This post is the second of a two-part series. In the last post, I asked you to use your imagination and book a hotel room. You visit an online booking site and compare the pictures from two different hotels. Your first choice looks nice but is not available. Your second choice looks dark and dingy but the location is perfect so you book. You arrive to find an amazing property and that your presumption was totally inaccurate. [...]
Photography and Your Hospitality Property For this post I want you to start by using your imagination. Imagine you have a few days to yourself and you want to get away, to a hotel or bed & breakfast just to unwind. You go to your favourite hospitality booking engine and start looking for a place. You find a location and a property that looks promising. You go through the booking procedure only to find out the hotel is full [...]
We've all been there. You craft a marketing email, complete with clever wording and amazing benefits for the specific buyer persona, and you’re seriously impressed with yourself. So your mind starts to wander ... you think about all the leads you’re going to generate and how you’re going to spend your bonus. But suddenly, a paralyzing fear washes over your entire body. “No, NO! Did I … did I really just hit send on that!!! HOW DO I STOP IT?!” But it’s too late. [...]
The holiday season is a busy time for hotels as occupancy rates increase and travelers are spending this festive time away from home, so it’s great to inform prospective travel shoppers of your hotel’s holiday events and spirit. Here are 3 tips to market your hotel for the holidays. This time of the year is special and consumers respond very well to holiday themes and promotion by brands and companies, as 70% said they find holiday-themed ads very or somewhat effective [...]
Have you ever dreamed of opening your own Bed & Breakfast? Do you visualize sitting on your porch while visitors come from all over to stay at your place? It is a good idea to read the following story so you have an idea of all that is involved before investing all your life’s savings. If you already operate a B & B, I would be interested in your thoughts. Leave them in the comment section below. by Renee Knight [...]
Photograph by Marco Baass/Getty Images Question: I own a heritage home where I run a bed-and-breakfast. I would like to attract more international tourists or attract global travellers. How do I promote my property with international tour operators and travel agents? Answer: Get to know some of the top travel companies that book international guests into properties such as yours, for a start. What are their clients looking for? What countries are they traveling from? How can your home fit into tour [...]
Working with hotels for almost 25 years has given us at Keystone HDC us much awareness on the problems many hospitality properties encounter. These can vary from missing a poor review on Tripadvisor to a collapse of organizational structure. The following are the top 5 challenges hotels we have found Independent Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and Resorts face: #1 Not Paying Attention or Ignoring Online Reviews As much as some hoteliers would like to think, the power of social media [...]
Have you ever asked yourself “What can I do to make my hotel listing stand out from the rest?” Did you know almost 60% of leisure travelers use video to help them research hotels? Video can be one of your strongest marketing tools. Studies have shown 30% of people remember what they see 20% of people remember what they hear 70% of people remember what they see & hear 50% of people would like to see videos on your website [...]
Are You Struggling With Social Media? Part II Is one social media platform better then another? Should I be on as many social media sites as possible? In our last podcast I talked a little bit about social media platforms, specifically, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This week I will continue with four more major social media platforms. Click Here for Audio Version of this Post Let’s start with YouTube YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world and [...]
Today I would like to do something a little different. I would like to take a minute to personally thank all of you who have listened to the Keystone HDC Podcasts. Today, I would like to do something a little different. I would like to take a minute to personally thank all of you who have listened to the Keystone HDC Podcasts. Since we began podcasting a few months back, we have talked about many tips and ideas that [...]
