Many marketers pay a lot of attention to advertising and generating traffic to their website, but not enough attention to Conversion.  But conversion can have a bigger impact on profitability.  If you spent the same amount of money to get people to your website, but more of them turn...

If you are a GM or Revenue Manager, you still need to know about Marketing and Advertising.  For several years, there has been a strong focus on Direct Bookings because there are no commissions, but getting Direct Bookings (in a profitable way) requires: 

1. Traffic and
2. Conversion

In...

Airbnb started as a competitor, providing rooms and homes that compete with hotels. However, in the last year they have evolved into a distribution channel, much like an OTA, but with much lower commissions.

Airbnb has modified their platform and welcomed hotels - specifically boutique hotels...

Many people think that discounting costs them money, but if you NEVER promote or discount, it can be costing you much more.  Remember that simple discounts and price reductions are not the same as well thought out promotion strategy. 

Naturally, this strategy depends on your property...

This short course was posted on YouTube just a few months ago and has become one of the most watched videos on the topic of "How to do Revenue Management".  I'm sure it will put some people to sleep, but if you really want to learn about Revenue Management for...

One of the biggest profit impacts to a hotel comes from changing future rates to match Competitor rates and your own occupancy.  For this to work, you need to be able to adjust rates quickly, easily, and accurately.    

Most managers first reaction is to create an online...

Lodging Leaders is a top rated podcast covering every aspect of the hotel industry.  Episode 163 featured our very own Rob Russell where he describes a checklist of 14 items that many boutique hotels are missing - and can add lots of revenue.  Some of these may sound controversial, but...

Google has been working on hotel-specific ads since about 2010, but this ad product has evolved over the years and in 2018 has really exploded, growing 65%, according to Google.  The current version of this product and the audience size are relatively new.  By some estimates they may...

Expedia and Marriott announced a new agreement that could have implications for independent boutique hotels.  Specific details are confidential and likely to be complex, but some key points have been leaked into the public arena and are worth considering as part of your rate and distribution...

Promotions are especially important on OTAs, where consumers are searching for hotels and looking for value.  Your hotel is one of many choices that consumers will scan in seconds, so the right promotion is about more than a lower price. After all, they have no idea what the price used to...