Special thanks to our partners and supporters POWERi (thanks Marvin for keeping us on track!), Marketwire’s Melinda Van Patter, Missouri Meeting & Events Joe (what a great surprise to have you in Puerto Rico!), Cal Simmons from Five-Star Alliance.  My co-Bloggers Don Dees and of course Gil the jenius (love the hat and the recap of the event on your Blog!), Mandy Gresh from the zoo (Travelzoo), The Idea Market boys from Canada’s West Coast Carson and Steve, Travel Alberta Trevor (the winner of our Calgary Red Paper Clip contest to attend Online Revealed Caribbean!), Ed from RadonicRodgers design+marketing, and of course our co-Chair extraordinaire Edward Perry from WorldHotels, who I am excited to announce will also be the co-chair for the 4^th annual Online Revealed Canada Conference to be held this April 13-15^th in Niagara Falls!  I know I have missed many…but the event truly was a success because of the community of people that contributed to making it happen.
 

So the major takeaways from all of the speakers, workshops and conversations that ensued over the 2 day event?
1.      Authenticity in your message.  Make sure that your website, email marketing, Blogs, social media pages, listings on destination sites and everything you do to promote your products and services online are authentic and not simply a canned advertising message.
2.      Encourage the Dialogue.  Reviews are not necessarily a bad thing!  Consumers online are looking to be engaged, and they are used to interacting online – with you and with other likeminded individuals.  It is good old fashion word of mouth – don’t be afraid of it.  Monitor, respond and join the conversation.
3.      The importance of Community.  The overall message coming out of the conference is that billions of people are participating or “being” online (great quote Cal!) and not simply going online.  Consumers are actively posting images, updates, testimonials and having conversations online.  Be in tune with your audience and join the conversation. 
 

If anything was ever an example of the power of community – it would be Online Revealed.  Thanks to all who made this first event in the Caribbean such a great success!
 

[tags]internet marketing conference, online marketing, tourism marketing, e-marketing, hospitality industry, Caribbean tourism, blog marketing, social media marketing [/tags]

Yes I love my job!  We are just wrapping up a great week in sunny San Juan, Puerto Rico for the first annual Online Revealed Caribbean conference.  I just had to rub it in with a picture of my Caribbean office!  Did I mention I love my job?

Some highlights of the event for those of you who could not make it to Puerto Rico…

A very lively panel of bloggers yesterday (Don Dees and Gil Schmidt and moi)  talked about the need for authenticity in a Blog – or any other communication vehicle on the web including testimonial websites that allow you to “speak” directly with your customers.  The “reviewousphere” is active on the web so don’t ignore it, embrace it and use it as a focus group for listening to what your customers are saying about your brand.
 

Travelzoo’s Mandy Gresh gave us some tips on push marketing tactics such as email blasts – she said “keep it simple, from price to book-ability. (like have the offer actually available for your customers to book!), Price point is important – advertise a good rate with the right kind of packaging and available options above and beyond your special, and your average rate will be higher than the low price point offered.  She also pointed out that urgency is important – add a book by date and encourage an immediate conversion.
 

Cal Simmons of Adcision Luxury media made some great observations about the new online consumer saying simply that “recommendations really do matter” – more than the brand advertising message.  Mark Charlinksi with VFM Interactive, added that the mix of user reviews, the right price point, the right positioning in all distribution channels – and of course beautiful imagery of the hotel or destination is what will close the deal.   
 

Also William Bakker of B.C. Tourism was not physically here with us in person – Richard Kunz of T4G Limited did bring him to us via video feed with the message that consumers are looking for authentic content, the kind of content that only locals can provide to visitors of a destination.  William discussed B.C. Tourism’s 3 pronged approach to reaching and engaging consumer eyeballs which includes a rich website of images and planning tools, a Consumer Blog forum that allows visitors to post their experiences, AND a place for locals from all communities to recommend “local picks” – giving tourists the inside scoop about where to eat and what to see. 
 

The conclusions?  It is not all about the website anymore it seems!  The website is the point of transaction, and the bottom line is that you need to show your customers how to get to it and why they should stay once they get there.   Thanks to all the attendees, speakers and sponsors that have made our first Online Revealed Caribbean show a great success!

[tags]internet marketing, caribbean online marketing conference, tourism marketing, Travelzoo, VFM Interactive, internet marketing, blogging, online revealed[/tags]

Bill Marriott entered the Blogosphere in January of 2007 with much fanfare from the media, and he also caused quite a stir within the Blogging community.  The initial buzz resulted in articles such as this in the Washington Post which speculated about the purpose of the Blog, and whether or not it was a legitimate forum – or one produced by a really good PR team.

During my New Media discussion at the Online Revealed show, I was discussing the effectiveness of a channel such as a Blog from the perspective of the blogosphere in general.  I was discussing how users interact and navigate through channels such as Blogs, where the rules of engagement are much different than a traditional marketing vehicle such as a website.  Typically Blogs (until this point) have not been commercial spaces from a user perspective. (or not obviously commercial anyway).  I referred to Mr. Marriott’s Blog as something that was not necessarily a good example of a successful Blog.

Well, it seems that Mr. Marriott has forged onward since the Blogs inception, and created a space whereby he can communicate with his customers on a global level, share his experiences, and generate some publicity for the hotel brand giant, as Scott Allison pointed out to me through an online discussion over email.  As he had heard of my comments, he immediately reached out to challenge my opinion, and point out the successes of the Blog from a brand perspective.  Of course I welcomed the dialogue!

Mr. Allison’s comments were very valid and included the following points:

“Even our competitors have acknowledged the blog as a competitive win for Marriott.   Not only has it provided a great channel for customers, it also allows him to very personally communicate things that are important to him. The blog has also encouraged Marriott to expand the initiative to other Marriott executives including our corporate executive chef.” 

Marriott Recently launched a new Blog authored by Marriott International’s Vice President, Culinary and Corporate – Chef Brad Nelson “Marriott in the Kitchen – Food, Travel, Thoughts.”  This blog is quite impressive and not as obvious with the Marriott brand messages.  Chef Nelson’s posts discuss events he attends, food writers he meets, recipes of course – and his travels.

Mr Allison pointed out some additional points in defending the merits of the Marriott branded Blog:

“Because Bill Marriott believes that he is first a foremost a hotelier, one of the side benefits has been the buzz generated by people who blog with him, and then link to a page to make a reservation – revenue from people who came through what wasn’t originally intended as a booking channel. 

The fact that Marriott remains a family business, rooted in a rich culture of looking after our associates so that they in turn look after our customers is a unique to Marriott. No other leader in the hotel industry has Bill Marriott’s credibility and experience from the ground up – he worked in food & beverage operations growing up.   Fortunately many people read his blog and interact with us through this exciting channel, and it has definitely contributed to shifting traffic to the brand site with 80% of e-commerce being transacted on Marriott.com.” 
Mr. Alison finished off with the following sentiment, of which I would definitely agree with.

“Bill Marriott continues to be the most eloquent spokesperson for our brand, whatever the channel.” 

Well Scott – I can’t argue with you!  It does seems that Mr. Marriott has taken on this medium with the commitment and tone it requires – and he is engaging discussions with Marriott team members, customers, bloggers and media alike. 

If then we are referring to the success of the Blog as a marketing vehicle, and as a successful and true “Blog” – I would now have to agree that Bill Marriott’s “Marriott on the Move” just might qualify as a great success!

[tags]Marriott blog, blogging, social media, Marriott on the move, new media, chef blog, hotel marketing, e-commerce[/tags]