Almost overnight, group business disappeared when the worst economic times of our life time coincided with the public exposure of AIG and other companies spending lavishly on group business while accepting government bail-outs. As a result, large groups from high profile companies wanted to avoid the illusion of excess or decadence and cancelled their meetings at resorts, conference centers, casinos, and convention hotels. In desperation, most group properties significantly reduced rates to attract any group business and undercut their completion to gain back this market. This article will address some tips to penetrate this market regardless of market conditions to ensure that your property(s) is positioned for success.

Last year was a tough year for everyone. For this reason, it doesn't matter what industry you are in, everyone had to make significant changes, including those within their sales and marketing teams. Joint ventures, partnerships, creative marketing and networking are just a few options for the next generation of companies striving to meet demands in the working world as we transition into a new decade. These collaborations, if executed effectively are an opportunity for both small businesses to band together to take on the goliaths of an industry as well as an opening for large companies to capitalize on some of the streamlined methods utilized in smaller organizations.

Savvy hoteliers are using TripAdvisor to see what guests are saying about them - and learn where they need to improve. Once they address this feedback, customer satisfaction improves, reviews turn positive and marketing their properties becomes much easier.

The Travel marketplace is at the top tier of the web's explosion of channel aggregation, information, and game changing consumer sophistication. To compete and win, today's hotelier must develop a multi-layered strategy and deploy an array of finely-tuned tactics. And must do so while battling a recovering economy and navigating crowded sea lanes. Special times require special measures, with the keyword being "Specials" - a tried and true marketing tactic that can help you beat your competitors, engages consumers, and can be profitable when smartly done and managed.

The competition is fierce. New hotels open each day, older ones undergo renovations and everyone in the middle is vying for the attention of the media as well. Whether a small boutique hotel, large chain hotel, far off country estate or a city center business hotel, one thing remains true across the board. In order to garner your desired media attention, you need a story. Through creating unique guest experiences, offering value, targeting appropriate media outlets and fostering relationships with the media, success will be imminent.

According to Smith Travel Research, “The outlook for 2010 looks slightly better than 2009, but the industry still is expected to end 2010 with decreases in all three key metrics. Occupancy is projected to end 2010 with a 0.6-percent decrease, ADR is forecasted to end the year with a 3.4-percent decrease, and RevPAR is expected to end with a 4.0-percent decline.” Although this outlook is less than optimistic, there are strategies that can be implemented to turn your business around regardless of your base of business. This article will address the key components to put your property(s) on the path to success in this new economy and maintain success regardless of market conditions.

Just for fun, I googled (Remember when Google was only a noun?) the term, creative hotel marketing. I got more than 6.5 million hits! WOW! If the number of hits were to equal the number of really creative hotel marketing programs, we would have one fun, successful industry! But, unfortunately, what passes for creative is more like common, colloquial, comfortable, commonplace, conventional, and customary. Or, as our grandkids are prone to say, as they place two fingers in an “L” on their foreheads, Loser! I’ve found that one of the barriers to developing and launching a really creative program is the erroneous belief that creative marketing is too expensive. But it really doesn't take a lot of dollars to develop and implement a successful promotional strategy. In this article, we’ll see some ideas to get your juices flowing.

Business travel continues to be scrutinized, especially as companies look to cut costs in this current economy and as corporations shy away from incentive travel as public focus lingers on the so-called "AIG effect." The 2009 decline in U.S. business travel will be about 10.3 percent compared to 2008, according to the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), a group that represents 15,000 business travel professionals. Spending on business travel in the U.S. is expected to dip to $234 billion in 2009.

When guests walk into your lobby, what do they see? Gorgeous, sparkling marble floors, perfectly arranged florals, and smiling front desk associates? But when they round the corner to grab a bottle of water or a Diet Coke from your lobby shop - is that same experience carried into the Market, Pantry or Gift Shop? Many hotels have perfected their lobbies highly right down to the streak free glass doors, but the Market - where guests actually shop for food and hygiene products - looks like a complete afterthought with haphazard merchandising, empty shelves ,and an overall failure to either encourage a sale or meet guest needs.

Ask most parents of young children (10 and under) where they are spending New Year's Eve and Day and the answer you will most likely hear is, "We'll be at home with the kids". Your marketing team's mission is simple: Change that answer to, "We'll be celebrating at a hotel that has an awesome family New Year's Eve Package-it's our tradition!" Kids get excited about New Years Eve; they can stay up late and celebrate. A well-designed package that includes a celebration earlier in the day for the family, and options later for the parents, will provide families with an exciting way to begin each new year and create tremendous good will for your hotel and brand.

Branding. It's a term that carries an image for the guest and means equity for the hotel. Yet few of us really understand how it works. The idea of branding isn't new. In fact, it dates back more than a hundred years to when Ivan Pavlov won a Nobel Prize for his research into branding. Who? Pavlov? Wasn't he the guy with the dog and the bell? Exactly. But what does an old scientist, his dog and a bell have to do with successfully marketing your hotel? In this article, you'll learn how Pavlov's three principles can help you develop a successful branding campaign for your property.

If demand in the U.S. will be down 5.5% this year, then why will average daily rates be down nearly 10%? Have our results become a byproduct of our own forecasting doom and gloom? Rates are down in most markets because of the panic of a few hotels, which started a downward spiral of discounting that wasn't even necessary to accommodate the existing demand. Other hotels in these markets have followed suit and consumers benefit from the industry panic. Come on, hotel industry, take control! Are we to quick to blame the economy for all of our problems? Whether you are an owner, operator, or sales and marketing professional, tapping into the P.O.W.E.R.R. of sales and marketing will help you recover much faster from the current recession than your competitors -certainly long before the hotels that may have started the rate war in your market in the first place.

The hotel pantry has become a standard at many select service and extended stay brands. Marriott International's highly successful "The Market" and Hilton's well planned "Suite Shop" and "Pantry Pavilion" are not only guest favorites for their quality and convenience - but a revenue generator that adds dollars to a properties Sales Per Occupied Room. Unfortunately, some of the best GM's in the country admittedly know little about retail, so what should be a small gold mine for the hotel often becomes a hard to manage, unprofitable endeavor due to a few easy-to-correct, retail industry mistakes

Social media marketing is one of the newest, most exciting marketing trends out there and its potential for revenue generation and brand development is enticingly high. But there is a caveat: like any marketing tactic, ad-hoc implementation will only achieve limited results at best. For a social media program to achieve a noticeable level of success, it has to work with your overall marketing strategy, not against it and certainly not as an afterthought. So here's how you can get the most out of your social media strategy.

Too often money spent on marketing is wasted. When marketing is based on conventional wisdom and old assumptions rather than advances in the understanding of consumer behavior, sales suffer and money that could have been spent more wisely goes down the drain. Marketing based on age bracket or generation is blas'e. The current market demands marketing departments pay attention to emotional elements of their potential guests, i.e. how can I afford to take my family on vacation when I might lose my job? Too many marketing departments refuse to take initiatives and think outside of the box and the same 7 mistakes occur again and again, regardless of market conditions. Avoiding the following seven patterns will help your property save money, stay competitive, and enjoy a healthy share of the lucrative family travel business.