Monday, July 6, 2009

Finding the Right Online Marketing Channel to Increase Hotel Profitability

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If you have $1 million dollar to invest in one online hotel marketing channel, which one should you choose? This is a very challenging question that every hotel revenue manager should know the answer to. It is a given that using a variety of tools is very helpful. But among these tools, there will always be one that stands out. Once you find the right tool for your site, it will generate a dramatically higher number of visitors.

With so many different hotel online marketing solutions available in the market though, it is easy to get confused. Fortunately, the tips below will give you a guideline on what hotel revenue management tool you should concentrate on. The right yield management solution lies in the individual strengths of the hotel, its capabilities, and its goals. So here are the hotel internet marketing channels available today:

• Display advertising – essentially means putting advertisements on third-party websites to generate traffic and create brand awareness. Some ad formals include overlays, banners, and interactive ads.
• Email marketing – the system of collecting email address (leads) and then sending their newsletters through emails.
• Pay per click advertising (PPC) – bidding for a placement in popular search engines on your niche. It gives instant visibility based on the keywords chosen
• Online public relations – this strategy mainly uses media online outlets to earn brand recognition and increase hotel sales.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) – SEO should always be part of a hotel online distribution strategy. Majority of users uses search engines to look for products, information, services, and ideas. If you’re not listed at the first page of the results page, then your hotel is missing out on an opportunity to increase RevPAR and boost hotel sales.
• Social Media Marketing – characterized by the method of using social media platforms to improve visibility through word-of-mouth and relationships.

As you can see, there are many ways to market your hotel online. The right strategy for your hotel depends on the company goals in revenue management (whether the focus is educating readers, increasing raw traffic, or boosting hotel sales). The budget and available resources within the company are important factors as well.

If the hotel has strong development resources then Search engine optimization and using viral content might be the best idea. On the other hand, if the hotel has strong creative resources then email marketing (copywriters) and banner advertising (graphic designers) is the best option. And if the company has strong social resources then obviously social marketing is the solution to hotel profitability.

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RevPar Guru is the most advanced hotel revenue management software solution providing dynamic rate optimization, real-time pricing, integrated internet and extranet yield channel management, plus GDS sales distribution focused on hotel’s RevPar increase while maintaining rate integrity and automated rate parity.