Finding content out of date, or not ready to be posted, is one of the most common issues we come across in terms of hoteliers being ready for what is to come. This is not unexpected, many hotel operators are busy dealing with guests, property issues, and a myriad of other urgent issues.
Unfortunately, this means the important things that are not urgent, get pushed to the side. If you don’t already know about the Eisenhower’s Decision Matrix by name, you surely have seen it in books like “Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People.” More or less, the point of the matrix is we spend way too much time in Quadrant #1 or Quadrant #3, and not nearly enough time in Quadrant #2.
Today’s podcast is all about setting up your website’s content to be ready to go in advance and completely live in Quadrant #2, important but not urgent. We are going to cover five content areas that can be planned in advance, created, and then executed when the time comes… no urgency needed.
We could do an entire podcast on the Eisenhower Decision Matrix, and probably will, but for now, let’s talk content.
&nbsp;
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/684050429&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
SHOW NOTES:<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-7413 alignright" src="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Fuel-Eisenhower-Decision-Matrix-245x300.jpg" alt="Eisenhower Decision Matrix (Urgent vs. Important)" width="245" height="300" srcset="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Fuel-Eisenhower-Decision-Matrix-245x300.jpg 245w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Fuel-Eisenhower-Decision-Matrix-768x939.jpg 768w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Fuel-Eisenhower-Decision-Matrix-838x1024.jpg 838w, https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Fuel-Eisenhower-Decision-Matrix.jpg 900w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 245px) 100vw, 245px" />
<h3>#1 Offers &amp; Promotions</h3>
Offers and promotions are what inevitably drive hotel traffic and bookings.  A property has to stand on its own value, but it is the limited time offers that drive the urgency to actually book.  Unfortunately far too many properties treat offers as a last second grasp to fill holes in occupancy.
The proper way to manage offers, and promotions for those offers, is to create a rolling annual calendar that your entire team works toward.  This will help you:
<ul>
<li>Create a playbook for email, social, paid search, display and print/mail promotions</li>
<li>Proactively address known occupancy issues</li>
<li>Build the opportunity to better yield your rate by driving earlier bookings</li>
<li>Better promote value in your property and avoid trying to constantly reword your standard 30% off offer</li>
<li>Prepare for the need for a last minute promotion to push a soft area by having your messaging, creative, and plan in place</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h3>#2 Articles &amp; News</h3>
Every year we hear of properties who forgot Valentine’s Day is in February or kids go back to School in late August.  These are all fantastic areas to write about to build the breadth of content on your site, as well as drive email newsletter promotions.  Unfortunately by not planning in advance you get stuck in the dreaded Quadrant #1 and are put in a tight deadline to just create content versus taking the time in advance to create great content.
Before you are behind the curve building content sit down with your search team, content team, managers… and a calendar.  Lay out what is going to be written and when. This becomes even more powerful when you incorporate your promotional roll outs with great 10x content.  Learn more about great content by listening to episode 20, <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-20-how-to-easily-create-amazing-content/">How to Easily Create Amazing Content</a>.
&nbsp;
<h3>#3 Property &amp; Room </h3>
Your potential guests want to see what they’re getting when they book at your property.  This means great photography of the hotel/resort, amenities, and rooms. This also means very descriptive and detailed content.  It is common to have a property schedule a photo shoot and then just go through the site and drop in new photos. This rarely works as well as carefully planning the photos and text you need and specifically tailoring your content creation plans to meet those goals.
2019 is already coming to a close, and now is a perfect time to review your site (on mobile first) and make a list of how you can improve your property and room appearances online in 2020.  If you need some ideas on how to get started, check out these <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/hotel-photography-the-asset-you-arent-assessing/">five steps to creating great hotel photography</a>.
One more aspect of your property and room information is the incredibly valuable Frequently Asked Questions section.  Don’t have one yet&#8230; make one. Have one… make it better. Guests, and search engines, love the easily searchable content and it’s an easy way to address a guest’s concerns and drive them through the booking cycle.
&nbsp;
<h3>#4 Area Information</h3>
If you are not currently showing area information on your hotel’s site, you are very likely missing out on both a great way to help your guests as well as valuable traffic.  If you already have an area information section on your site, good for you.
Once you have a great area information section built, don’t forget about it.  Spend some time every few months adding new attractions and noting which ones have closed.
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-97-8-great-ways-gain-bookings-destination-information/">You can learn more about how to make a great area information on episode 97 of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast</a>.
&nbsp;
<h3>#5 Secondary Content</h3>
Not every page on your site is weighted evenly.  Your privacy policy, disclaimers, about us, and other pages don’t get a lot of traffic.  But the traffic they do get can often be incredibly important. These pages definitely fall within Quadrant #2, important but not urgent.  Focus on making the most of these pages to prevent trouble down the road.
<ul>
<li>Privacy Policy</li>
<li><a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-82-hotels-need-know-gdpr-late/">GDPR/Data Usage</a></li>
<li>ADA Information</li>
<li>Cancellation Policy</li>
<li>About Us/Resort Policies</li>
<li>Emergency Response Pages</li>
</ul>
========================
<h2>In The Newsaroos:     </h2>
<ul>
<li>Fuel app expands mobile access options 
<a href="https://www.hotelmanagement.net/tech/fuel-app-expands-mobile-access-options" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.hotelmanagement.net/tech/fuel-app-expands-mobile-access-options</a></li>
</ul>
========================
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 122 – Hotel Marketing 101: Proactive Website Content Updates That Make Sense

If you’re a hotel marketer, chances are that you spend some of your budget on advertising. Typically, those efforts are deployed in an attempt to drive demand for your property or to harvest the intend that already exists from a person who is looking to take a trip. Most hotel marketers do the basics right. They set up different campaigns and target a defined audience with a specific message. Most people, however, aren’t taking advantage of all of the potential target segments that exist in today’s marketing toolkit. In this episode, we dig into 15 different ways to target your audience and discuss the fact that layering these segments into more granular groups of people is the best way to maximize your ROI.
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a>
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SHOW NOTES:
This episode is based on a blog post: <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/top-ways-to-refine-your-ad-targeting/">Top 15 Ways to Refine Your Ad Targeting </a>
Demographic Targeting
<ol>
<li>Geotargeting
<ul>
<li>Use your data to find areas that send the most traffic to your website as well as areas that actually convert best.
<ul>
<li>Targeting your most popular areas separately allows you to see which areas are truly the top performers</li>
<li>It also allows you to spread the budget out. You may have one area that drives a lot of traffic but doesn&#8217;t convert. That could be blowing your budget.</li>
<li>You can refine this by targeting people who are in the area, or people who have shown interest in the area</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Geo-target to drive markets
<ul>
<li>Allows you to create ad copy specific to an area</li>
<li>Allows you to promote deals for weekend trips</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Geo-target a radius around your property
<ul>
<li>Allows you to run a “hotels near me” campaign</li>
<li>Allows you to promote last-minute specials</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Age/Generation
<ul>
<li>Example: If you’re targeting an older demographic with an AARP special or a senior discount, or a younger demographic with Spring Break specials, you can essentially only target that age range by adding negative bid adjustments to age ranges that do not apply. In Facebook, you can simply select your target age range or an entire generation</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Gender
<ul>
<li>Example: You run a Girl’s Getaway Special targeted toward women. You add a negative bid adjustment for Males so you are more likely to only show your ads to women. In Facebook, you can simply select your target gender</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Income
<ul>
<li>Example: A luxury property may want to test a campaign where they add negative bid adjustments for all household incomes that are not the top 10%-20%.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Parental Status
<ul>
<li>Facebook offers many different options to target people based on their parental status, specifically by the varying age of their children.</li>
<li>Example: You have a family-friendly beach resort, you can display an ad to “Parents with Preschoolers” showing Parents with Preschool age children in you image and promote the family-friendly features of your resort.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Life Events
<ul>
<li>Both Google and Facebook offer “Life Event” targeting for things like “graduation college, getting married/newly engaged, moving soon, etc”</li>
<li>Example: If your hotel hosts weddings or if you set up a honeymoon package and promote it specifically to people who have been identified as “getting married”</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Languages
<ul>
<li>If you have a hotel that regularly has guests from other countries this will certainly apply to you.</li>
<li>We’ve had U.S.-based clients that receive tons of business from Mexico and from Brazil.
<ul>
<li>We’ve been able to run ads to both Spanish speakers and Portuguese speakers, paired with location targeting and using those languages in our ad copy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Political Affiliation
<ul>
<li>Facebook allows you to target based on political affiliation.</li>
<li>Example: If you have a convention, rally, or other political event happening near your hotel you could promote your hotel to that political party’s followers by showing how close you are to the event</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Racial Affinity
<ul>
<li>It’s possible, we just don’t use it</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
Behavioral Targeting
<ol>
<li>Interests
<ul>
<li>There is a vast amount of interest-based targeting options. Facebook interest-based targeting seems a bit more robust than PPC platforms, but all have some form of interest-based targeting.</li>
<li>One that applies to almost all hoteliers would be In-Market Audiences for Travel or “Trip Consideration” in Facebook. If your area is available to target, we highly recommend testing this type of targeting. One we use often with our Myrtle Beach clients is “Trips To Myrtle Beach &amp; Grand Strand”.
<ul>
<li>Google has identified people who are in the market for a trip to this area and we are much more likely to target those people either by using bid adjustments or creating clone campaigns and using exclusions on original campaigns.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Another that we come across often is Fitness &amp; Wellness.
<ul>
<li>Example: There is a marathon happening in your area that people travel for. You can promote to runners to stay at your hotel. Maybe even offer a discount to those showing they are participating
<ul>
<li>Side note: you may also want to partner with the race and get links back to your website</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Placements
<ul>
<li>Placements allow you to show a display ad on a specific website, YouTube channel or mobile app.</li>
<li>Not all sites/channels/apps allow display ads, but if you can find one that aligns closely with your typical guest’s interests, it may be well worth testing.</li>
<li>Example: If a local tourism site has a YouTube channel/app/website that allows display ads through Google you could promote your hotel through that.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Time Of Day
<ul>
<li>Time of day targeting allows you show your ads during specific days of the week and/or specific times of day.</li>
<li>This works well if you have data showing that the majority of your bookings come on a certain day of the week or a certain time of day. This can be very effective for hotels with limited marketing budgets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Website Visitor Lists
<ul>
<li>Visitors of any page of your site
<ul>
<li>Those who are familiar with your brand</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Visitors of specific pages on your site
<ul>
<li>They have made it to a specific room page</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Converters List
<ul>
<li>You may not be able to capture this information if you visitor leaves your site to book, but you likely have email lists</li>
<li>With the Fuel Booking engine, you can easily create a converters list because the user never leaves the site.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Use Case Example:
<ul>
<li>Create a list of people who have visited a specific room page, but do not fall on the converter list.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Similar To Audiences
<ul>
<li>Similar To Audiences are created by the advertising platforms</li>
<li>They look a the characteristics of people on your existing lists and create a list of new people who share those characteristics</li>
<li>Example: Create a “Similar To” list of your “All Converters” list</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Email List
<ul>
<li>You are able to upload email lists to both Google and Facebook</li>
<li>If you can segment your email lists based on specific behaviors and/or demographics, you can create campaigns that target those people.</li>
<li>With the Fuel email platform, you can link your custom email segments with Google &amp; Facebook and the system will dynamically keep the lists up to date.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
Layered Targeting
<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>While all of these targeting options can have great impact on their own, you can get much more granular when you start layering.</li>
<li>Including more than one of these lets you really begin to personalize ads and get closer to the 1 to 1 communication we strive for in marketing.</li>
<li>Example: You could run Facebook ads to people who are interested in college football, layered with college graduates, promoting an Alumni returning for football game package.
<ul>
<li>Layer on top of that a remarketing list for people who have visited that specific package page and show them display ads for the package with FOMO ad creative.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Exclusions are almost as important as inclusions.
<ul>
<li>You wouldn’t want to promote new deals/specials to people on your converters list. You risk the cancellation and re-book at a lower rate</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
A Caveat here is that cookie-based targeting can be inaccurate. If you want to see what your cookies are saying about you, visit &#8211; <a href="https://datacloudoptout.oracle.com/registry/">https://datacloudoptout.oracle.com/registry/</a>
&nbsp;
UPCOMING EVENTS
FOR SALES PROFESSIONALS
New in 2019, the<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http:%2F%2Fwww.mmsend2.com%2Flink.cfm%3Fr%3DOVvaae7T94SaI4Qy8wHpGQ~~%26pe%3DnJMObchqDnTnKRrEngxyDIkneOoRBAcn3YwyDBVQIrDvReNcv1s078xiPpMhM4f4YnK6PTIz3N9IIkljaBhYfw~~%26t%3DfsHvwWW5ZKxqPemzTs3a7w~~&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Cee6fd936905e4dd505da08d71f33f2ae%7Cac144e41800148f09e1c170716ed06b6%7C0%7C0%7C637012180290576649&amp;sdata=WosNzfc8Rc0wUm5Jf0HI4Cs%2B0uQWtS1PkMDKs0vBPB8%3D&amp;reserved=0"> HSMAI Sales Leader Forum</a> is a unique event that advances the hotel sales discipline by elevating the knowledge and skills of off-property sales leaders when it comes to important trends, critical insights, and best practices&#8230;and what it means for leading hotel sales teams in today&#8217;s landscape.
What: HSMAI Sales Leader Forum
Where: Westin Stonebriar Hotel &amp; Golf Club ? Frisco, Texas
When: November 5-6, 2019
Agenda Highlights
» Strategic conversations, tactical solutions sessions – all designed to build business acumen to elevate sales as a whole.
» Cindy Novotny: An icon in the hospitality industry, Cindy is the original founder of Master Connections Associates and is an internationally renowned leader in sales, leadership, and customer service. Cindy will emcee the day, and deliver a compelling and powerful keynote.
» Scott Edinger: Executive Advisor, Consultant, and Author of &#8220;The Hidden Leader: Discover and Develop Greatness Within Your Company,&#8221; will close the day with a thought-provoking and inspiring talk.
&nbsp;
FOR MARKETERS
Direct Booking Summit &#8211; Miami
22nd &#8211; 23rd October, 2019
<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/direct-booking-summit-miami-2019-tickets-52711367118?discount=VIP30">Discount for the TripTease Direct Booking Summit: </a>
========================
<h2>In The Newsaroos:     </h2>
<ul>
<li>Are TripAdvisor and Other Travel Companies Censoring Reviews? 
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/advice/2019/08/23/do-tripadvisor-and-travel-companies-censor-their-reviews/2084933001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/advice/2019/08/23/do-tripadvisor-and-travel-companies-censor-their-reviews/2084933001/</a> (side note: I use an ad-blocker and had to unblock to read the article.  USA Today had 83 ads blocked)</li>
</ul>
========================
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 121 – 15 Simple Ways To Refine Your Hotel Ad Targeting

What&#8217;s all the fuss about Millennials and Generation Z? Are they really going to cause the death of life as we know it? Should we be spending our time developing a marketing strategy that specifically targets these increasingly influential enigmas? We tackle all of these tough topics and more in this week&#8217;s episode fo the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast.
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/672208571&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
SHOW NOTES:
Generation Breakdown
<table border="1" width="80%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Generation Name</td>
<td>
Start
</td>
<td>
End
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">Youngest</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">Oldest </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The Lost Generation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1890</td>
<td>
1915
</td>
<td>
104
</td>
<td>
129
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The Interbellum Generation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1901</td>
<td>
1913
</td>
<td>
106
</td>
<td>
118
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The Greatest Generation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1910</td>
<td>
1924
</td>
<td>
95
</td>
<td>
109
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The Silent Generation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1925</td>
<td>
1945
</td>
<td>
74
</td>
<td>
94
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Baby Boomer Generation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1946</td>
<td>
1964
</td>
<td>
55
</td>
<td>
73
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Generation X 
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1965</td>
<td>
1979
</td>
<td>
40
</td>
<td>
54
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Xennials</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1975</td>
<td>
1985
</td>
<td>
34
</td>
<td>
44
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Millennials/Gen Y 
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1980</td>
<td>
1994
</td>
<td>
25
</td>
<td>
39
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gen Z</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1995</td>
<td>
2012
</td>
<td>    7</td>
<td>
24
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gen Alpha</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2013</td>
<td>
2025
</td>
<td>
1
</td>
<td>
6
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Are Millennials and Generation Z really that different than younger people in the past? We don&#8217;t think that they are. 

This article from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20171003-proof-that-people-have-always-complained-about-young-adults">Worklife</a> illustrates that the younger generations always get the blame for the downfall in society. Here are some of the best comparisons.
They are entitled
“The prevailing narrative about members of Generation Y… is that they are a fleet of job-hoppers who think they&#8217;re above the grunt work of an entry-level position; in other words, not the most desirable employees.” 
<a href="http://www.independent.ie/business/jobs/the-40hour-weeks-i-think-its-slowly-killing-you-research-associate-who-quit-office-to-cycle-around-dublin-36133509.html">‘The 40-hour weeks… I think it’s slowly killing you’</a>, Irish Independent, 2017
“The traditional yearning for a benevolent employer who can provide a job for life also seems to be on the wane… In particular, they want to avoid ‘low-level jobs that aren’t keeping them intellectually challenged.’” 
Meet Generation X, Financial Times, 1995
They are terrible at spelling and grammar:
“Is it just me, or are student competencies like basic writing skills in serious peril today?… Teachers have been reporting anecdotally that even compared to five years ago, many are seeing declines in vocabulary, grammar, writing, and analysis.” 
Why Can’t College Students Write Anymore?, Psychology Today, 2014
“The Chairman alluding to the problem of young people and their English said his experience was that many did not seem able to express or convey to other people what they meant. They could not put their meaning into words, and found the same difficulty when it came to writing.” 
Unable to Express Thoughts: Failing of Modern Young People, Gloucester Citizen, 1936
They reject history and tradition
“They are the most threatening and exciting generation since the baby boomers brought about social revolution, not because they&#8217;re trying to take over the Establishment but because they&#8217;re growing up without one.” 
<a href="http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2143001,00.html">Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation</a>, Time, 2013
“Probably there is no period in history in which young people have given such emphatic utterance to a tendency to reject that which is old and to wish for that which is new.” 
<a href="http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000290/19361006/169/0009">Young People Drinking More</a>, Portsmouth Evening News, 1936
They are overconfident.
“Many of the millennials in today&#8217;s workforce have more confidence than they do competence.” 
<a href="http://www.independent.ie/life/millennials-their-overconfidence-at-work-can-look-delusional-36133512.html">Millennials: ‘Their overconfidence at work can look delusional’</a>, Irish Independent, 2017
“[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances.” 
<a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.2.ii.html">Rhetoric</a>, Aristotle, 4th Century BC
They think they know best…
“My huge generalities touch on… their insistence that they are right despite the overwhelming proof that suggests they are not…” 
Bret Easton Ellis in<a href="http://www.vanityfair.fr/culture/livre/articles/generation-wuss-by-bret-easton-ellis/15837"> ‘Generation Wuss’</a>, Vanity Fair, 2014
“They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.” 
<a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.2.ii.html">Rhetoric</a>, Aristotle, 4th Century BCE
5 Strategies for targeting Generation Z
<a href="https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/08/21/marketing-to-generation-z">https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/08/21/marketing-to-generation-z</a>
<h2>1. Sell experiences, not products</h2>
<h2>2. Video, video, video</h2>
<h2>3. Rethink that major influencer campaign</h2>
<h2>4. Engage with customers</h2>
<h2>5. Highlight your dedication to privacy</h2>
UPCOMING EVENTS
FOR SALES PROFESSIONALS
New in 2019, the<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http:%2F%2Fwww.mmsend2.com%2Flink.cfm%3Fr%3DOVvaae7T94SaI4Qy8wHpGQ~~%26pe%3DnJMObchqDnTnKRrEngxyDIkneOoRBAcn3YwyDBVQIrDvReNcv1s078xiPpMhM4f4YnK6PTIz3N9IIkljaBhYfw~~%26t%3DfsHvwWW5ZKxqPemzTs3a7w~~&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Cee6fd936905e4dd505da08d71f33f2ae%7Cac144e41800148f09e1c170716ed06b6%7C0%7C0%7C637012180290576649&amp;sdata=WosNzfc8Rc0wUm5Jf0HI4Cs%2B0uQWtS1PkMDKs0vBPB8%3D&amp;reserved=0"> HSMAI Sales Leader Forum</a> is a unique event that advances the hotel sales discipline by elevating the knowledge and skills of off-property sales leaders when it comes to important trends, critical insights, and best practices&#8230;and what it means for leading hotel sales teams in today&#8217;s landscape.
What: HSMAI Sales Leader Forum
Where: Westin Stonebriar Hotel &amp; Golf Club ? Frisco, Texas
When: November 5-6, 2019
Agenda Highlights
» Strategic conversations, tactical solutions sessions – all designed to build business acumen to elevate sales as a whole.
» Cindy Novotny: An icon in the hospitality industry, Cindy is the original founder of Master Connections Associates and is an internationally renowned leader in sales, leadership, and customer service. Cindy will emcee the day, and deliver a compelling and powerful keynote.
» Scott Edinger: Executive Advisor, Consultant, and Author of &#8220;The Hidden Leader: Discover and Develop Greatness Within Your Company,&#8221; will close the day with a thought-provoking and inspiring talk.
FOR MARKETERS
Direct Booking Summit &#8211; Miami
22nd &#8211; 23rd October, 2019
<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/direct-booking-summit-miami-2019-tickets-52711367118?discount=VIP30">Discount for the TripTease Direct Booking Summit: </a>
========================
<h2>In The Newsaroos:     </h2>
<ul>
<li>Google My Business Adds “Hotel attributes” section 
<a href="https://support.google.com/business/answer/9177958" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://support.google.com/business/answer/9177958</a></li>
<li>Airbnb Beat Expedia in Booked Room Nights 
<a href="https://skift.com/2019/08/22/airbnb-beat-expedia-in-booked-room-nights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skift.com/2019/08/22/airbnb-beat-expedia-in-booked-room-nights/</a></li>
</ul>
========================
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 120 – Should Your Hotel Be Marketing To Generation Z and Millennials?

Effective communication is one of the keys to building a strong relationship with your guests. If you do it correctly, you can build customer loyalty, improve the guest experience, and drive more revenue. In this episode, the Fueligans break down a recent blog article that discusses 15 triggered messages that you should be sending to your guests
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/663991637&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
SHOW NOTES:
Follow long at home with the original article:
 <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/15-triggered-messages-your-hotel-should-be-sending-to-your-guests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">15 Triggered Messages Your Hotel Should Be Sending To Your Guests</a>
Here are the pro tips we teased you with in the show:
Pro-Tips
<ul>
<li>Make the messages as personalized and human as possible. It’s easy for messages to come across as sterile and generic. Try to use the guest’s name in correspondents as much as possible and also try to put the personality of the staff in the messages by showing photos of real employees and writing content with a conversational tone.</li>
<li>One size does not fit all. Always consider the source of the booking and create variants of each triggered message where it makes sense. For example, someone who books through an OTA should receive a different message than someone who books directly from your own website. Also, consider the length of stay and how far in advance the booking was made because these should both impact the timing and frequency of the messages you send to an individual.</li>
<li>Consider the method of communication based on the guest’s preference and the context. For example, an SMS message may be preferable and more effective while the guest is on property. Just be sure to ask permission and set expectations in advance.</li>
<li>To be successful, you must always remember to operate with the guest’s best interest in mind. When you lose sight of that and start sending messages that benefit you at the expense of the guest, it will all fall apart.</li>
<li>Be sure to remove folks from your generic emails when they are actively engaged in a personalized/triggered campaign. You want every message to be deliberate and focused on moving the relationship forward. Why confuse things by sending them a special when they’ve already booked?</li>
<li>The benefit of automated messages is that, once set up, they reduce the workload of your marketing team. However, this comes with the risk of triggered messages breaking at some point in the future. Be sure to have someone go through and test these messages on a frequent basis to ensure that the triggers are working, that the content isn’t out of date, and that the guest is receiving the best possible experience.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Need Help?
If you want to get started implementing these effective message triggers but don’t know where to begin, reach out to a Fueligan. Not only do we have the most advanced, <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/ai-powered-crm/">hotel AI-Powered CRM </a>software available, but we also offer managed email marketing services that can help take your email campaigns to the next level. <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/contact/">Contact us here</a>.
&nbsp;
WANT MORE EPISODES?
Below is a list of some of the most popular topics: 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-80-hotel-booking-data-reveals-surprising-consumer-mobile-behavior/">80 &#8211; Hotel Booking Data Reveals Surprising Consumer Mobile Behavior</a> 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-103-6-hotel-website-audits-that-will-save-you-from-losing-money/">103 &#8211; 6 Hotel Website Audits That Will Save You From Losing Money</a> 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-106-top-10-ways-to-reach-new-hotel-guests/">106 &#8211; Top 10 Ways To Reach New Hotel Guests</a> 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-111-the-10-commandments-of-hotel-marketing/">111 &#8211; The 10 Commandments of Hotel Marketing </a> 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-115-top-10-ways-to-drive-direct-bookings-before-otas-put-you-out-of-business/"> 115 &#8211; Top 10 Ways To Drive Direct Bookings Before OTAs Put You Out Of Business</a> 
<a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-116-youll-be-shocked-by-these-insights-from-the-2019-leisure-travel-study/">116 &#8211; You&#8217;ll Be Shocked By These Insights From The 2019 Leisure Travel Study</a>
========================
<h2>In The Newsaroos:     </h2>
<ul>
<li>Review Counts Matter More Than Star Ratings 
<a href="https://searchengineland.com/review-counts-matter-more-to-local-business-revenue-than-star-ratings-according-to-study-320271" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/review-counts-matter-more-to-local-business-revenue-than-star-ratings-according-to-study-320271</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Over 200K businesses examined</li>
<li>“Businesses with more than the average number of reviews bring in 82% more in annual revenue than businesses with review counts below the average.”</li>
<li>Businesses with 3.5-4.5 star range average more revenue than those above or below (people are skeptical of 5 star and assume manipulation. Also 5 star tend to have fewer reviews)</li>
<li>Businesses claiming their listings on multiple sites earn 58% more revenue (GMB, Bing, Yelp, etc)</li>
<li>Businesses that respond to reviews average 35% more revenue</li>
</ul>
========================
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 119 – Dominate The Competition With These 15 Triggered Messages

This episode is based on a vertical trends report produced by Google as well as Revinate’s latest email marketing trends study.
Also see our notes on last year’s study: <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-98-takeaways-revinates-2018-global-hotel-email-marketing-report/">https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-98-takeaways-revinates-2018-global-hotel-email-marketing-report/</a>
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/657708953%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-Ec3dN&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
SHOW NOTES:
Google’s Vertical Trends
Google’s trend report is for Q1 of 2019 for hotel, motel and resort paid keywords.
&nbsp;
Devices:
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Overall, the number of search queries was down 1% compared to last year, with 60% of searches performed on a mobile phone.</li>
<li>Mobile queries have increased 15% YoY, and CTR increased 3% to 9.5%. Ad Depth is up 3% to 2.8 (why is this a red indicator??). CPC remained even, at $0.95</li>
<li>Desktop queries are down 19%, however CTR increased 8% to 8.1%. Ad Depth is up 46% to 2.4 (also red). CPC up 10% to $1.81</li>
<li>Tablet queries are down 8%, CTR increased 9% to 8.1%. Ad depth is down 3% to 3.2 (this is green). CPC up marginally, at 2% for $1.15</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Takeaway: Mobile traffic continues to increase, is well over the majority of traffic, has the highest CTR, and is currently cheaper CPC than other devices.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Seasonality:
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Q1 saw a slight dip in both queries and impressions vs. 2018, but was slightly above that of 2017</li>
<li>Clicks were higher than both 2017 and 2018, with traffic peaking in March</li>
<li>CPC steadily rose throughout the first quarter, passing over the CPC of 2018 in March. CPC remained below 2017 for all three months</li>
<li>CTR steadily rose throughout the quarter, and was above 2018 and 2017 for all three months</li>
<li>Ad Depth had a very slight decline from January to March. It was well above 2018 for all 3 months, but slightly below 2017</li>
<li>In the last 4 years, CPCs were in the range of $1.13-$1.26 and peaked in May.</li>
<li>Category searches have consistently peaked in July.</li>
<li>Google’s forecast for the next 2 months shows an expected high for queries during the week of 7/23 and high for CPC the week of 9/10 based on last year’s trends.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Takeaway: In spite of increased ad depth, CTR is up vs. last year, however, volume is down </li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Revinate’s 2019 Hotel Email Marketing Benchmark Report
&nbsp;
Why email?
<ul>
<li>Measureable</li>
<li>Personalized</li>
<li>Highest ROI (4X higher than other channels)</li>
<li>Millennials (will be 50% of world’s hotel guests, and lead the way in making purchasing decisions based on email)</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Segmentation:
<ul>
<li>Open rate of emails sent to &lt;5,000 recipients was 24% vs. 10% for &gt;50K</li>
<li>CTR was 3% vs. 1%</li>
<li>Conversion rate was 0.3% vs. 0.07%</li>
</ul>
Sample math:
Hotel sends 1 email to 50K people with 0.07% CR = 3,500 reservations
Hotel sends 10 segmented emails to 5K people each with a 0.37% CR = 18,500 reservations
Takeaway: Don’t be overly concerned with the vanity metric of open rate, but DO be aware of the engagement/conversion rate of these segmented send. Highly engaged subscribers due to segmentation can send positive signals to Gmail, etc. that will help keep your messages out of the spam folders.
&nbsp;
Automated Messages:
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Automated booking modification and confirmation emails had a 72% open rate and 26% CTR</li>
<li>Welcome emails had a 50% open rate and 16% CTR</li>
<li>Pre-arrival emails had a 61% open rate and 30% CTR</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>OTA win back messages had a 34% open rate, 7% CTR, and 0.59% CR</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Takeaway: Automation for confirmation, pre-arrival post-stays is a no-brainer. HOWEVER, these are not set it and forget it messages. They need to be audited, tested and updated as needed, especially pre-arrival messages that can be used to upsell and cross-sell based on inventory.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
When to Send:
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Study analyzed 32 million global reservations</li>
<li>30% of reservations were made 0-6 days out</li>
<li>Day of week: In the US and Canada, Monday had best conversion rate, but Fridays had the best open rate (with next to last place for CR).</li>
<li>Time of day: 6PM for US and Canada with 23% open rate and 0.42% CR</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Takeaway: Use your own data, and use <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/ai-powered-crm/">Fuel eCRM</a> to send to subscribers based on their individual habits.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Devices:
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>41% of emails opened on a phone</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>21 % via Webmail</li>
<li>18% desktop</li>
<li>11% tablet</li>
<li>10% other (what else is there??)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Takeaway: Do we even need to say anything about this?</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Find Revinate’s study here: <a href="https://www.revinate.com/benchmark/marketing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.revinate.com/benchmark/marketing/</a>
========================
<h2>In The Newsaroos:     </h2>
<ul>
<li>Microsoft Ads Rolls Out Experiments For A/B Testing 
<a href="https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-advertising-rolling-out-experiments-a-b-testing-tool-globally-319725" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-advertising-rolling-out-experiments-a-b-testing-tool-globally-319725</a></li>
<li>Google Short Names bug 
<a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-shortnames-bug-persists-despite-google-insisting-its-fixed-319900" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://searchengineland.com/google-shortnames-bug-persists-despite-google-insisting-its-fixed-319900</a></li>
</ul>
========================
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

If you tuned in to last week’s episode where we reviewed the 2019 Leisure Travel Study you’ll know we talked a lot about the ever-changing habits of our guests. However, not everything a guest does is constantly changing. In this episode, we look at a famous quote from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and discuss what it means for hotel marketers.
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: <a title="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/2019-leisure-travel-trends-study/" href="https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffueltravelstg.wpengine.com%2F2019-leisure-travel-trends-study%2F&amp;token=db645d-1-1562683814389" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/652061258&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
SHOW NOTES:
Full article can be found at <a href="https://admin.travelboommarketing.com/blog/jeff-bezos-secret-to-hotel-marketing-success/">fueltravel.com/blog/jeff-bezos-secret-to-hotel-marketing-success/</a>
Jeff Bezos’ famous quote on the success of Amazon is “The secret to that is to focus on the things that don’t change in your business.”  The example he specifically used was, “So people today want fast shipping. And they’re going to want faster and faster shipping in 10 years… so that’s going to matter today and tomorrow.”
<h3>1: Guests Will Continue To Follow The Path of Least Resistance</h3>
Your hotel guests are not necessarily lazy, but just like the rest of the world, they are going to take the easiest path to a decision (aka trip).  The good news is we humans have been this way for millennia and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.
<h3>2: Guest Will Always Want To Feel Like They Got A Fair Deal</h3>
Offer your guest the best deal going, always.  This is a non-negotiable rule in any service business.  You may not always have the best price (OTAs can be tricky), but your “deal” should always be the best.
<h3>3: Guests Will Continue To Tell Their Friends And Family About Their Vacation</h3>
We’re social creatures and we love to share good and exciting news with our friends.  While the means we share is always changing, the fact that we share does not. This means as hoteliers we need to make it easy on the guest (see #1) to share the story we want.
<h3>4: Guests Are Creatures Of Habit</h3>
People will always be creatures of habit and return to what they feel already works.  The great news is that means every guest at your property is very likely to return, all you need to do is not screw it up!
<h3>5: As A Hotelier, Your Job Is Always Going To Be To Serve Your Guest</h3>
Just like the hotelier that offered Mary and Joseph room in a barn a few thousand years ago, today’s hotel operator’s job is to serve the guest needs.  You will need to get creative, caring, attentive, and proactive in making sure your guests feel so welcome that they can’t help by want to stay and return for years to come.
========================
Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fueltravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@_travelboom</a> or info@travelboommarketing.com.

Hotel Marketing Podcast

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 122 – Hotel Marketing 101: Proactive Website Content Updates That Make Sense

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 122 – Hotel Marketing 101: Proactive Website Content Updates That Make Sense

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 121 – 15 Simple Ways To Refine Your Hotel Ad Targeting

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 121 – 15 Simple Ways To Refine Your Hotel Ad Targeting

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 120 – Should Your Hotel Be Marketing To Generation Z and Millennials?

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 120 – Should Your Hotel Be Marketing To Generation Z and Millennials?

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 119 – Dominate The Competition With These 15 Triggered Messages

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 119 – Dominate The Competition With These 15 Triggered Messages

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 117 – What Hotel Marketers Can Learn From Amazon’s Secret To Success

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 117 – What Hotel Marketers Can Learn From Amazon’s Secret To Success

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