The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released the results of First Half 2011 industry performance report for the US market. The research was conducted by PwC. I’d like to share some highlights.
First Half Industry highlights:

Internet advertising in the US increased 23% in the First Half 2011 vs. 2010 and totaled $14.9 billion. FYI – the 2002 total was less than $3 billion.
72% of all Internet advertising revenue is concentrated in just 10 companies. Where do you think Google fits in? (hint – see next bullet)
Search remains the #1 advertising format and accounts for 49% of all revenue – up from 47% …

Who in travel hasn’t said, “I’ve got to write a book.” This is usually followed by, “It’ll be hilarious, but nobody will believe any of it is true.”
I just finished reading the funniest article in Travel Weekly, of all places. “Group Deals Soar Amid Online Debate” is a report on a recent Traveltech conference session about travel deal and group buying sites. And I just had to share it with all the hoteliers who regularly read Hospitality Marketing Blog.
According to this article:

Sam Yip, senior research manager a Telsyte told the audience that the popularity of …

As the Great Recession lingers and talk about a double dip intensifies, it seems appropriate to focus this fourth anniversary issue of Hospitality Marketing Blog on the perils of marketing on price.
It is a topic discussed many times over the past four years and continues to be a hot topic today. A recent article by Robert Mandelbaum from PKF made me think it’s a good time to take a look at a couple of the independent studies that both individually and collectively indicate hotels should not be marketing on price.

PKF Hospitality Research –Robert Mandelbaum, Director of Research Information Services, wrote:

“The …

Amazing! Spectacular! Unprecedented! Phenomenal! All words used to describe the meteoric rise in the number of registered users of Google+, the new social media service from your friends at the Internet’s #1 search engine.
In fact, in a little over two weeks Google+ reached 10 million registered users – a feat that took Twitter and Facebook over two years to achieve. And in just 24 days Google+ was up to 20 million users – a mark made even more interesting by the fact that Google launched the service quietly by invitation only. Now linked to GMail Google+ should continue attracting more …

When travelers sign up for the new Groupon Getaways with Expedia they are told this is the best thing to happen to travel since the inflatable neck pillow. That may be true for the traveler, but what does it mean for your hotel?
Could the Expedia/Groupon combination turn your hotel rooms into a commodity like an airline seat – a product with little or no differentiation – left to compete almost exclusively on price?  Here are questions you should be asking.
In a recent article, “What Groupon Getaways With Expedia Means for Hotels” Expedia puts forth the proposition that it makes good …

Wouldn’t it be great if people saw your hotel’s ad or heard about it via a social media site and immediately went to your website? And while there looked only at your homepage, maybe one or two specials and then went directly to your booking engine to reserve a room.
A hotelier’s fantasy, but it’ll never happen.
The Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research recently published a study entitled, “Search, OTAs, and Online Booking: An Analysis of the Billboard Effect.” Originally designed to show how hotels benefit from being listed on the Online Travel Agencies, the study also shed some light on …

The “Online Marketing Strategies for Travel 2011 – The Americas and Caribbean” conference will take place in Miami from June 7-8. This is an event put on by EyeforTravel a media company that organizes over 14 conferences annually dedicated exclusively to online travel and technology.
This year Eyefortravel is making a concerted effort to attract luxury independent hotels that want to improve their online marketing capabilities. To this end there will be a special interactive workshop, entitled:
Step by Step Techniques to Dramatically Improve the Effectiveness of Your Online Marketing and …

I can hear the cheers already from every hotelier who has ever received a poor review.
Last week when Expedia announced that it was spinning off TripAdvisor there was a lot of speculation as to what it meant for hoteliers. At the same time many investors were wondering how owning a piece of the travel industry’s 800 pound gorilla would improve the performance of their portfolio.
According to the Wall Street Journal investing in TripAdvisor isn’t the “no brainer” travel insiders might think. The WSJ reports that Google with its new “Places” search product has been aiming squarely at TripAdvisor.” Like TripAdvisor, …

Hotel work can be pretty darn hard so every once in awhile you have to have a little fun. Here’s an opportunity to not only have some fun, but to watch a little research in motion.
The good folks at Gadling have come up with a very unique and creative consumer opinion poll that should be of interest to every hotelier. It’s called Hotel Madness: Gadling’s Tournament of Pet Peeves. Styled after the NCAA March Madness, the Gadling Tournament pairs Pet Peeves against each other to duke it out to determine the eventual Champion Pet Peeve.
Starting with the Sweet Sixteen of …

There are many things in life that, when used in moderation, are fun and even good for you.
Chocolate, wine and sex are good examples. However, when taken to excess they can become addictive and hazardous to your physical and financial health.
The same holds true in hospitality…
Online travel agencies (OTAs) are a valuable marketing and third-party distribution resource for hotels. Used in moderation they can provide a base level of occupancy, a steady stream of revenue and help during seasonal troughs.
However, when taken to excess, OTAs can be hazardous to the financial health of your hotel.
Consider the following facts:

OTA Share Increasing …