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Social Media Myths Some Hotels Believe In
Social media has become a cornerstone of hotel marketing, but are we always using it wisely? In my years working in hospitality marketing, I’ve noticed some persistent myths that can lead us astray. Let’s take a moment to unpack these misconceptions and get real about what social media can (and can’t) do for our properties. ๐”I reach all my followers when I post” Reality check: On average, only 2-7% of your followers will see your organic posts. ๐”Gaining fans and followers should be a key KPI” Think again: Engagement and your business goals are what truly matters! ๐”Social media is all the marketing I need” Not quite: While…
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Stop Throwing Money Away! 5 Direct Booking Mistakes Costing You Big
Historically, most independent properties and small chains relied on third parties to deliver business to them. Many are still behind the curve, relying too heavily on third parties and OTAs. Don’t let your hotel fall into these common traps: โ๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐๐น ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป: Max Starkov recently pointed out in a post that OTAs on average spend 250 USD per hotel per month at the most. The more money they make from you, the more powerful you are making them against you. โ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Having a user-friendly website with a robust booking engine that is being fed qualified traffic to strategic digital marketing spend…
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Rethinking Everything: What ‘Think Again’ Taught Me About Hospitality Leadership
I just finished this eye-opening book called ‘Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know’ by Adam Grant.โ It got me thinking about how we approach leadership in hospitality. You know how our industry is all about processes and control, right? Well, this book really challenges that mindset. It made me realize that maybe we’re being a bit too rigid in a world that’s constantly throwing curveballs at us. Grant drops some real truth bombs in this book. Check these out: ๐๐ผ“Confirmation bias: seeing what we expect to see. The other is desirability bias: seeing what we want to see.” ๐๐ผ“Most of us take pride in our…
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Is hospitality a lousy employer?
*Trigger warning - this post contains potentially upsetting content*Is hospitality a lousy employer?A colleague recently lamented that none of Thailand's top 50 employers of choice are in the hotel business (link in the description). This came as a surprise given that hospitality is one of the main industries in this tourism-driven country.There may be bias in the selection of samples, and the ownership and business structure of a hotel corporation may make it difficult to think of it as a single major employer. Still, there are systemic and historical problems with the hospitality industry that may make one hesitant to recommend hotels as good places to work. Here are the key…
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Five simple ways to boost your hotel’s OTA revenue
Not ranking, but conversion rate - you don't have to be on page one. Improve your conversion rate regardless of which page you are on. Leverage geographic strengths - for example, Booking excels in Europe and the Middle East, whereas Agoda excels in Asia. Expedia is best positioned to bring in business from the United States. Take advantage of this. Room types by channel - for example, Booking outperforms Agoda in driving higher room category bookings. Expedia falls somewhere in the middle. Make up for the cancellation rate - for example, Booking has the highest cancellation rate of all. More than half of all bookings are canceled. Try to get…
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Key learnings from managing high-performing teams
Prior to the pandemic, I managed a team of 25 at the corporate level, with close to 50 team members on the ground in 8 countries with a dotted line to me. My corporate team members had an average tenure of nearly 8 years.This is what I discovered:Inspiration: They are inspired because they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Our team's goal was to be the best E-Commerce/Digital operation in the hospitality industry across APAC.Expectations: They must be completely clear about their role, goals, and what I expect from them. If things change, they have a say in which direction they go.Safety net: They thrive when…
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How does Hickโs Law apply to hotel distribution and marketing?
Hick's Law is a simple idea that says that the more choices you present your users with, the longer it will take them to reach a decision. Although I have always struggled with it, I have never stopped advocating for simplicity and fewer options when presenting options for our hotel guests to book. You can also interpret the time scale differently. The longer it takes for your website, booking engine, or app to load, the lower their conversion rates. One more way for hoteliers to look at this law is in the context of wait times in front offices, restaurants, and for guest service requests, as well as the number…
