Marketing

🔋 Major power outages in Spain and Portugal yesterday led to a state of emergency in Spain and widespread disruptions in Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon. Flights were cancelled and businesses struggled with payments. Trava CEO Maxim Sevastianov emphasizes the need for travel firms to enhance resilience by setting up geo-redundant systems and automating processes to better handle such disruptions.

📆 Expedia Group launched its Travel Agent Affiliate Programme (TAAP) in the UAE, targeting partners and travel agents across the Middle East. TAAP offers commissions on total booking value, user-friendly tools, and marketing materials. Expedia, with platforms like Rezlive, Halalbooking, and Blackrock Technologies, aims to promote Middle Eastern destinations through partnerships with Experience Abu Dhabi, Visit Oman, Jordan Tourism, Emirates, and Adeera. An Arabic-language site is upcoming. Robin Lawther, VP of Expedia TAAP, will speak at ATM on April 30 about ethical AI and maintaining a human touch.

🏡 In Yen Bai Province, Northern Vietnam, the Banyan Group opened Garrya Mu Cang Chai, a new resort in the iconic Mu Cang Chai region, celebrated for its mountain landscapes and rice terraces. The resort covers 6.5 hectares, providing 110 rooms, suites, and villas with panoramic views. Room sizes range from 30 to 154 square meters, featuring bamboo accents and brocade motifs. Facilities include the 8LEMENTS Spa, Hydro Wellbeing Area, ReCharge Gym, and an 8-metre-high bamboo ballroom. The resort is accessible from Hanoi by a six-hour drive and is located over 300 kilometers north of the city.

🏨 Most hotel bookings originate from Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), especially during peak season. Reliance on OTAs can cause panic when their performance dips, leading to immediate OTA rate changes or promotions. Repeat customers often rebook through OTAs despite previous direct stays. OTA ads overshadow brand keyword searches, with no direct marketing, training, or technological advancement plans in place. Commission costs for OTAs are triple those of direct booking investments. Hotel teams depend on OTA tools rather than enhancing their technology, and marketing strategies are often speculative. Over-reliance on OTAs may undermine confidence, strategic planning, and career advancement. Four key areas of OTA dependency are highlighted, indicating it's not only about the commission expenses.

🏨 Written by Debiprasad Sarangi on April 20, 2014, the article touches on the behind-the-scenes efforts required to maintain a glamorous hotel experience, highlighting the importance of room service and amenities in providing a tranquil stay for guests.

💸 OTA undercutting is not only a pricing issue but also a marketing problem, with SHR research indicating a 47% increase in cost-per-click and a 36% higher expense than hotels with a direct rate advantage. The competition for branded search terms intensifies when OTAs bid higher in paid ads due to lower rates. The consequences include higher ad costs, lower conversion rates, and reduced marketing budgets. Despite some hoteliers believing they are not OTA-dependent, underlying dependencies may still affect their marketing power.

💾 STAAH’s Channel Manager offers real-time OTA synchronization and pooled inventory, aiming to eliminate hoteliers' challenges such as manual updates, rate disparities, and overbookings. Its features include instant rate plan and promotion push across OTAs, an intuitive interface for easy channel mapping, and built-in analytics for data-driven decisions. Properties worldwide use STAAH for distribution and revenue management.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, previously wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008). In Thailand (1992-1997), he contributed to Manager magazine and Asia Times. Graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University (1990), studied at Peking University and Nanjing University (1988-1989), and attended Le Cordon Bleu (1986). Thorn's column won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and he was president of IFEC in 2005. Inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier (2014), authored entries in Oxford food encyclopedias (2012, 2015). Hosts a podcast, expert in French cuisine, Asian cuisines, restaurant trends. Contact: [email protected], LinkedIn, Facebook: Bret Thorn, Twitter and Instagram: @foodwriterdiary.

💸 The quote from a media planner highlights skepticism towards retail media investment, noting that while being findable is necessary, it's not the top priority for the first dollar spent. After a period of rapid growth in retail media, marked by platform launches and high year-over-year (YOY) growth figures, 2025 brings a new phase of maturity due to economic uncertainty. Media planners and brands are applying a critical lens, questioning retail media's value in media plans and joint business plans. An ADWEEK article suggests that retail media may not provide advertising value but rather acts as a forced spend to increase retailers' margins without driving incremental sales. The industry is moving towards a more transactional phase with increased negotiation and scrutiny between brands and retail media owners.