Writings on the Business of Hospitality

Welcome to the first of many posts where I will share insider information about the resort and lodge market. I will share my expertise on how the latest web trends are changing the face of our industry and what to do about it.

Louise Story from the New York Times wrote an article in late 2007 giving thousands of resort and lodge properties a ray of hope. She offers insights on how and where to establish your marketing dollars online. Her exclusive interview with Brian McAndrews, the new leader in charge of Microsoft’s advertising strategy, confirms a thought I have believed for years. Mr. McAndrews contends:

“Google gets all the credit, and in fact, you might have just gone to Google to type in the U.R.L.”

Mr. McAndrews stresses that it’s important to realize that people often search for companies’ names after seeing their ads somewhere else. These insights, from one of the world’s top three search engine advertising strategists, are noteworthy. Therefore, to achieve effective online advertising results, it’s important to utilize niche portals instead of solely relying on search engine marketing.

Here is why ResortsandLodges.com supports Mr. McAndrew’s findings: Over 15 months ago ResortsandLodges.com started implementing unique 800 numbers for all their online advertisers. This number could only be tracked back to ResortsandLodges.com, and by listening to these calls in real-time, we heard 95% of the guests say that they found our advertisers on Google, Yahoo or MSN.com. Yes, they started their search on these large search engines, but online guests then used a niche information portal that offered them a one-stop shop for their vacation experience.

Through research we see online guests utilize the web in this typical sequence:

• 1. Research – learning more about their options for where to go, what to do, and where to stay
• 2. Compare – checking prices and availability
• 3. Book – booking their flights, hotels and activities
• 4. Share – adding reviews, blogs etc. to share their experiences with others.

The analytics of tracking advertising seems to be a never-ending hill to climb, but I hope that this post offers you some insights on how to track your search engine marketing. This information is important to know because it will help you to effectively utilize your advertising finances. It would be foolish to spend your entire budget on the initial online guest research because the in-depth research and booking process happens on powerful niche information sites.

Remember, we always need to put ourselves in the shoes of the online shopper. Would you buy from the initial ad you see on google.com without access to descriptive text, photos or video?

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