Hotel Bookings Boost

Many hotel websites today still look and behave as they did in 2019. That's SIX years ago. They built them to feel good, look pretty, not to answer anything.Pretty photos. Very little text.Dreamy lines like “Experience luxury reimagined” or “Where memories are made.”Remember those websites? Back then, this kind of website was "good enough."If a guest liked your location, room type, amenities, and price, you were in the running to get booked. And if they had questions, they called the front...

Here’s a confession from my GM days: I used to think being busy meant I was doing my job well. If I were bouncing between fires, answering everyone’s questions, fixing everything… I thought I was being a great leader - available to everyone. But the months I was “busy” were never our highest-performing months. Turns out, reacting is not the same as progressing.As we wrap up 2025, I've been giving a lot of brain time to helping hoteliers set up 2026 for success. The last issue of the Bookings...

It's that time of year when Hoteliers have budget on the brain, marketing and sales plans deadlines, pressure on Black Friday campaigns, and Q4 performance. Add to that a to-do list that never ends. This week's Bookings Boost is inspired by a chat I had with a Hotel GM. They said, “Christine, by 9 a.m. I’ve handled a last-minute rate change, signed off on our Black Friday email, and replied to 10 vendors who say their AI-powered tech will change my life and my hotel. ” Sound familiar? You...

Recently on LinkedIn, I saw a post that shared a message from Marriott’s Aloft Miami Brickell.They were offering guests 3,000 Bonvoy points for completing a survey with a perfect 9 or 10 score. The text even explained how it works: “If you enjoyed your stay, we kindly ask you to select the top score.” I stared at the post, blinking my way through various thoughts. I was puzzled that a brand of this size would play this "Let's Make a Deal" style game. Even if the guest gives the 10 and takes...

Have you ever poured water into a bucket only to have it leak out? Last year, a hotelier from Grand Cayman reached out - frustrated. She’d been trying to fix her website conversion rates for months.Then she asked her high-priced marketing agency to take over.After eight months with the agency, nothing had changed. Traffic was high.As for bookings?Still low. The classic conversion rate issue. Have you ever checked your analytics and thought, “Why aren’t bookings coming through?”You know how...

We’re coming into budget and planning season. Are you pumped? Every year, hotel teams everywhere gather around boardroom tables to ask two questions: How do we increase revenue? How can we increase efficiency or even decrease costs? Those two questions add up to one thing: profitability. And yet, every year, a big slice of profitability slips away. My goal with today's Bookings Boost isn't to diss the OTAs. It's an invitation to think differently about your hotel business.You make significant...

Your Starting Point for AI-Ready Marketing Last week, a hotel GM told me, “Christine, AI is everywhere in my feed. But honestly, what do they mean when they say AI. Is it just chatbots? Automations? What the heck am I supposed to do with it?” I’m with you; AI is a huge topic. When I say AI-ready, I’m not talking about guest service robots or PMS automation. I am talking about getting your hotel featured in AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. The term is:...

It was blunt. It was unapologetic.Former Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi didn’t mince words. To hoteliers everywhere, he said, “If they come back to us again, shame on you.” – Dara Khosrowshahi, former CEO of Expedia Group When I first heard it, I thought, 'That sounds fair.'Hotels should do a great job.Capture the guest’s heart and their email, and they’ll never need Expedia again.But it doesn't align with how the OTAs operate.That one statement tells you everything about the OTA game. The...

I'm sure you've experienced this at some point in your career; If not, you've heard about it. Your marketing team rolls out a stunning direct-booking campaign.The campaign is well planned. It includes a targeted email, a landing page, even an influencer visit, and a special offer.This offer is available on all your direct channels and can only be booked on your website. Two days later?Your revenue manager launches an OTA flash sale at a lower rate. Now, the guest sees both.Guess which one...

Your rooms are full.Your team is maxed out.And let’s be honest, you may be thinking you can take your foot off the gas. It’s peak season, and everything is in motion. That’s when the voice creeps in: “Let’s just get through the summer first.” “We’ll deal with fall offers later.” “Christmas campaigns can wait.” “We’ve worked hard to get booked. Let’s ease up a bit.” But here’s the problem:Momentum doesn’t maintain itself.And full rooms don’t always mean full profit. The Temptation to Coast...