Welcome to O’Rourke Hospitality’s Blog! Our blog posts are written for and about the Hospitality Industry. We have a wealth of information we would like to share with our readers including our research findings, latest industry trends, and monthly Internet Marketing tips. Sign up to receive our monthly tips directly to your e-mail!
Banner ads, search engine optimization, paid search, auction sites, email lists. All of these tactics are just part of a revenue manager’s or online marketer’s arsenal to drive traffic to the site and hopefully increase direct web bookings – the least expensive way to get heads in beds. And while everyone loves to see an increase in site visits, the most important statistic to watch is the conversion rate – the ratio of visitors to completed transactions. What they do on your site is much more important than how they get there. Are your visitors booking or abandoning?
Understanding why users abandon a transaction is the first step to removing the obstacles that can deter them. According to a January 2010 survey of US online travel bookers by PhoCus Wright, while too-high prices were the main driver to booking abandonment, the remainder of complaints revolved around site functionality. In addition, online travel bookers also stated that these factors impacted return visits and ultimately drove them to book on competitors’ sites. Read the rest of this entry »
Many hoteliers are asking themselves that very question, ‘Does my hotel really need a mobile strategy?’ They are questioning the reasons why they should enter into the mobile market, how their hotel and their guests will benefit from mobile, what amount of time and financial commitment is involved, and what type of mobile strategy would be best for them and deliver the highest return on investment. In this article we will offer our insights to the questions posed above, and provide you with an overview of the mobile market today and the many opportunities that mobile opens up for the hotel industry. Read the rest of this entry »
Smartstay is a revolutionary iPhone app customized to your own hotel brand. The Smartstay hotel app serves as a 24/7 concierge and provides users with a micro mobile website, real-time news about events, and an interactive city guide.
Hotels have unlimited opportunities to communicate with their guests and can send them exclusive offers. Smartstay is a mobile solution for hotels looking to capture a wider market share, tap into a new source of revenue, and enhance the guest experience at their hotel and in their city.
A free Demo Version is available for download at the Apple Store. Just tap on the apple store icon on you iPhone and search for Smartstay or click on this link: http://bit.ly/bgSC4Y
O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing, a full-service marketer specializing in the hospitality industry, has just launched Smartstaya one-of-a-kind iPhone app that hotels can customize to reflect their own hotel brand.
Smartstayis a mobile solution for hotels who have been looking for a way to enter the mobile market and who recognize the many benefits the mobile platform can provide their hotel and their guests. Tom O’Rourke, Founder/CEO of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing explains, “We’re opening up a channel that has never been used before in the hotel industry. This is not just another app – it’s an opportunity through a mobile channel to connect with a guest before, during, and after their stay.” Read the rest of this entry »
Our clients often ask us if they should use Facebook ads. Many hotels are skeptical about using the ads and question if they will be effective or not. We recommend that hotels do use Facebook ads, but that they do so with clear goals in mind, and that they follow best practices when it comes to designing, targeting, testing, and tracking their ads.
Before using Facebook ads, hotels should understand the advertising platform. As with any advertising medium, the objective of using Facebooks ads is to increase your business. Facebook ads have the power to do this, but as their representatives often state, their platform is primarily in demand generation rather than demand fulfillment.1
Loading ...