Weekly Insights. March 9, 2024

Can ChatGPT replace human-created hotel marketing content?

Today we are dealing with digitally-savvy, experienced travelers. The prevailing thinking is: If the hotel hasn't invested in describing well their property, services and amenities so that I feel intrigued and engaged, just imagine what state the property itself is in!

In the same time, creating this original, authentic, enticing and believable marketing content is expensive. You need professional storytellers - copywriters who are expensive to employ or hire - to tell the hotel story.

The question is, can hoteliers replace human content creators with generative AI-created marketing content, using AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Google Gemini?

What is a distribution strategy?

The ways in which businesses get their products and services to customers continue to rapidly evolve. An effective distribution strategy is critical for any business looking to get its products or services to customers efficiently. With 91% of companies reporting their distribution strategy as a key factor impacting overall performance, defining the right strategy for your business has never been more important. An effective strategy considers factors like customer demographics, buying journeys, and emerging booking platforms.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about distribution strategies.

By the end, you will know what a distribution strategy is and have the knowledge to create an optimized distribution approach to maximize reach, boost revenue, and enhance the customer experience.

Should Revenue Management be involved in Reputation Management?

We know that reputation management is important, but how involved should revenue managers be in that process? I brought this topic to the leaders of the HSMAI Revenue Optimization Advisory Board to discuss our role in reputation management. Below are our top five takeaways.  

Why hotels shouldn't rely on ROAS to measure the success of a campaign

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is a familiar metric within the digital marketing landscape, often employed to gauge the efficiency of marketing expenditure. However, for some marketers ROAS has become the singular metric that defines whether a campaign was truly a success. While ROAS does provide a valuable snapshot of how efficiently resources are being used, it doesn’t necessarily indicate the effectiveness of a campaign.  

Hotel brands: Complete guide to the top hotel chains

Hotel brands are unique identities created by hotel chains or individual hotels to stand out in the market. They represent a mix of services, designs, and experiences tailored to different types of guests, such as luxury seekers or budget travellers. These brands help hotels attract loyal customers, showcase what makes them special, grow their revenue, and compete effectively in the busy hospitality sector.

However, not all hotel brands carry the same level of recognition, value, or distinctiveness. Some brands have become household names, renowned for their exceptional service, iconic design, and consistent quality across locations. These leading brands often command higher prices and a loyal following. In contrast, lesser-known or emerging brands may struggle to make their mark, competing on price or niche offerings to attract guests. 

19 hotel amenity ideas that will wow your guests

Guests stay at hotels for a variety of reasons. Some are business travellers looking for a place to rest their heads between meetings. Others are vacation travellers looking for nearby tourist attractions. And some are planners and attendees in town for a meeting or event. Whatever a guest's motivation for staying with you may be, one thing's for sure: the experiences and amenities your hotel offers can make a big difference in growing your business. With that being the case, we put together a list of hotel amenity ideas that any guest is sure to love. But first, let's learn a little bit more about hotel amenities.

We tested new AI trip planners from Despegar and Kayak: Fewer errors, still buggy

Despegar and Kayak both released travel planning and booking tools this week meant to integrate generative AI more comprehensively. 

Booking.com, Expedia, and several other big companies released simple chatbots powered by ChatGPT about a year ago. Those chatbots have generally existed as independent interfaces, doing little to really transform the travel planning and booking experiences as industry experts have touted.

While the business models for Despegar and Kayak are different, the new tools give us a better understanding of how the future could look. 

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