LODGING LEADERS
163 | 14 Ways to Boost Hotel Revenue and Profits with Rob Russell
LODGING LEADERS
Robert Russell has been an innovative leader in digital, social and mobile marketing for over 20 years. He has worked with major global brands and smaller companies in almost every aspect of digital marketing and e-commerce, including reservation and transaction software, mobile applications, social media marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, and website user experience. His clients and leadership roles have included Hotels, Retailers, and Restaurant chains across the US, Caribbean and Latin America. He has been a featured speaker at leading hospitality technology conferences, such as HITEC, and written articles for many industry publications. He has recently published The Hotel Handbook For Online Revenue. Robert currently advises dozens of large and small hotels as President of Resort Income Optimization.
In This Episode, Rob Reveals …
14 ways to boost revenue and profits, including:
- Direct bookings may cost more than OTAs
- Deposits and cancellation policies may be scaring your customers away
- Discounting doesn’t have to mean lower revenue
- You get better promo results with “unique” offers for targeted groups
- High occupancy can signal a problem (prices are too low)
- Value-Add promos can be more profitable
- Your Facebook Followers are probably not seeing your posts (you have to pay)
- Email Marketing is still a killer app (and you own it)
- Content Marketing can be automated with software
- Google Maps is separate from Google
- You can place your direct booking engine on TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook, and other places
- Airbnb can be your friend
- Education is now in snack sizes – and perhaps better
- Revenue Management can be done remotely
Rob prepared a free 17 page guide for the listeners called Revenue Is Oxygen: Online Channel Management for Boutique Resorts
If you are struggling to understand how to combine channels, software, websites, clouds and services, then Rob’s Revenue is Oxygen guide is a great place to start.
Resources & Links
Rob Russell
- rob
@resortincome.com
Resort Income Optimization
LODGING LEADERS
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346 | Repositioning For Recovery: Hotel conversions to outpace new builds
Lodging Econometrics has tracked the hotel industry since 1998. Its global database includes new-hotel pipelines as well as renovations and brand conversions. Hotel franchisers once eager to launch new brands are focused on converting existing hotels because it’s a faster way to recover revenue lost to the COVID-19 pandemic than through new construction. In Episode 346, Lodging Leaders explores the increasing number of conversions in the U.S. hotel industry and what owners and operators need to consider before repositioning an asset.
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345 | ‘Rosy View of Future’: Hotel industry sees unleashing of pent-up investor demand
In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., financiers anticipated a swell of distressed hotel businesses. Some raised rescue funds to respond to what they thought was a pending crisis. Though there are financial rescues taking place, the level of such activity is far below what industry advisers and fund managers expected. Commercial real estate investors positioned to act in the early days of the pandemic held off and are now just beginning to unleash their cash hoards totaling billions of dollars. Episode 345 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the state of capital investment in the hotel industry.