Many hotel marketers are looking for solutions to solve their e-business challenges: improving website performance, increasing conversions from online campaigns, getting more attention on social media sites, and the list goes on. What they don't realize is that video could help solve many of these challenges. Video is naturally engaging and gives travel shoppers an opportunity to interact with and experience your hotel. After all, video marketing is easy, inexpensive, and, in most cases, yields a high ROI. Before you start developing your first or next video, consider this: if you don't know how to use video effectively, you could lose out on bookings. READ MORE

For years, we've been hearing more and more about the importance of naturally-raised, organic food products. Farmers' markets, rooftop and community gardens have grown in popularity and chefs around the country are capitalizing on their restaurant gardens to attract new customers. Sustainable agriculture has created healthier eating habits and improved local economies, but how can the hospitality industry fully embrace this movement? The Greenbrier, a 710-room resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, has found a way to take farm-to-table to the next level with The Greenbrier Farm, with the help of resort owner Jim Justice. READ MORE

During the current state of today's ever-changing economic environment, hoteliers in Food & Beverage have recognized that customers are even more often constantly evaluating the presented value versus actual quality -- making the importance of maintaining food integrity paramount to gaining and building market share. Surely there is a need to continually evaluate product offerings bearing in-mind the customer's perception of quality; usually thought of as meeting the needs and expectations of guests and thereby are able to provide product satisfaction. Simply put, quality for The Ritz-Carlton, Denver is not only meeting - but exceeding the guests' needs, free from deficiencies. READ MORE

It's an exciting time to be working in food and beverage. There are many trends that vary from food trucks, sourcing local products and providing an extreme dining experience with molecular chemistry. With all this excitement and opportunity to wow and lure new consumers into your outlets, it's important to step back and understand the DNA of your outlets on an individual basis. Trying to be all things to all people is a quick way to blur lines and lose quality and consistency of your outlet. READ MORE

That is the big question these days. How do I really measure this social media hocus pocus? What is the true value or benefit of social media? How many bookings did it generate? Too bad there are no magic buttons to push for one easy answer. There isn't one tool or one firm that can track and measure every possible social media mention that your hotel obtains. Social media is too vast and too dynamic to pin it down. It does not fit nicely into a certain box or stand still long enough to be properly measured. Social media also likes to mingle with so many other departments and areas of your hotel that measuring it is becoming just as difficult as measuring the impact of your hotel's name or lobby. READ MORE

In a changed hospitality industry, post economic collapse, a new low-price standard has been set for construction services. How did construction pricing get to this point and what are the risks associated with hiring inexpensive labor to complete projects? We are a national general contractor specializing in hospitality construction services and are among a limited few who remain strong in the industry. Read on to learn about the conditions leading up to this point, where the industry is headed, and what to be mindful of for your next project. READ MORE

Looking back on the state of the mobile app market over the last twelve months it is apparent that everyone has been focused on one question: “How many downloads did I get on my app?” But what is the actual value of that number? What does it tell us about our return on investment? The answers in the most simplified terms (respectively) are: minimal and not enough. By shifting the focus from downloads to what's truly important we will find out exactly how well our app is performing. And just what is truly important? Behavior. Analytics for mobile applications bring our customers' behavior to light, ultimately allowing for better business decisions and bigger returns. READ MORE

A recurring theme we see in hotels that are most popular in online guest reviews is that they make guest satisfaction a team effort. Continuously improving quality is coordinated between all departments by sharing online feedback and a plan for action. We see that the degree to which hotel executives take insights from reviews and turn this into measurable action steps for their staff is directly connected to how popular that hotel will be on the social web. READ MORE

There have been a lot of Aha moments in marketing. Positioning. Branding, The New Coke fiasco. The advent of Social Media. And even Flashmobs. One such moment occurred in 2004, when many believe the concept of Swarm Marketing was born. Basically, dictionaries define a swarm as a large number of things massed together and usually in motion. Think about a school of fish, a horde of bees, or a herd of wild horses. And think about consumers too. Connected by social media networks, consumers are sharing the swarming traits of these fish, bees, and wild horses that will change the way you think about marketing your hotel. In this article, you'll read about the three characteristics of swarms in nature and how they apply to your customers and potential customers. READ MORE

The US Travel Association (USTA) predicts a rebound of the domestic travel market over the next three years. This presents a big opportunity for domestic travel destinations like Disney World and Las Vegas, who can now compete for their share of travelers who've traded their international vacation for a domestic one. Destinations that reach domestic travelers consistently with value-oriented offers will become go-to resources for this new class of traveler, but in order to compete in what promises to be a tight domestic travel marketplace, destinations should integrate these five best practices for launching a successful direct response television campaign. READ MORE

With improved benefits and guest-friendly rules, hotel loyalty programs are increasingly becoming one of the primary reasons for selecting a particular hotel. Loyalty programs now rank fourth among reasons why consumers select a hotel (the top three reasons are "Location", "Price", and "Past Experience"). Across the industry loyalty program membership is on the rise and the percentage of "Elite" members in these hotel programs rose sharply in 2011 (up 5%). This is good news for hotels because members of these programs are more likely to recommend the hotel, spend more per room, and are less sensitive to price increases compared to non-member guests. READ MORE

Clearly when a program is just about rewards, loyalty isn't achieved. Loyalty is defined as "faithful" and faithful is defined in part as "allegiance" and "trust"; neither of these can "points" alone achieve. After all, aren't points what programs share in common? Loyalty results from one's ability to gain trust. Loyal guests are actually saying, "I trust that you will recognize me as the individual that I am." READ MORE

Earlier this year, American Express conducted a survey exploring attitudes and preferences toward customer service. The survey revealed seven in ten Americans (70%) are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. Even so, the same survey indicated that six in ten Americans (60%) believe businesses haven't increased their focus on providing good customer service. Among this group, 26% think companies are actually paying less attention to service. Consider these three truths about exceptional customer service.. READ MORE

Frequent travel programs present much value to weary travelers, who often consider their benefits as well deserved awards for the not so glamorous experiences associated with air travel. Furthermore, these programs create loyalty by recognizing the select few as more valued customers. They provide travelers with the perks of convenience and a feeling of importance. Understanding each business' unique strengths is necessary in order to allocate the right amount of resources to retain their customers. An increase of the quality of experience when staying at a hotel necessitates focus on those areas which are key drivers to creating loyalty. READ MORE

The Holy Grail in the hotel business is, obviously, customer loyalty. The way in which most hotel brands achieve this - or try to achieve this - is by means of customer loyalty and frequent guest reward programs. They are all extremely expensive and occupy a disproportionate amount of management time and focus. While there is no suggestion that this approach be dropped (it's far too late for that), this article discusses some of the inherent weaknesses in these programs and some of the ways in which individual properties can build true customer loyalty by focusing on the experience they deliver to their guests in their city in real time. ? READ MORE