The US hotel industry has reached a crossroads. After seven years of continual growth following its worst year since the great depression, US hotel industry performance should expect to plateau in 2017. It’s tough love time for an industry that continues to consolidate, but remains too timid to prune brand portfolios that confuse customers and commoditize lodging product through undifferentiated brand bloat. Plus, competing against rapidly growing, favorably perceived global organizations like Airbnb that structurally trade in unique, highly personalized experiences, does not result from inaction.
HSMAI Revenue Optimization Conference: Mobile – How Signals, Touchpoints and Moments Create Engagement, Conversion and Loyalty
June 22, 2016 By Leave a Comment
A presentation by Robert Cole, CEO of RockCheetah titled Mobile: How Signals, Touchpoints, and Moments Create Engagement, Conversion and Loyalty, for the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Revenue Optimization Conference on June 22, 2016.
HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference On-Property Customization and Personalization
February 17, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Tailoring the Guest Experience: One size does NOT fit all. A presentation by Robert Cole of RockCheetah, Sylvie Fayolle – GM, Le Parker Méridien and Pedro Dias – GM, Smyth for HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference, held at the Marriott Marquis in New York, New York on February 17, 2016.
HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference Pre-Arrival Personalization and Customization
February 17, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Enhancing the User Experience for Fun & Profit. Presented by Robert Cole, CEO, RockCheetah, Bill Linehan, CMO, Red Lion Hotels & Adele Gutman Milne, VP Sales, Marketing and Revenue, Library Hotel Collection at the HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference held Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at the New York Marriott Marquis.
Allegiant Airlines/Teesnap – Hotel and Travel Distribution Lessons For Golf Course Owners
February 8, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Trends & Pitfalls in Hotel & Travel Distribution – Applying Concepts to Golf. A presentation by Robert Cole of RockCheetah for Allegiant Airlines/Teesnap and the Milwaukee Golf Group, held at Scenic View Golf Club in Slinger, Wisconsin on February 8, 2016.
Predicting The Marriott – Starwood Brand Deadpool
November 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Which Marriott and/or Starwood hotel brands deserve to survive or die? Marriott International is acquiring Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide for $12.2 billion, creating the world’s largest hotel group, representing over 30 individual hotel brands with over 1.1 million rooms. The objective for global hotel groups hotel is to maximize room density in high demand destinations, but some of the brands will be cast aside into the hotel brand deadpool. Keep, Merge, Kill or Sell are the strategic options facing Marriott’s senior executive team.
Phocuswright Travel Innovation Summit Scorecard – 2015
November 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
In 2015, The Phocuswright Travel Innovation Summit has been expanded to showcase 41 companies with new products for the travel industry. New this year, in addition to calling the pool of judges “The Dragon’s Den,” is the new Battleground round where 21 startups compete for three open Travel Innovation Summit slots.
Leonardo Webinar – Monetizing Mobile: How a Rich and Engaging Mobile Website Drives Bookings
July 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Robert Cole of RockCheetah explains how rich, engaging mobile websites drive hotel bookings and enhance guest experiences in this Leonardo sponsored webinar, broadcast July 16, 2015.
Phocuswright-Lionbridge Webinar – Engaging International Travelers
June 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Technological advancements in the travel industry, coupled with global growth in international travel traffic presents a challenge for today’s hospitality providers – how to best engage international travelers. Presentation by Robert Cole of RockCheetah for a Phocuswright webinar sponsored by Lionbridge on Thursday, June 25, 2015.
Hotel Brand Differentiation – An Oxymoron?
June 1, 2015 By Leave a Comment
What should have been a simple task of matching descriptions to the appropriate hotel brand, was instead an impossible challenge. The world’s largest hotel groups, in an effort to rapidly grow have taken shortcuts with fundamental branding. By introducing new, poorly differentiated, lifestyle lodging brands the problem has reached epidemic proportions. In most cases, the major hotel brands do not successfully differentiate themselves based on product, scale or personality traits. As intermediaries continue to grow distribution market share, this could become a problem.
