Russell of Hotels Video Interview
Stephanie Sparks Smith of Cogwheel Marketing was interviewed by Russell L Edmond of Russell of Hotels on LA Talk Radio on May 28, 2019. Also available via Podcast from Russell of Hotels. Topics of discussion: Hotel digital marketing for branded versus independent hotels, nuances of opening and conversions of hotels, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants, hotel […]
Hotel Packages: Who, What, When, Why, Where
When developing a hotel package strategy, it is important to remember that building these offerings will not sell out a hotel. They may not even get bookings if not properly marketed. In a nutshell, hotel packages should showcase your proximity to demand generators, any unique partnerships in the local community and further highlight your value […]
10 Hotel Digital Marketing KPIs
You don’t have to be a digital marketing expert to look at high level reports and find trends for your hotel. Briefly review monthly reports and start asking better questions of your vendors, partners and team. If you don’t have someone on your team with the skill set to dive deeper, find someone who does. […]
Infographic: Hotel Digital Marketing Flywheel
The “Old” Sales Funnel In every sales and marketing class, since the beginning of time, they show you a diagram of a sales funnel. It was shaped something like a cone or upside down pyramid, like this: Over time, the model was twisted for digital marketing. The main categories generally focused on Awareness, Interest, Desire […]
Favorites from HSMAI Digital Conference 2019
Cogwheel Marketing attended the HSMAI Digital Conference in New York this January. Here are 10 interesting facts and useful (or useless) tidbits to take home with you. There were 150 billion searches last month with an average length 4 words in which 20% never been seen before. *Mind blown* 53% people leave a site if […]
Hotel Marketing: Brand vs Local
Where does the Brand Level Marketing Stop and Hotel Level Marketing Begin? You own or manage a franchised hotel under a specific flag. The brand may or may not have given you some marketing guidelines, or was wrapped up in onboarding training. Maybe your hotel just opened and you received some opening support, but now […]
Digital Marketing Checklist for New Hotel Opening
A new hotel opening or changing of flags has so many moving parts. As an owner or manager overseeing this transition, you are likely wearing multiple hats. Here is a hotel pre-opening marketing plan and checklist from a digital standpoint to ensure you are building your website presence. This should lay the foundation for a […]
Why IHG Hotels Should Allow Vanity Sites
IHG recently decided to make it a policy that vanity (or independent) sites were not allowed for certain brands, with a 3 month compliance. Brands don’t approve of vanity sites because they are hard to control, may cause guest confusion, lack of loyalty integration and many people do them poorly. Let’s look at why IHG […]