Mike Wylie

Here's why I havent been blogging...

I haven't blogged in quite some time and several people have asked me why I stopped or when I'm going to start posting again. I thought it would be easy to keep up and blog several times a week.  Well, it was more difficult than I thought it would be. I really wanted to try and publish some different techniques, learnings and insights into hotel internet marketing and online travel.  It wasn't for lack of content or ideas.  There is literally something new everyday.  What happened is that I kept stopping myself from posting because most of the things I wanted to write about were client related or new tools and techniques that we found that benefit our clients -- most of these are a competitive advantage for my clients and for Standing Dog. I know many bloggers are very open and willing to share their insights, opinions and ideas - which I really respect and admire, but I just couldn't get comfortable giving away this information.  This is partially why I have shied away from speaking at conferences lately.  Its very easy to give away some key information to your competitors.  I have certainly learned some terrific information from others.

In any event, timing played a role as well.  Our business is growing fast and I have really wanted to stay focused on our clients  -- and make it home in time to see my son before he goes to bed...

Google Pay Per Action Test

Google has announced that they will be beta testing a pay per action pricing model for their content network.  This is partially a response to the click fraud issue as the advertiser doesn't pay unless a specified action occurs: reservation, email sign up, meeting request, pageview, etc..  Where and when the ad displays will be based upon the profitability for Google -- and relevancy I assume.  This is going to be an interesting feature to test and see which drives the best return. We know the cost per acquisition for our PPC ads today.  Can we be as effective if we set the PPA at a lower cost? I suspect that the results will vary. 

It will be fun to test some new sales strategies with PPA.  For example, during need period, a hotel might be willing to pay a substantial fee for a reservation that is equal to or higher than the commission paid to Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz. The third party travel sites won't be able to compete with those rates unless they want to lose money.  It has always been challenging to help a property fill last minute business.  In many cases, I actually recommend that they use a third party site since they do have the ability to help influence a last minute booking due to the amount of people that visit their sites. The problem is that the hotel typically has to give the site a higher commission rate to get the promotion.   The PPA model gives us an additional option.  Buying ads to drive last minute business has not been completely ineffective in the past, but the ROI has not always been where we would like it to be.  And with a set budget, the ad may be down if the budget is quickly exhausted. I think PPA will allow us to be much more aggressive and allow us to essentially set the ROI on the campaign.

As an aside, I also wonder what the impact will be on affiliate programs and how spammers will figure out a way to manipulate this system?

WIWIH Consolidates Hospitality Blogs

WIWIH (Who is Who In Hospitality) has created a site that consolidates all hospitality and travel related blogs.  I really like this.  There are so many that I want to follow, but it can be difficult to keep up.

http://www.wiwihblogs.com

Join the T-List - Tourism/Travel list

A list of Tourism and Travel blogs was created to help the group get discovered.  I follow several of these blogs now and am happy to discover a few more to follow.

Here are the instructions:

- Write a post.
- Copy/paste the link list from the post you’ve discovered the T-List into it.
- Make sure the links are active and correct.
- If your blog is on the list, remove it’s not a self-promotion post.
- Add your favorite tourism and travel blogs on it.
- Add the url of the blog where you’ve discovered the T-List as well.
- Publish the post.
- People will notice the T-List and continue it.

Here’s the list:

Radaron
Les Explorers
Chrispitality Media Blog
A Luxury Travel Blog
Travel Rants
Travolution Blog
BootBlog
Erin Julian
My Travel Backpack
Happy Hotelier
The Travel PR Blog
DotTourism
The Tourism and Hospitality Diaries
Tourism Internet Marketing
Happy Hotelier
Web2.0 Travel
The Informed Traveler - Luxury Hotels
Hotelblogs
Tourism Internet Marketing
Blog on Travel

I added Jens Threanheart's blog Tourism Internet Marketing to the List and Sylvain Laneyrie's Blog on Travel.

Managed Business and Dynamic Pricing

I read an article about Dynamic Pricing for Managed Business on Hotel Interactive with great interest.  The advancement of technology and internet is quickly making this a reality -- along with the power shift back to hotels.  My impression is that this is great news for hoteliers who would prefer to give a discount off BAR rather than a flat rate.  Ultimately this should prove to be more profitable for the hotels but still equitable and palatable for corporate clients.

The article also discussed a program by Southwest Airlines called SWABIZ where they serve as the in house agency for smaller clients.  Another innovative strategy from the smartest airline around.

New Internet Marketing Blog

My good friend, Jens Thraenhart with the Canadian Tourism Commission, recently started a great blog on Tourism Internet Marketing.  I highly recommend that you add it to our required reading list.

Jim - its your turn!

Adnav Presents GPS Marketing Solutions for Hotels

I met with the founders of Adnav Inc. last week. They are a GPS marketing solutions company.

I was blown away by their plan to give custom handheld GPS systems to hotels to hand out to guests when they check-in - at no cost to the hotel or the guest.

The WAP & WIFI enabled GPS, customized for each specific hotel and destination, would be a value added service for the guest to keep during their stay. Some of the GPS features include interactive maps, turn by turn voice guided directions, currency converter, weather information, travel guides, concert and event tickets.  Adnav will generate revenue from ad sales to restaurants, attractions, local merchants and national brands.

I highly recommend any hotel company looking for a differentiator to take advantage of this service to build a better experience for their guests.  Be the first and not the last.

Hotel Wales, New York

               
 

I was in New York recently for the HSMAI Adrian Awards where my company, Standing Dog, received a Web Marketing Silver award for the blog and podcast we do for hotelbook.com.  I stayed at one of my client's hotels,  the Hotel Wales, so I am posting a video of the room.  Its a great boutique hotel.  My room was fantastic and I highly recommend it.

No Trans Fat for Omni

Omni Hotels announced that by March 1, 2007 they will switch to a zero grams trans fat cooking oil. Marriott and Loews are switching as well.  The other major chains can't be far behind.

Omni is one of the best if not the best brand for your physical and mental health.  HotelChatter thinks so as well...

Check Your Northstar Travel Media Hotel Ratings!

Make sure your NTM (Northstar Travel Media) hotel rating and information is accurate.  It seems AAA dropped Sabre and Travelocity, so they have chosen to go with NTM in AAA's place.  AAA wants its members (and prospective members) to start going direct to the AAA site for the hotel ratings.