Episode 269 of the Hotel Marketing Podcast by TravelBoom dives into the big takeaways from our new 2025 Leisure Travel Trends Study.  As you may know every year we survey hundreds of leisure travelers throughout the US to better understand how independent hoteliers can connect and convert today’s discerning guests.  Get your copy today at TravelBoomMarketing.com/2025Study and follow along with us!

Get the full show notes at www.TravelBoomMarketing.com/podcast

📊 What We Cover in This Episode:

Key Takeaways From The TravelBoom 2025 Leisure Travel Trends Study
The importance of food & drink in destination selection
Generational differences in booking behavior
The importance of review management
AI is reshaping travel planning
Social media is starting to generate real returns for hoteliers
Affordability is driving booking decisions

🎧 Fun Moments and Features:
“Room for Improvement” – A humorous take on what hotels can do better.

🔥 Don’t miss these insights into the changing behavior of today's leisure travelers and how you can drive more bookings. —subscribe now and join the conversation at https://www.travelboommarketing.com

269 - Key Findings From The 2025 Leisure Travel Study

There's no denying the power and influence that TripAdvisor has on the travel industry. Yet, some hoteliers are still ignoring or refusing to accept the fact that TripAdvisor can help increase bookings and RevPar. In this episode, we discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of TripAdvisor and give hotels some advice on how to maximize their exposure on the platform.

6 - TripAdvisor: Friend or Foe?

Are you ready to drink from a fire hose? This is a fast-paced episode focusing on ways to influence your potential guest's decision making and increase your online bookings  We cover a bunch of tactics that have a proven track record of getting people through the conversion funnel.

7 - How to Get More Hotel Bookings and Influence People

We get a little bit sneaky in this episode because we're discussing ways to take market share away from your competition with some very aggressive tactics.  If your hotel is looking to experiment with something new, this episode is for you

In this episode:

News:

    Google is beta testing their new killer app, Google Trips. Does this spell doom for the OTAs? http://www.cnet.com/news/google-beta-testing-trips-traveling-app/
    Hotels eliminating guest room desks. Perhaps they could have said that a little better...http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/hotels_eliminate_guestroom_desks
    Google is going to start looking at mobile page speed as a ranking factor f=mobile results.

5 Brilliant Competitive Advertising Strategies to Outsmart Your Competition
  1. Facebook users who like competitor's pages
  2. Show ads before competitor's YouTube videos
  3. Email targeting in gmail and yahoo for people who get emails from your competitors
  4. Targeting people who visit your competitor's site via Google Display Network
  5. Twitter follower targeting 

Please leave a review and follow us on Twitter @fueltravel

Inspiration for this episode came from a Twitter Question: "Should I bid on my competitor's brand keywords in adWords?" and the WordStream article:

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/05/16/competitive-advertising

Learn more about Fuel at www.fueltravel.com

8 -  Outsmart Other Hotels with Competitive Advertising

We get testy with each other this week, as we talk about how to effectively run tests on your website in order to increase conversion and revenue. The episode also features a super-secret special guest from a galaxy far, far away. 

Download the FREE guide to The A/B/Cs of Testing:
How Smart Hotels Test and Grow at www.fueltravel.com/abc

Please leave a review if you're enjoying our podcast!

Show Notes:
In the news:
    New Trump hotel not to carry the Trump name - https://skift.com/2016/06/07/trump-hotels-will-avoid-the-trump-name-with-new-lifestyle-brand/

    Arizona Legalizes AirBNB Investment Properties - http://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/arizona-legalizes-airbnb-investment-properties

    AirBNB Local Guide Program  - http://techcrunch.com/2016/06/03/airbnb-begins-testing-city-hosts-program-to-give-guests-guided-one-of-a-kind-experiences/

Popular Testing Ideas:
Offer
Layout
Navigation
Urgency
Email Capture

Fundamentals:
Yoda - You must unlearn what you have learned
    Check out https://www.whichtestwon.com/
Experimentation - no idea is a bad idea
KPIs - Understand exactly what metrics will be measured
High Volume Pages - test pages that get a lot of traffic before pages that get little traffic
Iterative Testing - change one element at a time on a page, and then build upon the results
Multivariate Testing - Common misunderstanding of what MVT is and isn’t. Keep number of variations to a minimum, as the more variations, the more traffic needed to get statistically significant results. Explain differences in testing software in how MVT is served. Device Type - Segment results based on device type and/or run different versions of test for different types
Failure - a test that results in a negative result is not a failed test
Questionable Outcome - indicates variations were not different enough, or that element doesn’t have an impact on conversion
Patience - wait for the full test results

What testing software is right for you?
VWO - https://vwo.com/
Optimizely - https://www.optimizely.com/
Unbounce - http://unbounce.com/

Follow us on Twitter:
@fueltravel
@stuartbutler
@marketingmeisha
@pdimaio
@makavanagh

Learn more at www.fueltravel.com


9 - The ABCs of AB Testing

Your friends from the  Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast took a trip to New Orleans this week for the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC). We met lots of neat hoteliers and showed off our mobile app, booking engine, eCRM platform and analytics dashboard. We also met lots of cool new vendors and are going to cover a few of them in this episode.

SHOW NOTES:
In The News:
Google looks to ease tensions within travel sector
https://www.tnooz.com/article/google-convenes-meeting-of-travel-brands-to-build-bridges/

Google Releases new feature in Search Console to view stats on rich snippets and AMP
http://searchengineland.com/google-brings-rich-results-filter-search-analytics-report-within-search-console-252372 

OpenTable Lets Customers Put the Bill On their Tab:
http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/opentable_now_lets_la_diners_put_it_on_their_tab

Ads coming to local search pack, nothing is sacred:
http://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-ads-coming-local-pack-252407

What is HITEC?
The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) offers a unique combination of top-notch hospitality technology education, led by industry peers and experts, and an unparalleled trade show showcasing the latest products and services from over 300 companies, occupying more than 130,000 square feet.
Nowhere else can premiere hospitality professionals gather to learn and experience the technologies that continue to enhance our industry and our customers’ experiences.
HITEC is a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP). More

Trends that we saw:
Interactive/Digital signage was EVERYWHERE at the show. Though, we didn’t really see any standouts in this space.
On property communication and wayfinding seems to be the big thing this year as hotels are focusing more on the customer experience and trying to prevent negative reviews.
Check out the best in show
Zingle - http://www.zingle.me/ Guest messaging platform.
tracNcare - http://www.tracncare.com/  Software to take care of your property and your guests.
Flip.to - http://www.flip.to/ A social sharing and brand advocay platform for hotels.
TripTease - http://www.triptease.com/ solutions that help you get more direct bookings.

Check out videos of these fine folks at www.facebook.com/fueltravel

Also, check out Stuart’s ex-brand crush: http://hiutdenim.co.uk/

Follow Us on Twitter:
@fueltravel
@stuartbutler
@marketingmeisha
@pdimaio
@pforiska



11 - What We Learned at HITEC 2016

Despite search engines doing their best to push organic results down and replace them with more paid ads, every hotel still relies on a steady stream of free traffic from organic search engine results. SEO can be very daunting due to the vastness of what it entails. Search engines look at hundreds of factors when determining which results should rank at the top of the results page for any given keyword. In this episode, we discuss some of the basic block and tackle on-page aspects that can have a significant impact in your overall search ranking..

In The News

Verizon Buys Yahoo! For 4.8 Billion 
http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/25/technology/yahoo-verizon-deal-sale/index.html 

Brands Can Request Verified Twitter Accounts
http://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2016/jul/20/brands-can-now-apply-verified-twitter-account-it-opens-everyone/ 

Millennials Lead the Way in Travel Agent Usage:
http://www.travelagentcentral.com/trends-research/asta-millennials-lead-way-travel-agent-usage-56823 
 
Westin Hotel Running Club
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/business/why-your-local-hotel-is-trying-to-hook-you.html?_r=1

========================
Show Notes:

Previously, we have discussed the Top 3 SEO factors in a broad manner. Today, we discuss things at a more granular and tactical level.
http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-5-search-engine-optimization-for-hotels/

In a recent blog post, one of our resident SEO experts, Meisha, gave an in depth look at What you should include in an SEO audit
http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/ultimate-seo-audit-for-hotels/

Read the full article for a more detailed explanation and a list of technical items to check for, but here is the basic outline for on-page optimizations:

On-Page Optimizations 
Canonicalization
URL Structure
Title Tag 
Meta Description 
Page Speed 
Header Hierarchy 
Image Alt Text - http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/ask-a-fueligan-how-can-i-write-great-image-alt-text/
Schema Markup 
Keyword Targeting - http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/proper-keyword-research-important-hotel/ 
Content Optimizations
Type/Amount of Content 
Conversion Funnel

Download the FREE Fuel SEO audit and make a copy to use for yourself!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J9GOo8Fn6ctJ5PeD_2y4QBd0bMjh1XsVWQCiVAaDC08/edit#heading=h.40dsaoh8f2qm

========================

Question of the week: What are the biggest SEO mistakes that hotels make? Darren B.

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Follow on Twitter:
@fueltravel
@stuartbutler
@pdimaio
@marketingmeisha
@pforiska

16 -  The Definitive Hotel On-Page SEO Cheat Sheet

In this week’s episode we analyze and discuss an article from Hospitalitynet.org by Sarah Came - a copywriter with GuestRevu. The article discusses ways that you can turn your guests into promoters of your property. Find the full article at http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4077315.html


In The News

Expedia Caught “Dimming” Hotels with Lower Book Direct Rates:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-online-travel-agencies-manipulate-your-search-results_us_579e0279e4b00e7e269fa568 

Google Expanded Text Ads Are Here

http://searchengineland.com/google-adwords-expanded-text-ads-live-254548


========================
Show Notes:

User generated content (Check out flip.to for a great UGC tool)
Go after repeat guests
Don't sell, inspire
Engage with your guests (past, present and prospective)
Ask for reviews
Don't settle for satisfaction, aim for delight

========================

Related Links:
The Automated Emails Your Hotel Should Be Sending - http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/the-automated-emails-your-hotel-should-be-sending/
Check out GuestRevu - www.guestrevu.com/
Original HospitalityNet.org Article - 6 ways to turn loyal guests into promoters - http://www.hospitalitynet.org/column/global/154000392/4077315.html


========================

Follow on Twitter:
@fueltravel
@stuartbutler
@pdimaio
@marketingmeisha

17 - How to Turn Loyal Guests into Brand Advocates

Google has defined 4 stages of travel, which encompasses everything from the initial spark in which someone decided they might want to take a trip all the way through the process of a guest sharing their vacation photos and experiences online with friends and family. 
“I want to get away moments” - dreaming moments
“Time to make a plan moments” - planning moments
“Let’s book it moments” - booking moments
“Can’t wait to explore moments” - experiencing moments

In our new guide (available at www.fueltravel.com/advertising/), we combine Google’s travel micro-moments with the traditional sales funnel to help hotel marketers better align advertising platforms and ad offerings with each stage of the travel shopping process. 

In today’s episode, we’ll discuss the TL;DR version of this whitepaper. (Thought you should still totally download the full version!)


SHOW NOTES:
www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-64-secrets-to-becoming-a-hotel-advertising-pro/

64 - Secrets To Becoming A Hotel Advertising Pro

All hotels and resorts are striving to make the most out of their marketing dollars. Hotels will spend countless dollars and hours finding the right audience, the right marketing channels and setting the perfect bait to bring in a new guest.  Many are great at setting the bait, but fail to make sure the trap will work.  

That’s what we’re going to discuss on episode 65 of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast.  We are going to dive in and determine if you are using the right PMS and right booking engine that will allow your hotel to make the most of your precious marketing dollars.

To be honest, switching your booking engine and/or PMS can  be a pain in the nether regions. But today we’re going to show you why that pain may be worth it and the phrase “no pain no gain” is very applicable here.

FULL SHOW NOTES:
http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-65-hotel-right-booking-engine/

65 - Does Your Hotel Have The Right Booking Engine?

Does your hotel website and the online shopping experience accurately reflect the on-property experience? Or, are you a cotton headed ninny muggins who tricks unsuspecting guests into staying with you, only to disaapoint them and have them never return to your property? Hopefully you are the former rather than the later.

In this Elf-inspired episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, we break down some of the biggest mistakes that hotels make by not accurately representing their product and we talk about the consequences that follow.

SHOW NOTES:
http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-66-hotels-marketing-sit-throne-lies/

66 - Does Your Hotel’s Marketing Sit On A Throne Of Lies?

We drive growth for independent hoteliers

269 - Key Findings From The 2025 Leisure Travel Study

TravelBoom Marketing

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