Once summer ends, travelers start researching and booking flights and hotel rooms for holiday travel, an ideal time for brands to step up their digital marketing strategy and utilize new ways to increase sales. Programmatic performance marketing with a strong emphasis in native search enables advertisers to make smarter bidding decisions and allows brands to transform into digital publishers by selling comparison search ads to competitors. In this piece, Brett Tabano, MediaAlpha Senior Vice President of Marketing, will explore native advertising from the advertiser's and publisher's perspective, as an organic way for hotel brands to become more efficient and profitable. READ MORE

Hoteliers using Google Business Listing as a marketing tool increase their potential viewership of the hotel's online listing. Franchises like Marriott, Hilton, IHG and Choice Hotels International all use sales revenue management forecast tools that help franchisees maximize their potential. Independent Hotel & Motel properties have to do things the old school way by creating excel spreadsheets with forecasted P&Ls and data from STR Reports. Oracle Taleo Central Human Resource Management System has been helping the hospitality industry weaponized their HR by giving even the smallest operators the ability to run like a sophisticated company. READ MORE

The unpredictability of Mother Nature and extensive havoc she can wreak is one of the most universally acknowledged threats to people and businesses, including hotels. The best defense against any foreseeable weather emergency is a proactive plan. Both literally and figuratively, when the clouds roll in, will your hotel be able to withstand the storm, as well as the possible damage it leaves behind? Have the proper steps been taken to keep that damage to a minimum, and if not, do you know how to get started? This article will address preparing your hotel for the worst case scenario. READ MORE

The current hotel cycle, well into its ninth year and what in previous cycles would be considered the late period, is acting differently from historical norms. Occupancy and real ADR are diverging to a degree unprecedented in the hotel market. The difference is present in varying degrees in most studied markets. Exceptional increases to hotel room supply may explain some of the difference, and the introduction of unconventional, short-term rental supply may also contribute to dampened real ADR growth. The two effects are estimated to be approximately equal in explanatory power and jointly explain over half of the occupancy gap. READ MORE

Corporate travel comprises an extremely important component of any hotel's total room nights and overall revenues. Thus, the importance of the Rates for Proposal (RFP) for the corporate rates negotiation process each year. At its simplest, even if two entities commit to an equal number of rooms to be occupied, the value of those commitments varies based on a number of factors, including the days of the week or season involved, typical length of stay or, perhaps, even anticipated total room spend. Regardless, the best corporate contracts achieve a win-win-win partnership for a brand, hotel property and corporate travelers. READ MORE