How to Audit (and Fix) Hotel Tax Rates to Save a Few Bucks
With the amount of uncertainty in the world due to COVID19, now more than ever hotels must fight for every dollar! There is no easy reservation today. One of the most overlooked ways hotels can reduce their losses is by ensuring the correct tax rates are reflected on both your own website and all Online […]
HSMAI DC State of the Union: Digital Marketing How to Pivot
Can we get back to in person meetings? I think everyone, at this conference especially, can appreciate that sentiment…. With that said, the virtual HSMAI DC State of the Industry meeting on September 24, 2020 was still jam packed full of great content. Ellen Wilson at the HSMAI DC team were prepared to still put […]
What is Hotel MetaSearch?
Hotel MetaSearch websites allow consumers to search for hotels then compare prices across many websites at the same time. If the hotel in question is in parity across all channels, the transaction likely goes to the top placed website. If the hotel is not in parity, the potential guest is likely to choose the site […]
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 […]