This week we dive deep into the most critical issues hotels are facing today. We start with how to optimize hotel websites to generate more direct bookings and innovative ways in which wearable technology can benefit travel companies & hotels. Then, we look at 2017 Trends in the Hotel Industry findings, which suggest that hotels are much smarter about their finances but are paying travel agents more than before. We finish off with an interesting piece about religious tourism.
It’s time to invest in your hotel website. Findings from a 2017 Travel Website Behavior Study by Fuel and Flip.to suggest that your hotel website is THE MOST influential factor when researching and booking a hotel. In fact, it’s more influential than Word of Mouth (#2), OTAs (#3) Search Engines (#4) and Review Sites (#5).
Working in a seasonal industry is challenging, to say the least. You’ve either got tons of people making reservations on your site or hardly any, forcing you to constantly review your marketing budget. The good news is that it doesn’t always have to be like this. Here are ideas on how you can increase your travel website bookings throughout the year with marketing automation.
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CBRE Hotels’ Americas Research recently released its 2017 edition of Trends in the Hotel Industry and, perhaps, the biggest trend in the report is that U.S. hotels are much smarter about their finances than ever before. Other findings show that hoteliers paid more to travel agents and online agents in 2016. Gross operating profits rose the most for hotels located in the Mountain/Pacific and the South Atlantic regions and resorts are seeing revenue increases.
We only have to see photos of people praying in Mecca, visiting the Vatican, washing in the Ganges, or attending a religious festival at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to know that both religion and religious pilgrimages play a major role in tourism. Religious tourism even bleeds into the world of "secular faith" as proven by the millions of people each year who do a "pilgrimage" to places such as Washington, DC, or treat their favorite football team as if it were a religious icon.
*Picturs sources by Pixabay
