In a world of increased competition. Domination by the OTAs and the threat of disruption from DIY hoteliers, hotels have to learn to stand out from the crowd and offer unique value. At Fuel Travel, we believe that investing in the property is the best form of marketing you can do. A better guest experience leads to better online reputation and better word of mouth. This ultimately leads to more bookings and the ability to increase your ADR.
In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, we look at some unique or fun things that properties are doing to stand out from the crowd.
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If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
<h2>Music Lovers</h2>
<h3>Choice of 20 Fender guitars  &#8211; Chicago&#8217;s Hard Rock Hotel</h3>
You can check out one of the twenty guitars and keep it until you check out. You do need to provide a credit card in case you do break the $1,600 instrument.
<h3>Wake-up calls from celebrities &#8211; Nashville&#8217;s Gaylord Opryland Resort</h3>
Guests can opt for a &#8220;Rise and Shine&#8221; wake-up call from a Who&#8217;s Who of country music stars, including Trace Adkins, Kellie Pickler and Wynonna Judd.
<h2>Animal Lovers</h2>
<h3>Pet psychologist &#8211; Seattle&#8217;s Hotel Max</h3>
Offers guests&#8217; dogs acupuncture and even Reiki treatments, and has an in-house pet psychologist for guests to connect with their pets better.
<h3>Borrow a dog &#8211; Greenville’s Aloft</h3>
Guests can borrow a canine companion from the local animal shelter and can  take it to their room or for a walk. If you accidentally fall in love with the perfect pooch, you can adopt it and take it home with you.
<h3>Pet goldfish  &#8211; Kimpton Hotels &amp; Restaurants</h3>
Scientific studies show that fish can calm nerves, reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure. And if that doesn&#8217;t work, Kimpton also offers in-room yoga lessons.
<h2>Health &amp; Wellness</h2>
<h3>Fitness Classes and Guest Chefs Series &#8211; Rancho Pescadero</h3>
The daily yoga classes at this barefoot luxury hotel are fun and invigorating. You can follow them up with a bite to eat from an ever-changing roster of world-famous chefs, who make their delicious delicacies be using fresh produce from the on-property gardens.
<h3>Mindfulness and Exercise &#8211; Morgans Hotel Group</h3>
This collection of boutique hotels offers adult coloring books, a free mindfulness meditation app and also partners with local running clubs to for group exercise offerings.
<h3>Complementary Massage &#8211; Alive and Well Resorts</h3>
This group of resorts in the Turks &amp; Caicos Islands offers all guests a welcome “Hand to Head” massage upon arrival, yoga classes, organic foods and more. Guests also have a private butler who checks guests in in-room.
<h2>Kid-Friendly</h2>
<h3>Fire-side stories and sing-a-longs &#8211; Aulani, a Disney Resort &amp; Spa</h3>
Vacation are about making memories, what better way than to snuggle up under a blanket with your parents and listen to some great storytelling? 
The Candyman &#8211;  Ritz Carlton
Hopefully, this isn’t like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Band. This person goes around and gives out candy and chocolate to the well-behaved. Also, for the parents, there’s a cocktail man as well.
Other Ideas:
<ul>
<li>Jungle Jim</li>
<li>Bouncies</li>
<li>Lego Area</li>
<li>American Girl Dolls</li>
<li>Pirate and Princess Dress Up</li>
<li>Kids Karaoke</li>
<li>Movie Nights</li>
<li>Tree House</li>
<li>Ball Pit</li>
<li>Cookie classes</li>
</ul>
<h2>Unique Rooms</h2>
By offering a limited inventory of specialty rooms, your property can create demand and drive up RevPAR.
<h3>The Pink Room &#8211; InterContinental Milwaukee</h3>
$25 of each night’s stay in this room is donated to <a href="http://www.abcdbreastcancersupport.org/">ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis</a>
<h3>The Treehouse Suite &#8211; dventure Suites, North Conway, NH</h3>
This unique room successfully recreates the feeling of staying in a treehouse in your backyard. Complete with stolen stop signs and a jukebox.
<h3>Pirate-Themed Room &#8211; Legoland Hotel, Carlsbad, California</h3>
Argh, Mateys! Have a swashbuckling adventure when you stay in this red and white striped room adorned with skull and crossbones and a treasure map rug.
Other Ideas:
<ul>
<li>Animal theme</li>
<li>Movie theme</li>
<li>Music theme</li>
<li>Fairy theme</li>
<li>Unicorn theme</li>
<li>Futuristic theme</li>
<li>Science theme</li>
<li>Historical theme</li>
<li>American Girl Doll theme</li>
<li>Sports team theme</li>
<li>Military theme</li>
</ul>
========================
More information on wellness travel trends: 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/wellness-tourism-fueling-hotels-bottom-lines/">https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/wellness-tourism-fueling-hotels-bottom-lines/</a>
======================== 
In The News
Venetian Las Vegas Offers Direct Bookings Via Facebook Messenger (Pete) 
<a href="http://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Insights/Booking-beyond-the-browser" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Insights/Booking-beyond-the-browser</a>
Airbnb Dabbles With Destination Marketing 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/google-analytics-cross-domain-tracking-hotels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2017/05/23/airbnbs-latest-role-is-destination-marketing-for-sweden/</a>
Study Uncovers the Power of Kids’ Opinions on Vacation Planning 
<a href="http://www.htrends.com/trends-detail-sid-94774.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.htrends.com/trends-detail-sid-94774.html</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@makavanagh 
@pdimaio
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Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 55 – Set Your Hotel Apart With Unique Amenities

The email database of any hotel is typically the #1 performing marketing asset available to drive revenue. While email is slightly less effective as it has been due to the growth of other mediums, it does remain one of the sure fire ways of driving bookings when you need them.
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
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If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
But, like all powerful tools, email tends to get overused or used recklessly to solve all sorts of occupancy issues.  And when that happens, that’s when the unsubscribe rate begins to climb.
In today’s episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast we are going to look at five of the most common reasons your hotel guests abandon your email list and how you can reverse the trend.
You can also find more ways to reduce your unsubscribe rate at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/why-people-are-unsubscribing-from-your-hotel-emails/">https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/why-people-are-unsubscribing-from-your-hotel-emails/</a>
#1: You’re sending way too much… or not enough
Customers are looking forward to getting your messages, but they’re not looking to get them daily.  How much is too much.  That depends completely on the list and content you are sharing with your guests.
<ul>
<li>One property group we work with sends weekly and has just a 0.05% unsubscribe rate, great open, click rate, and revenue.  However other clients see have found their threshold at once per month.</li>
<li>The inverse of this not sending enough.  If you only send once or twice a year, you’re going to likely see a high unsubscribe rate.  Typically when we begin working with a property that has not been sending regularly we see a very high (2 &#8211; 3% or more) unsubscribe rate.  Not because the people didn’t want the hotel information, but because they forgot they even requested it.</li>
</ul>
Have you seen an increase in your unsubscribe rate that correlates with an increase in sends?  Here’s the solution.  Stop sending so much and start testing. Go to a single send per month and see if your unsubscribe rate falls down below a 0.1% rate. While you are doing this, closely monitor your analytics to see how this change impacts your revenue from email. If there’s no impact to your bottom line, a congratulations is in order. If your revenue drops, start testing a slightly higher frequency until you find the happy medium.
#2: Your content is boring
If people are not engaging with your email content it is inevitable that they will eventually unsubscribe.  Just like people stop watching boring shows, they’re going to stop reading boring emails.
The solution is simple too, over deliver on your email promises and give your readers an amazing experience.  Overload them with great content and they’ll never unsubscribe. This does take time, and there’s no way around it.  Take the time to put together great content, personalize your emails and you’ll see your unsubscribe rate drop and revenue rise.
#3: You’re playing the bait &amp; switch game
This is a bad one and if you are not giving your guests and readers what they asked for, you can expect your unsubscribe rate to be high.  This one goes without saying, if you told your subscriber when they signed up they would get exclusive deals… and didn’t send any, they are going to absolutely unsubscribe.
The solution, say what you’re going to do and do what you say.  Engage your customers with deals, exclusive offers, contests, and more.  Respect your subscriber.
#4: There’s subscribers who should not be on your list
You may be surprised how many subscribers are on your list that should not be there.  Did you get a big list from a co-op marketing program?  If so, they are NOT your subscribers, they are leads.  Adding them into your list without opting them in is a disaster in the making.  Why:
<ul>
<li>It is typically illegal. While currently CAN-SPAM in the United States doesn’t have any teeth, Canada’s new CASL regulations on spam absolutely do.</li>
<li>It is expensive. You’ are paying to send to someone who doesn’t want to hear from you.</li>
<li>You associate yourself with spammers.  If you are trying to get someone to be a guest at your hotel, it’s best not to start by invading their privacy.</li>
<li>You are hurting your delivery rate.  When your unsubscribe rate grows and spam complaints rise, you’re going to get blocked by email platforms and will likely get shut down by your ESP.</li>
</ul>
The solution, adopt and maintain the best practices of email marketing.  Have a clear opt-in strategy (preferably double opt-in), send welcome emails and respect your subscribers.
#5: You gave them no other choice 
Sometimes people unsubscribe when they don’t really want to do so.  For instance, if you are sending an email every two weeks and a guest just visited your resort, there’s a good chance they don’t want any more emails from you… right now.  However, in a few months they would love to hear from you again.
The solution, give customers a frequency choice.
<ul>
<li>Take the time to look at your unsubscribe process and be sure that you are giving customers an option to get less emails before they completely unsubscribe. For a great example look at retail and sites like bonobos.com.</li>
<li>Set a frequency cap on your own by limiting sends to once a month (or even less) for subscribers who are not engaged or just visited.  We have seen great success with this strategy and can reduce both the cost of sends and unsubscribe rate.</li>
</ul>
So there you have it, five ways to drop the unsubscribe rate for your hotel or resort.  There are tons of other reasons people unsubscribe, but if you tackle these five you’ll find the rest will fall in line and be easy to address.
======================== 
In The News
TripAdvisor Scales Back Instant Booking in Strategy Reversal 
<a href="https://skift.com/2017/05/08/tripadvisor-scales-back-instant-booking-in-strategy-reversal/?utm_campaign=Skift%20Trends%20Reports&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=51963035&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz---Qtffn7ns-FjktZTwWC6PNUwwhH9iMmze93iXxiUhU8olGooFPcJubzeKyuCad4AWfBNOyhduQNaPJTfbP6lrCnanHmSn53nQ4uZjrFPT93VzYLE&amp;_hsmi=51963035" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2017/05/08/tripadvisor-scales-back-instant-booking-in-strategy-reversal/</a>
Amazon &amp; Facebook &#8211; Next Big Travel Disruptors (Meisha) 
<a href="http://travolution.com/articles/102814/phocuswright-europe-breakwell-tips-amazon-and-facebook-as-travel-disruptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://travolution.com/articles/102814/phocuswright-europe-breakwell-tips-amazon-and-facebook-as-travel-disruptors</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@makavanagh 
@pdimaio
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Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 54 – Why Are People Unsubscribing From Your Hotel Emails

There’s a lot of talk in the industry right now about attribution modelling and that scares the daylights out of a lot of people because it’s super-complicated. Well, your friends at Fuel are here to help shine a light on the ins and outs of attribution modeling and all of the considerations you should be making.
UPDATE 05/23/2017: since recording this episode, it looks like Google is rolling out the ability to use attribution modeling (cross-device AND cross-channel) within AdWords now. 
<a href="http://marketingland.com/google-attribution-launch-multi-channel-attribution-215580" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://marketingland.com/google-attribution-launch-multi-channel-attribution-215580?utm_content%3Dbuffer32915%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter.com%26utm_campaign%3Dbuffer&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1495721798243000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEXPYRnnGWAOa5RYBXCxVAo_ilXTA">http://marketingland.com/google-attribution-launch-multi-channel-attribution-215580</a>
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
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If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
What Is Attribution Modelling? 
Attribution modeling is where a hotel creates one or more rules that help calculate the credit for bookings or other conversions that should be assigned to various customer interactions throughout the sales funnel.
Why should hotels use an attribution model? 
Attribution modelling creates an apples-to-apples comparison for your marketing efforts and allows hotel marketers to make smart decisions about where they should invest more and where they should pull-back.
Marketing has become significantly more complicated over the years and requires more sophisticated tracking and analysis to understand the impact that your marketing dollars are having on your hotel’s business.
Factors to Consider
<ol>
<li>Source of the data</li>
<li>Type of interaction</li>
<li>Length of cookie</li>
<li>Time between interaction and conversion</li>
<li>Where the interaction was in the funnel</li>
<li>Was it new or repeat business</li>
<li>Lifetime value of the customer</li>
<li>Consumers are using multiple devices</li>
<li>Are you including the management cost in your ROI/ROAS?</li>
<li>What type of attribution model your vendor is using</li>
</ol>
Different Types of Attribution Modeling 
Let’s discuss a specific scenario:
A potential guest finds your  hotel website by clicking one of your paid search ads in  Google AdWords. The consumer then returns two weeks later by clicking over from a Facebook organic post that has a campaign ID. That same day, they comes back a third time via one of your guest history email special offer, and a few hours later, returns again by typing your url into a browser and making a booking that was worth $1,000.
Last Click &#8211; the last click or source of traffic that occurred prior to the booking—in this case, the Direct channel—would receive 100% of the credit for the sale.
    Direct Booking = $1,000
Last Campaign &#8211; all direct traffic (and often referred traffic)  is ignored, and 100% of the credit for the sale goes to the last channel that the customer clicked through from before converting—in this case, the Email channel.
    Guest History Email = $1,000
First Interaction &#8211;  the first touchpoint—in this case, the AdWords campaign—would receive 100% of the credit for the sale.
    adWords = $1,000
Linear &#8211; each touchpoint in the conversion path—in this case the Paid Search, Facebook, Email special, and Direct channels—would share equal credit (25% each) for the sale
    adWords = $250 
    Facebook = $250 
    Email = $250 
    Direct = $250
Time Decay &#8211; the touch points closest in time to the sale or conversion get most of the credit. In this particular sale, the Direct and Email channels would receive the most credit because the customer interacted with them within a few hours of conversion. Facebook would receive less credit than either the Direct or Email channels. Since the adWords interaction occurred one week earlier, this channel would receive significantly less credit.
adWords = $50 
    Facebook = $200 
    Email = $375 
    Direct = $375
Position Based &#8211; this is where first and last interaction is prioritized over everything else. For example: 40% credit is assigned to each the first and last interaction, and the remaining 20% credit is distributed evenly to the middle interactions.
adWords = $400 
    Facebook = $100 
    Email = $100 
    Direct = $400
Takeaways:
<ul>
<li>It doesn’t matter what attribution model you use as long as you’re consistent and fair to all marketing effort</li>
<li>Sometimes, it helps to look at the data using multiple attribution models to get a better grasp of how specific channels impact your business.</li>
<li>There are tools that can make your life easie</li>
<li>Don’t over think it. Your model should be accurate, but doesn’t need to be precise.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Watch Fuel in our upcoming webinar 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/webinar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign Up Now 
</a>Online Bookings Trends: Understanding Traveler Behavior for Smarter Hotel Marketing 
May 9 at 11am ET 
Presented by Fuel. TrustYou and Travel Tripper.
======================== 
In The News
Google Hotel Reviews &amp; Ratings Test 
<a href="https://alakov.com/blog/google-hotel-reviews-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://alakov.com/blog/google-hotel-reviews-test</a>
Google Hotel Ads Becoming The Behemoth Everyone Feared 
<a href="https://skift.com/2017/04/24/google-hotel-ads-is-becoming-the-behemoth-everyone-feared/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2017/04/24/google-hotel-ads-is-becoming-the-behemoth-everyone-feared/</a>
Voice Search Getting Louder In Travel 
<a href="https://www.tnooz.com/article/voice-search-travel-brands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.tnooz.com/article/voice-search-travel-brands/</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@makavanagh 
@pdimaio
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</div>
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Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 53 – Everything Your Hotel Needs To Know About Attribution Modelling

We recently published an article that highlighted the <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/booking-engine-may-losing-millions-mobile-revenue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tremendous potential of using a mobile-friendly booking engine</a>. In it, we discussed the fact that many hoteliers focus so much attention on their desktop booking experience and they overlook the mobile engine all together. This got us thinking about the mistakes that are often made when it comes to the booking engine on a hotel’s website. In this episode, we discuss some of the common mistakes and offer advice on how to avoid them.
Does your current booking engine have any of these issues? Contact us today to learn more about the <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/booking-engine/">Fuel Booking Engine</a>!
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/319745878%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-MalIg&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
<ol>
<li>The search widget is buried</li>
<li>Outdated or not enough photography</li>
<li>No Room Diagrams</li>
<li>Boring room descriptions</li>
<li>Unclear call-to-actions</li>
<li>Different look and feel from the rest of the site</li>
<li>No progress bar</li>
<li>Only showing one rate OR showing way too many rates for the same unit (10% off, 15% off, etc)</li>
<li>Not monitoring availability restrictions</li>
<li>Using confusing language when there is no availability</li>
<li>Not offering alternate dates/room types if there is no availability</li>
<li>Not using basic psychology such as FOMO, reassurance and social proof.</li>
<li>Ads, pop ups, or any other element on the engine that could distract the guest from booking</li>
<li>Showing a  promo code on the checkout page</li>
<li>Missing upsell opportunities</li>
<li>Not having the best price compared to the OTAs</li>
<li>Not mobile friendly</li>
</ol>
Watch Fuel in our upcoming webinar 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/webinar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign Up Now 
</a>Online Bookings Trends: Understanding Traveler Behavior for Smarter Hotel Marketing 
May 9 at 11am ET 
Presented by Fuel. TrustYou and Travel Tripper.
======================== 
In The News
TripAdvisor Reaches 500 Million Reviews 
<a href="http://travolution.com/articles/102456/tripadvisor-reaches-500-million-reviews-milestone" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://travolution.com/articles/102456/tripadvisor-reaches-500-million-reviews-milestone</a>
Google To Include Ad Blocker In Chrome 
<a href="https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-include-built-ad-blocker-chrome-browser/195251/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-include-built-ad-blocker-chrome-browser/195251/</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@makavanagh 
@pdimaio
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 52 – The 17 Biggest Booking Engine Mistakes That You Should Avoid

Storytelling is all the rage right now, but it&#8217;s not a fad. In fact, storytelling has been used as a method of communication for thousands of years. It&#8217;s also a great way for your hotel to create an emotional connection with your guests, increase bookings and increase positive word of mouth exposure.
In this episode, we chat with Richard Dunbar from Flip.to about the art and science of storytelling and give practical advice about how hotels can insert compelling stories within their marketing messaging.
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/318102409&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
Discussion points (in no particular order, yet)
Brief intro to storytelling and the science / research behind its effectiveness
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NY Times &#8211; Your Brain on Fiction</a></li>
<li><a href="https://moz.com/blog/heres-how-to-combine-storytelling-and-data-to-produce-persuasive-content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Moz &#8211; Combining data and storytelling for better content</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hbr.org/2014/03/the-irresistible-power-of-storytelling-as-a-strategic-business-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harvard Business Review &#8211; the irresistible power of storytelling as a strategic business tool</a></li>
</ul>
Storytelling during inspiration
<ul>
<li><a href="https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/2014-travelers-road-to-decision_research_studies.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google &#8211; Traveler’s road to inspiration</a></li>
</ul>
Storytelling during planning moments
<ul>
<li>Guest may have narrowed down the list of options, and now it’s time to make a decision</li>
</ul>
Storytelling during booking moments
<ul>
<li>It’s still possible to lose the guest here</li>
<li>Continue the narrative and offer content relative to the reason the guest is booking, or even link the content to the accommodation type the guest has shown interest in</li>
</ul>
Storytelling to rekindle
<ul>
<li>Reminds guests of their favorite moments</li>
<li>Positions the hotel as a key facilitator of the experience &#8211; meaning the brand doesn’t need to insert itself obtrusively into the guest’s story</li>
</ul>
ADDITIONAL SOURCES 
___________________________________________________________________________
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.flip.to/blog/a-hoteliers-guide-to-visual-content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flip.to &#8211; A guide to visual content for hoteliers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flip.to/blog/storytelling-how-to-win-travelers-at-every-part-of-their-journey" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flip.to &#8211; Storytelling: how to win travelers at every part of their journey</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flip.to/blog/stories-matter-what-hotels-can-learn-from-content-marketers-at-large" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flip.to &#8211; Stories matter: what hotels can learn from content marketers at large</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flip.to/blog/winning-experiential-travel-combining-data-storytelling-compel-guests" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flip.to &#8211; Winning at experiential travel: combining data and storytelling to compel your guests</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
======================== 
In The News
TripAdvisor opening retail store in Raleigh-Durham airport 
<a href="https://skift.com/2017/04/07/tripadvisor-to-open-branded-retail-store-at-raleigh-durham-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2017/04/07/tripadvisor-to-open-branded-retail-store-at-raleigh-durham-airport/</a> 
Google begins showing Pinterest-like shoppable photos in image search 
<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/10/15248624/google-image-search-shoppable-product-suggestions?utm_content=buffer63a1f&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/10/15248624/google-image-search-shoppable-product-suggestions?utm_content=buffer63a1f&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer</a> 
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@makavanagh
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 51 – How Story Telling Can Get You More Bookings

To celebrate one year and 50 episodes of the Fuel Hotel Marketing podcast, we are broadcasting live on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. This episode is all about our loyal listeners, so we are encouraging everyone who has a burning question related to marketing to submit questions either before or during the show to @fuel travel on Twitter with the hashtag #FuelAMA. That&#8217;s right, it&#8217;s an &#8216;Ask Me Anything&#8217; episode.
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/317048932&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w2TiW4B3QWo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@pdimaio 
@makavanagh
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 50 – Special LIVE Ask Me Anything Edition

We often talk about the importance of testing your hotel website and how it helps improve your conversion rate. In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, we discuss how you can take your testing to the next level by using a qualitative testing tool such as UserTesting.com to support your quantitative data
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/315876985&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
What is qualitative vs. quantitative data? 
Quantitative: Data that can be measured (visits, pages viewed, revenue generated) 
Qualitative: Data that can be observed but cannot be measured (visitor behavior, opinions)
<a href="http://www.usertesting.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UserTesting.com</a>: a service that allows companies to watch “real” people test the usability of their website. These testers come from a pool of nominally paid people, with the ability to have the test request go to specific demographic targets. The software records commentary from the tester and mouse movement. The company has the tester go through a series of tasks and has the tester give their opinion and thought-process as they complete the tasks. There can be written or oral questions for further feedback at the end of the videoed tasks.
User Testing vs. Heat Maps 
Heat maps are quantitative data tools that allow you see the hot spots on a given web page. Both Google Analytics, as well as Adobe Analytics have heat map features. Heat maps are also available through A/B testing tools.
Heat maps are a great way to see some general information about how a web page is being used by visitors. Data needs to be taken with a grain of salt, especially if there is dynamic content on the page. Advantage of heat maps over live user testing is that the heat map is a compilation of all traffic to the site vs. a small sample of paid testers.
Case Study 
Tambourine released two UserTesting.com <a href="http://www.tambourine.com/blog/video-watch-what-happens-when-ota-users-actually-shop-online/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">videos</a> that provided feedback from testers tasked to use Expedia to search for, and book a luxury hotel. One tester was on a traditional laptop and the other on a mobile phone.
From watching the recorded sessions, we get to hear the testers’ thoughts on what they think they are able to accomplish on the Expedia website. The testers are then asked to navigate the site to search for a luxury property in NYC. We get to hear the feedback as they try to figure out how to filter their results for luxury hotels, and then the thought process behind how they choose one property to move forward to book. They go through the booking process until the point of entering a credit card. They are then asked to go to Google to find the hotel’s website and compare the two booking experiences. They are asked which site had better pricing and what, if anything the hotel’s website does better than Expedia.
In the feedback from both testers, we hear that Expedia’s experience is simple and intuitive. The hotel websites required more information or had more steps to complete the booking than Expedia, but neither tester had anything specifically negative to say about the hotel sites. Both sites happened to have rate parity with Expedia’s pricing.
Takeaway from this testing experience: 
Nothing surprising. Only two testers, with just one per device type
Pros and Cons of User Testing 
Pros:
<ul>
<li>We get to hear AND see real people use the website</li>
<li>Generate ideas for A/B tests based on feedback</li>
<li>Catch technical bugs</li>
<li>Potentially see alternate paths that visitors take to navigate the site vs. what we think they should d</li>
</ul>
Cons
<ul>
<li>Very small sample size</li>
<li>ven though you can target users with demographic information that comes close to your target customer, these are still not “typical” website visitors.</li>
<li>Composing the test tasks can be complicated and time consuming to do in a way that gets the testers to give you the feedback you are hoping for, without leading them down a path to answer in a skewed, favorable fashion.</li>
<li>Testers are human beings &#8211; some don’t follow directions well</li>
</ul>
Summary 
Use this service to get some honest feedback on your website in conjunction with your standard analytics data. However, we don’t recommend jumping to large conclusions based on such a limited sample size. Use the feedback to start testing ideas.
Don&#8217;t forget, that episode 50 of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast will be broadcast live on Facebook and Youtube. Tune in at 2pm EST on April 7th for the special &#8216;Ask Me Anything&#8217; episode. You can also submit your questions on Twitter to @_travelboom with the hashtag #fuelAMA.
========================
In The News
Marriott Buys Stake In Tours &amp; Activities Search Engine 
<a href="http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Marriott-buys-stake-in-tours-activities-search-engine" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Marriott-buys-stake-in-tours-activities-search-engine</a>
What Areas Of A Hotel Experience is Most Shared on Social Media? 
<a href="https://www.tnooz.com/article/hotel-experience-most-talked-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.tnooz.com/article/hotel-experience-most-talked-social-media/</a>
Google Optimize: Available globally today (no link) 
Last September we announced Google Optimize, a free version of our popular enterprise-class A/B testing and personalization product, Google Optimize 360. Today we&#8217;re excited to share that Optimize is now available for everyone to use in over 180 countries around the world. Optimize helps any business test and deliver better website experiences. And to help businesses get started, we&#8217;ve made it easy to implement through a native integration with Google Analytics–just add a single line of code to your existing Analytics implementation!
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@pdimaio 
@makavanagh
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 49 – Why You Should Be User Testing Your Hotel Website

Let&#8217;s be honest, Millennials get the blame for so many things. The truth is that those of us who were born before 1980 are simply jealous that the younger generation has it way easier than we do. One of the common criticisms of Millennials is that they are spoiled and they have a send of entitlement.  While this may be true, we at the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast don&#8217;t believe that they are to blame for the increasing demands of today&#8217;s traveler. We believe that technology is the primary driver and that it&#8217;s created a society where instant gratification is the norm.
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
This is the timeline that we discuss. It illustrates all many technologies that have contributed to a fundamental shift in our society. Today, people are more discerning, they know what they want, and they are not prepared to wait for it. Looking at the timeline below, it&#8217;s no surprise that we all appear to be spoiled&#8230;we are.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5910" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Instant-Gratification-Timeline.png" alt="Instant Gratification Timeline" width="2320" height="1052" />
Download the Travel Trends study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2017-travel-trends/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2017-travel-trends/</a>.
Don&#8217;t forget, that episode 50 of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast will be broadcast live on Facebook and Youtube. Tune in at 2pm EST on April 7th for the special &#8216;Ask Me Anything&#8217; episode. You can also submit your questions on Twitter to @_travelboom with the hashtag #fuelAMA.
========================
In The News
Amazon Opens Brick and Mortar Bookstores 
<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.stfi.re/amazon-bookstore-chicago-2017-3?r=US&amp;IR=T&amp;sf=lgbldbo&amp;utm_content=bufferd1055&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer/#the-chicago-store-has-sections-of-books-dedicated-to-popular-local-interests--7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://uk.businessinsider.stfi.re/amazon-bookstore-chicago-2017-3?r=US&amp;IR=T&amp;sf=lgbldbo&amp;utm_content=bufferd1055&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer/#the-chicago-store-has-sections-of-books-dedicated-to-popular-local-interests&#8211;7</a>
Travel Tripper Publishes New Google Eye-Tracking Study 
<a href="http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4081713.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4081713.html</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@pdimaio 
@makavanagh
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 48 – Stop Blaming Millennials For Increasing Guest Expectations

2016 was a year full of fun new surprises for our favorite search engine. Travel, in particular, seems to be a special area of interest for Google as the search engine continued to revamp existing products and roll out brand new travel experiences.
In this episode, we discuss the likelihood that Google will bite the hand that feeds it and become a full fledged OTA.
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
Google Hotel Ads (formerly Hotel Price Ads)
<ul>
<li>Name change occurred in 2016</li>
<li>Ads show up across Google SERPS (for brand &amp; non-brand searches &#8211; no keyword data available) and across Google Maps</li>
<li>Bidding options:
<ul>
<li>Max CPC &#8211; Bid is % of room price or fixed amount per night</li>
<li>Budget Optimizer &#8211; Partner sets max daily budget, Google optimizes bid to acquire maximum traffic</li>
<li>Target ROAS &#8211; Set bid based on % of hotel’s booking value, Google optimizes bid to achieve to reach target you set</li>
<li>Commission (limited partners only) &#8211; Set commission on hotel group or account level, only pay commission on consumed guest stay</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Destinations on Google
<ul>
<li>Launched Spring 2016</li>
<li>Triggers with certain (often broad) search terms (ex: barcelona vacation)</li>
<li>Takes many different forms depending on the search term (see images below)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Upon clicking into “destinations”, user is redirected to google.com/destinations</li>
<li>Wealth of information available
<ul>
<li>Area attractions &amp; things to do</li>
<li>Travel information → Hotel and flight schedules and pricing</li>
<li>Travel guides</li>
<li>Trip planning guide → Select travel dates &amp; use wizard</li>
<li>Google Flights &amp; Google Hotel Ads integration</li>
<li>Pretty damn good user experience</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Google Trips App
<ul>
<li>Launched fall 2016</li>
<li>Allows travelers to create personalized travel itineraries
<ul>
<li>Imports travel plans (via email) &#8211; flights, hotel reservations, etc.</li>
<li>Research and save destination specific information &#8211; restaurants, things to do, day plans, getting around, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Cannot book travel plans via the app….. Yet.</li>
<li>How helpful is this app? → Why is this not just an app version of Destinations on Google??</li>
</ul>
AdWords in the Travel Space / The Modern Travel SERP
<ul>
<li>4 ads → Replaced 3 ad format</li>
<li>Modern travel SERP format:
<ul>
<li>4 paid ads</li>
<li>Google Map visualization</li>
<li>3-4 Google Hotel Ads listings</li>
<li>Organic search results</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Will Google Eventually Become an OTA? 
<ul>
<li>Google has thus far claimed that<a href="https://skift.com/2016/03/11/google-says-it-definitely-wont-become-an-online-travel-agency-unless-it-does/"> they have no intention of entering the OTA space</a>.</li>
<li>Google’s travel business is already<a href="https://skift.com/2016/11/01/googles-travel-business-is-already-twice-the-size-of-expedias/"> twice the size of Expedia’s</a> alone. Just think about the massive amounts of revenue Google generates from OTAs using products like Google AdWords and Google Hotel Ads.</li>
<li>To put things into perspective, it is estimated that Google will generate roughly $12.2 billion in revenue from travel in 2016, with approximately $6.2 billion of that coming from just four major travel spenders (Priceline, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Airbnb). → If Google were to move into the OTA space, they would risk alienating themselves from their largest travel advertisers.</li>
<li>Google also claims to want to help consumers begin planning their trip in the earliest stage through their current product set and that they do not want to become a trip-planning site, which would somewhat explain why Google Trips does not (yet) include booking functionality.</li>
</ul>
Verdict: Maybe… but not anytime soon.
Download the full Travel Trends study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2017-travel-trends/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2017-travel-trends/</a>.
========================
In The News
Mobile Searches Reach Record High 
<a href="https://www.tnooz.com/article/search-engine-booking-engine-report-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.tnooz.com/article/search-engine-booking-engine-report-2016/</a>
Can’t Find a News Article about it, but 
Google adds in capability to manually add hotel and flight reservations to the Google Trips app.  Integrates bus and train reservation data
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@pdimaio 
@makavanagh
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 47 – Is Google Becoming An OTA?

If you’re thinking about freshening up your hotel website, then you need to listen to this episode first. We recently joined forces with the fine folks at Flip.to to produce an amazing study of leisure travel consumer’s behavior on hotel websites. In this episode, we drill down into some of the key findings and offer advice on improving your hotel website.
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
<iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/311727270&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
If you need an amazing platform to aggregate and share user generated content on your site, the Flip.to’s brand advocacy project is perfect for you.  Check out more at <a href="http://www.flip.to" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.flip.to.</a>
Study Results Discussed
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Which sources are the most influential? (Ricky)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Number of websites being viewed = 4.4 &#8211; (Stuart)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>What makes a hotel website good? (Pete)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Why do people leave your site? (Melissa)</li>
</ul>
========================
In The News
Facebook’s Latest App Update Includes Book Now Options For Hotels 
<a href="https://skift.com/2017/03/04/facebook-launches-city-guides-with-booking-for-hotels-and-restaurants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2017/03/04/facebook-launches-city-guides-with-booking-for-hotels-and-restaurants/</a>
Enough rooms for everyone?  How hotel are meeting the Airbnb challenge 
<a href="http://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/enough-room-for-everyone-how-hotels-are-meeting-the-airbnb-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/enough-room-for-everyone-how-hotels-are-meeting-the-airbnb-challenge</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@pdimaio 
@pforiska
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 46 – What You Need To Know About The 2017 Website Behavior Study

Regardless of size or location, SEO is the lifeblood for any hotel. For most properties, it&#8217;s the number one source of continuous, qualified traffic. For years, many people have struggled to know how to find a qualified and experienced SEO agency for hotels because there are way too many cowboys out there who guarantee results or implement shady tactics. Luckily, Google recently put out a video with some effective tips and advice on finding a reputable firm and that&#8217;s the topic we discuss in this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast.
Google released video (article via Search Engine Land <a href="http://searchengineland.com/google-releases-new-video-hire-seo-consultant-269463" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://searchengineland.com/google-releases-new-video-hire-seo-consultant-269463</a>)
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast/id1101978909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/itunes.png" alt="Subscribe to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on iTunes" width="165" /></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fuel-hotel-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/soundcloud_button.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Soundcloud" width="190" /></a> <a href="http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/87986/episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Subscribe-on-Stitcher-Icon-11.png" alt="Listen to the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast on Stitcher" width="155" /></a><a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Is5pw37jjjn4tk327nqan4uh5ci?t=Fuel_Hotel_Marketing_Podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5087" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png" alt="Google-play-logo" width="175" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo.png 2194w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-300x105.png 300w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-768x268.png 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Google-play-logo-1024x358.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2194px) 100vw, 2194px" /></a>
If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
Show Notes:
General SEO Guidelines
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
<ul>
<li>It’s not “magic”</li>
<li>Long term success can not be achieved by short term “tricks”</li>
</ul>
Successful SEO helps you put your best foot forward so that it ranks APPROPRIATELY.
SEO works to improve the entire searcher experience → Doing what is good for SEO is good for all of your online customers
A good SEO will follow best practices → Pair recommendations with best practices documentation from Google
In most cases, SEO will take 4 &#8211; 12 months before long term results are seen.
The video, released by Google, provides three tips to help with the process of hiring a SEO.
<ol>
<li>Conduct a two-way interview with your potential SEO. Check that they seem genuinely interested in you and your business. 
a. A few questions the SEO should ask you include:
<ol>
<li>What makes your business, content, and/or service unique and therefore valuable to customers? (UVP)</li>
<li>What does your common customer look like? How do they currently find your website?</li>
<li>How does your business make money? And how does search help?</li>
<li>What other channels are you using? (ex: offline advertising, social media)</li>
<li>Who are your competitors? What do they do well online and offline?</li>
</ol>
b. The SEO should want to know about your business from a holistic perspective → Understand goals, customers, and overall marketing efforts</li>
<li>Check their references.
<ol>
<li>Conduct online and offline research about your potential SEO</li>
<li>Ask for references or past client work</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Ask for a technical and search audit.</li>
</ol>
The biggest holdup is often on the business end → Make sure your entire organization is on board and ready to make the recommended changes / investment.
Fuel SEO Related Links
<ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2016/11/21/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-31-build-links-like-boss-hoteliers-simple-guide-link-building/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Hotelier’s Guide To Link Building</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2016/07/29/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-16-definitive-hotel-page-seo-cheat-sheet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Definitive Hotel On-Page SEO Cheat Sheet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2016/06/19/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-10-hotel-blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Should My Hotel Have A Blog?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2016/05/16/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-5-search-engine-optimization-for-hotels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Top 3 SEO Ranking Factors For Hotels</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
========================
In The News
Are Alternate Payment Methods Ready for Prime Time (Pete) 
<a href="https://www.tnooz.com/article/alternative-travel-payments-adoption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.tnooz.com/article/alternative-travel-payments-adoption/</a>
5 Do’s &amp; Don’ts of Direct Messaging Guests 
<a href="http://www.trustyou.com/mobile/5-dos-and-donts-of-direct-messaging-guests" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.trustyou.com/mobile/5-dos-and-donts-of-direct-messaging-guests</a>
7 Signs Your Hotel Marketing Is Out of Control 
<a href="http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4081258.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4081258.html</a>
========================
Download the Fuel &amp; Flip.to Website Behavior Study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/websitestudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/websitestudy/</a>
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom 
@stuartbutler 
@marketingmeisha 
@pdimaio 
@pforiska
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div></div>
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a>. Download our leisure travel study at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/study/</a>.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 45 – How To Hire A SEO Consultant For Your Hotel

In this episode, we take some of the elements from Stuart Butler&#8217;s  discussion on Direct Booking Strategies for Hotels form the HSMAI Resort Best Practices Initiative Annual Roundtable Meeting. The event was held at the New York Marriott Marquis on Feb 21st, 2017.
The topics being discussed were confidential, but Stuart cleared it with the attendees that he could share a small part of the conversation with our lucky podcast listeners.
Download the presentation here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t0Eo8N3g8g37Xgg6m8Bix0115jeYbUuX1l3RLFflcWs/edit#slide=id.g1b1a6b5120_0_6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t0Eo8N3g8g37Xgg6m8Bix0115jeYbUuX1l3RLFflcWs/edit#slide=id.g1b1a6b5120_0_6</a>
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Show Notes:
Discussion: The Booking Decision
<ul>
<li>Why are OTAs so popular and what do they do better than hotels?</li>
<li>What can hotels do to encourage guest to book direct?</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5842" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/booking_com-screenshot-urgency.png" alt="booking_com screenshot urgency" width="361" height="640" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5844" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/booking_com-screenshot.png" alt="booking_com screenshot" width="361" height="640" />
What OTAs do well
<ol>
<li>Simple &amp; frictionless</li>
<li>Create forward pressure</li>
<li>Offer reassurance &amp; eliminate doubt</li>
<li>Leverage social proof</li>
<li>Motivate with fear</li>
</ol>
Discussion: Converting OTA Guests 

<ul>
<li>What can we do during and after the stay to ensure that the guest books direct in the future 
(educate, incentivize, etc)</li>
</ul>
What can we do?
<ol>
<ol>
<li>Make your own website experience fantastic.</li>
<li>Never lose a customer through your reservation center.</li>
<li>Retain your loyal customers.</li>
<li>Analyze data based on NET contribution, not just ADR.</li>
<li>Minimize OTA availability during sell-out dates.</li>
<li>Create demand through advertising and owned assets.</li>
<li>Consider incentives to OTA guests, to book direct.</li>
<li>Maintain rate parity or offer lower rates</li>
</ol>
</ol>
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In The News
Airbnb Purchases Tilt, Signaling Interest In Group Travel 
<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3068446/new-money/airbnb-buys-tilt-signaling-its-growing-interest-in-group-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.fastcompany.com/3068446/new-money/airbnb-buys-tilt-signaling-its-growing-interest-in-group-travel</a>
4 New Travel Startups Helping Hotels Engage With Guests 
<a href="https://skift.com/2017/02/20/4-new-travel-startups-helping-hotels-engage-with-guests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2017/02/20/4-new-travel-startups-helping-hotels-engage-with-guests/</a>
Robot Room Service Introduced as an Amenity at MSocial Singapore (Pete) 
<a href="https://www.tnooz.com/article/m-social-singapore-robot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.tnooz.com/article/m-social-singapore-robot/ 
</a><a href="https://www.msocial.com.sg/amenities/aura/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.msocial.com.sg/amenities/aura/</a>
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Hotel Marketing Podcast