Summary of RobertKCole’s Twitter postings for the period ending midday November 23. Highlights include: The PhoCusWright conference and Travel Innovation Summit – Live tweeting from the Blogger town hall and Lodging recovery workshops; Facebook on its way to 1 billion users; indications the recession may have a lasting impression on consumers and travel.
My Twitter Digest for the Past Week 2009-11-16
November 16, 2009 By 4 Comments
Summary of RobertKCole’s Twitter postings for the period ending midday November 16. Highlights include: Retweets from a good hotel panel at the Pubcon Search Marketing Conference and Travel Blog Camp at World Travel Market; some angel investor insights; InterContinental and Design Hotels websites that provide some great examples of hotels inspiring travel using video; , and some Twitter Lists, Twubs and other techniques to follow the PhoCusWright conference.
US Hotel Performance – Time for a Baseline Reset?
November 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment
US hotel industry performance has not yet shown signs of recovery. Declines in all key industry metrics – occupancy percentage, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) continue to decline in 2009 when compared to comparable periods in 2008. Smith Travel Research (STR), PriceWaterhouseCoopers(PWC) and PKF International (PKF) all forecast that ADR and RevPAR will continue to decline in 2010. Reviewing peak period weekly performance statistics, it appears that the US hotel industry needs to prepare for “A New Normal” with lower corporate and group business and value oriented leisure travelers when supply and demand reach equilibrium.
A New “Location, Location, Location” for the Hotel Industry
October 27, 2009 By 8 Comments
The modern hotel industry, revolutionized by E. M. Statler, was founded on the concept of location, location, location serving as the basis of fame and differentiation. In the future, “location, location, location” will again be the hallmark of the industry leader – this time, with three new types of virtual locations. Search Engine ranking, Social Media reputation and Location Based Promotion effectiveness will dictate who are the respective winners and losers in the arena of hospitality marketing.
Change Your Thinking about Social Media
September 30, 2009 By 3 Comments
A parable of two men sharing a hospital room provides a foundation for considering the true spirit of hospitality and how the sharing of experiences through effective communication can create inspiration. For hotels, resorts, attractions, destinations and other travel suppliers, it is extremely important to provide a quality experience that meets or exceeds the customer’s expectations. With the growth of social networks, effective communication that is authentic and personal has the ability to inspire travel. To succeed, travel companies need to focus more on the “social” and less on the “media.” As opposed to communicating with customers solely to attain short-term sales, the goal should be to improve travel experiences and enrich the lives of their customers to establish true engagement. This approach helps grow a community that can inspire others to travel and enhance the cycle.
HITEC Presentation – Web 2.0 & 3.0 Impact on Hospitality Technology
July 2, 2009 By 4 Comments
The hospitality industry has been relatively slow to adopt Web 2.0 technology, so when asked to speak at the annual HFTP HITEC conference, RockCheetah’s Robert Cole and InterContinental’s MiCharl Robinson decided to look forward to Web 3.0 technologies as well. Breaking the presentation into two sections, the first have reviewed the progression from Web 1.0 through Web 2.0 and onto Web 3.0 including the key technologies and key success factors. The second portion highlighted best practices by firms like Morgans Hotel Group, Joie de Vivre and Imagini Youniverse that serve as leading examples of Web 2.0 supporting hotel customer engagement.
Web 2.0 & 3.0 Impact on Hospitality Technology | HFTP HITEC
June 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The hospitality industry has been relatively slow to adopt Web 2.0 technology, so when asked to speak at the annual HFTP HITEC conference, RockCheetah’s Robert Cole and InterContinental’s MiCharl Robinson decided to look forward to Web 3.0 technologies as well. Breaking the presentation into two sections, the first have reviewed the progression from Web 1.0 through Web 2.0 and onto Web 3.0 including the key technologies and key success factors. The second portion highlighted best practices by firms like Morgans Hotel Group, Joie de Vivre and Imagini Youniverse that serve as leading examples of Web 2.0 supporting hotel customer engagement.
