Hotel Revenue Optimization Blog

Expedia Acquisitions Signal Tougher Times Ahead for Hotels

Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz walk into a bar. “We do not serve second and third rate Online Travel Agents here,” says the bartender. “Well, they are now with me,” answers…

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Marriott’s War on Wi-Fi: Hotels Need to Stop Fighting the Future

Big hotel brands have seen unprecedented growth over the past decade. Even when the global financial engines slowed down, they grew exponentially in global markets (ie, Asia, Middle East, Latin…

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My Top 6 Articles of 2014

It’s time to say goodbye to 2014. It was an epic year for me, and I especially loved sharing my thoughts about the industry with a wonderful group of loyal readers.…

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Hotel & Travel Industry News

The End of an Era: IHG Acquires Kimpton

How much is that boutique hotel in the window? Well, it’s around $430 million. Yes, that’s the price InterContinental Hotels Group (one of the biggest hotel companies in the world)…

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Why You Shouldn’t Sell Rooms for $7 on Hotel Tonight

This Thanksgiving holiday in the US was an eventful one for the hospitality industry. What got my attention was the Black Friday offer of $7 rooms on Hotel Tonight (my favorite…

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Strategy

Front Desk: Ground Zero for Hotel Profitability

Want to increase your profitability, while improving your online reviews at the same time? Then start paying more attention to an area that’s too often overlooked when discussing revenue: your front desk. You…

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Do You View Hotel Marketing as a Cost or an Investment?

I am often asked, “What is the most important factor in a good hotel marketing strategy?” One of the top factors (that no one likes to talk about) is how a hotel’s…

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Reality Check: 7 Questions for Your Hotel Marketing Agency

Everything digital, including marketing, changes rapidly. Hotels know that online marketing is crucial, yet they take a back seat on innovations. Most of the hotel owners/managers I’ve met have been hesitant to…

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A Brief Guide to Managing Your Hotel’s Digital Assets

One of the most crucial aspects of running a hotel or a lodging business is asset management. The same efforts and energy should be used when it comes to your…

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Priceline’s Acquisition of Buuteeq: Why Hotels Must Own Their Digital Assets

The hotel marketing and distribution world was recently shaken when Priceline Group (aka, The #1 Lodging Online Travel Agency in the World) acquired Buuteeq for an undisclosed sum. This officially makes…

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Euromonitor International Interview With Vikram Singh

I was recently interviewed as part of the Euromonitor International Interview Series conducted by Michelle Grant, Euromonitor’s Travel and Tourism Manager. Here’s the article that was published. Euromonitor International is…

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Search Engine Marketing

Hotel Pay Per Click: Your Single Most Powerful Marketing Tool

I have had a front row seat to the hotel pay per click (PPC) world for the past decade. PPC is not new, but it’s rapidly changing. One thing that…

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Hotel Marketing Is Not a Substitute for Innovation

One of the trends I have been noticing is that hotels continually generate hype instead of value. Hyper-marketing on social media platforms has led to a race for hotels to participate…

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How to Supercharge Your Hotel Revenue After Rebranding

A Tale of Two Brands (based on a true story) Once upon a time in December 2012, there was a hotel asset. It lived in a spectacular location, right on…

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Hotel Marketing Cannibalization: Is Your Hotel Website Traffic Eating Itself?

Hotels, bed and breakfasts, and vacation rentals are all competing for their market share of today’s travelers, who are armed with multiple devices and tools to search for lodging .…

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Top 5 Resolutions Hotels Should Make to Boost Online Revenue

We have entered a new year of awesome possibilities. The hospitality and lodging business is poised for more disruption, innovation and growth. I would love to see my readers address…

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Hotel & Travel Industry News

My Top 6 Posts of 2013

This has been an amazing year for the Words of Vikram blog. I remember publishing the first post on a beautiful day at Kaaawa Beach Park in Oahu on March 1,…

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How Airbnb Is Crushing Traditional Hotel Brands

In April, I wrote one of my first ever articles about Airbnb’s impact on the hotel industy. It started as a response to the Euromonitor report highlighting how little impact…

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Google Analytics vs. Adobe Site Catalyst for Hotels

Marketing is evolving, especially the Internet kind. Website analytics have come a long way in the past decade. We have access to more information than ever before. You can now monitor…

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Analytics

Death by Data: How Misusing Hotel Analytics Data Can Hurt Your Revenue

Analytics is an amazing and powerful tool. Voltaire/FDR/Stan Lee (depends who you ask) has said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This is particularly relevant to Analytics users in the hotel industry who…

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