Marketing

📈 Independent hotels across the U.S. lose thousands monthly due to poor online visibility. Major brands dominate search results. Problems include low Google and OTA presence, inconsistent branding, and outdated listings. RevOptimum’s Hotel Visibility Program improved one property's direct bookings by 35% and RevPAR by 25%, focusing on discoverability rather than promotions. Effective visibility requires understanding traveler behavior and custom strategies. Hotels can consult RevOptimum for tailored solutions.

📅 Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Chinese New Year provide opportunities for hotels to engage guests through digital campaigns. An Advent calendar campaign boosts website traffic during Christmas. A New Year’s Eve countdown drives bookings with striking visuals. From February 10, a Chinese New Year campaign targets travelers in China, Korea, and Singapore, offering personalized incentives. Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, offers a 30% discount to lift spirits. Personalized, timely offers can maintain guest engagement throughout winter.

📈 Travelers in the peak season consider six brands before booking. Hotels can boost demand by partnering with DMOs, offering direct bookings, and using incentives like digital prize wheels. For loyalty, optimize SEO and use centralized booking engines to enhance visibility. Franchise hotels should balance brand consistency and local character, leveraging GDS campaigns and group contracts. Effective channel strategy reduces reliance on single markets, enhancing long-term resilience by catering to diverse audiences.

📈 In 2026, hotels should adopt the Trust-led Multichannel Growth (TMG) approach to enhance digital marketing. The TMG focuses on trust, authenticity, and leveraging social media for brand equity and precise targeting. Key insights include Booking Holdings' $457M writedown due to Google's AI-driven shift, and Trivago and Tripadvisor's brand value drop. AI aids in content syndication and trust scaling. The TMG approach balances short-term performance with long-term brand growth, driven by trust and natural traveler behavior alignment.

📅 Spotnana partnered with Booking.com to integrate their global itinerary for partners and customers. This integration allows access to corporate rates and supports the entire travel journey from booking to servicing. Travelers and agents can manage trips through Spotnana's platform. Benefits include flexible payment options, loyalty rates, last-minute deals, and multi-language support. Mark van der Linden of Booking.com and Bill Brindle of Spotnana highlight the partnership's aim to ease travel management and enhance inventory access.

📷 Arlo Hotels' Instagram strategy, led by Dino Jevric, focuses on authentic storytelling over promotion. Over the past year, Arlo gained around 33,000 Instagram followers and increased engagement by 50%. Instead of using polished ads, the brand relies on user and employee-generated content, creating series like "Behind the Apron" to engage audiences. This emotional storytelling approach connects culture with digital media, translating engagement into tangible business outcomes such as increased booking-page traffic and reservations.

📅 Emerging Travel Group (ETG) partners with H10 Hotels Group to offer over 65 H10 properties directly to ETG's 20 million monthly users. H10 Hotels, known for premium seafront and all-inclusive resorts, operate in 25 destinations, including Spain, Italy, and the Caribbean. This integration, facilitated by Connectycs, aims to boost booking management and visibility. Spain leads ETG's platform bookings, with a 25% year-on-year increase. Victoria Shamshurova emphasizes the milestone's significance in expanding quality accommodation options.

🌍 Emerging Travel Group (ETG), operating brands like RateHawk and ZenHotels, partners with H10 Hotels for direct bookings, reaching 20 million monthly guests worldwide. H10 manages over 65 properties in 25 destinations, including Spain, Italy, and the Caribbean. Spain sees a 25% rise in bookings. Over 2.9 million accommodations and 220,000 direct listings are available through ETG, with a 2024 gross transaction value of $3.7 billion. ETG is based in UAE and employs over 3,900 people globally.