HSMAI 2021: Defining Success in the New Market
In September 2021, Stephanie Smith of Cogwheel Marketing and Melissa Kavanagh of Westgate Resorts did a joint presentation on “Defining Success in the New Market”. While Stephanie is an expert on branded hotels, Melissa covers the other side of the equation with independent hotels. Each side of the coin uses different attribution models and different […]
How a Detailed Hotel Marketing Audit Helps Determine Budget
Ah, budget season! While all forecasts at this point are worthless, let’s focus on what we know today and make a plan that can be agile with what happens. Since every dollar is scrutinized more than ever before, you need to ensure each marketing dollar is delivering value. Before you decide on marketing expenses for […]
7 Hotel Commercial Strategy Mistakes and What to Do About Them
Stephanie Smith, Founder and Digital Matriarch of Cogwheel Marketing, joined Jack Lindemuth, consultant at Strategic Solution Partners, on Trevor Grant’s podcast, Revenue Hub, in May 2021. The topic was focused on hotel commercial strategy and digital marketing. In a previous project conducted by Jack, he found seven key commercial mistakes that could be applied to […]
A New Way to Look at Your Hotel Marketing Campaigns
In a previous post, we discussed how hotel marketers should think of more than just ROI when analyzing their marketing campaigns. When you expand your analysis outside of ROI/ROAS, you will find yourself analyzing more metrics and more guest touchpoints. Here are some traditional digital marketing channels that you could look at differently to take […]
It is Time for Hotel Marketers to Evolve Past ROI
To achieve total commercial strategy, marketing must look at different KPIs like competitor data to have a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Tiered Marketing Approach to Hotel Recovery
Hotel markets across the US are behaving differently. They are rebounding at a different pace. Even hotels within the same market are not seeing the same patterns. While you cannot predict the future, you still need a plan. A tiered plan will give you what you should be doing now, then when there are positive […]
Is your Hotel Barking up the Right Tree?
Was it the picture of our staff’s adorable dogs that interested you in this article, or was it the punny title? Regardless of your answer to that question, I can tell you with 100% certainty that if you are not pet friendly, you’re missing out on a “Mastiff” opportunity. Why Should I Have a Pet […]
eCornell Webinar: Effective Digital Marketing During COVID-19
Stephanie Smith of Cogwheel Marketing joined hospitality experts Max Starkov and James Siebold on eCornell’s webinar, Effective Digital Marketing During COVID-19: What Hospitality Managers Need to Know, hosted by Bill Carroll. During the webinar, they discussed what hoteliers should be focusing on during the 3 marketing phases of COVID-19, Pause, Recovery, and Growth. Each phase […]
Podcast: How to Pivot for Recovery with Knowland
On November 18, 2020, Stephanie Sparks Smith sat down with Kristi White of Knowland to review hotel digital marketing and how to pivot for recovery. Highlights from this episode: Where Hotels Should Focus their Limited Marketing Dollars: Increase in Call-In Reservations Best Practices to Ease by into Digital Spending: How can Hotels Leverage Social Media […]
Digital Marketing Opportunities Regarding Hilton
NOTE: The following is our own independent information; we are not affiliated with Hilton and neither pay nor receive compensation from Hilton regarding the marketing opportunities described here. Any Hilton-related trademarks referred to here are used for purposes of identification only. Over the last few years, Hilton has worked especially hard to combat OTA marketing […]