How Much Shall Hotel Businesses Spend on SEO Services?

Every year hotel business around the globe spend millions of Dollars on marketing and brand building, and consequently they all face a similar dilemma- how best they can spend this money, ensuring the highest possible return on their investment. Given that marketing options have diversified tremendously in the last decade, and now include E-Marketing, Mobile Marketing, E-Mailers, paid SEO and PPC services, apart from marketing in traditional print, radio, and broadcast media, determining your priorities, is never an easy call.This article sketches out in brief, why E-Marketing, and SEO services in particular must bag a big chunk of your overall budget for marketing?Why E-Marketing?Since, different businesses have different target audiences, a single all weather marketing strategy will never do for everyone. Before specifying budget for marketing, one must ask himself the following questions:
Who are your target audiences?How best you can reach your target audiences, via traditional print or broadcast media, or via the digital media?Once the medium is decided, ask which is the best strategy to convert your audience into your clients?Studies show that 8 out of 10 people use Google to garner information about their travel destinations. That means for hospitality industry choices are simple. To reach them Hoteliers must spend on E-Marketing, and fare better on Google search results.Best E-Marketing practices for HoteliersWhile online marketing is generating higher revenues for the hotels, there is also a flip side to it. eMarketer, a US online magazine found in a recent survey that more than half of these online hotel bookings came through third party Online Travel Agencies (OTA) like Living Social, Snap Deals, Make My Trip, Trip Advisor, etc. These third party OTA not only corner a big share of hotel profits as their commission, they also make the home website of hotels obsolete, and harms their brand credibility by offering frequently changing deals (sometimes changing on a day to day basis). Experts feel that while OTA may generate higher traffic and revenues, in the long run there is no alternate, but to devise ways of bringing prospective clients and customers directly to the home website, doing away with OTAs altogether.The best way to get rid of OTAs without affecting your sales revenue is to improve your page ranking on Google by building a highly effective SEO strategy. This will have multifarious benefits for your hotel business:It will improve traffic to your hotel website, thus helping in brand building and higher revenues.
It will do away with the adverse effects, brought about by continuously changing packages on OTAs and maintain rate parity.
Higher profit rates by saving the OTA commission.Because of these above mentioned benefits, more and more hotel businesses are investing profusely in professionalized SEO services. A recent US based survey found that Hotel businesses in US are spending nearly 49% of their advertising money, on digital marketing initiatives, of which nearly 31% is spent on SEO services, second only to amount spent on website designing, and the trend is on the rise. Market analysts are expecting a 7%-9% increase in investment in paid SEO services in the hospitality industry.Given the benefits of SEO, and taking a cue from recent market surveys in hospitality industry, I believe that SEO should always be high on advertisement budget planning. Also, one must not forget that professional SEO services cost far less than a campaign on traditional media, or even the colossal OTA commissions. Investing in SEO, may well be the safest marketing option for some years.

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Enjoy an Island Getaway and Hotel Accommodation

In just 35 minutes you can be transported by ferry from downtown Auckland to the beautiful and unforgettable island of Waiheke. Whether you are looking for a tropical destination in New Zealand to plan a holiday, arrange a wedding or book your next company conference, you can find it all in Waiheke.Finding hotel accommodation in Waiheke is a breeze, simply search online and you will find pages of listings. Check out the photo galleries of a few websites to get an idea of what the rooms and facilities are like.If you are planning a business function look for a hotel that has purpose built conference rooms, standard presentation equipment / technology and meal services. Dig a little further and look for an establishment which offers conference and hotel accommodation packages – perfect for your overnight corporate event. Likewise, if you are thinking about your wedding day look for an establishment that can advise and help you with all of the following: planning, ferries, transportation, florist, music, wedding celebrant, photographer, bridal cars and accommodation.If you are planning a weekend of pure relaxation and indulgence and haven’t thought much about the style of hotel accommodation you are interested in, look for an establishment which offers a wide range of lodging styles such as: studio units, chalets, apartments, villas, condominiums and luxury lodges. Don’t forget to check out the on-site facilities too, such as an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, restaurant and bar.There is much to do and see in Waiheke:
- Visit one of the award winning vineyards.
- Visit the local art galleries and buy some unique art to take home.
- Enjoy cocktails at some of the stylish bars and cafes.
- Soak up some sun at one of the uncrowded beaches.
- Go horseback riding around the island taking in the stunning scenery.
- Explore the ocean by diving.
- Take a scenic flight around the island.
- Explore the native wildlife and plants with a nature tour.
- Hop onboard a bus tour and make your way around the island.We know you will enjoy your island getaway to the beautiful and stunning Waiheke Island, a truly unforgettable destination.

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Tips For Getting A Cheap Flight

Finding a last minute flight bargain is not easy but not impossible. Most airlines primarily offer packages such as flight and hotel deals so a flight only option can prove to end up costing considerably more than purchasing the package deal.Here are a few suggestions on how the patient bargain shopper can find a flight deal. The first step is to book the flight first. Hotel rooms at a bargain rate are considerably more plentiful than a flight. The flight most likely will be the largest expenditure and because they are less plentiful, there is less room for negotiation than a hotel room. Generally finding a good rate on a hotel room is going to be a lot easier than finding a bargain flight.A good place to start is by joining email lists of flight carriers. Although you may find yourself overwhelmed with junk mail and email there is bound to be a bargain in there somewhere that might catch one’s eye.Traditionally, the best flight deals are for flights departing on Monday through Thursday. In addition, for flights within the U.S. there are bargains for flights on a Saturday. Flights schedules for Friday or a Sunday night usually cost more. Good deals are available for one who books in advance, generally at least 14 days or more. A Saturday night stay can also reap a better rate.Connecting flights also offer better rates than direct ones. Airlines generally charge more for non-stop flights so if you have the flexibility of 1 or more connections this will help to save money. Prime flight times, such as ones that not scheduled on an early time or involve a “red-eye” overnight flight come at a premium price. If one can show flexibility on flight times, this will prove to come back as money saved on the flight.If one is not too rigid on departure or arrival destination, this may also help. The bargain traveler may find by driving to another airport that is a short car ride away such as an hour may be another way to save money. In addition, the same with arrival, landing at an airport that is only an hour or so from your destination may save money in the end.Another option is the websites such as Priceline, Orbitz or Travelocity. Checking these sights frequently could produce a bargain.

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