<p>Effective communication is one of the keys to building a strong relationship with your guests. If you do it correctly, you can build customer loyalty, improve the guest experience, and drive more revenue. In this episode, the Fueligans break down a recent blog article that discusses 15 triggered messages that you should be sending to your guests</p>
<p>DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/663991637&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<p>Follow long at home with the original article:</p>
<p><span class="search-result-link"> <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/15-triggered-messages-your-hotel-should-be-sending-to-your-guests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">15 Triggered Messages Your Hotel Should Be Sending To Your Guests</a></span></p>
<p>Here are the pro tips we teased you with in the show:</p>
<p><b>Pro-Tips</b></p>
<ul>
<li>Make the messages as personalized and human as possible. It’s easy for messages to come across as sterile and generic. Try to use the guest’s name in correspondents as much as possible and also try to put the personality of the staff in the messages by showing photos of real employees and writing content with a conversational tone.</li>
<li>One size does not fit all. Always consider the source of the booking and create variants of each triggered message where it makes sense. For example, someone who books through an OTA should receive a different message than someone who books directly from your own website. Also, consider the length of stay and how far in advance the booking was made because these should both impact the timing and frequency of the messages you send to an individual.</li>
<li>Consider the method of communication based on the guest’s preference and the context. For example, an SMS message may be preferable and more effective while the guest is on property. Just be sure to ask permission and set expectations in advance.</li>
<li>To be successful, you must always remember to operate with the guest’s best interest in mind. When you lose sight of that and start sending messages that benefit you at the expense of the guest, it will all fall apart.</li>
<li>Be sure to remove folks from your generic emails when they are actively engaged in a personalized/triggered campaign. You want every message to be deliberate and focused on moving the relationship forward. Why confuse things by sending them a special when they’ve already booked?</li>
<li>The benefit of automated messages is that, once set up, they reduce the workload of your marketing team. However, this comes with the risk of triggered messages breaking at some point in the future. Be sure to have someone go through and test these messages on a frequent basis to ensure that the triggers are working, that the content isn’t out of date, and that the guest is receiving the best possible experience.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Need Help?</b></p>
<p>If you want to get started implementing these effective message triggers but don’t know where to begin, reach out to a Fueligan. Not only do we have the most advanced, <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/ai-powered-crm/">hotel AI-Powered CRM </a>software available, but we also offer managed email marketing services that can help take your email campaigns to the next level. <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/contact/">Contact us here</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>WANT MORE EPISODES?</p>
<p>Below is a list of some of the most popular topics:<br />
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-80-hotel-booking-data-reveals-surprising-consumer-mobile-behavior/">80 &#8211; Hotel Booking Data Reveals Surprising Consumer Mobile Behavior</a><br />
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-103-6-hotel-website-audits-that-will-save-you-from-losing-money/">103 &#8211; 6 Hotel Website Audits That Will Save You From Losing Money</a><br />
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-106-top-10-ways-to-reach-new-hotel-guests/">106 &#8211; Top 10 Ways To Reach New Hotel Guests</a><br />
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-111-the-10-commandments-of-hotel-marketing/">111 &#8211; The 10 Commandments of Hotel Marketing </a><br />
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-115-top-10-ways-to-drive-direct-bookings-before-otas-put-you-out-of-business/"> 115 &#8211; Top 10 Ways To Drive Direct Bookings Before OTAs Put You Out Of Business</a><br />
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-116-youll-be-shocked-by-these-insights-from-the-2019-leisure-travel-study/">116 &#8211; You&#8217;ll Be Shocked By These Insights From The 2019 Leisure Travel Study</a></p>
<p>========================</p>
<h2><b>In The Newsaroos:     </b></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Review Counts Matter More Than Star Ratings<br />
</b><a href="https://searchengineland.com/review-counts-matter-more-to-local-business-revenue-than-star-ratings-according-to-study-320271" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/review-counts-matter-more-to-local-business-revenue-than-star-ratings-according-to-study-320271</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Over 200K businesses examined</li>
<li>“Businesses with more than the average number of reviews bring in 82% more in annual revenue than businesses with review counts below the average.”</li>
<li>Businesses with 3.5-4.5 star range average more revenue than those above or below (people are skeptical of 5 star and assume manipulation. Also 5 star tend to have fewer reviews)</li>
<li>Businesses claiming their listings on multiple sites earn 58% more revenue (GMB, Bing, Yelp, etc)</li>
<li>Businesses that respond to reviews average 35% more revenue</li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 119 – Dominate The Competition With These 15 Triggered Messages

<p>This episode is based on a vertical trends report produced by Google as well as Revinate’s latest email marketing trends study.</p>
<p>Also see our notes on last year’s study: <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-98-takeaways-revinates-2018-global-hotel-email-marketing-report/">https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-98-takeaways-revinates-2018-global-hotel-email-marketing-report/</a></p>
<p>DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/657708953%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-Ec3dN&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<p><b>Google’s Vertical Trends</b></p>
<p>Google’s trend report is for Q1 of 2019 for hotel, motel and resort paid keywords.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Devices:</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Overall, the number of search queries was down 1% compared to last year, with 60% of searches performed on a mobile phone.</li>
<li>Mobile queries have increased 15% YoY, and CTR increased 3% to 9.5%. Ad Depth is up 3% to 2.8 (why is this a red indicator??). CPC remained even, at $0.95</li>
<li>Desktop queries are down 19%, however CTR increased 8% to 8.1%. Ad Depth is up 46% to 2.4 (also red). CPC up 10% to $1.81</li>
<li>Tablet queries are down 8%, CTR increased 9% to 8.1%. Ad depth is down 3% to 3.2 (this is green). CPC up marginally, at 2% for $1.15</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Takeaway: Mobile traffic continues to increase, is well over the majority of traffic, has the highest CTR, and is currently cheaper CPC than other devices.</b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Seasonality:</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Q1 saw a slight dip in both queries and impressions vs. 2018, but was slightly above that of 2017</li>
<li>Clicks were higher than both 2017 and 2018, with traffic peaking in March</li>
<li>CPC steadily rose throughout the first quarter, passing over the CPC of 2018 in March. CPC remained below 2017 for all three months</li>
<li>CTR steadily rose throughout the quarter, and was above 2018 and 2017 for all three months</li>
<li>Ad Depth had a very slight decline from January to March. It was well above 2018 for all 3 months, but slightly below 2017</li>
<li>In the last 4 years, CPCs were in the range of $1.13-$1.26 and peaked in May.</li>
<li>Category searches have consistently peaked in July.</li>
<li>Google’s forecast for the next 2 months shows an expected high for queries during the week of 7/23 and high for CPC the week of 9/10 based on last year’s trends.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Takeaway: In spite of increased ad depth, CTR is up vs. last year, however, volume is down </b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Revinate’s 2019 Hotel Email Marketing Benchmark Report</b></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Why email?</b></p>
<ul>
<li>Measureable</li>
<li>Personalized</li>
<li>Highest ROI (4X higher than other channels)</li>
<li>Millennials (will be 50% of world’s hotel guests, and lead the way in making purchasing decisions based on email)</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Segmentation:</b></p>
<ul>
<li>Open rate of emails sent to &lt;5,000 recipients was 24% vs. 10% for &gt;50K</li>
<li>CTR was 3% vs. 1%</li>
<li>Conversion rate was 0.3% vs. 0.07%</li>
</ul>
<p>Sample math:</p>
<p>Hotel sends 1 email to 50K people with 0.07% CR = 3,500 reservations</p>
<p>Hotel sends 10 segmented emails to 5K people each with a 0.37% CR = 18,500 reservations</p>
<p><b>Takeaway: Don’t be overly concerned with the vanity metric of open rate, but DO be aware of the engagement/conversion rate of these segmented send. Highly engaged subscribers due to segmentation can send positive signals to Gmail, etc. that will help keep your messages out of the spam folders.</b></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Automated Messages:</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Automated booking modification and confirmation emails had a 72% open rate and 26% CTR</li>
<li>Welcome emails had a 50% open rate and 16% CTR</li>
<li>Pre-arrival emails had a 61% open rate and 30% CTR</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>OTA win back messages had a 34% open rate, 7% CTR, and 0.59% CR</b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Takeaway: Automation for confirmation, pre-arrival post-stays is a no-brainer. HOWEVER, these are not set it and forget it messages. They need to be audited, tested and updated as needed, especially pre-arrival messages that can be used to upsell and cross-sell based on inventory.</b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>When to Send:</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Study analyzed 32 million global reservations</li>
<li>30% of reservations were made 0-6 days out</li>
<li>Day of week: In the US and Canada, Monday had best conversion rate, but Fridays had the best open rate (with next to last place for CR).</li>
<li>Time of day: 6PM for US and Canada with 23% open rate and 0.42% CR</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Takeaway: Use your own data, and use <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/ai-powered-crm/">Fuel eCRM</a> to send to subscribers based on their individual habits.</b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Devices:</b></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>41% of emails opened on a phone</b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>21 % via Webmail</li>
<li>18% desktop</li>
<li>11% tablet</li>
<li>10% other (what else is there??)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Takeaway: Do we even need to say anything about this?</b></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Find Revinate’s study here: <a href="https://www.revinate.com/benchmark/marketing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.revinate.com/benchmark/marketing/</a></p>
<p>========================</p>
<h2><b>In The Newsaroos:     </b></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Microsoft Ads Rolls Out Experiments For A/B Testing<br />
</b><a href="https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-advertising-rolling-out-experiments-a-b-testing-tool-globally-319725" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-advertising-rolling-out-experiments-a-b-testing-tool-globally-319725</a></li>
<li><b>Google Short Names bug</b><br />
<a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-shortnames-bug-persists-despite-google-insisting-its-fixed-319900" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/google-shortnames-bug-persists-despite-google-insisting-its-fixed-319900</a></li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

<p>If you tuned in to last week’s episode where we reviewed the 2019 Leisure Travel Study you’ll know we talked a lot about the ever-changing habits of our guests. However, not everything a guest does is constantly changing. In this episode, we look at a famous quote from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and discuss what it means for hotel marketers.</p>
<p>DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/652061258&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<p>Full article can be found at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/jeff-bezos-secret-to-hotel-marketing-success/">fueltravel.com/blog/jeff-bezos-secret-to-hotel-marketing-success/</a></p>
<p>Jeff Bezos’ famous quote on the success of Amazon is “<b><i>The secret to that is to focus on the things that don’t change in your business.</i></b>”  The example he specifically used was, <b><i>“So people today want fast shipping. And they’re going to want faster and faster shipping in 10 years… so that’s going to matter today and tomorrow.”</i></b></p>
<h3><b>1: Guests Will Continue To Follow The Path of Least Resistance</b></h3>
<p>Your hotel guests are not necessarily lazy, but just like the rest of the world, they are going to take the easiest path to a decision (aka trip).  The good news is we humans have been this way for millennia and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.</p>
<h3><b>2: Guest Will Always Want To Feel Like They Got A Fair Deal</b></h3>
<p>Offer your guest the best deal going, always.  This is a non-negotiable rule in any service business.  You may not always have the best price (OTAs can be tricky), but your “deal” should always be the best.</p>
<h3><b>3: Guests Will Continue To Tell Their Friends And Family About Their Vacation</b></h3>
<p>We’re social creatures and we love to share good and exciting news with our friends.  While the means we share is always changing, the fact that we share does not. This means as hoteliers we need to make it easy on the guest (see #1) to share the story we want.</p>
<h3><b>4: Guests Are Creatures Of Habit</b></h3>
<p>People will always be creatures of habit and return to what they feel already works.  The great news is that means every guest at your property is very likely to return, all you need to do is not screw it up!</p>
<h3><b>5: As A Hotelier, Your Job Is Always Going To Be To Serve Your Guest</b></h3>
<p>Just like the hotelier that offered Mary and Joseph room in a barn a few thousand years ago, today’s hotel operator’s job is to serve the guest needs.  You will need to get creative, caring, attentive, and proactive in making sure your guests feel so welcome that they can’t help by want to stay and return for years to come.</p>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 117 – What Hotel Marketers Can Learn From Amazon’s Secret To Success

<p>Each year, Fuel publishes a comprehensive leisure travel study that takes a look into why people travel and how they make their purchase decisions. The data revealed by the study offers incredible value to the hospitality industry as it provides a clear picture of what people are looking for when they are performing their travel research.</p>
<p>In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, the Fueligans breakdown the most surprising and the most important stats from the 2019 study and discuss the biggest opportunities that exist for hoteliers who want to take advantage of this information.</p>
<p>DOWNLOAD THE STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/648622082&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<p><strong>Here are each of the Fueligan&#8217;s top 8 lists:</strong></p>
<p><b>Phil’s list:</b></p>
<ol>
<li>86.7% Of respondents said they visit the hotel’s website prior to booking. This is much higher than anticipated. To me this means hotels with high percentages of OTA bookings need to evaluate their website and booking engine experience and determine why someone would rather book on an OTA rather than book direct. If it’s not price, it’s almost certainly something off-putting with he experience</li>
<li>almost 44% of respondents said they start their journey on a search engine. This is why you need SEO/PPC. You should also be running on non-brand keywords and use an attribution model that will allow you to see how many of your ads someone views before booking.</li>
<li>I was surprised that people started their decision making process on OTAs and not TripAdvisor. (18.3% on OTAs compared to 4.9% on TripAdvisor)</li>
<li>Between 40-50% of people are checking the hotel’s facebook page prior to booking. How are you managing your facebook page as a hotelier? Are you trying to use it as a tool to drive direct bookings</li>
<li>I expected to see desktop higher than mobile for booking but I expected mobile to be higher than desktop for research and it wasn’t. I was also shocked at the percentage of people who say they use a tablet. That just doesn’t line up with what we see in our data, but it just goes to show that you need a good experience on all devices because people are using them</li>
<li>Reasons people travel? 31% say because they “simply needed a vacation” this was much higher than I thought. We did see write in responses for wedding, anniversary, family reunion. We should include those types of answers next time but I expected those type of answers to be higher than simply needed a vacation. Maybe this is something you can test in your email and adcopy messaging.</li>
<li>86% of under 35s are booking online compared to 72% overall. This makes me think we will continue to see the percentage of phone bookings continue to drop</li>
<li>only 38% base their travel dates around price. I thought this would be much higher.</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Melissa’s List:</b></p>
<ol>
<li>87% of people visited the hotel website</li>
<li>How many sites do they look at? 42% said 3-5 &#8211; way lower than what Google says. But also, is this really true? Probably at least 1 OTA, TripAdvisor (62% looked at some type of 3rd party site from another question’s stats), hotel website…but shouldn’t there be more than 1 hotel website?</li>
<li>Mobile apps &#8211; Would you use them to…biggest difference in Millennials vs. avg. &#8211; a 15-20 point spread across each item</li>
<li>95.1% believe hotel website reviews</li>
<li>79% will not book without reading reviews&#8230;BUT that’s 4% down from last year</li>
<li>Where do they start research? 44% with search engines &#8211; only 5% with TripAdvisor, but most influential more evenly spread</li>
<li>Where are reviews used in process? 37% throughout process</li>
<li>Smart speakers/voice assistant: just not important for hotels right now.</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Stuarts List:</p>
<ol>
<li>6.7% of all travelers visit the hotel’s website prior to making a booking.</li>
<li>68.6% do not want a smart speaker in their hotel room.</li>
<li>81% of under 35s would use a mobile app to check in.</li>
<li>95.1% trust reviews on the hotel’s own website.</li>
<li>The average number of different websites visited prior to booking is 5.2.</li>
<li>The average time spent planning a leisure vacation is 26 days.</li>
<li>79% will read reviews prior to booking</li>
<li>35% will visit a hotel’s Facebook page prior to booking vs. instagram at 12%</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Pete’s List:  (he decided to do it in reverse order for some reason)<br />
</b></p>
<p>8 &#8211; The number 1 stat on the report is 2019</p>
<p>7 &#8211; No one really cares about smart speakers</p>
<p>6 &#8211; 50.1% of users are inspired to travel by friends</p>
<p>5 &#8211; 66% of all planning is done within 90 days</p>
<p>4 &#8211; You only have 26 days to close the sale</p>
<p>3 &#8211; 81% want to check in with an app</p>
<p>2 &#8211; 51.4% look at your FB profile</p>
<p>1 &#8211; 86.7% visit your site before booking</p>
<p>========================</p>
<h2><b>In The Newsaroos:     </b></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>TripAdvisor: Only Pay for Sponsored Ads if the user reaches the booking engine. </b>Hotel pays for the sponsored ad click based on # of available rooms, market, competition. If the user hits the TripAdvisor property page the Official Site is guaranteed 1st slot. The hotel would then pay for that click also. The cost of that click is based on whatever their set bid is.</li>
<li><b>Expedia Alerting Hotels When Guest Flights Are Delayed:<br />
</b><a href="https://skift.com/2019/06/27/expedia-to-connect-travelers-with-hotels-when-their-flights-are-delayed/">https://skift.com/2019/06/27/expedia-to-connect-travelers-with-hotels-when-their-flights-are-delayed/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 116 – You’ll Be Shocked By These Insights From The 2019 Leisure Travel Study

<p><strong>CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO START LISTENING.</strong></p>
<p>We recently published an article on HotelExecutive.com where we made the argument that over-reliance on OTAs could become an existential problem for hotels if the economy were to take a downturn. Not that OTAs are bad, but many have become comfortable letting the OTAs drive a significant percentage of their demand. In this episode, we dive into the article and discuss its wider implications.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/641313741&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<p><strong>READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: <a href="https://www.hotelexecutive.com/business_review/6165/top-10-ways-to-drive-direct-bookings-in-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">10 ways to drive direct bookings in 2019</a></strong></p>
<p>Below is a summary:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<h3><b> Have a Super-Fast Mobile-Friendly Website</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Make Sure Your <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/booking-engine/">Booking Engine</a> Doesn&#8217;t Let You Down</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Use Psychology to &#8220;Nudge&#8221; the Guest to Book</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Offer Incentives to Book Direct and Make Sure They are Visible</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Answer ALL of the Questions the Guest May Have</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Develop an Email Strategy that Doesn&#8217;t Rely on Spray-and-Pray</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Push the OTAs Out of the Way on the Channels They are Hijacking</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Limit What You Give the OTAs Based on Seasonality</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Train Your Staff So That They Can Be Soldiers in the Fight</b></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><b> Nurture the Relationship with Every Guest</b></h3>
</li>
</ol>
<p><i>In conclusion</i></p>
<p>Everything is going well for the hospitality industry, and has been for more than a decade. This unprecedented period of growth will eventually come to an end and when it does, you have to be self-reliant. Act now by reducing your reliance on third-parties. Spend that little extra time and make that little extra investment to gain more direct bookings and build up your owned assets. When the sword of Damocles does finally fall, you’ll be glad you did and you can sit back and watch your competition struggle to survive.</p>
<p>========================</p>
<h2><b>In The Newsaroos:     </b></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>No Newsaroos this week but Jeremy did sing the jingle</b></li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 115 – Top 10 Ways To Drive Direct Bookings Before OTAs Put You Out Of Business

<p><strong>CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO START LISTENING.</strong></p>
<p>This week’s episode is a breakdown of an article from Adobe that was recently published on CMO.com. The article takes a look at several travel-related trends that have been aggregated from numerous sources. The fueligans discuss the merits of each stat and provide insight into the impact they may have on hotel marketers.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/636261141&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<p>Original article from cmo.com: <a href="https://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2017/5/5/15-mind-blowing-stats-about-digital-trends-in-travel-hospitality-tlp-ddm.html#gs.guwjf4">https://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2017/5/5/15-mind-blowing-stats-about-digital-trends-in-travel-hospitality-tlp-ddm.html#gs.guwjf4</a></p>
<p><b>Planning/Booking Process:</b></p>
<ol>
<li>In 2018 digital travel sales worldwide increased 10.4% to $694.41 billion. (Source: <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-digital-travel-sales-2018">eMarketer</a>) &#8211; Study does not cite how this compares to offline sales</li>
<li>48% of U.S. smartphone users are comfortable researching, booking and planning their entire trip to a new travel destination using <b>only</b> a mobile device. (Source: <a href="https://www.trekksoft.com/en/blog/65-travel-tourism-statistics-for-2019">TrekkSoft</a>)</li>
<li>82% of travel bookings in 2018 were completed via a website or mobile app, without human interaction. (Source: <a href="https://www.trekksoft.com/en/blog/65-travel-tourism-statistics-for-2019">TrekkSoft</a>) &#8211; 51% of revenue generated with no human interaction (directly from study)</li>
<li>Search plays a big role early on in the travel booking journey. In 2018, 31% of accommodation searches started on search engines, up from 23% in 2017. (Source: <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-transport-and-logistics/our-insights/how-to-serve-todays-digital-traveler">McKinsey</a>) &#8211; The travel-shopping journeys that began with search led to purchases more quickly than those that began on the sites of suppliers and intermediaries (directly from study).</li>
<li>69% of travelers said they have used voice search while planning a trip. (Source: <a href="https://marketing.cloud.travelport.com/Global-Digital-Traveler-Research-2018">Travelport</a>)</li>
<li>In North America, 26% of travel searches in the fourth quarter of 2018 occurred on a mobile device. (Source: Sojern) &#8211; Believe this to refer to room searches, not search engine queries</li>
<li>84% of consumers said they <b>book travel</b> through bundling sites like Expedia.com or Kayak vs. going directly to an airline and/or hotel. (Source: <a href="https://www.hotelbusiness.com/study-travelers-want-chatbots-to-assist-with-online-travel-experience/">Humley</a>)</li>
</ol>
<p><b>On-Site Experience</b></p>
<ol start="8">
<li>Cosmopolitan Las Vegas found that hotel guests who text its chatbot, Rose, spend up to 30% more money than those who don&#8217;t. (Source: <a href="https://skift.com/wp-content/themes/skift/img/megatrends-2019//Skift-Megatrends-2019.pdf">Skift</a>)</li>
<li>90% of travelers worldwide say they expect a personalized experience when they book their travel. (Source: <a href="https://medium.com/swlh/top-10-travel-industry-trends-in-2019-d43d157de7b9">Medium</a>)</li>
<li>Experience is the name of the game in travel today. In fact, 67% of high-income travelers said they would rather spend their money on activities than a nicer hotel room. (Source: <a href="https://skift.com/wp-content/themes/skift/img/megatrends-2019//Skift-Megatrends-2019.pdf">Skift</a>)</li>
<li>Almost two-thirds of guests (62%) with complaints said unfriendly staff are the most frustrating part of their stay. (Source: <a href="https://www.hotelbusiness.com/study-hotel-guests-rank-unfriendly-staff-as-most-frustrating-part-of-stay/">ALICE</a>)</li>
<li>Nearly one-third (32%) of consumers said they prefer communicating with a hotel by walking up to the concierge, front desk, or other staff member directly. As for how different generations prefer to make special requests, nearly one in every seven (15%) Millennials said they want to text message with hotels, almost one in five (17%) of 35- to 54-year-olds want an email survey from the hotel before they arrive, and roughly two-thirds (66%) of those 55 and older prefer to call hotels directly. (Source: <a href="https://www.hotelbusiness.com/study-hotel-guests-rank-unfriendly-staff-as-most-frustrating-part-of-stay/">ALICE</a>)</li>
<li>77% of airports and 71% of airlines said they are planning major programs or R&amp;D in biometric ID management over the next five years. (Source: <a href="https://www.sita.aero/resources/type/surveys-reports/air-transport-it-insights-2018">SITA</a>)</li>
</ol>
<p><b>Post-Stay</b></p>
<ol start="14">
<li>As competition heats up in the travel industry, hotels are increasingly focusing their strategies on building loyalty. In fact, the loyalty efforts of the top five hospitality enterprises grew from 30% to 47% last year. (Source: <a href="https://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/luxury-hotels-whats-their-digital-iq">L2</a>)</li>
<li>More than half of travel apps are deleted after a month. (Source: <a href="https://clevertap.com/blog/2018-benchmarks-for-travel-apps/">CleverTap</a>)</li>
</ol>
<p><b>Listener Feedback<br />
</b></p>
<p>Greetings from Sofia, Bulgaria. I am a fan of your podcast – thank you for being so up to date and competent, it is a pleasure to listen to you on the way to work  :).</p>
<ul>
<li>Martina</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Dear Fueligens, Dear Stuart, Melissa, Pete and Phil,</p>
<p>I discovered your podcast about 4 months ago and I have been catching up with all 113 Episodes since.</p>
<p>The Apple podcast app for some reason plays them based on when the podcast was added.</p>
<p>It was very interesting to hear your story backwards.</p>
<p>Having the Bees being resurrected and figuring out why buttons / goats have to be burned, was really a lot of fun.</p>
<p>I love the great content and appreciate the entertainment. Keep up the amazing work, I’m looking forward to the next shows.</p>
<p>You have really helped me for our Marketing and to understand my Customers (Hotels) better.</p>
<p>Kind Regards and thank you for keeping me informed and entertained on my commute for 4 month.</p>
<p>Elisha</p>
<p>========================</p>
<h2><b>In The Newsaroos:     </b></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Favicons for natural search on mobile<br />
</b><a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-rolling-out-mobile-search-redesign-with-black-ad-label-favicons-for-organic-results-317328" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/google-rolling-out-mobile-search-redesign-with-black-ad-label-favicons-for-organic-results-317328</a></li>
<li><b>Have App, Will Travel. Like A Local… Hopefully</b><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/travel/have-app-will-travel-like-a-local-hopefully.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/travel/have-app-will-travel-like-a-local-hopefully.html</a></li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 114 – 15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Digital Trends In Travel

<p><strong>CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO START LISTENING.</strong></p>
<p>This is the second episode in our hotel marketing 101 series. In this show, we dig into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and give practical advice about how hotels can drive more direct revenue from organic search.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/632258628&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><b>Stat Of The Week:</b></p>
<p>As a percentage of traffic, we see anywhere from 30%-45% from natural search. Varies by property depending on how much PPC they are doing, email marketing, etc. This percentages have remained about the same over the years.</p>
<p>SHOW NOTES:</p>
<h2><b>What Is SEO?</b></h2>
<p>In short, SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of driving a higher quantity and a higher quality of natural search traffic to your website.</p>
<p>You try to achieve higher quality traffic by targeting keywords that people typically search before booking a hotel. You achieve a higher quantity of that traffic by improving your rank for those target keywords.</p>
<h2><b>I thought that SEO was dead. Why should I care about SEO?</b></h2>
<p>Google is always changing and every time an update is announced the industry will cry that SEO is dead. It’s not dead. It likely will never die. But tactics will inevitably change.</p>
<p>Why should you care about SEO? Because if you become complacent, your competition will surpass you in rankings because they will be paying attention to the new tactics and ever changing ranking factors.</p>
<h2><b>How has Google improved their algorithm over the past 5 years, and how has the SERP changed?</b></h2>
<p>As we mentioned, Google is constantly tweaking the algorithm to provide what they consider to be more relevant results to searchers. They are also constantly changing how they display search results to searchers. Over the past 5 years Google has:</p>
<ul>
<li>Taken a mobile first approach:
<ul>
<li>Values fast sites that are easy to use on mobile devices.</li>
<li>They’re devaluing sites that include intrusive interstitials on mobile devices</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>They have put an emphasis on security by giving secure sites higher value.</li>
<li>They have become better at evaluating content and give more value to unique, high quality content</li>
<li>They have cleaned up local search packs and map results by removing spammy and duplicate listings and giving value to high quality, accurate listings.</li>
<li>They devalue sites that are trying to game their algorithm by using blackhat tactics such as keyword stuffing and backlink schemes</li>
<li>Google will never tell us exactly what they’re changing in their algorithm because they don’t want to give away their secret sauce, but we do know that both major and minor updates happen on a regular basis.</li>
</ul>
<h2>The SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, is also an ever-changing landscape. This is especially true in the hotel space.</h2>
<ul>
<li>Years ago, Google removed Ads from the right rail of the SERP and shifted from 3 ads to 4 on the top of the SERP, pushing organic listings further down.</li>
<li>They increased the number of headlines, descriptions and extensions which make ads much more prominent</li>
<li>They have increased the size and functionality of maps and hotel listings which also pushed organic listings down further.</li>
<li>They have added featured snippets which answer commonly asked questions within an answer box at the top of the page so users don’t even need to visit a site to get the information they’re looking for</li>
<li>If you pogo-stick back to SERP the listing you just clicked on will have a “related searches” box below it</li>
<li>They have increased the amount of “related searches” at the bottom of SERPs</li>
<li>They’ve added aggregate rating next to organic hotel listings</li>
<li>We’re now seeing Google test out a box that shows rates by night for hotels</li>
<li>And per our newsaroo&#8230; favicons are showing next to organic listings on mobile</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>What’s Next For SEO?</b></h2>
<ul>
<li>Mobile experience will likely become an increasingly important ranking factor</li>
<li>We should expect Google to continue testing new SERP features that will make their ads more prominent and push organic listings further down the SERP</li>
<li>Google will be keeping more searchers within their funnel (like GHA) and organic traffic will likely continue to decline</li>
<li>More SERP features and results will be driven by schema markup, including voice searches</li>
<li>We will see an increase in question based queries due to voice search.</li>
<li>Page speed will continue to be an important ranking factor</li>
<li>Quality, relevant links will continue to be an important ranking factor</li>
</ul>
<h2><b><a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/services/hotel-seo/">Hotel SEO</a> &#8211; Beginner’s Guide</b></h2>
<h3><b>Crawling &amp; Indexing</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Crawlers are used by search engines to comb through the code and content on websites and understand what kind of information the site is providing.</li>
<li>They visit new pages via internal links. For instance they will hit the homepage, they will see the links in the main nav, they will visit those pages linked to from the homepage. Once on the main nav pages they will visit and crawl pages linked to from those main nav pages, etc.</li>
<li>Once the search engines understand the content, they may add it to their index. Once a page is indexed it has the ability to rank for queries. The more relevant your content is to the query, the more likely you are to rank.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>The Algorithm</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Google constantly runs tests on the algorithm.</li>
<li>They also personalize results to individuals</li>
<li>The big 3: Content, Links, RankBrain</li>
<li>Hundreds of other factors.</li>
<li>Hotels should not chase the algorithm, they should focus on providing the best online experience.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>On-Page SEO</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Title tags &amp; meta descriptions</li>
<li>Header hierarchy</li>
<li>10x content</li>
<li>Content freshness</li>
</ul>
<h2></h2>
<h3><b>XML Sitemap</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>An xml sitemap is a map of all the important pages on your website.</li>
<li>This is not necessarily available to the average site visitor. Instead it is a list of pages you submit to search engines that you want to be crawled.</li>
<li>Another way to guide crawlers through your site is through robots.txt. You can use your robots.txt file to tell crawlers which pages they should crawl and which pages they should skip.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Keyword Research</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>One of the most important pieces of SEO is knowing what terms you’re trying to rank for</li>
<li>Your brand is obvious, but think of other differentiators your hotel offers that you could include in your content
<ul>
<li>Things like pet friendly, glamping, indoor pools, weddings, proximity to sports/concert venue, etc</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Once you have a list of keywords you want to rank for you should look at the other sites competing in search results for those keywords. Find other variations of your target keyword they are using so you know what you need to include in your content. Find out if many of them are including lots of images or videos that you should also have. Basically you’re trying to understand how to make your content better than theirs. Make sure your content is answering the query you want to answer to the best of your ability.</li>
<li>You should be including those keywords from your research in you page title, meta description, header tags, on page content, alt tags (if it makes sense), URL (if possible)
<ul>
<li>It is important not to go overboard with this. If it feels like you’re including your target keyword too many times, you probably are</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Schema Markup</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Schema markup is a way to structure the data about your hotel so it’s easy for search engines to understand</li>
<li>This is not visitor facing so users will not see it directly but it’s extremely helpful in letting crawlers get the most out your site.</li>
<li>You can provide basically all of the information about your property through the hotel schema from the name of the business, address, checkin/out times, handicap accessibility, amenities, affiliations, and the list goes on and on.</li>
<li>If your hotel has an on-site restaurant, you can also use the restaurant schema to give more info about the restaurant and draw an association between the two businesses.</li>
<li>If you have a blog you can mark that up with blog and blog post schema to give more detailed information about that additional site content</li>
<li>Another benefit to fully utilizing schema markup is to show your hotel’s aggregate rating and use review stars within Google search results</li>
<li>It also allows voice assistants to answer questions quickly for queries like “Hey Google, What is the checkout time for X-Hotel”</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Local Citations</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>This is the process of getting your business name, address, phone number and URL consistent across the authoritative listing sites on the web.
<ul>
<li>Your website should match what you see on Google My Business, Bing places, Yelp, TripAdvisor, OTAs, Acxiom, Infogroup, Localeze, Best Of The Web, Superpages, HotFrog</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Linking</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>We mentioned above that internal links are important for crawlers to navigate through your site, but they’re also important for users to click around and absorb all of the relevant information they may need to complete a booking.</li>
<li>While internal links are important, Backlinks are even more important.</li>
<li>Search Engines view links pointing to your site as another site giving you a virtual vote. If site A is linking to Site B, Site A is essentially saying “here. This site can solve your problem.”</li>
<li>The more links/votes your site is getting from outside sources, the more authoritative your site is in the eyes of search engines and therefore more likely to rank</li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<h2><b>In The Newsaroos:     </b></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>AirBnB Integrating HotelTonight Partners Into Listings:<br />
</b><a href="https://skift.com/2019/05/29/airbnb-starts-adding-some-hoteltonight-partners-in-next-move-into-the-hotel-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2019/05/29/airbnb-starts-adding-some-hoteltonight-partners-in-next-move-into-the-hotel-business/</a></li>
<li><b>Google Rolls Out Mobile 1st Indexing As The Default</b><br />
<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/28/google-makes-mobile-first-indexing-the-default-for-all-new-domains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/28/google-makes-mobile-first-indexing-the-default-for-all-new-domains/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>========================</p>
<p>Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.</p>


Hotel Marketing Podcast

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Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 117 – What Hotel Marketers Can Learn From Amazon’s Secret To Success

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 117 – What Hotel Marketers Can Learn From Amazon’s Secret To Success

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 116 – You’ll Be Shocked By These Insights From The 2019 Leisure Travel Study

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 116 – You’ll Be Shocked By These Insights From The 2019 Leisure Travel Study

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 115 – Top 10 Ways To Drive Direct Bookings Before OTAs Put You Out Of Business

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 115 – Top 10 Ways To Drive Direct Bookings Before OTAs Put You Out Of Business

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 114 – 15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Digital Trends In Travel

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 114 – 15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Digital Trends In Travel

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 113 – Hotel Marketing 101: A Beginner’s Guide to SEO

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