you shouldn't be too surprised to see a negative review. - Keep the lines of communication open throughout their stay. Give your guests the opportunity to report any problems in a way that doesn't make them feel uncomfortable. In my experience, it's better to ask more specific questions, like "Is the bed comfortable for you?" rather than "Is everything ok?". If they're not 100% happy with the bed they are more likely to tell you than if you just ask the general question. - Let them know who they can report problems to, when and where. It's so much better to be able to deal with the issue in the moment than to have to find out via a review posted 2 months later. - Deal with the problem. If someone does complain about something, even if you think it's fine, go and check for yourself. Future guests will probably ignore a one-off negative comment, but if the issue is mentioned by more than one person...they're probably not going to book with you.

Unfortunately, the 21st century hotelier can't afford to ignore the power of the 'electronic word of mouth' phenomena.

Take heed!

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Is Your Hotel Making the Most of Travellers' Facebook Obsession?

A recent study by Facebook found that travel is the topic that its users are most obsessed with. Whether it's checking-in at the airport, sharing picture of them lounging on the beach, or an "I'm back home" status update, users stay connected to Facebook where possible throughout the trip.

What does this mean for hoteliers? It means that your hotel needs to have all its bases covered when it comes to Facebook marketing.

For starters, you need a comprehensive Facebook page. This includes having easy-to-find contact details, great photos of your rooms and plenty of interesting content. 

This page is not only useful for guests researching accommodation in your area, or following up on friends recommendations, but it's also fantastic for getting live coverage from your guests (aka engagement) when they are staying with you. 

When you give them the WiFi password you can recommend that they "like" your Facebook page too. If they are sufficiently impressed with where they are staying they will want to share it with their friends and family back home, e.g. "Just arrived @HotelX, enjoying a cocktail by the pool". They may even include a photo and, hopefully, they will also tag your Facebook page in the photo. 

This is the kind of money-can't-buy publicity and one of the most powerful examples social media marketing...so what are you waiting for?

1. Update your page: contact info, photos, about.

2. Share interesting and engaging content: local events, developments, interesting guests, the weather forecast...if it's good :)

3. Publicise the page "in house" and encourage your guests to "like" your page and tag it in their photos. 

4. Engage with your guests past and present. 

Follow these basic steps and you are bound to see positive effects. 

Good luck!

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Social network plans events, research and ad targeting refinements to encourage travel sector to spend more on its platform.

We all know how crucial the internet is in all stages of travel planning, from dreaming of far-flung destinations, to researching flight prices and booking a hotel. Given the time that people spend on Facebook everyday, I'm not surprised that Facebook wants to focus on the travel industry in 2014. The advertising opportunities are endless. Wouldn't it be great if you could go seamlessly from enviously drawling over you're friend's beach photos to booking the closest hotel to that beach...? Or when someone checks-in at an airport, with the status "Off to New York" you could click on a link to a flight comparison site...? 

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When successful, they become not only a place to stay but a reason for making the trip because they offer something distinctive that their guests seek out.

Alex Velazquez Director of Marketing and Technology Services