Independent Hotels Can Learn from Big Brand Marketing
You have to know your competition to beat your competition. There has been a debate for years, if not decades, about which is “better” – branded vs independent hotels. While we are not going down that road today, it is important for independent hotels to know the kind of support offered by large brands. That […]
10 Items to Include in your Hotel Marketing Budget
Now is the time to ask for funds for your 2020 hotel marketing budget. Here are some must-have digital marketing items to include and how to think through that process. Note for branded hotels: be sure you understand what the brand does for you, and what you need to handle at the hotel level. The […]
Hotel Digital Marketing Podcast
Stephanie Sparks Smith of Cogwheel Marketing was delighted to join the crew of Hospitality Digital Marketing on September 7, 2019. My savvy (and funny) co-hosts included: -Loren Gray of Hospitality Digital Marketing -Robert Cole of RockCheetah and PhocusWire -Ed St. Onge of Flip.To -Stuart Butler of Fuel Topics of discussion: Limitations of content and SEO […]
HSMAI Roc 2019 Conference Recap
Recap of HSMAI Roc 2019 from a hotel digital marketer. Highlights were presentations on data science and on pricing your different room types.
MozCon 2019 Recap by Topic
Highlights focused around PR, Visual Search, Google My Business, Blogging, Voice Search, Google Ads, Featured Snippets, People Also Ask and cool tools.
Hilton Advance: Marketing Strategy and Fee Changes
Hilton launched a new digital marketing program, called Advance, on July 1st, 2019. Hotels can expect a $2000 increase in fees each year and less control over content and images. See examples of One Hero Web.
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 […]
Pricing Hotel Packages as a Revenue Manager
Welcome to Part II of our hotel package strategy blog where we analyze package from a revenue management perspective. In Part I, we looked at hotel packages from a digital marketing perspective and answered the questions of Who, What, When, Why and Where. Now, we dive deeper into the answer of How. Stephanie Smith of […]
How Football and Digital Marketing are Alike
What do Superbowl champions and hospitality digital marketing organizations have in common? They both need: Winning playbook to beat the competition Great coaches to provide direction before during and after engagements Quarterback to execute a winning plan in real time It’s the owners of both that are key to success. Winning Playbook A winning digital […]
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 […]