Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast

Each year, Fuel publishes a comprehensive leisure travel study that takes a look into why people travel and how they make their purchase decisions. The data revealed by the study offers incredible value to the hospitality industry as it provides a clear picture of what people are looking for when they are performing their travel research. In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, the Fueligans breakdown the most surprising and the most important stats from the 2019 study and discuss the biggest opportunities that exist for hoteliers who want to take advantage of this information. DOWNLOAD THE STUDY: https://www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/ SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-116-youll-be-shocked-by-these-insights-from-the-2019-leisure-travel-study/

We recently published an article on HotelExecutive.com where we made the argument that over-reliance on OTAs could become an existential problem for hotels if the economy were to take a downturn. Not that OTAs are bad, but many have become comfortable letting the OTAs drive a significant percentage of their demand. In this episode, we dive into the article and discuss its wider implications. READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: 10 ways to drive direct bookings in 2019 - https://www.hotelexecutive.com/business_review/6165/top-10-ways-to-drive-direct-bookings-in-2019 SHOW NOTES:

This week’s episode is a breakdown of an article from Adobe that was recently published on CMO.com. The article takes a look at several travel-related trends that have been aggregated from numerous sources. The fueligans discuss the merits of each stat and provide insight into the impact they may have on hotel marketers. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-114-15-mind-blowing-stats-about-digital-trends-in-travel/

This is the second episode in our hotel marketing 101 series. In this show, we dig into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and give practical advice about how hotels can drive more direct revenue from organic search. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-113-hotel-marketing-101-a-beginners-guide-to-seo/

For many, they think of the annual HITEC Expo and Conference as the “Super Bowl” of hotel technology events. For us, the Super Bowl is the “HITEC” of football games. HITEC is simply that darn great. If you’re in the market for new technology or if you just want to see what cutting-edge trends are going to be the next big thing, you should plan on attending HITEC. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-112-shocking-predictions-for-hitec-2019/

In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, the Fueligans give 10 simple rules that every hotel marketer should follow. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-111-the-10-commandments-of-hotel-marketing/

Still trying to figure out this whole “influencer” phenomena that’s getting more than its fair share of coverage in hospitality blogs? In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, we solicit the help of our friends at Navis and Flip.to to discuss the difference between macro and micro influencers, and we look at a case study that illustrates the potential that exists from tapping into the influence of your existing guest. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-110-the-real-value-of-hotel-micro-influencers-with-flip-to-and-navis/

We’re kicking off an awesome new series in 2019 to introduce our audience, clients, and colleagues to the core best-practices in hotel marketing. The idea being if you have just been thrown in to the hotel marketing business, or you’re looking to brush up on what you should have already been doing, you’ll be able to listen to each episode in the Hotel 101 series to make your marketing rock.

This episode was inspired by our own older podcast episodes that helps you diagnose anomalies in your analytics data. We get questions from our clients on a regular basis when something in their data doesn’t feel right, has had a sudden change, or just doesn’t make sense. Here are some common issues SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-108-these-6-analytics-anomalies-give-hotels-agita/

In this episode, we have a special guest, Niel Howe, and we discuss ways in which a hotel GM or Owner can leverage their authority to drive more bookings. Neil is a best selling author and entrepreneur, known as ‘The Authority Architect’ and he helps professionals leverage their knowledge to drive more business.

Assuming that you’ve been implementing all of the tips we’ve provided on the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast thus far, your property is immaculate and your staff are super-friendly. That means that you don’t have a problem retaining guests. Your repeat visitor numbers are through the roof. However, you still have some soft spots throughout the year that you need to fill up, so you’re going to have to go find new people to stay in those rooms. In this episode, we look at some of the ways that you can spread the word about your property and earn the opportunity to win some new business. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-106-top-10-ways-to-reach-new-hotel-guests/

Each year, we get inundated by articles containing the top 10 list of something. We thought we’d save you some time by combining 5 of our favorite top 10 lists for hotel marketing and summarize them in this handy-dandy episode. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-105-top-list-of-top-10-lists-for-hotels-in-2019/

Guess what? It’s no longer the “Year of Mobile”. While it seems as if mobile has been the “trend for the past 5 years, I think it's time to acknowledge the fact that mobile is the minimum ante to play these days. If you don’t have your mobile strategy figured out by now, you’re so far behind in terms of consumer expectations that you may be beyond help. Assuming you’re still with us, let’s discuss some of the real trends that you should be paying attention to in 2019. SHOW NOTES:

Today on the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast we are going to cover how to make the most of your marketing efforts by setting up a schedule of continual proofing to guarantee your hotel’s site is ready to convert guests to its fullest. How you ask? Simple, by ensuring your systems actually work as designed, track as they should, and trigger followups as expected. SHOW NOTES:

In this episode, we take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in terms of how hotels are responding to their online reviews. We discuss best practices and give advice on how to avoid the pitfalls by leaving emotion out of it and by considering that you’re not just responding to the single individual, but to every potential future guest. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-102-how-to-respond-to-bad-hotel-reviews/

Conversion rate is yet another metric that is most useful to look at in the context of other dimensions. Today we are specifically talking about it in terms of landing pages. Since conversion rate is relative to your market, instead of giving specific ranges for each entry point, we’ll rank these pages in terms of likeliness to convert vs. not, based on the likely source of traffic. SHOW NOTES:

In the 100th episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, the Fueligans throw the gauntlet to our faithful listeners and pose the challenge, "Ask Me Anything". Tune in to find out whether the inevitable curve-balls were tackled with the typical brilliance that can only come from this podcast.

In a recent blog article, Fuel’s own Pete DiMaio outlined 6 changes that Google has made over the past year that should scare the Dickens out of hotel marketers. The good news is that your Fueligan friends are here with another episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast to break down these changes, tell you what they mean, and give you a game plan on how to adjust your marketing strategy and not get stuck in the ‘Upside Down’. SHOW NOTES:

Email marketing is still the most effective way to drive direct booking business (if done correctly). The trouble is that a lot of hoteliers resort to spamming their list with nothing but discounts. The key to a successful email strategy is to play the long game. Don’t sacrifice long-term success for instant gratification. In this episode, we look at some recently released data from our friends at Revinate and give you the Fueligan spin on their findings. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-98-takeaways-revinates-2018-global-hotel-email-marketing-report

Should your hotel website have a section dedicated to area information, or is it even worth competing with other sites who may already have that content? In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, the Fueligans discuss their best practices for having destination content on your hotel website and how it can help drive more direct bookings. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-97-8-great-ways-gain-bookings-destination-information/