Expedia.com® today released the results of the 2013 Flip Flop Report, an annual study of behavior and preferences among beachgoers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Here are their sometimes surprising findings about beach behaviour.
The Digital Hotel: Reducing the Tour-Operator-Stranglehold Part 1
By feature writer Lars Hilse: Tour Operators are viewed by many of the smaller hospitality operations, in particular by boutique hotels, as a necessary evil. While they are contractually obliged to deliver a lot of nights and therefore present a constant stream of income, they take a big chunk of the margin which could have landed in the pocket of the hotelier. From a strategic angle it would therefore probably be wisest to negotiate the contracts in such a fashion, that the business resulting thereof covers the operational expenses. The leftover occupancy can be dedicated towards experimental and alternative means of business generation.
Meta Search Marketing: The New Revenue Frontier in Hospitality
By feature writers Max Starkov and Tara Dyer: Today we are witnessing an explosion of meta search travel sites and features, facilitated by advancements in digital technology and advertisers’ perceptions of these sites as “unbiased” online media players compared to the OTAs.
A Word of Advice from a Hotelier: Proceed with Caution
By feature writer Alan Campbell: In the rush to ride the progress train to profits, are we keeping one eye on the recent recession in order to protect the workers in our employment?
STR Reports Hotel Pipeline for June 2013
In 2014, 104 hotels are planned to open with 17,072 roomS Central/South America region. In the The Middle East/Africa region, Dubai, UAE, reported the largest number of rooms under construction with 10,391 rooms. In Europe, Russia reported the largest number of rooms under construction with 11,590 rooms.
Hotel Entertainment Should Be Active: How about Bowling?
By feature writer Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng: Is your hotel fun? Ask yourself honestly. Your chef’s creations might excite the senses, and the surrounding area might present a smorgasbord of enjoyable daytime activities and nightlife. But what is there – physically, onsite and within reach – to entertain guests?
Your Top News and Articles of the Week
This week in the news, hotel prices increased by 39% after the plane crash in San Fancisco. Every time these stories hit the press, the hospitality industry looks mercenary. What can be done? On a lighter note, a new online hotel room-sharing program, Easynest, was launched – will people organise to share rooms to cut costs or has cost got nothing to do with it? From our feature writers – last week we asked if OTAs were crushing hotels and this week we have had a great response from Sam Weston detailing how to reduce your OTA dependency. Check out L. Aruna Dhir’s article describing the top traits of a hospitality professional. Do you possess them? Carla Caccavale gave us a new definition for SEO and explains how to turn “ouch” into an opportunity with some well crafted management responses. Finally, in the never ending debate over free wi-fi, Larry Mogelonsky looks to how airport lounges are handling the situation and finds lessons for hoteliers.
Stop Treating Customers Like Idiots
By feature writer Alan Fairweather: Do you think you ever treat your customers like idiots? What do you mean, they’re all idiots? I know you don’t mean to do it, however perhaps you or your staff inadvertently make a customer feel stupid.
Guest Service: Outsmarting the Competition May be Easier Than You Think
By Jonathan Barsky: Companies are struggling to improve profitability by cutting expenses, copying competitors, replacing CEOs, and hiring expensive consultants. Unfortunately, most of these efforts have failed to pay off. But a number of hospitality leaders have found a source of competitive advantage. They are leveraging their own employees to find new opportunities for growth.
Luxury Hotels Can Use Local Culture to Attract Guests
By Joe McCarthy: Luxury hotels that dabble in the native cuisine, explore the surrounding area and delve into the local culture will stand out to consumers and help the properties get ahead of their competitors since these packages provide experiences that cannot be emulated elsewhere.
