Final Exam Article - Conversations with Customers

Due to my travel schedule, this portion of the final exam will NOT be due Friday 27, as planned. The NEW due date is Wednesday 02/05 by noon. Please post your answer in your blog.

Please use this linked article to explore 'social sharing' and the role in travel purchasing. In your posting, please assess + explain:

1. What is meant by social sharing sites, link to 2 examples
2. How does social sharing inlfuence consumers' choices, link to 1 article to support your assessment
3. How hoteliers can best utilize social sharing trends to communicate with customers. Link to 2 examples.
4. What is your opinion...can hotels effectively establish an online conversation with customers? Yes, why...no, why not?

I'll review all blogs and post comments on your work. Any questions, please email me.

Class 20/04 - In Class Exercise

Mme. Dorothy Wang Yu will be covering the class today and available to answer your questions. I am available by email, if needed.

CMH 4 - A - Hughes, Julia + Sebastien will make presentations, followed by 1 hour team online exercise.

CMH 4 - B - will review and rate 3 travel related websites, followed by 1 hour team online exercise.

The online exercise is 50% of the final exam grade.

Instructions:
1 Hour team exercise

Outcome – Select one reseller site to represent your hotel online.

Work as a team of 2 people
>Select one hotel
>Thoroughly analyze 3 reseller sites from the list

Determine which 1 site will best generate new business for your hotel
>Criteria:
>Reach
>Image
>Forward Distribution

Document – for each of the 3 sites you are analyzing
-Who is the target customer group for the reseller site
-What is the ‘reach’ of the site, how do you know
-What is the hotel ‘image’ projected by the site, what types of hotels are listed
-Distribution – what types of marketing programs are offered to participating hotels
-Distribution – are affiliate programs offered, if yes – what are the affiliate benefits
-Your conclusion – which reseller would you select for you hotel
Comparing your hotel’s customer profile to your analysis, explain your selection.


Post your work in each team member’s blog – cross link to the other’s blog

3rd Party Reseller Sites - choose 3 to analyze

http://www.avantgardehotels.com/

http://www.hoteladvisor.com/

http://www.gtahotels.com/

http://www.worldby.com/index.html

http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/

http://www.hotelclub.net/hotel.reservations/

http://www.tobook.com/

http://www.flashbooking.com/index.do

http://www.ratestogo.com/

http://www.laterooms.com/

http://www.minotel.com/


Hotels - Select one
http://www.kubehotel.com/kubehotel.html

http://www.collegehotelamsterdam.com/

http://www.regina-hotel.com/

http://www.base2stay.com/

Class 06/04 - CMH B Affiliate program research

What are hotel affiliate programs? How do they work? Where do they fit in the distribution channels?

Amazon invented affilate programs for onward, exponentail distribution.

How do bloggers earn money from affiliate programs?

Please go to one of the following and read about their program...post a brief in your blog:
1. Hyatt Hotels
2. Hotels.com
3. Travelocity

See you Friday.

Class 06/04 - Research CMH 4 A+B

For the upcoming class, we will move into Mobile Distribution. As a reminder of the work to post in your blog:

Mobile Role in Hotel Distribution

1. Research find 2 channels for mobile hotel distribution

2. How do they work

3. How does a hotel participate?

Will Google lead the way...really?

Buzz + Viral + Mobile

How should a hotel use the combination of buzz + viral on mobile devices to bulid brand and win guests?

Be imaginative.

Look up viral marketing.


Buzz marketing

How does HI Nice use Radio to create buzz??

Prep for 16/03 Class

Welcome back...a long 3 week break from RM!

So now onto understanding 3rd party distribution. In this half of the course, we should be able to answer the questions:

1. When should a hotel use 3rd party distribution?

2. What resellers are available?

3. How to select the right channels?

4. How does a hotelier manage all this?

We will start with a tactic used by resellers to win customers to their resellers sites...an away from hotel sites....Best Rate Guarantee.

The Reading from Clickz

The research - to be posted in your blog:

1. List 3 Reseller Sites
2. Explain their guarantee - how it works

In class, you will examine how reseller BRG compare to hotel direct BRG.

Accor Launches a New Concept

This preview site is to express the "All Seasons" hotel concept.

What do you think? What would you do differently?

All comments welcome!