The Hotel Marketing Blog from HotelSphere

You might have noticed that I'm not a fan of Groupon.

Offering "Kamikaze discounts" to "Bottom feeding customers"

...are just two of the problems I have with their method of operation.

I don't have a problem with "Flash Sales". In fact I think they're a great idea if done properly. I just don't think you need to drop your price round your ankles and let someone blow smoke ** **** **** in order to make them happen.

And now I discover that Groupon isn't even in the "voucher" business!

Continue reading "Why using Groupon for your hotel is a BAD Idea"

Posted by HotelBlogger

Lots of hotels use Facebook to engage with new and existing customers. Is yours one of them?

If you have logged in to your Facebook business page recently you'll have noticed a change in the layout is coming.
The changes are significant and could help you achieve so much more with Facebook marketing for your hotel.

Is your hotel ready? The change in layout will happen on 30th March - whether you're ready or not.

Continue reading "Is Your Hotel Ready for Facebook Timeline?"

Posted by HotelBlogger

The introduction of the new Timeline page structure on Facebook serves as a reminder to all hotels that Facebook could be a useful addition to their marketing efforts.

As part of the Timeline upgrade, Pages on Facebook will become even more powerful as a way to engage Facebook users who visit your fan page. If you're not using pages (sometimes called "page tabs") yet, you should really start thinking about using them soon.

Continue reading "Facebook pages for hotels"

Posted by HotelBlogger

If you use a Facebook page as part of your hotel or restaurant marketing, you may already be aware of the changes that will take place (whether you like it or not) on 30th March. The layout of your business fan page is going to change dramatically. Are you ready for it? Facebook calls it Timeline.

Whilst the changes are compulsory and you won't have a choice, I think they represent a huge opportunity for hoteliers and restaurateurs all over Britain - they give you the chance to present your business as never before to a growing online community.
And actually, it's not all that hard to do if you know the right people (as a reader of this blog post, you now know one of the right people…).

Continue reading "Facebook Pages - news about the timeline changes and why they're good for Hotels and Restaurants"

Posted by HotelBlogger

I can't stress strongly enough the need to do your arithmetic before using Groupon.

For those of you who believe the damn silly Groupon marketing proposition and are about to believe everything their sales people tell you, set up your kamikaze discount and join the race to the bottom - here's a cautionary few words from the Economist this week...

"In a move that is likely to delay its long-awaited initial public offering yet again, Groupon, an online-coupon website, cut its sales figures by more than half, from $1.52 billion in the first half of 2011 to $688m. The firm cited an "error in presentation" in previous filings as the reason for the change in the latest submission. It had wrongly taken its sales to include the amount it has to pay to merchants when its coupons are redeemed."

It would seem that Groupon can't count either.

Is this a case of the blind leading the blind? Or is the whole idea really an "error in presentation"?

Posted by HotelBlogger

I can't stress strongly enough the need to do your arithmetic before using Groupon.

For those of you who believe the damn silly Groupon marketing proposition and are about to believe everything their sales people tell you, set up your kamikaze discount and join the race to the bottom - here's a cautionary few words from the Economist this week...

"In a move that is likely to delay its long-awaited initial public offering yet again, Groupon, an online-coupon website, cut its sales figures by more than half, from $1.52 billion in the first half of 2011 to $688m. The firm cited an "error in presentation" in previous filings as the reason for the change in the latest submission. It had wrongly taken its sales to include the amount it has to pay to merchants when its coupons are redeemed."

It would seem that Groupon can't count either.

Is this a case of the blind leading the blind? Or is the whole idea really an "error in presentation"?

Posted by HotelBlogger

I can't stress strongly enough the need to do your arithmetic before using Groupon.

For those of you who believe the damn silly Groupon marketing proposition and are about to believe everything their sales people tell you, set up your kamikaze discount and join the race to the bottom - here's a cautionary few words from the Economist this week...

"In a move that is likely to delay its long-awaited initial public offering yet again, Groupon, an online-coupon website, cut its sales figures by more than half, from $1.52 billion in the first half of 2011 to $688m. The firm cited an "error in presentation" in previous filings as the reason for the change in the latest submission. It had wrongly taken its sales to include the amount it has to pay to merchants when its coupons are redeemed."

It would seem that Groupon can't count either.

Is this a case of the blind leading the blind? Or is the whole idea really an "error in presentation"?

Posted by HotelBlogger

The CAP code is in place to protect us all from the influence of naughty marketers.

Naughty marketers aren't always deliberately naughty. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes they are just plain ignorant.

For an example of ignorance, see what happened when someone raised a complaint about a recent De Vere Hotels email campaign.

The campaign obviously assumes that the target market is stupid and that people won't check and research prices and offers. That's a mistake.

Failing to ensure the point of differentiation really existed in and between the offers. That's a mistake.

However when CAP raised the matter with De Vere they received no response. That is not only against the CAP Code, it is also just plain ignorant in my opinion.

As marketers we all make mistakes. The biggest one you can make is to ignore the regulator when they have reason to pull you up. It sets an unfortunate tone...

Posted by HotelBlogger

Are you let down by the words on your website?

Do your sales letters bore the socks of your target market?

Do you know if people are even reading about your business?

Now you can discover the real secrets which can help you to write compelling sales copy for your website, sales letters and adverts. training and coaching in sales copywriting techniques are now available from our friends at Better Direct Marketing. There are places available in Inverness. Check out their website for more information today!

Posted by HotelBlogger

If everybody does the same thing when it comes to marketing, how do you differentiate your hotel from your competitors?

There is no excuse for boring marketing!

Check out this website - Better Direct Marketing.com

For an alternative to being boring and staying anonymous!

Posted by HotelBlogger

...they run up the white flag and run a "flash" sale.

Sad isn't it? Those rooms of yours that are worth "£200 of anybody's money" at the height of the season are suddenly worth less than a fart in a high wind.

So worthless in fact, that the illusion of websites like Groupon Getaways, who have worked out yet another way to sell you snake oil, appears attractive.

Are your marketing skills really so infantile that this makes sense? On any normal day, if your sales team came to you with the following promotional idea, what would you do?

"We want to cut your prices in half, then give someone else half of what's left over so we can sell a few rooms!"

You'd shoot them wouldn't you?? They certainly wouldn't touch the sides on the way out of my office door.

Invest some time and money in proper marketing skills. Get your finger out, find some customers and make them some offers to become YOUR customers. Spend some money to acquire some marketing skills - it might be the only thing standing between you and oblivion - if you think running a third part flash sale is a healthy passtime, oblivion is closer than you think.

Posted by HotelBlogger

To use Online Travel Agent (OTA) sales websites as part if your distribution plan and get the most out of it, you need to understand what your target customers are doing.

You know this already, but it’s worth repeating: People do not land on an hotel website, see a booking box with “book now!” written on it and suddenly feel a compulsive urge to book a room.

It doesn’t happen that way.

This is what really happens:

Continue reading "The Billboard Effect - A guide to what hotel bookers are really doing"

Posted by HotelBlogger

A few years ago I wrote an e-book about selling hotel rooms online. As part of the research I compared OTA revenue growth to hotel industry occupancy growth. What did I find? Let me tell you…

Continue reading "How Expedia Profits from selling YOUR hotel rooms"

Posted by HotelBlogger

The current enthusiasm for “flash” sales to sell hotel rooms raises one important question:

What on earth are the marketing departments doing??

Hotels relying on low price internet offers to sell rooms on a last minute basis tell us a lot about what they’re not doing as far as marketing is concerned.

Continue reading "How to sell rooms in your hotel when demand is low"

Posted by HotelBlogger

Just when you think there's nothing more to say about Groupon, up pops this article, about Groupon Getaways.

Sorry, I just can't contain myself. Fortunately I've found at least one kindred spirit in the debate below the article in the shape of Robert Gilmour.

So, does Groupon really represent the leading edge of the e-commerce revolution? If it does, it represents in my opinion, one of the most silly things you can do with your hotel marketing. If this is the leading edge, it looks like a bloody dangerous place for the hotelier!

Continue reading "Groupon Getaways - the bleeding edge of the ecommerce revolution?"

Posted by HotelBlogger