Hotel Online Marketing

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Tripadvisor banned from claiming reviews are real - profits up
early February 2012

Following complaints that hoteliers had posted fake comments on Tripadvisor to boost their own properties or sabotage others, the UK Advertising Standards Authority found that it was possible for "non-genuine content" to appear on the travel review website.
According to the advertising watchdog, reviews can be posted on the website without any form of verification. Therefore, Tripadvisor was told "not to claim or imply that all the reviews that appeared on the website were from real travellers, or were honest, real or trusted".
The ruling came because Tripadvisor had advertised its services on the website, claiming that it contained "reviews you can trust" and are "honest" opinions from "real travelers" which was found to be misleading.
Tripadvisor's official statement reads: "We have confidence that the 50 million users who come to our site every month trust the reviews they read on Tripadvisor, which is why they keep coming back to us in increasingly larger numbers to plan and have the perfect trip... We know that our users approach Tripadvisor with common sense, and make an educated decision based on the opinions of many. If people did not feel the insight they gained from our site was an accurate reflection of their experience they wouldn't keep coming back...”
Indeed, Tripadvisor's revenue has gone up by 30% during its first quarter as a public company and after spinning off from Expedia. Revenues are generated from click and display-based advertising as well as from subscriptions.

Personalized search results become concern
early February 2012

In January 2012, Google announced that from 1st March, search results on Google.com will incorporate content from a user's Google+ network, highlighting links, photos and comments within search results. This has led to some concern, particularly about privacy.
As search and social media are becoming more interconnected, AYTM Market Research asked US internet users if they liked the idea of personalized search results. While 15.5% of the respondents said yes, 39.1% said yes, but that they were concerned with privacy at the same time. Almost half, i.e. 45.4% replied that they would prefer everyone to see the same search results.
According to AYTM, only 19.3% of respondents actively use Google+. An additional 20.3% have an account but do not use it and nearly 20% of respondents (19.5%) reported that they don't know what Google+ is. This leads to concerns that Google+ may not fully represent a user's social media life.
Twitter, especially disagrees with Google's plan to integrate Google+ content, while not including that of Twitter and Facebook. Twitter and Google previously had a relationship where Twitter content showed up in Google's real-time search results. However, the partnership was discontinued in July 2011.

Hotel Pic of the Week: The Beverly Hills Hotel Los Angeles

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:50:00 +0000

The Beverly Hills Hotel Los Angeles, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Dreaming of palm trees and sunshine in this icy European winter weather:

The Beverly Hills Hotel is a rather stunning hotel of the Dorchester collection and home to the rich and famous. - Right in Beverly Hills on Sunset Boulevard.

View more photos of The Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows on Flickr

SEO Tools : Software Review

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:17:00 +0000

Everyone looking for a little advice regarding which tools to use for search engine optimization (SEO) in order to to analyze and improve their search engine rankings should read on. There is plenty of tools on the market but only a few deliver what they promise.

Advanced Web Ranking is particularly search engine friendly.
Automated search requests can be penalized by search engines with a drop in rankings. Advanced Web Ranking however simulates manual search queries by pausing in between each search request. For search engines it is therefore indistinguishable from someone using a browser.
The software uses the following method: It queries a certain keyword, then the search engine returns a number of pages. Advanced Web Ranking downloads these pages and analyses them locally. These three steps are being repeated for each search query.

Advanced Web Ranking has been developed by Caphyon and is a comprehensive SEO software tool for web projects to boost website ranking. It has been re-written recently and improved.

The software still comes in 4 different editions: Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Server.
The Standard edition should be sufficient for hobby website publishers. Professionals who need to generate reports, print and email them to their clients, will at least need the Professional edition.

Advanced Web Ranking for Mac

Starting a new project is very easy. When opening the tool for the first time it asks for the domain name which is to be analyzed. In a second step, the keywords and keyword phrases need to be entered but they can also be imported from a website, CSV, WPG or XML file. Preferences with regards to which search engines are to be analyzed need to be set. Google will probably be the preferred search engine. However, Yahoo, Bing or other search engines should not be neglected, especially when working on projects targeting countries outside Europe. The tool offers 1000+ search engines to choose from when checking search results for different countries and languages, e.g. in google.co.uk rather than google.com. Depending on the number of keywords and domains and the internet connection, this step may sometimes take several hours. Once the update is complete, the results can be filtered and displayed in numerous layouts. For easy reading of reports, charts etc., domains and keyword phrases can be color-coded.

Summary of the main features of this SEO tool:

Search Engine Rankings
Easy and effective racking and analyzing of search engine rankings.

Google Analytics Integration
Advanced Web Ranking can now integrate analytics metrics from Google Analytics which helps measuring traffic and conversions for the keywords already in the projects. The advantage of this is that visitors and conversions data can be combined with the search engine rankings and link building information in one report.

Link Building
An important part of any SEO campaign is link building. Advanced Web Rankings has now integrated a link building module in order to have all SEO tasks in one place. With this module, comparing the link profile to that of competitors and discovering new linking opportunities becomes possible using the same tool.

Keyword Research Tool
The most important step when developing a search engine strategy is defining relevant keywords and keyword phrases. Whether keywords are relevant for a project needs to be analyzed and depends on search volume, search trends, niches etc. Therefore, the Keyword Research Tool is essential. This module helps finding additional keywords and keyword combinations, even if there is a pre-defined keyword list. For example, it uses data from Wordtracker, the Google Keyword Tool or Yahoo Search Marketing which is then imported.

Automated Reports, Backups and Updates
Essential for measuring SEO success. Creates reports which can be automatically sent to clients.

Data Privacy, Enhanced Security and Reliability
Stores all the data gathered from search engines on your local computer or server.

There is a 30-day trial version of Advanced Web Ranking which can be downloaded here: http://www.advancedwebranking.com/download.html

Advanced Link Manager

In order to identify backlinks to a website and keywords that have been used in the anchor text, Advanced Link Manager is another package sold be the same company.
With Advanced Link Manager backlinks can be found, tracked over time and visualized in charts. This is particularly useful when monitoring the success or failure of link-building campaigns. Link popularity of the backlinks can be analyzed and the development of a website's link popularity over time can be controlled. The tool also helps keeping track of paid links so that they aren't lost while still paying fees.
Link partners can be found and the quality of one or multiple domains of potential link partners can be checked in order to decide which domains are worth getting links from.
As with Advanced Web Ranking, comprehensive reports can be generated and personalized for individual clients. There are numerous templates for reports but bespoke reports may be generated, too.

Some of the data that can be collected using this SEO tool:

Domain Page rank
URL Page rank
Alexa rank
Number of links on the page
Links with nofollow attribute
etc.

Summary of the main features of this SEO tool:

Website Optimization
Website Optimization module for targeted keywords.

Comprehensive Competitive Analysis Tools
Helps keeping track of incoming links and competitors' websites. Keeps track on competition.

Automated Reports, Backups and Updates
Essential for measuring SEO success. Creates reports which can be automatically sent to clients.

Data Privacy, Enhanced Security and Reliability
Stores all the data gathered from search engines on your local computer or server.

There is a 30-day trial version of Advanced Link Manager which can be downloaded here: http://www.advancedlinkmanager.com/download.html

Hotel Pic of the Week: Hotel Qaqortoq, Greenland

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:38:00 +0000

Hotel Qaqortoq, Greenland, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Hotel Qaqortoq is located in the very centre of one of very few cities in the world with 3 "Q" in their name. It looks onto the bay and harbor of Qaqortoq and offers impressive views onto icebergs throughout the year.

View more photos of Hotels on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

TripAdvisor drops list of 'Dirtiest Hotels'
10th January 2012

TripAdvisor decided to drop its annual 'Dirtiest Hotels' list, which instigated a lawsuit by a hotel against the company in 2011. TripAdvisor had previously justified the list as empowering travelers with an honest source of information. Now the company has changed its mind.

Room Key Online Portal

Hotel big players launch their own online portal
11th January 2012

Six of the world's largest hotel companies have joined forces to create an online portal that offers bookings on better terms than most online travel agencies (OTAs). A beta version of RoomKey.com was officially launched on Wednesday. Its operating company Room Key was founded by Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corp., IHG, Marriott International Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corp. and includes direct booking facility of 23,000 hotels affiliated with these companies worldwide. Each hotel company owns an equal slice of Room Key. The company earns a commission from the booking, claimed to be at a more supplier-friendly rate than what third party OTAs are offering. A major plus being that the site redirects users to the hotel company's websites for direct booking. Room Key is looking to add additional hotel companies and said a major announcement on this is planned for next week. However, Best Western International already announced on Thursday that it has signed up as the first partner to supply hotel inventory. Room Key is concentrating on U.S. consumers initially before expanding globally in summer.
www.roomkey.com

We would like to hear your opinion about this effort to compete with existing OTAs.
Please, take part in our poll on the right!

Hotel Pic of the Week: The Plaza Hotel New York

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:35:00 +0000

The Plaza Hotel New York, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

The Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel on the corner of Central Park South and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. This New York City hotel provides many services including a butler on every floor, baby-sitting, concierges and a shopping mall. The Palm Court restaurant is impressive with its restored stained glass ceiling and The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English is an European-inspired specialty food hall offering the finest freshly prepared and gourmet foods in a stylish atmosphere. The Plaza Hotel New York is also a famous wedding venue.
This is a picture of Palm Court Restaurant.

View more photos of Fairmont Hotels on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:18:00 +0000

This week's Hotel and Travel Week is exclusively about Christmas and how hotels get creative to bring their guests into the right mood.

We would like to wish everyone

a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS

and a relaxing and wonderful holiday.

Giant gingerbread house at The Langham, London

The Langham bakes giant gingerbread house

The pastry chef at The Langham Hotel, London created a 1.3 meter high gingerbread house which by the way took 200 man hours to complete. The person coming closest to guessing the weight of it will win complimentary afternoon tea for two at the hotel's Palm Court. The giant gingerbread house that is the centerpiece of the holiday wonderland tea at The Langham where guests can enjoy the Festive Afternoon Tea that includes roast Norfolk turkey breast with violet mustard sandwiches, eggnog cream, individual mini gingerbread houses and homemade mince pies.

A Christmas tree made of feathers

A Christmas tree, made from 3,000 white feathers hung on individual wires from the ceiling in the hotel's lobby is being showcased at Hôtel de la Paix in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The creation of this eco-conscious tree took more than 10 days of preparation, several staff members and three engineers. During the tree's unveiling, the hotel and its guests made a donation to their community partner, the Green Gecko Project.

Christmas tree at Eaton Smart, Hong Kong

A Christmas tree made of tissue paper rolls

An even more unusual Christmas tree is displayed at Eaton Smart, Hong Kong. This tree is made of 4,936 tissue paper rolls and 6.6 meters high. It also features 80 aluminum cans and LED lighting for decoration. It took more than 50 staff members to piece the tree together over a period of 2 months. Apart from the eco-friendly Christmas tree, Eaton Smart has also teamed up with the Green Shop to sell homemade organic gingerbread in the hotel lobby between 21st and 27th December 2011 with all proceeds going towards charity.

... and finally a jolly Christmas video from Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.

Enjoy!

Hotel Pic of the Week: Christmas @ Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:28:00 +0000

Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome Berlin, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Christmas Decoration at the Lobby

Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome Berlin is located in the very centre of Berlin, just off Unter den Linden and is therefore the ideal starting point to visit the city's fantastic Christmas markets and get into a festive mood. The most beautiful Christmas market - Am Gendarmenmarkt - is only around the corner and so are 3 more large central Berlin Christmas markets.

View more photos of Rocco Forte Hotels on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:33:00 +0000

Orbitz Mobile Steals Promotion

Orbitz 'Mobile Steals' offers mobile-only discounts
13th December 2011

Orbitz launched a new mobile website including the 'Mobile Steals' promotion with exclusive, mobile-only discounts of up to 50% on hotels worldwide. 'Mobile Steals' are available to guests using the Orbitz mobile website and Orbitz apps for iPad, iPhone and Android. 65% of Orbitz hotel reservations are made through mobile channels for same day stays.

Hotel group asks guests to steal art
13th December 2011

More stealing going on as Australian luxury boutique hotel company Art Series Hotels Group is running a unique contest for guests who are asked to try and steal a Banksy artwork in their hotel. The print 'No Ball Games', based on one of the famous graffiti artist's street artworks, will be hung in 1 of the 3 Art Series hotels in and around Melbourne starting on 15th December until 15th January. Guests can follow Art Series on Twitter and Facebook for hints on the paintings location in the hotel, and then attempt to steal it. If a guest is caught stealing, they will have to return the print. However, if they manage to avoid the hotel's detection system, they will get to keep the US$15,100 artwork, which is signed and authenticated by Banksy.

QR Code

Aloft tests holographic QR codes
16th December 2011

Aloft Hotels are testing a holographic concierge with QR codes that give guests easy access to information and offers from local businesses. The holographic image is projected onto a life-sized cut-out of a person in the hotel lobby. The brand recognized that its guests are connected via their smartphones and depend on them while traveling even more so than at home. Consequently, Aloft wanted to make it easy to download information from the holographic concierge.

Business travelers value free Wi-Fi most
16th December 2011

Choice Hotels asked nearly 100 hotel owners, operators and general managers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic what hotel amenities business travellers valued most. Free Wi-Fi was the clear winner at 90%. Other amenities included 24-hour security and reception desk support, a late check-in or early check-out facility and an on-site hotel restaurant. At the other end of the scale, less valued facilities included a business centre and Airport transfer service, with a fitness centre only mentioned by 12% of respondents.

Hotel Pic of the Week: Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:40:00 +0000

Burj Dubai / Burj Khalifa, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Burj Dubai / Burj Khalifa - the world's largest building - is situated in Downtown Dubai, surrounded by Dubai Mall as well as several hotels, office and apartment buildings and an artificial lake where Dubai Fountain goes on display every night.

The Armani hotel occupies the concourse level up to level 8 and levels 38 and 39 and is the world’s first hotel designed and developed by Giorgio Armani. Apart from a luxurious ballroom and several other meeting facilities, the Armani Hotel features eight restaurants offering a wide choice of world cuisines ranging from Japanese and Indian to Mediterranean and authentic fine-dining Italian.

View more photos of Burj Khalifa Dubai on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:13:00 +0000

Travel websites let you Give the Gift
6th December 2011

Expedia.com has launched the Travel Wish List on Facebook. It works like a gift registry, building on the Groupon Getaways for Expedia programme which started last July. Once you find a Groupon Getaway you like, you can post it on your Facebook Wall and friends and family can buy it for you. LivingSocial has also started to offer Winter Warm Up deals featuring trips to 10 tropical destinations. For an extra US$2.99, LivingSocial will giftwrap the certificate and deliver it to the recipient, showing only the value of the trip and not what you paid for it.

TripAdvisor goes solo
6th December 2011

On Tuesday, shareholders of Expedia.com approved the company's spinoff of TripAdvisor.com. The transition is expected to be completed by the end of the year but won't affect the user experience on TripAdvisor.com, says the announcement. Reason for the spinoff are the different business models of both e-commerce websites. While Expedia’s business is built on transactions, TripAdvisor makes money with advertising. At the same time, there are voices saying TripAdvisor’s model with it's millions of reviews from anonymous strangers is outdated. New successful startups such as Gogobot.com focus on 'friend sourcing' as users become ever more involved in social networking and turn to people they already know and trust to get travel advice.

Mobile last-minute hotel reservations on the up
8th December 2011

Hotel Tonight iPhone application

Aiming to draw impulsive buyers who are addicted to daily coupon alerts, hotels and OTAs are introducing a flurry of new specials and features targeting those who book a room locally on the day of their stay. Orbitz, which launched its hotels app for iPad in summer, says 65% of mobile bookings are same-day reservations (versus 14% on desktop computers). Orbitz will also launch a redesigned mobile website next week that will include a new tonight-only deals feature. They are in good company with the Priceline Tonight-Only Deals which launched in October and Hotel Tonight, an app featuring daily deals from U.S. hotels with at least 20% discount for the night. Hotel Tonight has become one of the most popular travel apps, with more than 800,000 downloads and also won HEDNA's Spirit of Innovation Award earlier this week.

Marriot pushes Facebook Likes
8th December 2011

For the month of December, Marriott is giving away 5 million points to members who 'Like' their new Marriott Rewards Facebook page. Members of the loyalty programme can earn and redeem points at more than 3,500 Marriott International hotels around the world. The new Facebook page is said to "offer a new way to join the conversation and connect with the program and each other. It will also feature rich content from Marriott Rewards experts."

Christmas Valet delivers traditional trimmings
8th December 2011

Christmas Tree at Rocco Forte Hotel Berlin

Finally, in this holiday-heralding post news about a new service being introduced at the Hilton Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast Hotel, Australia. For the first time, traditional trimmings such as a Christmas tree and other seasonal decorations will be delivered to guest rooms by the new Christmas Valet service. The hotel also offers secure present storage for parents, a "Santa's Post Box" in the hotel lobby and, for families with younger children, delivery of cookies and milk for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve. "We have developed this service with families in mind to make sure Christmas is just as memorable for those on extended stays at the hotel, with all those special touches," said General Manager David Kelly.
What a brilliant idea!

Hotel Pic of the Week: Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:53:00 +0000

Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome Berlin, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Palm Court Ballroom

Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome Berlin is located in the very centre of Berlin and just off Unter den Linden. This luxury Berlin hotel is a conversion of a historical building which housed the head office of Dresdner Bank until 1945. The 5-star Hotel de Rome in Berlin has 146 large rooms with high ceilings including 4 historical suites and the 120 sqm Bebel suite. The impressive ballroom has a glazed roof and 6 beautiful chandeliers in the original historical design.

View more photos of Rocco Forte Hotels on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:20:00 +0000

Editorial

Just before the end of year and after a short break, the Hotel and Travel Week is back in a new format. Instead of listing news as they occurred each day of the week, we will now order our online marketing and other news from the hotel and travel industry by topic. This way, the article should be easier to scan and enabling the reader to choose the parts they are particularly interested in.
Enjoy and give us your feedback, please!

Venere.com mobile website

Venere goes mobile
28th November 2011

The European OTA, member of Expedia, Venere.com went mobile this week with the launch of its new free mobile website. The initial launch covers the following languages: EN, IT, ES, DE, FR. As mobile is becoming predominant for booking last minute accommodation online, for Venere.com this is another investment in meeting customer needs with suitable and convenient travel options, the company says.
The website - optimized for the most common mobile devices - can be accessed either by typing www.venere.com on any mobile device or simply by typing explicitly m.venere.com

Europeans defy debt crisis and travel
28th November 2011

Despite the economic downturn travel is up in Europe this year according to a report by PhoCusWright. The number of trips rose by 8% in France, 4% in Germany and 5% in Britain. "When it comes to leisure travel, we've found that European consumers are rather resilient," said Carroll Rheem, an analyst with travel research firm PhoCusWright. They may cut down on the length of their summer holiday but won't scrap it completely. "People in Europe are largely still employed, still spending money and still traveling," said Scott Kessler, analyst at S&P Capital IQ.

Hotels enter the Cyber Monday frenzy
29th November 2011

Apparently, Cyber Monday isn't just for online retailers anymore. In their quest to boost brand.com bookings, hotels were offering online-only discounts in the U.S. this year.
Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and has become famous for customers going online and doing their (Christmas) shopping. Hotels have geared up over the last 3 years to get a slice of the cake in Cyber Monday sales.
Hotel deals this year were ranging from city properties of the Trump Collection to beach spots like Loews Hotels in Santa Monica. Others came from Omni Hotels & Resorts, Marriott and a special deal from Kimpton Hotels were discounts depended on time of booking on Cyber Monday.

Google Maps iPhone application
showing sponsored ad

Google adds ads to maps
29th November 2011

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Google has been quietly adding new ad placements on maps in some of its most popular search destinations. Sponsored ads now appear among all the little, red pins indicating search results in the iPhone Google Maps application. If, for example, you are looking for a hotel in the area you are in Google will show you a map with a bunch of red pins showing your choices. One hotel, however, could be flagged with a subtle 'Sponsored Link' written underneath. This is a pretty powerful way to stand out from the crowd.

Hyatt Hotels mobile iPhone application

Hyatt's new mobile app
30th November 2011

Hyatt has launched a mobile app that allows iPhone users to search hotels using location-based technology, book new and view existing reservations. Users can also join the hotel company's loyalty programme, find deals and track point balances with the new application. “We wanted our app to offer a clean design with an intuitive flow so travellers can easily have all the most important details at their fingertips to make their travels as simple and seamless as possible,” said Bill Bernahl, vice president, e-Commerce, Hyatt.
An Android version is currently under development.

Hotel Pic of the Week: Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Jumeirah Hotel at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Double Room at Jumeirah Hotel at Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi

Jumeirah at Etihad Towers launched end of October and is part of the new and iconic Abu Dhabi 5-tower complex. The hotel has great views of the Arabian Gulf and Abu Dhabi Corniche. It clearly sets new standards for luxury hotels.
Jumeirah at Etihad Towers comprises of 382 rooms and suites, 199 serviced residences, landscaped pool areas and gardens to complement the private beach, Spa and gym, 12 restaurants and bars as well as conference facilities that are amongst the largest in Abu Dhabi.

View more photos of Jumeirah Hotels on Flickr

Hotel Pic of the Week: White Swan Inn San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:09:00 +0000

Joie de Vivre Hotels - White Swan Inn San Francisco, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

White Swan Inn Hotel - Downstairs Lounge Area

White Swan Inn is a small and cozy hotel decorated in English country-style. Each of the 26 guest rooms has a private bath and a fireplace. There is a happy hour with complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres every evening. The hotel is centrally located and only 4 blocks away from San Francisco Union Square.

View more photos of San Francisco Hotels on Flickr

Hotel Pic of the Week: Mövenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:51:00 +0000

Mövenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel & Spa, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Definitely a hotel with character, located in New Dubai at Ibn Battuta Gate which was named after a 14th century, Arabic explorer. The large Ibn Battuta shopping mall is just opposite. All 396 spacious hotel rooms are in Moroccan style, while the suites are themed on African, Asian, Middle Eastern and southern European countries - all visited by Ibn Battuta. The hotel is operated by Mövenpick.

View more photos of Mövenpick Hotels on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:07:00 +0000

Monday, 31st October 2011

Expedia publishes their latest figures saying that gross bookings were up 11% in the 3rd quarter of 2011, while transactions were up 9.4%. Worldwide hotel revenue rose by 18%, with nights stayed up 16%. Air revenue however again decreased, this time 5%, as 10% fewer tickets were sold but at 6% higher prices on average. The OTA also announces that they sold 15,000 travel deals in the first three days of launching a partnership with Groupon but 3 months later Expedia is questioning the long-term value of those bargain shoppers and questioned whether customers would return to Expedia to book other trips.

Tuesday, 1st November 2011

Users of the Google Maps API will soon have to start paying for usage. The general price will be US$4 per 1,000 map loads but not everyone will be charged immediately. For regular maps, the first 25,000 users will be free. For Styled Maps, the initial limit goes down to 2,500 users. Google promises that they won't block overused APIs right away, so users have time to think about what they want to do. Simply embedding Google Maps into a website without using the API is still free.

Wednesday, 2nd November 2011

Marriott International launches a section of its website specifically for their restaurants and bars. The new Restaurant & Bar Showcase, tells the stories of some of the company's most popular venues. It also links to the outlets' home pages and, where available, to Open Table or other equivalent sites to make a reservation. With this website, the hotel group looks to boost business for restaurant partners.

Thursday, 3rd November 2011

According to TRI Hospitality Consulting's HotStats MENA market review for September 2011, Dubai and Saudi Arabian hotels are seeing strong growth, while Egypt's continue to see declines in demand. Margins in Abu Dhabi are hurt by increased supply. Dubai is clearly benefitting from the Arab Spring and getting business from unstable countries such as Egypt and Syria. Occupancy was 78.6% compared to 71.8% in September 2010 which prompted hotels to increase rates by 10.9% in September, resulting in a 21.5% growth in RevPAR for the month.

Etihad Towers in January 2010

Friday, 4th November 2011

Dubai-based Jumeirah Group opens its first property in Abu Dhabi, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers. The hotel is located on the Arabian Gulf in the Ras Al Akhdar area of the UAE capital and features 382 guestrooms and suites, 199 fully serviced residences, 12 F&B outlets, the Talise Spa and one of the largest conference centers in Abu Dhabi. Etihad Towers is 280m tall and consists of 5 towers, containing residential, office and retail space.

Please, view also Hotel Pic of the Week: Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi

Hotel Pic of the Week: Diver at Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:10:00 +0000

Diver at Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

The main attraction of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin is the AquaDom located in the lobby. At 25 meters high, it is the largest, cylindrical aquarium of the world. The 4-star hotel is right in the city centre of Berlin and in walking distance of Berlin Alexanderplatz, Hackescher Markt, Unter den Linden and Brandenburg Gate. It's even possible to dive inside the AquaDom - spectacular!

View more photos of Radisson Blu Hotel Berlin on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:13:00 +0000

Monday, 24th October 2011

Starwood adds hotel reviews to their corporate website and is the first global hotel company to do so. The new function will let Sheraton, Westin, W and other Starwood hotel guests write an assessment of their recent hotel stay directly on Starwood websites. Like TripAdvisor, Starwood will first check reviews for bad language before publishing. Then, Starwood will take the added step of confirming the reviewer's stay. The process could take 2 or 3 days. Once a review has been vetted and confirmed, Starwood will publish it - no matter whether good or bad, they say.

Tuesday, 25th October 2011

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is adopting a new brand positioning, targeting 'strivers' who are 'traveling for success', a group they say represents 9% of all annual hotel stays and is currently unsatisfied with available options in the marketplace. Strivers are defined as individuals who are climbing the ladder to success but have not yet arrived. Crowne Plaza will adopt its new positioning during 3 phases to be completed in 2015.

Wednesday, 26th October 2011

OTAs are now part of the deal at Google Flight Search. Intermediaries are no longer completely shut out of the service. Although airlines are still more prominent, all 4 major online travel agencies now advertise on Google Flight Search, for example Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity as well as Cheapoair and Kayak.

Thursday, 27th October 2011

Google is taking its Street View feature indoors. Last May the company announced it would be taking interior shots of stores, but now it is moving out of this pilot phase with more 360 degree interiors showing up online. In order to have your hotel’s interior photographed, you must fill out an application with Google. If chosen, you will be contacted by Google’s photographers to set up a time for the shoot. Google owns all rights to the photos, though including the right to keep an image up, even if you object to it. In order to have an image removed, you must submit a request for it to be taken down. According to a Google spokesperson, the company has already worked with thousands of businesses to shoot these 360 degree interior views. Photos will be available on your Google business page as well as the Google Maps Street View.

Friday, 28th October 2011

The European Travel Commission (ETC) publishes its third quarterly report on European Tourism in 2011 for the third quarter of the year. According to the report, travel recovery is continuing. However, the rate of expansion is slowing with few exceptions because of the economic landscape which presents a challenging environment for travel. Through August, room demand has grown nearly 4% and been particularly strong in Eastern and Southern Europe, with occupancy rates up 7.3% and 5.2%, respectively. Although occupancy growth has been relatively weak in Western Europe (2.4% YTD), room rates have performed well above average, growing 4.8%. European inbound travel is expected to slow markedly, to 2.3% in 2012 from 5.6% in 2011. The core Eurozone countries are most exposed to the downturn.

Hotel Pic of the Week: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:18:00 +0000

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Berlin, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

The Ritz-Carlton Berlin has been built as part of the Potsdamer Platz project in the 1990s and is close to attractions such as Berlin Sony Center or the shopping center Potsdamer Platz Arkaden. While the architecture at Potsdamer Platz is very modern and sometimes spectacular, the Ritz-Calton Hotel reminds of American art deco skyscrapers that dominate the skyline of New York or Chicago. The 5-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel Berlin features around 300 hotel rooms, La Prairie Boutique Spa, Brasserie Desbrosses restaurant, a Tea Lounge and Cocktail Bar.

View more photos of Ritz-Carlton Hotels on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:40:00 +0000

Monday, 17th October 2011

TravelCube, the Kuoni-owned online bed bank launches weekly flash sales exclusively for travel agents. TravelCube's sister company GTA will negotiate discounts similar to the Groupon model which will then be available on the website for 7 days. The first flash sale launches on Monday in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, offering discounts on hotels in London, Monaco and Bangkok of 40% to 50% lower than the hotels' rack rates.

Tuesday, 18th October 2011

The Arab Spring has taken a toll on tourism in nations from Jordan and Egypt to Morocco and Tunisia, costing the region more than US$7 billion, according to the Arab Tourism Organization in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The number of visitors to North Africa and the Middle East dropped by 13% and 11% in the first half of 2011, said Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization in Madrid.

Wednesday, 19th October 2011

The owner of the Grand Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Pigeon Force, Tennessee sues online hotel review company TripAdvisor for US$10 million. He alleges that TripAdvisor 'maliciously and wrongfully' hurt his hotel’s business by placing Grand Resort atop its '2011 Dirtiest Hotels' list for U.S. hotels in January. According to TripAdvisor 'The top 10 list of dirtiest hotels is compiled based on traveler ratings for cleanliness on TripAdvisor.'

Thursday, 20th October 2011

Google announces the expansion of its Hotel Finder experiment to include hotels around the world on their Web Search Community forum. The Hotel Finder service is still in English only and with hotel prices in US dollars. There was no further information when the experiment could evolve into a beta or even final product.

Friday, 21st October 2011

Hilton HHonors, Hilton Worldwide’s loyalty programme, launches 'the world’s largest social media treasure hunt', giving away 500 free hotel nights over the course of 5 consecutive days this week. In each city, the first 100 people who correctly complete the task and find the Hilton HHonors team will be awarded with a free night certificate, redeemable at any participating property in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands. Clues for the treasure hunt are being given on the Hilton HHonors Twitter account and Facebook page.

Hotel Pic of the Week: Fairmont Hotel Dubai

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:55:00 +0000

Fairmont Hotel Dubai, originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

Hotel Interior Courtyard

The Fairmont Hotel Dubai is modeled after an Arabic wind tower (barajeel) and features 394 rooms on 34 floors including 128 suites and penthouses. It's located on Sheikh Zayed Road, near the World Trade Centre and opposite Convention Centre and therefore ideal for the business traveller. However, the hotel also features 10 restaurants and bars which are popular with the locals as well as a Spa.

View more photos of Fairmont Hotel Dubai on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:24:00 +0000

Monday, 10th October 2011

According to the UNWTO Tourism Towards 2030 global forecast, international tourist arrivals are to grow at a more moderate pace of 3.3% per year but will still reach 1.8 billion by 2030. Therefore, an average 43 million additional international tourists will travel every year. It is expected that arrivals will pass the 1 billion mark by 2012, up from 940 million in 2010. Due to the slower growth of North America, there will be increases in the global market shares of Asia and the Pacific (30% in 2030, 22% in 2010), the Middle East (8% up from 6%) and Africa (7% up from 5%), and further declines in the shares of Europe (41% down from 51%) and the Americas (14% down from 16%).

Tuesday, 11th October 2011

Hotel marketing company Travelclick has recently conducted a survey of 455 hoteliers around the world with interesting findings regarding mobile marketing. The poll, carried out during a webinar at the end of August, found that 50% of hoteliers plan to increase mobile marketing during 2012 while 24% intend to keep it at 2011 levels. 3% will likely decrease their spending, and 22.5% don’t have mobile websites or engage in mobile marketing and will keep it that way. “According to Nielsen, 40% of the Western Europe and 38% of the U.S. cell phone markets are dominated by smartphones. Given these rising numbers, it is essential that hoteliers optimize their websites for mobile use to increase direct bookings from travelers that are using their mobile devices to select rooms,” said Jason Ewell, TravelClick’s senior vice president of e-commerce.

Wednesday, 12th October 2011

Hotel Management Company Interstate explain how they have driven revenue through local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Optimisation techniques included adding detailed location information about surrounding neighborhoods, arenas, attractions, convention centers and nearby colleges and universities, as well as upcoming convention dates and calendars of local events, they say. Moreover, they have made the hotels unique by adding specific descriptions of hotel amenities such as conference and meeting facilities, banquet halls, restaurants, pools and wedding planning services all key factors that frequently appear in travelers’ search criteria. Custom hotel page content was also distributed through a content management system to Google, Yahoo, Bing and hundreds of online directories. Interstate say this drove US$4.3 million in additional business for the company which meant a whopping return of US$84 in bookings for each marketing dollar invested.

Thursday, 13th October 2011

Marriott International launches a new website for their Autograph Collection which is aiming at the "individualistic" traveler. The website design presents visitors with the option to browse by experience type, destination or property name and is highly interactive.

Launched last year, the Autograph Collection is a group of exceptional independent hotels, each picked for their originality, character and uncommon details. To date, the Autograph Collection portfolio includes 24 properties in the United States, Europe, and the British Virgin Islands, with plans to double by the end of the year.

www.autographhotels.com

Friday, 14th October 2011

HRS acquires 61.6% stake in hotel.de in an attempt to strengthen the two companies' market position in an increasingly competitive market climate. Dr. Heinz Raufer, CEO of hotel.de AG: 'This combination comes at exactly the right time, will boost hotel.de's position in the global hotel portal business and provides us with a superb basis for our further development.'

Hotel Pic of the Week: Kempinski Emirates Palace Hotel Abu Dhabi

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 06:55:00 +0000

Kempinski Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., originally uploaded by Corinna Witt.

The 5-star Kempinski Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi has become a landmark and is the most luxurious hotel in the city. It is surrounded by a private sandy beach and beautifully landscaped gardens. It has a large meeting and banquet area as well as more than 10 exclusive restaurants and bars.

View more photos of Emirates Palace Hotel Abu Dhabi on Flickr

The Hotel and Travel Week

noreply@blogger.com (Corinna Witt) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:11:00 +0000

Monday, 3rd October 2011

Thompson Hotels and boutique hotel operator Joie de Vivre Hospitality announce that they have merged into a new venture provisionally known as JT Hospitality. This is the first step in creating a global, multi-brand lifestyle hotel group with plans to increase the number of properties from currently 45 to 75 within 3 years.
Thompson Hotels is an international collection of 12 luxury lifestyle hotels, while Joie de Vivre mainly runs boutique hotels in California.

Superior Room @ Thompson Hotel Beverly Hills

Tuesday, 4th October 2011

Best Western International launches their 'Virtual Accelerator' Facebook application. The app lets Best Western Rewards members, who like the Facebook page, take a spin behind a digital wheel. Players can win rewards points, redeemable at Best Western hotels. The group say they will give away a total of 10 million points via the application, which is the equivalent of more than 1,200 free nights.

Wednesday, 5th October 2011

Several airlines have to cancel flights to and from Greece as as the country's air traffic controllers join a 24-hour general strike.

Thursday, 6th October 2011

News about the death of Steve Jobs, Apple founder and visionary, break and tributes are being posted throughout all social networks. The 3 top trending topics on Twitter are RIPSteveJobs, #ThankYouSteve and #iSad. Apple set up a special email address on their website for people to share 'thoughts, memories, and condolences': www.apple.com

Thank you, Steve Jobs for having had the vision of bringing solutions onto the market that were truly innovative and solved problems we didn't even know we had, products that make working with them easy, playing with them fun and that let us see the future!

Friday, 7th October 2011

The French government orders online travel agent Expedia to pay a fine of €427,000 for 'misleading marketing practices'. According to a French court ruling Expedia was displaying incorrect information on hotel room availability, incorrect contact information for hotels and inaccurately described standard rates as promotional discounts. The French hotelier federation Synhorcat initiated a complaint with the government about Expedia’s practices which led to the ruling.