Showing items in the "Marketing" category

Enhancing Customer Experience with AI

AI is ubiquitous these days, but a lot of the attention has been focused on content. I am interested in how different companies are using AI to enhance customer experience and use AI to boost their performance and quality.

Can Guest Experiences Serve as a Differentiating Hotel Marketing Strategy?

Amidst the prevailing focus on AI’s impact on marketing, I sought to steer one of our HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board discussions toward a core hospitality topic. How can we integrate enhanced guest experiences into our marketing strategies to stimulate demand and enrich the stay? We exchanged insights on how hotels and resorts can elevate guest experiences by creating unforgettable events and transforming spaces into memorable touchpoints.

Hospitality CMOs Tackle Five Key Challenges

Between managing growth challenges, rapid industry changes, and keeping up with evolving consumer behaviors – there’s no shortage of issues vying for a CMO’s attention. Last month in New York City, HSMAI brought Chief Marketing Officers together for an Executive Roundtable.

Behind the Scenes of the Adrian Awards: Judges Reveal Winning Strategies

Every year, the Adrian Awards demonstrate creativity, strategic excellence, and technological innovation. This year’s awards have not only highlighted the excellence that illuminates our industry but also presented a wealth of insights from the judges —insights that can benefit every travel marketing and PR professional. Here, we dive into the trends that distinguished winners from entrants in the eyes of the judges. Our judges have a rich history of involvement with HSMAI and a deep understanding of the industry’s evolution.  

HSMAI Long Read

Industry can take a more active role in bringing commercial careers to the classroom through paid internships, specific case studies, industry RFPs sent to schools for research projects, and access to industry for mentoring students.

HSMAI Customer Insight: Travelers Cautiously Optimistic about 2024 Travel | Longwoods

According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 92% of them plan to travel in the next six months, which is near a record high percentage in the past 12 months.  However, there has been an uptick in concern about both personal finances and travel costs. Exclusive insights for HSMAI from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon.

Embracing WanderLOVE in the Heart of New York City

The Adrians are the longest-running and most prestigious awards in the hospitality industry, annually celebrating the finest in hospitality advertising, digital marketing, and public relations. In the run up to the celebration, I want to share insights into this year’s awards.

Embracing WanderLOVE in the Heart of New York City

The Adrians are the longest-running and most prestigious awards in the hospitality industry, annually celebrating the finest in hospitality advertising, digital marketing, and public relations. In the run up to the celebration, I want to share insights into this year’s awards.

HSMAI Rising Leaders Council Aptitude Guide

43 HSMAI Rising Leader Council members took the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment. A group of the Rising Revenue Optimization Leader Council members then reviewed the results to explore core strengths of rising leaders in hospitality sales, marketing, and revenue. Read the report, where they identify the common breakdown of strengths making up each discipline’s persona. 

HSMAI Perspective: Advancing Women in Hospitality

This year, in collaboration with Women in Travel THRIVE, we took a significant step towards our mission with the release of the “The Power of Mentorship” research paper. This study, a critical examination of mentorship’s impact on female leadership in hospitality, offers insightful strategies for nurturing the next generation of women leaders. 

Leveraging Fintech in Travel

In a recent gathering of the HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board, financial technology was discussed. This article delves into our discussion, offering insights into how fintech could shape the future of hospitality. 

Is Generative Al Over-Hyped or Does It Have Real Business Value?

 For the past year, generative AI has been everywhere, but is it all hype? I set out to explore this question with HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board at a recent meeting. There were mixed opinions in the room, highlighting both the potential and the challenges of integrating AI into the hospitality sector. 

5 Place Based Marketing Strategies for Hotels

The success of a hotel often depends on its location. Whether it’s nestled in a national park or centered in a bustling city, location plays a pivotal role in attracting guests. Insights on making the most of location from the HSMAI Rising Marketing Leader Council.

Shaping the Future of Hospitality: Key Takeaways from HSMAI Americas Faculty Forums

HSMAI Foundation hosted a series of three Americas Faculty forums, with faculty specializing in hospitality sales, marketing, and revenue education. We gathered each group to discuss emerging trends, prevailing challenges, and how HSMAI and the HSMAI Foundation can partner to shape the future of hospitality education. These discussions highlighted a shift towards integrating technological advancements and strategic thinking into the curriculum. 

Wellness in Hospitality

The global pandemic triggered an unprecedented acceleration in the importance of wellness within the hospitality sector. Notably, the wellness tourism market value reached nearly $731.36 billion in 2022, marking a CAGR of nearly 4% since 2017. With projections suggesting that this market will grow to $1.2 trillion by 2027, the question is, how are hotels adapting to meet this growth? I brought this question to the HSMAI Rising Marketing Leader Council for discussion.  

Commercial Strategy Accelerates

Commercial excellence has become an increasingly important priority at many hotel organizations this year. The concept is about alignment across all drivers of top line sales generation. While Europe has been in the forefront of commercial strategy development, 34% of North American HSMAI Organization Members report they are either leading commercial effectiveness or well on their way, while 39% report some progress.  

State of Talent Trend: Collaboration is Crucial

As commercial strategy accelerates, collaboration becomes crucial and must evolve both internally and externally. There is a need for a shared vision and the issues, players, responsibilities, and resources must be defined. Teams must learn to coordinate actions and use integrated data to make projections and solve problems. Read more about this talent trend in the HSMAI Foundation’s State of Talent Report.

HSMAI Customer Insight: Holiday Travel Outlook Is Positive | Longwoods International

According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 92% of them have travel plans in the next six months, and 33% of them plan to spend more on holiday travel this year compared to a year ago.  Only 16% of travelers plan to spend less on holiday travel this year, while 52% expect their holiday travel spending to be comparable to last year.

HSMAI Top 25 Profile: Kristi Gole

HSMAI honored the 2022 Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales, Marketing, Revenue Optimization and Distribution — recognizing leaders from hospitality, travel, and tourism organizations for their accomplishments. Kristi Gole, Executive Vice President, Global Hotel Alliance is one of these honorees. 

CSR, ESG, and Sustainability: 5 Takeaways from Rising Leaders

Whether environmental impact, social responsibility, or community engagement be their driving factor, travelers are now not only expecting stellar onsite service, but ensuring that their meal was sustainably sourced, property employees receive fair treatment, and the property is supporting the local economy. 

HMC CDO’s 10 Practices to Address Digital Marketing Challenges

HSMAI hosted a Chief Digital Officers from hotel management companies during a recent Executive Roundtable. Drawing insights from these industry leaders, this article highlights ten best practices that can help organizations effectively navigate these challenges.  

3 Ideas to Capitalize on the Boom in Food Tourism

Hoteliers are always looking to improve the guest experience through their F&B services and offerings. HSMAI Rising Marketing Leaders recently focused on this topic and offered three tips that came out of our discussion.  

Sparking WanderLOVE: The 2023 HSMAI Adrian Awards

The Adrian Awards have been a symbol of excellence in hospitality advertising, digital marketing, and public relations for over six decades. The stage is set for the 2023 HSMAI Adrian Awards back in New York City. This year’s theme, WanderLOVE, is the clarion call to those who hold travel in their hearts year-round, an anthem celebrating captivating campaigns, ads, and experiences that have kindled an unwavering devotion to exploration across the globe.

Managing Knowledge: A framework and tools

The ever-increasing amount of content that we ingest each day demands the skill of knowledge management – for both personal and professional improvement. The challenge lies in capturing, distilling, and organizing data effectively. “Building a Second Brain” by Tiago Forte offers a blueprint for transforming data into actionable insights. This topic was brought to the HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board.  

Unleashing Unreasonable Hospitality: 3 Tips To Human Centric Marketing

The HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board recently discussed the new book “Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect,” and how this concept impacts our work and the intersection of technology and the people centric nature of hospitality.   Here are the top three takeaways from our conversations.

Brand Chief Digital Officers Tackle Pressing Concerns and Solutions

This summer in Toronto, HSMAI gathered Brand Chief Digital Officers (CDOs) for an Executive Roundtable. Participants engaged in candid discussions, shedding light on the hurdles they face in technology, staffing, and financial realms, while exploring effective remedies. 

HSMAI Top 25 Profile: Michael Curran, CHDM

HSMAI honored the 2022 Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization — recognizing leaders from hospitality, travel, and tourism organizations for their accomplishments. Michael Curran, CHDM Vice President of eCommerce Strategy at Aimbridge Hospitality is one of these honorees. 

Global Trends & Evolving Customers…and what they mean for hotel marketing

Steven Van Belleghem will be joining us in Toronto to present the keynote at the HSMAI Marketing Strategy Conference. He will address the global trends and evolving customers that hotel marketers are grappling with today and leave you with recommendations for your marketing efforts. He recently shared his insights with HSMAI staff.

Navigating Traveler Behaviors: Key Insights for Hotel Marketing Pros

Agility and strategic marketing approaches are crucial to navigate changing trends in booking patterns, flexcations, and loyalty platforms. Staying updated with the latest trends and consumer preferences is essential for hotel marketers to stay ahead in the competitive landscape. 

The Essentials of Paid Media

Dan Wacksman, CHDM, CRME, CHBA, Principal, Sassato, provides insight into what constitutes Paid Media and how hotels can best take advantage of these marketing channels: excerpted from HSMAI’s Hotel Digital Marketing Essentials + self-paced course.

Algorithms and Digital Marketing: The Essentials

Holly Zoba, Principal, Scout Simply, provides insight into how computer algorithms turn data into images, one of the basics behind computer science and digital marketing. Excerpted from HSMAI’s Hotel Digital Marketing Essentials + self-paced course.

The Essentials of Owned Media

Dan Wacksman, CHDM, CRME, CHBA, Principal, Sassato, provides insight into what constitutes Owned Media and how hotels can best take advantage of their assets: excerpted from HSMAI’s Hotel Digital Marketing Essentials + self-paced course.

Navigating Change: Key Marketing Strategies for an Evolving World

With the cloud of recession and inflation looming on the horizon, consumers are becoming much more discerning about the choices they make. The HSMAI Rising Marketing Leader Council got together to discuss how to survive and thrive in this evolving landscape.  

HSMAI Perspective: Generative AI in Hospitality

Generative AI is rapidly becoming an asset in the hospitality industry. It can quickly help improve efficiency, identify customer trends and preferences, and create an even more personalized experience for guests.

Hospitality Marketing in the Cookie-Less Future

It’s no secret that the cookie-less world is coming. And while it may still be a few years off, the impact it will have on hospitality marketing is already being felt. The HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board recently met to discuss the looming cookie-less world.  

Schema For Search Engines: The Key

Holly Zoba, Principal, Scout Simply, provides insight into how schema is the key to describing a hotel for search engines: excerpted from HSMAI’s Hotel Digital Marketing Essentials + self-paced course.

HSMAI Perspective: The Second Annual State of Talent Report

The HSMAI Foundation is excited to announce the release of the 2nd Annual State of Talent report! This report dives into eight talent-related trends we have identified as key considerations for attracting new talent, developing emerging talent, and engaging existing talent.

How will the tech layoffs impact hotel business?

HSMAI’s Marketing Advisory Board discussed what the layoffs could mean for the hospitality industry. While it may be too soon to say definitively, below are the top trends we’re noticing and planning for. 

HSMAI Customer Insight: Economic Worries on the Minds of Travelers | Longwoods International

According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, the current strong demand for travel may be in peril because of concerns about jobs, inflation and the economy.  About half of travelers report that concerns about their personal financial situation will impact their travel decisions in the next six months.  Insights for HSMAI from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon

HSMAI Perspective: Anticipating 2023

I recently spoke with the HSMAI Board of Directors about what they expect 2023 will bring. These executives represent a diverse range of hotel and partner company types and sizes, so they are a good sample of the hospitality and travel landscape. Three big issues surfaced as a key focus of all companies. 

Curate Session Recap: The Star

Curate kicked-off with a reception and tour of The Star, the unique 91-acre campus that is the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and practice facility. Marta Gola, VP, Tour & Event Sales of Legends, welcomed the group and gave an overview of how the Star operates.
The next day the group heard from Chad Estis, EVP of Business Operations Dallas Cowboys; Legends and Peter Strebel, Chairman of Omni Hotels & Resorts.

HSMAI Customer Insight: Post-Pandemic Travelers Seek Work/Life Balance | Longwoods

Recent research likely signals a shift in travelers really needing to disconnect more when they get away for leisure purposes, despite the growing trend of “bleisure” travel!  These folks felt always “on” or connected to the office during the pandemic and now are seeking more of a break when it’s “leisure time!” Hear more about the findings from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon, for HSMAI.

HSMAI Perspective: The Next Great Chapter – Adrian Awards

As we look in anticipation to the future of the industry, I want to take a moment to reflect on the 65-year history of the annual Adrian Awards that have honored excellence in hospitality advertising, digital marketing, and public relations.

How Industry Can Help Bolster Hospitality Programs… A Call to Action

The HSMAI Foundation recently convened four academic forums and polled deans, directors, and faculty in sales, marketing, and revenue, across 30 unique university hospitality programs. They had much to say about the state of hospitality programs and students following the devastating effects of the pandemic.

Challenging Mindsets in B2C Marketing

To optimize our digital marketing spend, it is crucial to stay on top of the trends in digital marketing and regularly challenge our assumptions. The HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board did just that while discussing the thought-provoking video 5 Tenets to Enhancing your 2022 Go-To-Market Strategies. 

Insights From HSMAI Marketing Educator of the Year: Katerina Berezina

Dr. Katerina Berezina, CHTP, CRME, CHIA, associate professor and a hospitality management program director in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management at the University of Mississippi, was awarded the 2022 Marketing Educator of the Year Award during the HSMAI Marketing Strategy Conference.

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