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Posted on Dec 7th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
There's no question that mobile devices have become a staple in everyday living around the world. With the number of Smartphones and other mobile devices being used on the rise, there comes a corresponding growth in mobile Internet browsing....
Posted on Dec 2nd 2011 by Janice Diner @ Clikz
Travel and shopping are probably two of the most social activities we do with friends and loved ones. The hyper-interactive travel consumer is a new breed of engaged and informed traveler. They talk about travel before they travel, while they travel, and...
Posted on Dec 1st 2011 by Ryan Kim @ Gigaom.com
Android users who download the latest version of Google Maps from Android Market will now be able to locate themselves inside airports, malls and big department stores that partner with Google and share their floor plans. Google Maps will offer the famili...
Posted on Dec 1st 2011 by Ronnie @ Evision
The fact that Google favors brands in search results means independent and flagged hotels need to be more proactive about staying on top of their online marketing. Fortunately, the avenues discussed in this article are excellent ways you can remain compet...
Posted on Nov 14th 2011 by Pamela Vaughan
That's right. Sometimes truly great content flops. And to be honest, it's a big disappointment (and a damn shame). The silver lining is, there's usually a pretty good explanation for why that particular piece of content failed to spread, and understanding...
Posted on Nov 11th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Today we're excited to announce the release of our Mobile Interface on the eTourism Content Management System. The eTourism Development Team have been hard at work building an interface that is feature rich but simple to use. This new feature has been rol...
Posted on Nov 11th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Google has just released the new Think Insights with Google from beta, that sports a new playful look, helpful tools, more studies, the latest trends and exciting videos....
Posted on Nov 11th 2011 by Doug Kennedy
Today's callers have evolved faster than most hotel sales training programs. Hotel reservation agents are fielding a much broader spectrum of sales scenarios than ever before, from callers ranging from ultra-informed to misinformed, having taken virtual t...
Posted on Nov 9th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Google has announced Google+ Pages for your Resort or Hotel. These pages have been specifically created for businesses on Google+. We'll show you how to create your very own Google+ Page....
Posted on Oct 19th 2011 by Melanie Nayer
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills became the first Four Seasons in the world to launch ICE technology in their guestrooms and suites, allowing guests to digitally connect with all areas of the hotel....
Posted on Oct 18th 2011 by Josh Constine
Facebook has yet to release a plugin that websites can install to ask for subscribers to Facebook profiles. Here's how to create your own, using the social network's badge creator....
Posted on Sep 14th 2011 by http://mumbrella.com.au/
Facebook has opened up its Places check-in service to brands with its first four Australian partners announced back in August....
Posted on Sep 13th 2011 by EyeForTravel
Facebook is revamping its location-based check-in product also know as Places. Starting last Friday, you may have noticed that the "X check-ins" verbiage has been removed from Places Pages and merged Facebook Pages and has been replaced with "X were here"...
Posted on Jun 1st 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Twitter has just made it a whole lot easier to increase your following. Today, Twitter announced it has introduced its new, official Follow Button....
Posted on May 18th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Tutorial on how to create a Facebook Fan page for your Hotel or Resort....
Posted on Apr 14th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
According to research released last Thursday by ForeSee Results, fewer than 1% of website visits, on average, come directly from a social media URL. While only 1% of site visitors come from a social media URL, 18% of site visitors report being influenced...
Posted on Apr 5th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Last week Google announced the +1 button, it's latest push into social search, nearly a year after Facebook launched Like buttons. The Google +1 button allows you to "+1" the search results and advertisements that you like. Soon you will also be able to a...
Posted on Mar 23rd 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Today we're going to demonstrate how to activate Facebook Insights for your hotels website. To do this you will need to have a Facebook Fan page setup for your Hotel, be the administrator of this Hotel Facebook Page and have access to your websites conten...
Posted on Mar 17th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Today I would like to demonstrate how blogging can increase the search ranking of certain pages within your website. One of the features of your resort might be that it has a unique location for example it is situated within walking distance from the loca...
Posted on Mar 16th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Limelight Networks reports that just over 50% of bandwidth usage in the US is online video. That's a 107% growth in video bandwidth over last year, what an incredible statistic. Today very few Australian resorts and serviced apartments are using online vi...
Posted on Mar 9th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Facebook's like functionality has just been revamped to now publish a full news feed instead of just a one-line Recent Activity story. Previously the Like button would only publish the name of the page being Liked to the Recent Activity section of your pr...
Posted on Mar 1st 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Room77 is a search engine for hotel rooms with over 425,000 hotel rooms in 16 cites in the US and UK. The developer have built profiles of thousands of hotel rooms detailing information on the room location, bed types, size, proximity to the elevator plus...
Posted on Feb 28th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Are you struggling to work out how your Hotel's Twitter account will deliver bottom-line value? Ever wondered which hotels have mastered their Twitter strategy creating enormous value for their property? Why not learn from the most successful Hotel's best...
Posted on Feb 18th 2011 by eTourism
Earlier this week, the social networking giant also allowed marketers to advertise their stories or blogs on their page. This means that accommodation managers can easily manage their marketing strategies through these fan pages....
Posted on Feb 17th 2011 by eTourism
Hotels such as YOTEL can benefit from partial automation up to a fully automated service. This way hotles can adjust conditions to accommodate guests' individual preferences....
Posted on Feb 16th 2011 by eTourism
Website analytics tools can be used to spot potential growth, determine needed improvements for efficiency, draw attention to potential website problems, and point out what went wrong....
Posted on Feb 15th 2011 by eTourism
Now, hoteliers are fully aware of the benefits that the Internet can bring to their business. Well-informed of the far reaching importance of the web, they are motivated to create more awareness of their industry, on top of getting more bookings online....
Posted on Feb 10th 2011 by eTourism
RSS (or "Really Simple Syndication") simplifies importing information from portals, weblogs and news sites. It also simplifies the way you stay informed and helps you take control of overloaded email in-boxes....
Posted on Feb 5th 2011 by eTourism
In today's highly competitive resort industry, any add-on in sales or service you have over your competitors can make the difference. A standout feature for an accommodations' website is to have the ability to chat with a live person through a website - v...
Posted on Feb 4th 2011 by eTourism
You can create the most personal and influential marketing message but it won't help your hotel if it never reaches your customer. The best thing about mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and feature phones is that they are linked to a particular...
Posted on Feb 3rd 2011 by eTourism
In this digital age it's important that hoteliers respond to the new needs of guests and offer them the convenience to select and reserve a room, access and change bookings and view hotel photos and information while away from their computers....
Posted on Jan 31st 2011 by eTourism
So if you have Facebook fans who aren't Twitter users, you can post your resorts' updates on your Facebook wall for your fans to see. When you do this, you can automatically post your Twitter updates straight to your Facebook wall....
Posted on Jan 30th 2011 by eTourism
The online community is very powerful that it can drive change - both for the better and for the worse. When your online network grows and your relationships with them expand, they turn into loyal brand advocates and guardians....
Posted on Jan 29th 2011 by eTourism
So how do these resort managers make the most out of Facebook Fan pages? Resort owners who advertise their business online can learn a lot from 7 easy steps that website owners should know...
Posted on Jan 28th 2011 by eTourism
One common question that many resort managers share is how to evaluate their SEO effectiveness. To date, it can be difficult to gauge if your SEO is performing or not, let alone, fully grasp the requirements of an effective online advertising strategy....
Posted on Jan 25th 2011 by eTourism
The seven truths of email - the most powerful tool for marketing, branding, direct response, and building customer relationships - can be used to evaluate your tools and resources. Electronic mail (e-mail) provides the hospitality industry a flexible and...
Posted on Jan 13th 2011 by Bryan Marsh
Without a steady stream of traffic to your blog, there's little opportunity to engage your audience and convert readers to raving fans. So it might just be one of the biggest questions of all time: How can my resort's website get more traffic?...
Posted on Nov 24th 2010 by eTourism
Marketing experts always emphasise the need to regularly create fresh and original content that it's easy to overlook the potential of previously published or posted content....
Posted on Nov 24th 2010 by eTourism
Email marketing has always been an effective way to reach out to existing and prospective guests. It's organic, as these people voluntarily signed up to receive your news and updates. So how do you grow the number of people who have given you permission...
Posted on Nov 24th 2010 by eTourism
Incentives are a great way to keep loyal clients as well as acquire new ones. You can reward your former and prospective guests in different channels such as social media sites or on your direct website using eTourism Online's coupon code functionali...
Posted on Nov 22nd 2010 by eTourism
Are there important events at your resort that you just need to share with the world? Perhaps your resort is sponsoring a fashion show or want to show your prospective guests how close your resort is from the beach, then Livestream for Facebook is the...
Posted on Nov 22nd 2010 by eTourism
It's been weeks since Google rolled out Instant Previews"a feature that allows users to preview the results right on the search engine results page by displaying a screenshot with the click of a magnifying glass....
Posted on Nov 11th 2010 by eTourism
Google pushes the boundaries in search even further by creating a speedier and more useful user experience with its new feature, Instant Previews...
Posted on Nov 10th 2010 by eTourism
Christmas holidays are coming up so it's time to brush up on your Internet marketing strategies if you want increased bookings before the year ends....
Posted on Nov 10th 2010 by eTourism
Time and time again, online marketing experts stress the value of a well-optimised website and content. If you're struggling with SEO, here are 5 ways on how you can optimise better....
Posted on Nov 9th 2010 by eTourism
Twitter has allowed users in the U.S. to tweet their location via its Places feature for a while now, but recent developments show that Places may be taking it a step further by letting businesses "claim" a location or place....
Posted on Nov 8th 2010 by eTourism
In the Facebook press conference last Thursday, the social networking site announced that it is making updates to its mobile apps " specifically when it comes to Facebook Places....
Posted on Nov 4th 2010 by eTourism
Google Places, formerly known as Google Maps or Google Local is Google's new way of giving more localised results....
Posted on Nov 4th 2010 by eTourism
Social media has proven to be a great tool for resorts to reach out to a wider audience online. But not surprisingly, this marketing tool also has its way of extending its reach offline....
Posted on Nov 3rd 2010 by eTourism
After Promoted Accounts last month, Twitter will now be expanding its ad platform to the individual streams of its users with Promoted Tweets....
Posted on Nov 3rd 2010 by eTourism
In the time of Twitter, Facebook and Web 2.0, most people see publishing a newsletter as an old-fashioned, inefficient way to communicate with their desired audience. But the more savvy resort marketers realise that the benefits of a well-written, attract...
Posted on Oct 29th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
If there is such a thing as the Holy Grail of the resort industry, it should be customer service. After all the effort that's put into the advertising and promotion about a resorts scenic views and top notch amenities, it is actually great customer serv...
Posted on Oct 28th 2010 by eTourism
No matter how unfamiliar you are with Twitter, we will guide you on how to create your first account in less than 10 minutes....
Posted on Oct 27th 2010 by eTourism
ReTweets expand you reach as an individual or company and can contribute additional website traffic, subscribers and customers....
Posted on Oct 26th 2010 by eTourism
For most people, it's not only about being able to say that "I stayed in Hotel So and So." Nowadays, it just feels better for people on their holidays to say, "I stayed in Hotel So and So for only $XX a night!"...
Posted on Oct 25th 2010 by eTourism
Facebook Places may still be new in Australia but it's no reason for your resort not to begin taking advantage of its potentials....
Posted on Oct 22nd 2010 by eTourism
With a business page, you can create advertisements that appear on targeted Facebook pages and allow you to reach a wider audience. With just an email address, you can quickly set up and customise your own business account on Facebook....
Posted on Oct 21st 2010 by eTourism
Google TV has finally unveiled it's first set top box to the public. You can now watch streaming movies, live webcasts, or just about any online content on your very own TV screen....
Posted on Oct 21st 2010 by eTourism
Twitter is not just a social networking device for consumers; it has proven to be a highly successful tool for resorts....
Posted on Oct 20th 2010 by eTourism
For most people who are new to Twitter, it takes a little time to finally understand which Twitter behavior will get you followers and which ones prompt people to "Unfollow"....
Posted on Oct 18th 2010 by eTourism
Microsoft and Facebook recently announced a new partnership that brings "Like" data and profile search to Bing....
Posted on Oct 11th 2010 by eTourism
Recent trends prove that having a good online marketing strategy may well have its advantages when it comes to acquiring resort bookings....
Posted on Oct 6th 2010 by eTourism
If you're not generating enough leads and conversions, your CTA might actually be the problem. So how do you know if your CTAs may actually need a little makeover?...
Posted on Oct 5th 2010 by eTourism
Twitter officially rolls out today this new feature that allows advertisers to pay to boost their audience on Twitter by including promoted accounts on the "suggestions for you" feature on Twitter.com....
Posted on Oct 5th 2010 by eTourism
Your resort's Facebook Fan page may have thousands of fans and a handful or wall comments everyday. But does this mean your Page is truly effective?...
Posted on Oct 1st 2010 by eTourism
Gone are the days that Facebook interaction meant just occasional comment exchange on photo albums, notes and status updates. People now get to share links of articles they liked from other sites or photos they find interesting through Facebook and Twi...
Posted on Sep 30th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Social media is fast becoming an essential part of the marketing mix for different brands. Resorts are now integrating social networking sites into their marketing campaigns; be it to promote their product, monitor conversations about their product, dete...
Posted on Sep 30th 2010 by eTourism
Last week, we blogged that Facebook Places is nearing its official roll out in Australia. Well, today we are very excited to announce that it's finally here!...
Posted on Sep 27th 2010 by eTourism
For Foursquare, it's out with the old and in with the new. Just last week, the social networking site introduced their new and improved version with Foursquare 2.0. Don't worry, this change can be beneficial for your resort....
Posted on Sep 23rd 2010 by eTourism
It always feels good to have a happy guest. It means that you have lived up to your guests' expectations. As a resort manager, you can turn these happy guests into your resort's very own online cheerleaders....
Posted on Sep 22nd 2010 by eTourism
A few weeks back, Facebook unveiled its new geolocation feature, Places"where users can check in at a particular place to share with friends. It was initially available in the United States but was recently launched in the United Kingdom and Japan....
Posted on Sep 20th 2010 by eTourism
Facebook and Microsoft are currently in talks of expanding the search ties the two have been sharing for many years. Sources say that these talks include the possibility for Microsoft's Bing search service to find data from consumer usage of the social n...
Posted on Sep 20th 2010 by eTourism
Every minute, people all over the world upload a total of 20 hours of videos in different channels such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc. As a resort manager you need to ask yourself "How are we keeping up with the growing popularity of videos"?...
Posted on Sep 17th 2010 by eTourism
Have you claimed your resort on Foursquare yet? Recently, Foursquare became more business-friendly after they created a step by step process to allow business owners to claim their venue on Foursquare....
Posted on Sep 17th 2010 by eTourism
Aside from being a great resort, how else can you get more fans on Facebook? If you are running out of ideas, don't worry. We have just the 4 fan acquisition strategies to help your resort's Facebook page gain more fans....
Posted on Sep 16th 2010 by eTourism
Last week, Google unveiled Instant"a new search interface that provides real-time suggested results as keywords are entered into the Google search box. But the main question is: how will this change affect your resort? Will Google Instant "Kill SEO" o...
Posted on Sep 9th 2010 by eTourism
Today, search giant Google introduced a new version of its search engine interface"Google Instant. This new interface provides real-time suggested results as keywords are entered into Google....
Posted on Sep 9th 2010 by eTourism
Nothing confirms how truly phenomenal your resort's services are than people raving about their experience with it through their social networking sites such as Twitter....
Posted on Sep 8th 2010 by eTourism
Keeping a resort blog is a lot more work than most people might initially think. But after a while of blogging and not receiving comments you begin to think, don't they like my blog?...
Posted on Sep 7th 2010 by eTourism
How different is your database from the rest? Like others, yours contain thousands of contact details of past, current and potential guests of your resort"all gathered by you to help build a strong relationship with them through occasional newsletters an...
Posted on Sep 6th 2010 by eTourism
Answering and acknowledging frustrated clients or interested prospects are just not enough anymore when it comes to social media marketing. We have discussed previously on how to deal with Twitter complaints but what if what you have in your hands are ju...
Posted on Sep 1st 2010 by eTourism
If you're running a resort, making new friends is a must to getting new clients. And there's no better place to begin than through the Internet....
Posted on Aug 31st 2010 by eTourism
Every resort has experienced getting small complaints from their guests one time or another, be it because they don't like the scent of the free soap or that the concierge wasn't very helpful. They are usually issues that are easy to address but when they...
Posted on Aug 31st 2010 by eTourism
While posting Facebook status updates is a great way to engage with your resort clients, there are some ways to kick them up a notch to expand your promotional potential"by using tags. The feature was overlooked by many people who aren't staying up-to-dat...
Posted on Aug 30th 2010 by eTourism
Decades ago, hotels had to worry about building a brand, providing a good product with excellent customer service, and maintaining a good reputation within their community. It still holds true today"the only difference is that Internet advanc...
Posted on Aug 30th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
You signed up for Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social networking sites for one main reason: to grow your client base. But did you know that using social media also helps your professional networking in more ways than one?...
Posted on Aug 26th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Yahoo! Search Products announced this week that Bing will now officially power Yahoo's organic search results in USA and Canada, more specifically their web, image and video search. However, they have yet to announce its official roll out in Australia,...
Posted on Aug 26th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Social media can be easily measured with various indicators like share of voice, reach, retweets, and comments. But measuring without a clear objective in mind won't bring you closer to success....
Posted on Aug 25th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Hotel marketers already know that content is king, queen and prime minister that's why they have been employing SEO strategies to improve their search performance in search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. But they should also take note that c...
Posted on Aug 24th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
To date, there are about 1.8 billion internet users all over the world. They could all be your potential customers. How do you reach them?...
Posted on Aug 24th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
After setting up your hotel's dynamic, content-managed website, what's next? Well, you have to test if it works--by saying "it works" doesn't mean it's live and people can actually go to the website....
Posted on Aug 23rd 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Landing pages have become a standard marketing practice for anyone attempting to increase conversion. But to be effective, there's a bit of art and science to what makes a landing page work, so testing and tweaking will always be required....
Posted on Aug 20th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Facebook recently unveiled "Places", their much-awaited geolocation feature. How is it different from other location-based services such as Foursquare?...
Posted on Aug 19th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Most hotels and apartments post photos of products and services on their pages to keep the customers updated. To date, there are many popular tools that you can use when uploading their photos. It all depends on what you are comfortable in using....
Posted on Aug 17th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
While a lot of hotels or apartments sign up on Facebook and Twitter to broadcast their latest service offerings, they forget that to create a strong following, they must first learn how to listen....
Posted on Aug 16th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Not getting the desired number of leads from your hotel's e-newsletter? Chances are, your e-newsletters share the same problem as most: readers don't find it interesting....
Posted on Aug 13th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
From travel itineraries to personal stories or even fun hotel trivia, hotel operators can repurpose their content into something that their prospective guests can access even while on the road....
Posted on Aug 12th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Even in the rise of social networking sites, email remains a critical channel to embrace for B2B marketing success for any hotel, apartment or resort. However, it's a channel that's poorly treated due to our excitement at the extreme ROI potential of soc...
Posted on Aug 11th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
You learned recently that a lot of hotel marketing is happening online. And being a dynamic hotel operator, you signed up for the most popular social networking sites and/or blogs right away. But these are not the only channels you can use to promote yo...
Posted on Aug 6th 2010 by Bryan Marsh
Running a resort and an online life can be a daunting task for those unprepared. Planners and pocket calendars may have left us decades ago, but the concept of organising your schedule is still very much applicable to today's digital society....