Hotel Revenue Management in a Stagnant Economy

In a stagnant economy, using the principles of revenue management can help hoteliers to maintain and build average rate and occupancy. Even in tough times, every hotel experiences periods of higher demand. Recognizing those periods, in advance, can give you the ability to drive rates when you can and still retain the ability to modify rates during lower demand periods. Being diligent can produce big-time rewards. Hoteliers who do not practice revenue management have a tendency to make decisions in a bubble and undervalue their rates. When times are tough, they have the misconception that lower rates will generate new demand. This is a myth that has never been true. For those disbelievers, you might want to check the Cornell University web site; they have conducted several good studies proving that reducing rates is always a bad idea. The basic tenet of hotel revenue management is the collection and analysis of competition and market data to uncover rate and occupancy opportunities. Collecting data is not a guessing game. How much do you really know about your competition and what’s happening in your market? What do you know about the competition, beyond bricks and mortar; their management style, amenities, sales prowess, strength of their online marketing, location strengths and weaknesses? Re-evaluate Your CompetitionIn a tough economy your list of competitors could be longer than it is during boom times. Off-season or lower demand periods create a more competitive environment. In a tough economy, other hotels may need to steal your business in order to survive. Upscale hotels, which ignored your hotel during good times, may need to target your business now; be prepared.In a stagnant economy, it is absolutely necessary to know your competitors’ rates and what else they are offering. If a competitor is offering higher rates for specific dates, it could be a tip-off that they have booked a group for that period or see something happening in the market. That’s an opportunity to boost your rates to capture their displaced and/or overflow rooms. Are there any city-wide conventions or trade shows coming in during your off-season periods that could generate overflow or displace rack business?Knowledge about the area and the competition translates to possible opportunities for your hotel. The easiest and surest form of research is to monitor your competition online. Remember, your online competition is different from your offline comp set.Strengthen Your Internet PresenceYour Internet sales effort could make a critical difference during tough times. We know that at least 70% of travelers search for hotels on the Internet to make reservations. Can they find your hotel’s site? Does your site perform well in generic search? And, if visitors do find your site, does your site promote your location and room generators?Be aware also that, in a stagnant economy, your normal demand generators are suffering too; you may need to find new demand generators in a tough economy. Remember that your hotel is not a room generator on its own; people need a “reason” to visit your area. Now may be the time to get closer to all your room generators; partnerships can be very rewarding.The Internet may be the big difference between this and the last stagnant economy in the early 90’s. The Internet has come a long way since those early days. No longer do we need weeks, or months, to plan and implement a sales strategy to win in this economy. Incorporating revenue management into your online sales effort can reap huge rewards quickly.In Tough Times, Embrace Third-Party SitesAnyone who follows my articles understands that I am a strong proponent for full utilization of third-party online sales. I get frustrated when I hear hoteliers repeatedly complain about paying a commission for the business they get from GDS agencies and/or third-party travel aggregators. This kind of short-term thinking is still too prevalent among hoteliers.In most cases, reservations generated through third-parties are incremental rooms which the hotel would not have received in any other way. It is very clear to me that these complainers do not understand the basic principles of revenue management. If you are using revenue management, business from third-parties can be used to provide a base of business so you can boost the rates for your remaining rooms to achieve even higher average rates and occupancy. During tough times, rooms generated from Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz are generally incremental without any rate or room displacement. In general, online third-party aggregators are providing international exposure for your hotel, which you cannot achieve on your own. They are spending millions of dollars on pay-per-click alone. Stop looking at third-parties as your competition; you are not in the same league. It’s a matter of the numbers they can generate.People Need a Reason to Travel to Your AreaI’ve said it a hundred times, so pardon me if I say it again; “people travel to an area for a reason, they, then, select a hotel in which to stay in that area”. With few exceptions, hotels are not destinations. Re-evaluate your web site; is it all about your hotel? Do you have nothing more than an online hotel brochure? Your site should highlight the demand generators in your area. This not only helps with generic search but, it also gives visitors additional reasons to travel to your area. If you haven’t already done so, evaluate the demand generators in your area. What specials are they promoting? If you are fortunate enough to be near a popular attraction, see if you can develop a partnership to get you through tough times. Don’t operate in a bubble; you need to know everything that is happening in your area and what others are doing to promote travel.Tough times often force companies to actually meet more often to develop their own strategies to overcome problems with the economy. Provide solutions to assist corporate travelers. Corporate and group business also gives people a reason for traveling. To tap into more business opportunities, list every reason for people to visit your area and then develop tactics to getting the message of your hotel to them. Smart hoteliers are now developing packages which include area room generators. The principles of revenue management could carry you through the current stagnant economy. Don’t give in to the desperation of dropping your rates and crossing your fingers; generating business is hard work. As the old saying goes, “you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince”.Contact:Neil Salerno, CHME, CHAHotel Marketing CoachEmail: NeilS@hotelmarketingcoach.com

Social Networking for Business Uncovered

A social network can be defined as any type of community for people with shared interests and activities, who are interested in exploring these interests and activities with others. With the advent of the Internet, social networking sites have allowed individuals and businesses from around the world to connect for this endeavour.
This is obviously the appeal of the Internet to many, as it is in a sense one large group network where people engage in activities of interest which connect them to others and to the products and services they purchase. Social networking sites appeal to consumers of all age-groups and social strata, from the more generalised, generic demographics to ones catering to specific niche interests. Apart from the communities these social networking sites provide, blogs, video and photo sharing are also great ways for individuals to share information.
From a business perspective, it is important to have a presence where your prospective customers are. In 2007, nearly 15 million households in Britain (roughly 61%) had Internet access, an increase of over a million households since 2006 and nearly 4 million since 2002. Additionally, 84% of those with access to the Internet had a broadband connection, up from 69% in 2006. It is therefore imperative that businesses - from small businesses to blue-chip corporations - create an online presence to raise their profile, and marketing via social networks is a powerful supplement to a company website and email.
Marketing to consumers online is different from traditional advertising in that it is targeting active, rather than passive consumers. For example, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) adverts only appear next to organic search results after a consumer has entered a search string into a search engine. This is different to broadcast mediums such as television adverts, which are seen by individuals who are really just looking to watch television programming.
Using social networks to reach consumers is done most effectively by presenting solutions to issues and questions, rather than the solicitation of traditional advertising, as consumers using social networks are usually seeking solutions to things happening in their lives and not looking for a hard sell. Thus, social network marketing should be thought of less as a campaign and more as a long-term investment in your brand.
Some social networks allow companies to join for free, while others charge, and some will also allow you to advertise onsite as well. In all cases, you will do best by taking an active part in a business community which closely matches your own industry and begin offering relevant and useful information and solutions. Long-term, social network participation will improve your online presence, increase revenues and branding opportunities, lead to greater consumer interaction and, if done effectively, will be a cost-effective addition to a successful online marketing strategy.
Bian Salins is the Managing Editor of BT Tradespace - an online community where businesses can advertise and sell products & services and everyone has the opportunity to shop, chat and share their opinion.

J&L Interactive Acquires PaidInclusionExpert.com

NEW YORK - (Business Wire) J&L Interactive, the leading provider of Yahoo Paid Inclusion services, is pleased to announce it has agreed to acquire the paid inclusion firm and managed services clients of Boston based PaidInclusionExpert.com.
Founded in 2007, PaidInclusionExpert.com assists clients in the approval and submission to the Yahoo Paid Inclusion or Yahoo Search Submit Pro programs. These programs are designed to insert websites into the page 1 organic listings that are relevant to the search terms but may have had difficulty getting listed due to site design issues such as flash or new sites with a short history and limited inbound links. The success of a paid inclusion or trusted feed program depends largely on the representational database built for yahoo by the Paid Inclusion Expert. PaidInclusionExpert.com prides itself on getting page 1 Yahoo listings for clients who have not been successful in the past with other programs.
“This is an exciting step for J&L Interactive,” said John Vachna, J&L Interactive Chief Media Strategist. “Adding PaidInclusionExpert.com to our program will further strengthen our position as an industry leader. This acquisition enables us to meet the growing demands of our SEO clientele looking to jump start with page 1 Yahoo listings in 48 hours.”
About J&L Interactive:
J and L is a customer acquisition, branding and promotions company located in Florida and New York that specializes in finding customers where they live, work and play through sponsorship, promotion and paid media. The company provides Yahoo Paid Inclusion, Strategic Planning, Direct Response Online Advertising, Customer Acquisition and Retention, Account Management Campaign Optimization, Data Collection, Analysis and Utilization, Co-Registration, Creative Design, SEO (search engine optimization), and PPC (pay per click). J&L has provided over 100 companies with its services including Fortune 500 customers.

Learn SEO and PPC at SearchCamp Philly!

Philadelphia might not be the first place people look to for an online marketing conference, but a group of marketers from the Internet Marketers of the Delaware Valley (IM-DV) think it’s time to make a change. The IM-DV group looked to fellow online media enthusiasts, PodCamp Philly, for help, and now two events will be held together at Temple University on September 6 & 7, 2008 and is only $21.
SearchCamp is designed to be an affordable and fun way for small businesses and marketers to learn about how to market their businesses online. Topics range from Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEOSearch engine optimization Basics) to Public Relations & the Internet and Web 2.0 Technologies. Speakers are from the local Philadelphia area as well as New York City and Washington D.C. including well known blogging authors Geoff Livingston, Debbie Weil and search experts like Mike Grehan and Kevin Ryan. The event will coincide with PodCamp Philly.

Online marketers 'should not just rely on clicks'

Internet marketers should not depend solely on clicks to tell them how successful their ad campaigns are, according to one expert.Speaking to the Canadian Press, Andrew Lipsman of research company comScore said that marketing professionals should instead consider how an online brand can impact on offline consumer behaviour.He noted that more than 1,760 online ads are viewed by each web user in the US every month, with Yahoo!, AOL and MSN and MySpace leading the way when it comes to display ads.However, Google is the market leader when it comes pay-per-click ads, Mr Lipsman said."People are beginning to understand how these online ad exposures do have a brand-building impact," he explained."And as they begin to see the value in that and get out of the mindset it's all about direct response and purchasing something online right now, more dollars will begin to shift online."Experts at the recent ad:tech conference in Chicago claimed that better online marketing metrics are vital to ensuring the growth of the online ad sector, MediaDailyNews reports.News brought to you by ClickThrough - experts in SEO, PPC Management Services, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.