An overview of the impact that Big Data, the demise of rate parity and the personalization of hospitality through the sharing economy have on traditional hotel industry distribution. Presentation by Robert Cole of RockCheetah for the Distribution Super Session at the Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals 2014 HITEC Conference held Tuesday, June 24, 2014 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.
ReviewPro Webinar – Top Social Media Strategies for 2014
December 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A webinar sponsored by ReviewPro covering Social Media Strategies for hotels held December 10, 2013 featuring: Daniel Edward Craig, Reknown, Robert Cole, RockCheetah; Suzie Wotton, Red Carnation Hotels; and Adele Gutman, Library Hotel Collection
PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit Bingo
November 18, 2013 By 1 Comment
The PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit has 30 companies pitching a panel of judges and audience on a wide range of new travel technologies and online services. Travel Innovation Summit Bingo was invented for those attention deficit disorder sufferers who struggle to maintain focus during the six hours of demonstrations. Grab a Bingo card, find a few friends to play with, and get ready to track all the buzz words flying forth from the stage.
VFM Leonardo Webinar – Benefits of Marketing on Online Travel Agencies
September 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Robert Cole was invited by VFM Leonardo to participate in a webinar covering the benefits of marketing to OTAs and specifically how to The session was held online on September 25, 2013. It was stressed that the focus should be on business and marketing objectives and not solely the technologies.
Google Redesigns Hotel Search with Big Integration
June 19, 2013 By 6 Comments
Google’s hotel search has to balance the needs of hotels, online travel agents, travelers and advertisers. By updating their hotel search, Google has certainly won more fans from the hotel community, but has not alienated advertisers – especially the OTAs. Their trick was to unify hotel search with other forms of local search and to smartly focus on the needs of the consumer.
A Hotelier’s Take on IATA’s New Distribution Capability
June 4, 2013 By 3 Comments
The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) controversial decision to adopt the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) XML standard based on the Farelogix Air Commerce Gateway that was supported by the now defunct Open AXIS group is misguided. Its focus is airline-centric, ensuring the airlines full control over search and booking transactions occurring within their ecosystem. Like so many other things in the world of airlines, it really should be customer focused.
How Big Data, Deep Web & Semantic Technologies Change Travel Marketing
April 17, 2013 By 1 Comment
Big Data, The Deep Web and the Semantic Web are all buzzwords that are bandied about, but they represent very real technologies that will dramatically alter the foundations of travel marketing. Robert Cole’s Keynote presentation to the 2013 Association of Travel Marketing Executives addresses the main benefits of deploying the technologies. Incredible opportunities exist for those who smartly plan to adopt the technologies to effectively engage with travelers.
Transforming Supplier-driven Travel Booking Experience
February 14, 2013 By 3 Comments
The personalization and customization of the customer experience will mark the greatest transformation for travel booking. To sustain relevance and foster loyalty, travel sellers and suppliers will need to focus on understanding the context of traveler behaviors to create sustainable value in an effort to extend lifelong customer relationships. A Tnooz-Monetate webinar titled “Transforming the Supplier-driven Travel Booking Experience” included presentations by RockCheetah founder Robert Cole and Monetate CMO, Kurt Heinemann.
ATME Presentation – Collision of SEO and Social, Who Draws the Creepy Line?
October 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Robert Cole presented “The Collision of SEO & Social – Who Draws the Creepy Line?” for the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) Annual Conference held on June 27, 2012 at the W City Center in Chicago, Illinois. Travel industry marketing leaders were challenged to think about the ethical and privacy implications of their strategies.
Collision of SEO and Social – Where’s the Creepy Line?
June 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Changing rules, or a complete lack of rules governing the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) methods to increase Social Media ranking results in many groups using new technology to approach and cross the Creepy Line. The presentation is a discussion of the issues in play and what travel companies can do to engage customers and avoid crossing the creepy line – even when competitors are behaving badly.
