Tech Talk

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Definitely Doug 6/9/23: Hotels Fighting Trafficking: The Role of Technology
Posted: 06/09/2023

This week I want to address an important issue for the hospitality industry, albeit one that technologists have not historically had on their radar. They can potentially play a significant role in addressing the issue, which is human trafficking, and more specifically sex trafficking.

In my last column, I reviewed some key trends in autonomous mobile robotics for hotels, and dove into three categories of delivery robots in more detail – room delivery, food delivery, and heavy-lift robots. This week I will round out the topic with several other robot types and applications, as well as general guidance for evaluating, acquiring, and adopting mobile autonomous robotics. If you have not yet read part one, I recommend going back and doing so before continuing below, as some of the introductory material is important background to what follows.

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Best Practices for Hotel & Resort Operators in Pool Season 2023
Posted: 05/25/2023

With the arrival of warmer weather and summer fast approaching, hospitality operators are gearing up for another pool season. This year, technology is at the forefront of driving booking revenue and taking operational efficiency to the next level. Modern technology platforms (such as hospitality’s newest technology category – the Property Experience Management System or PXMS) are providing brand new capabilities that unlock new strategies and approaches to filling the pool with satisfied guests.

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The Growing Role Technology Plays in Hotels and Restaurants
Posted: 05/25/2023

In the past few years, hotels and restaurants have grown into hubs for entertainment, leisure, and human connection. In an effort to best serve their guests, operators have begun rethinking their technological investments and working to adapt to recent shifts in consumer preference and operations. To ensure that guests have the best on-site experience possible, brands are increasingly looking to new technologies to make their experiences more convenient and comfortable. Advanced property management systems (PMS) and point-of-sale (POS) systems can increase operational and staff efficiency, while also meeting changing customer expectations for a high-value but relatively low-touch experience.

This week I will return to a topic I have covered before, because it has, within the last 12 to 18 months, become one of the hottest-growth categories in hospitality technology. That topic is autonomous mobile robots – specifically, ones that can move around the facility as well as perform specific tasks. Many of these products were launched pre-Covid but were often seen at the time as more of a marketing gimmick than a legitimate operational solution.

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Design Your Dream Luxury Hotel Marketing Strategy: 5 Tips for Booking Your Ideal Clients in a Digital World

10/18/2017

by Maria Harrison

As you pursue your optimal hotel internet marketing strategy for your luxury hotel, you want to make sure you’re attracting the savvy business mogul or free-spending socialite rather than, say, a spring-breaking “bro” with a bad fake tan and cheap tequila pouring out of his ears.

Here are five strategies to make sure that you’re attracting the right customers; the ones who are seeking the luxury hospitality experience you offer:

Get to Know Your Customer Through and Through

Google Analytics is your friend: it will help you discover the profile of your ideal potential clients by looking at your actual customers. A strong luxury hotel marketing strategy will include a customer profile that incorporates as much of your data as possible: what kind of job do they have? What types of cars do they drive? Do they eat eggs and bacon or drink kale shakes before starting their day – even if kale shakes can taste slightly gross.

You can even utilize a data append to get more information on your guests. You should create everything from a lookalike model to a complete characterization of the theoretical customer: the way Marlon Brando created a character like Stanley Kowalski in his head, you need to create your “character” too. But, put yours to paper. Developing a demographic profile and a persona for your ideal luxury customer will help you find them and speak to them with the right message.

Who Is this Mysterious Luxury Travel Consumer?

So now that you thoroughly know who your current customers are, your luxury brand marketing strategy needs to identify who the luxury travel consumer is independently of that. The type of information you want to compile will help tell you everything about the current ideal customer:

Do they spend their disposable income on a summer beach home or on prized works of modern art that look like my 6-year old could have painted them? Are they searching for travel ideas through Kayak and TripAdvisor or leaning on their social network for vacation pointers? The theme here is that with your hospitality marketing strategy you need to draw a roadmap between your actual customer and the ideal luxury brand consumer you are trying to attract in order to grow.

In-House versus Agency Luxury Hotel Marketing

There are reasons to use an in-house marketing team to reach your ideal customers. But even the best in-house team can greatly benefit from partnering with an external hotel internet marketing agency. While an in-house team may take a limited view that focuses on its specific product and business, it is the responsibility of the external agency to stay on the cutting edge of marketing across your industry as well as others.

As Forbes Magazine explains, “Digital marketing agencies must follow the latest developments across digital marketing trends… While your eye is understandably on your company and the product, digital marketing agencies are committed to keeping you abreast of all the latest developments in marketing.”

Using the Right Tactics to Target the Luxury Consumer

Hotel marketing is extremely price-sensitive. As the price tag climbs, you need to realign your luxury hotel marketing strategy so that you attract potential customers that want what you’ve got – and can afford to pay for it! Nobody in your business needs the “wishful thinking” consumer with a 3-star motel budget.

Further, it’s one thing to deploy tactics like paid search, retargeting, and utilizing Online Travel Agencies to capture demand, but part of your goal is to generate demand. Zeroing-in on that elusive consumer who doesn’t yet know about your incredible luxury experience – and who can afford it – is a major part of the challenge that requires further specialized tactics like audience targeting through programmatic media. Whether it’s reaching the C-level exec by layering in Dun & Bradstreet data or reaching the woman who travels on private jets by selecting it from Acxiom, layering data on media will lead to greater efficiency.

The Big Picture: Align Your Marketing Agenda Across the Board

You’ve mastered the art of creating the glorious luxury vacation experience. Now it’s time to align your offline marketing strategies with digital strategies like paid search, social media and display advertising to take your luxury vacation brand to the next level. Traditional and digital marketing go hand-in-hand and should mutually complement one another. So, stay focused on the big picture to achieve your goals.

Let Your Digital Marketing Execution Feel Like a Dream Vacation
Hotel internet marketing is rapidly changing and therefore complicated. It is crucial to stay on top of the most important trends to market luxury services online so that you can attract the customers who will maximize your earnings.