Hotel marketing online is big business these days. Recent studies reveal that 20 to 25% of the average hotel accommodations bookings are derived through the Internet. If you’re in the hospitality business, this is the perfect time to reassess your marketing strategies. Hotel sales have considerably increased in the pass few months, and so does the room rates. Moreover, the percentage of guest booking online is rapidly growing. But then the competition is steeper than ever. The internet is indeed the fastest growing source of hotel reservations. It does not matter whether your hotel is a five star in Amsterdam like NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, a three star hotel like The Blakemore Hotel in London or a cozy bed and breakfast. It is your website content, search engine position and link affiliations, which will be part of the selection and reservation process used by your future guests.

GenaRes strongly believes that a reservation services provider should be a partner in producing and enhancing the revenue for its affiliates. GenaRes revenues are primarily the result of production, therefore it is in our interest to develop strong marketing strategies for both our company and our client hotels and hotel companies:

Participation in worldwide trade shows

RFP consortia participation

GDS System "Hot" messaging

Private GDS chain level branding programs

Customized email broadcast blasts

Marketing designed to drive reservations to hotel websites

GDS Banner advertising

Since September 11, 2001, the business environment facing the hotel industry has changed radically, and mostly for the worse. These new business realities are likely to persist for some time, or remain permanently.

Room rates have declined

Terrorist threats continue

Economic concerns continue into 2004

Decreased corporate travel expenses

Rampant Discounting Today, hotels have to compete with Internet discounters such as Expedia and Travelocity to book rooms on the Internet.

Hotel rooms have become a commodity, and hotels need marketing consultants to level the playing field.

Running a Guest House is hard work. And without legions of staff on call it means that you have to do everything from making the breakfasts to cleaning the rooms to doing the accounts. And no matter how hard you work there is still only 24 hours in a day.

So it is no surprise that many guest houses and small hotels simply don't have the time or energy to even think about Marketing and promoting their business. They rely on the same three methods as every other hotel:

Pray that the Tourist Information Centre sends visitors their way.

Put a classified ad in a Sunday newspaper or magazine.

Open their doors and hope someone walks in off the street.