Why you should NOT Invest in MetaSearch Right Now
Buckle in kids, this is not a popular opinion. If you had asked me my opinions about MetaSearch pre-Covid, my response would be different. If you need a refresher on MetaSearch, this article explains what is hotel MetaSearch. But, today, cash is tight. Budgets are being squeezed. While I still believe in “Book Direct” […]
Podcast: Aligning Sales & Marketing with Holly Zoba
Stephanie Sparks Smith sat down with Holly Zoba of Influencer Sales to discuss how Marketing and Sales can and should work together. It’s not a new concept, so why can’t we do it? Click below to listen to short, but packed, 22 minute podcast: Some of the podcast highlights includes: How the Sales team affects […]
AAHOA Webinar: Getting Back to Business: Tangible, Tactical Business Generation Ideas for Hotels
On July 22nd, AAHOA led a webinar of panelists as part of their ongoing learning series. The panelists were a group of hoteliers whose focus was in Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management, also known as Commercial Strategy. The Powerhouse of Panelists included: Stephanie Smith, Founder and Digital Matriarch at Cogwheel Marketing Susan Barry, President at […]
6 Free Google Tools
Google wants to suck you into their world, so you are dependent on them. And, hopefully spend more money in their world. Here are some free tools you can use to help make data driven decisions and understand trends for your market and specific location. Google Trends Google Trends allows you to explore top search […]
Recovery for Branded Hotels and Where to Put your Marketing Resources
There are plenty of articles telling you how to spend your money right now. While shortage of funds is obviously an issue, you have more limitations if you are a branded hotel like Marriott, Hilton, IHG or Hyatt. As each market rebounds differently, the marketing for a flagged hotel looks different due to systems limitations. […]
Lodging Stream: Marketing for Future Guests
Long Live Lodging accomplished a first: a completely virtual hospitality conference on April 30th. There was a plethora of topics covered to discuss recovery and projections post-Coronavirus. Skip to the bottom for the full replay, or scroll through the highlights of the discussion. Stephanie Smith of Cogwheel Marketing participated on the panel: Marketing for Future […]
Hotel Strategies to Target Drive Market Post Pandemic
As we come out of this pandemic there is still a wait and see game as to which segments will start traveling first, and when. It is a commonly held theory that the transient drive market will be the first segment to start to venture out. There are hoards of kids (and adults!) that need […]
Coronavirus Hospitality Resources
Oh my, so many resources, so many that think they know it all. Well, news flash, it’s a bunch of speculation. I put together a list of trusted resources and you can glean as you see fit. My Favorites Fuel Travel Crisis Management Resources – This is a MASTER LIST with sorting functions and pulls […]
Temporary Closure Digital Checklist for Hotels
If you are in a circumstance where you need to temporarily close or suspend operations at the hotel, here is a checklist for hotels that lists the sites you can/should update with proper messaging. Download Printable ChecklistDigital Checklist for Temporary Hotel Closure Website: Use proper verbiage, ie “temporarily suspending operations” If independent, add a […]
Get More from your Hotel GDS Ads
So often hotel GDS (Global Distribution System) ads go mismanaged or underutilized. Before running any campaign, be sure you have strong objectives and goals and that is communicated to marketing, revenue management, sales and your vendor. Define targeting parameters and manage your PCCs. If you do not define them, it will be based on targeting […]
