Marketing

📱 The Ritz-Carlton outpaced 181 luxury brands to clinch a Cannes Lion Gold award for advertising. The ad, featuring Josh Hutcherson, cost under $1 million to make, achieving 50 million impressions and becoming the most-shared content for Marriott International's luxury portfolio last year. Jamie F. Kerr highlighted this as the first hospitality brand campaign to win in the luxury category. The campaign was innovatively crafted without an ad agency, involving a streetwear fashion brand and a new production company.

🌏 In 2025, Loveholidays expanded to the Netherlands, following its success in Ireland (2016), Germany (2023), and Austria (2024). It offers billions of package holiday combinations, over 40,000 hotels, and flights from all major airlines through its weloveholidays brand. As the UK’s third-largest ATOL holder, it captures 12% of the Irish population's travel market. In Germany and Austria, it operates profitably. Dutch travelers benefit from flexible payment options, including iDeal.

💸 Jun 27, 2025, Booking.com, Netherlands: Booking.com faces a mass legal claim by Dutch consumer groups, accused of inflating hotel prices since 2013. The Consumers’ Association and CCC Foundation allege anti-competitive practices. Public interest crashed the association’s website. Booking.com denies allegations, emphasizing price transparency, and notes it has removed price parity clauses in Europe. Despite accusations of deceptive marketing tactics, Booking.com claims its practices align with consumer expectations and regulations. Read more on [NL Times](https://nltimes.nl/2025/06/26/bookingcom-denies-price-inflation-allegations-amid-mass-legal-action).

📅 2023 study reveals 65% of travelers prefer direct hotel bookings online. The SwiftBook Booking Engine boosts direct bookings by up to 37% when using widgets like Date Option, Book Now, and FAR. Widgets allow real-time availability checks, direct bookings, and custom branding. Integrate on homepages, headers, and promotions for best results. Customize with SwiftBook Widget Builder for tailored experiences. Optimize with strategic placement, exclusive offers, and A/B testing to maximize conversion rates.

📰 Accor's 2024 campaign for Paris 2024 Olympics highlighted Kauli Vaast's Seine surfing and garnered 5 million views, boosting brand visibility. Pierre & Vacances' humorous 2024 campaign solidified its family holiday leadership by enhancing brand perception. Hilton's ‘10-Minute TikTok’ broke records with 6.5 million views, 35% subscriber growth, and a 93.5% positive sentiment, attracting over 100,000 new members. Campaigns significantly increased engagement and brand positioning on social media platforms.

📈 STAAH SwiftBook's integration with Google Booking Links is boosting direct revenue for thousands of properties globally. When? 2025. Where? Worldwide. What? The integration enhances visibility on Google Hotel Search, allowing hotels to present direct booking links alongside OTAs. How? By sending real-time rates and availability from SwiftBook directly to Google's search results, bypassing intermediaries and commissions. Why? To increase direct, commission-free bookings and control over the customer journey, solving common challenges faced by hoteliers in digital visibility.

📈 In 2025, Koko Global Hospitality partnered with D-EDGE for a data-driven digital marketing campaign to enhance online visibility and streamline bookings. The strategy leveraged Metasearch Marketing on Google Hotel Ads and Trivago, Display Advertising with banner ads, and Search Engine Marketing for prominent property search results. The D-EDGE booking engine provided a mobile-optimized experience, converting traffic into direct revenue and improving the customer journey.

🌍 OTAs are surpassing general search as a travel resource. Year-over-year, generative AI usage has doubled. More travelers are booking through indirect channels to compare options for the best prices. Traditional payment methods, such as credit cards, remain popular for bookings and in-destination packages. Social media plays a growing role in travel planning, with Instagram as the top influencer across key markets and YouTube leading in content consumption.