The Invisible Guest: How Dark Social Impacts Hotel Marketing
If you’re tracking your hotel’s marketing performance the traditional way — through UTMs, analytics, and CRM data — you’re only seeing part of the picture. There’s a whole world of referral traffic happening behind the scenes, and it’s called dark social. For the hospitality industry, where word-of-mouth and personal recommendations are already king, dark social […]
Maximizing Your Spa’s Online Presence: A Comprehensive Guide
Establishing a strong online presence is crucial for the success of any spa. Stephanie Smith, CEO of Cogwheel Marketing & Analytics, during the 2025 iSPA Conference offered valuable insights and actionable strategies for spa directors and operators looking to maximize their online visibility and attract more clients. Balancing Operations and Marketing Many spa professionals struggle […]
How to Run a Facebook Ad
Updated on March 14, 2025 8 Simple Steps on How to Run a Facebook Ad Facebook has seriously awesome targeting parameters to get your business in front of potential customers that align with a business’ target market and need periods. These instructions will walk you through step-by-step on how to create and launch a Facebook […]
Maximizing Your Hotel’s Digital Launch: A Comprehensive Guide
Building your hotel’s digital presence requires meticulous planning and execution across various channels to ensure maximum visibility and seamless operations. From GPS submissions to paid marketing and content optimization, here’s how to effectively position your property for success. GPS: Getting Your Hotel Found Ensuring your hotel can be easily located is a foundational step in […]
How Hotel Digital Marketing Can Bridge Gaps in Hotel Commercial Strategy
There continue to be silos in commercial strategy. Let’s dig deeper into how digital marketing needs to function to guarantee a seat at the table. Marketers need to first understand that all their acronyms mean nothing if the hotel isn’t getting its fair share and not taking market share from the competition. Our world is […]
Developing a Social Media Plan for your Hotel
Whether you are tasking your in-house team or outsourcing to an agency, resources must be determined to dedicate to social media. This includes resources of both time and money. The size of your hotel and competing market can help you determine how to compete.
How Hotel Sales, Marketing, Revenue Leaders Handle Collaboration
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — As more and more hotel companies align their sales, marketing and revenue-management teams under the larger umbrella of a “commercial” department, leaders of those three discrete disciplines say it’s vitally important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of people within those roles and how they can best complement each other. Each […]
Navigating Marketing’s Role in Commercial Strategy: Insights from Stephanie Smith
At the recent HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference, Stephanie Smith, CEO of Cogwheel Marketing & Analytics, delivered a presentation on the intricacies of marketing within the broader commercial strategy. Her goal was to provide a marketing perspective that complements the revenue-focused insights shared by other industry leaders. Her delivery and extensive knowledge offered attendees practical tools to […]
Why Hotels Should Own Their Online Presence
Stephanie Smith, CEO of Cogwheel Marketing & Analytics, partners with The Hotels Network to emphasize the importance of hotels owning their online presence to maximize performance in their #OwnYourWebsite initiative. She explains why hotels should control their websites and social media channels, allowing them to collaborate with the best-suited agencies for specific needs like SEO, […]
How to Optimize for Marriott SEO
When optimizing for search engine optimization on a Marriott brand site, it is important to know the systems and limitations of EPIC, eFast and Brandworks.