Online Hotel Bookings Continue to Rise: How to Get Your Due Share

Online Hotel Bookings

According to data recently released by the TravelClick North American Distribution Review, online channels continue to lead hotel bookings. In the second quarter 2014, OTAs experienced the largest increase in bookings, up 12 percent over last year, followed by brand.com bookings with a 6.9 percent increase, and then the GDS channel with 2.9 percent. (Read […]

The Dos and Don’ts of Handling Negative Reviews

Negative Hotel Reviews

So you’ve used your social listening tools and come across some stellar reviews for your hotel. But just as you are mid back pat, there it is: the negative review, looming like a dark shadow. For those of us who pour our soul into our work, this can be as painful as a dagger in […]

Bring On Group Bookings!

Group Bookings

As the busy summer begins to wind down here in North America, lodging operators may be pondering ways to keep the momentum going. (Or perhaps you’re just breathing a sigh of relief!) Shoulder and low seasons present a challenge in terms of maintaining occupancy rates and, while you may appreciate a respite after the peak-season […]

Social Listening Tools: What are People Saying About You?

Social Media

In 6 Tips for Doing Social Customer Service Right, we recommend using social listening tools (also known as social media listening tools or social media monitoring tools) to ensure you don’t miss any direct social media mentions and also to catch indirect mentions for providing excellent customer service. But what is a social listening tool, […]

Amenity or Annoyance: How Does Your Hotel Wi-Fi Measure up?

Hotel WiFi

Imagine you are away from work on a business trip. From your hotel room’s work desk, you set up your laptop and log into Skype in order to attend an important conference call. Half-way through the meeting there are delays and eventually your call is dropped – the result of a bad Internet connection. Has […]

8 Ways to Improve Guest Satisfaction and Your Online Reputation

Satisfied Guest

We recently blogged about research that shows hotel guest satisfaction is at a record high. However, as hotels and other lodgings are more effectively meeting customer expectations, it only makes sense that expectations are getting higher, leading to more critical guests. The study indicated that Generation Y (who are more engaged in social media than […]

Hotel Guest Satisfaction is higher than Ever – How Satisfied are Your Guests?

Happy Guest

According to research firm J.D. Power’s 2014 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study℠, hotel guest satisfaction is at a record high. In fact, with overall satisfaction averaging 784 points (out of 1,000) in 2014, guest satisfaction is up 27 points from 2012. The study, now in its 18th year, measures satisfaction with the entire […]

Top Hotel Management Software buyer trends for 2014

Software Advice Buyer Trends

Hotel management researcher Software Advice has just released their 2014 Hotel Management Software (HMS) BuyerView report uncovering this year’s top HMS buyer trends. The report reveals why hotel managers are looking for new software, which features are most important to them, and the most active buyer segments. At a time when hotel technology is rapidly […]