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Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

Prepare Your Hotel for Google Sidewiki Comments! Tips on What Your Hotel Should Do, and How to Monitor Reviews with RSS Feed

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

speechbubble

It’s been two months since Google introduced Sidewiki on September 23, but it hasn’t really caught fire . . . yet. When it was first announced, there was a lot of buzz on blogs and news sites, and it felt that the internet would be taken over by user-generated comments and opinions, but so far it hasn’t gained that much traction. We believe it will catch on soon, and that your hotel should be prepared for when it does.

What is Google Sidewiki and will it go mainstream?

Sidewiki is part of a Google Toolbar browser plug-in that allows users to open a sidebar on any website they are visiting and comment freely on anything they like; the website, the content, how they feel about the topic or the brand, or what they had for breakfast. These comments can then be seen by other visitors to the site (provided they have downloaded the Sidewiki toolbar) and they can leave comments as well. Users can also add links and videos, and share their comments through E-mail, Twitter or Facebook. (more…)

Tip 5: Install Analytics on Your Hotel Website

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Are you tracking the return on investment from your hotel website? Do you know how many visitors your site receives every day? Are you analyzing the metrics on the pages viewed, the time spent on your site, and the exit pages? Do you know how visitors were directed to your site?

If you have analytics installed on your website then you have access to this information. However, our research this month revealed that 41.8% of New England first class and luxury hotels don’t have analytics installed on their website!


Analytics Chart C

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InterContinental Hotels Online Videos Prove More Effective Than T.V. Spot

Friday, November 13th, 2009

At Ad Tech NY this month we caught up with Jared Simon, V.P. of Corporate Development at TurnHere Internet Video, and we asked him to share with us his case study about InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

Rather than produce one television spot, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts chose to produce online videos which showcase more than 150 cities where their hotels are located. Working with TurnHere, they were able to produce more than 700 stunning videos for the same price it would have cost to produce just one television spot.

These intriguing videos are narrated by the concierge of the hotel who takes the viewer on a tour of the city. The videos have been extremely successful and have been used across the brand’s online marketing initiatives. The videos have also been picked up by numerous editorial sites which is free publicity for InterContinental. Below is a video clip where Jared talks about the concept, process, and result of this innovative video project.

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How Can Social Search Impact my Hotel?

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

In late October Bing announced that it would integrate Twitter into its search engine results pages, and within hours Google announced that it too would include Twitter updates. I am sure people thought, ‘That’s great news, but how will that impact me and my business?’ As hoteliers, this could have a huge impact on your business if you are not participating in social media and communicating through today’s social platforms.

Google’s goal is to create the most comprehensive, relevant, and fastest search in the world. It doesn’t get much faster than if you are including up to the minute data. Their view is that the next time you search for a hotel, you can be aided by a real-time observation. (more…)

Sir Martin Sorrell’s Forecast for 2010, Is Your Hotel Looking Ahead?

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Sir Martin Sorrell

Sir Martin Sorrell finally appeared at Ad Tech NY this year, after turning down the invitations of the last three years. He opened Ad Tech with his keynote presentation on ‘What’s coming in 2010.’ He focused on New Markets, New Media, and Consumer Insights.

Sir Martin Sorrell is the founder of WPP, one of the world’s leading communications services groups and a member of the FTSE-100, FTSE-Eurotop 300, the MSCI and BusinessWeek’s Global 1000 companies. GroupM, JWT, Ogilvy and Mather, Young & Rubicam and Grey are all part of the WPP Group. (more…)