VTV Channel - A Vlog focusing on Hotel Merchandising Online » Online Merchandising

The Concierge Approach to Content Marketing

VFM Leonardo — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:31:47 +0000

Marketers have seen the power of useful content to engage and develop relationships with future customers. Josiah Mackenzie, Publisher of Hotel Marketing Strategies Blog, explains what the concierge approach to content marketing is and how you can benefit from deploying it.

Improving Your Presence Online

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:00:02 +0000

Consumers are looking for the right content for the trip they are planning and visit multiple sites before they actually commit to booking. This behavior is driving hoteliers to start delivering more relevant content on more online channels. In this episode with Felix Laboy, President and General Manager at Sabre Hospitality Solutions, you will learn tips on how to improve your online presence:

- Ensure website content and rich media is up-to-date and optimized
- Develop and implement a social media plan
- Track consumer behavior on your website

How Not to be Invisible Online

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:00:35 +0000

Video is such a powerful tool for driving traffic to a hotel or brand’s website and helping convert that traffic to hotel guests, yet a study of New England hotels revealed that only 23% are using video. In this episode, Tom O’Rourke, President/CEO of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing, shares his insight on the factors that are preventing hoteliers from embracing online video as a powerful marketing tool, such as:

- Fear
- Traditional marketing budgets
- Video production costs

Overcoming eBusiness Challenges

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:00:47 +0000

Five to six years ago, hoteliers saw e-commerce as business on the side. Now, it touches every aspect of marketing, sales and the hotel business as a whole. In this episode with Edward Perry, Senior Director of E-Commerce at WORLDHOTELS, you will learn how to overcome some of today’s hotel eBusiness challenges:

- Staying up-to-date on what’s happening in the travel industry
- Understanding travel shoppers’ needs and desires
- Keeping online content fresh, relevant and engaging

7 Steps to Successful Travel eBusiness – A Holistic Approach

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:55 +0000

In the past, the focus of using the internet to plan travel used to be all about booking. Now, it has transitioned to a shop, look, book perspective, resulting in a much more sophisticated online travel experience. In this episode, Robert Cole the Founder of RockCheetah, explains his holistic approach to successful travel eBusiness and how to reach and engage guests at each of the seven stages in the travel planning process:

1. Inspiration
2. Research
3. Planning
4. Validation
5. Booking
6. Travel
7. Sharing

The Role of OTAs in the Travel Planning Process

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:16 +0000

Travel shoppers use online travel agencies (OTAs) more for research and comparison than booking. Although OTA market share is small, hotel listings on OTAs influence a much larger share of transactions. Hotels that are listed on OTAs see increased reservations on their own sales channels (call centers, booking engines, etc.).

In this episode, Chris Anderson, Assistant Professor at Cornell School of Hotel Administration explains additional factors that influence conversions:
- Page positioning
- Advertisements
- Competitive offers

Basically, the better you merchandise your hotel on OTAs, the greater your conversion factor will be.

To Merchandise or Not

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:32 +0000

Hotels are doing a better job of merchandising online they have been in the past, states Felix Laboy, President and General Manager at Sabre Hospitality Solutions. However, there is still room for improvement. Hoteliers need to ensure their hotel information is not just out on the channels, but presented in the best way possible because better merchandised hotels are better positioned against their competitive set, have better exposure and higher revenues.

In this episode, you will learn tips on how to merchandise online:
• Optimize your website with relevant content
• Keep images, videos and rich media current
• Develop and execute a social media action plan

The Role of Online Information in Travel Shopping

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:13 +0000

In this episode, Laurence Bernstein, Managing Director of The Bay Charles Consulting Company explains how online travel shoppers interact with the information presented on travel websites and what critical information many hotels are lacking.

You will learn:

- Why consumers have become very rational and price focused and how to combat this

- How to generate a “this is where I want to be” response from online travel shoppers

- Tips on how to present relevant and inspiring information to your target guests online

Merchandising Online – What and How?

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:00:06 +0000

Join John as he speaks with David Attardi, Director of E-Commerce for B.F. Saul Company’s Hotel Division. In this episode, you will learn about merchandising online in the context of hotels and what online merchandising and e-commerce strategies David employed to maximize revenue for B.F. Saul’s hotels.