NEW YORK, NY (January  18, 2012) – HeBS Digital, the leading hotel digital marketing and direct online strategy firm for the hospitality industry, today announces the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has selected Jason Price, Executive Vice President of HeBS Digital, as one of the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing” for 2011.

The ninth annual list recognizes the “best of the best” in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. Recipients will be honored during a private ceremony preceding the Adrian Awards Gala on Feb. 27, 2012, at the New York Marriott Marquis and will be recognized at the Adrian Awards dinner reception and gala.

“The ‘Top 25’ is our annual hot list that celebrates the sales, marketing and revenue management leaders and innovators in our industry,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “The creative strategies, passionate dedication and sharp intelligence of these professionals have not only grown the business within their organizations but have also truly raised the bar for the hospitality industry as a whole.”

Jason Price is Executive Vice President at HeBS Digital in New York City. He provides the firm’s hotel clients with extensive digital marketing and direct online channel strategy advice, as well as web analytics expertise. Jason authors articles in hospitality and technology and runs graduate level research projects for NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Center. Prior to HeBS Digital, Jason served as VP of Business Development at two travel Internet start-ups and for top advertising agencies in New York City. He has authored two books including Insider’s Guide to the Executive MBA (2011). Jason has an MBA from Fordham University in New York City and an MS and BA from the University of Massachusetts.

“I am immensely grateful that the HSMAI judging panel included me in this distinguished class of industry professionals. I look forward to contributing to the industry for many years to come” said Jason Price, Executive Vice President of HeBS Digital.

The 2011 “Top 25” recipients were judged by a panel of senior industry executives for their recent work based on the following criteria: creativity and innovation; cutting edge sales or marketing campaigns; triumph in challenging situations; and sales efforts that resulted in dramatic gains. This recognition comes three years after Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital, was recognized in the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing” for 2008.

About HeBS Digital:

Founded in 2001, HeBS Digital is the industry’s leading full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel strategy firm based in New York City (www.HeBSDigital.com).

HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the “best practices” in hotel Internet marketing, social and mobile marketing, and direct online channel distribution. The firm has won over 170 prestigious industry awards for its digital marketing and website design services, including numerous Adrian Awards, Davey Awards, W3 Awards, WebAwards, Magellan Awards, Summit International Awards, Interactive Media Awards, and IAC Awards.

A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of the hospitality Internet marketing expertise offered at HeBS Digital. Contact HeBS’ consultants at (212) 752-8186 or success@hebsdigital.com.

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About HSMAI

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals & their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI’s MEET, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Optimization Conference. HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at www.hsmai.org, www.facebook.com/hsmai, www.twitter.com/hsmai and www.youtube.com/hsmai1.

Editorial Contact:

Mariana Mechoso Safer
HeBS Digital
Phone: 212-752-8186
Email: mariana@hebsdigital.com
Web: http://www.hebsdigital.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebsdigital
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeBS_NYC
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hospitality-ebusiness-strategies

In 2011, HeBS Digital celebrated the following:

• Its 10^th anniversary

• Thirty major creative and industry awards for website and mobile website design, multichannel marketing campaigns, social media marketing, and mobile marketing. Notable awards include the Best in Show AMA Award for Shell Vacation Hospitality’s Black Friday Campaign, a Gold Davey Award for Brush Creek Ranch, Gold Travel Weekly Magellan Award for Valencia Group’s Search Engine Marketing Campaigns, the Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Best of Industry Awards for Best Restaurant Website (Vu Restaurant), Best Hotel & Lodging Application (Vu Restaurant Mobile Site) and Best Hotel & Lodging Ad (Silver Legacy Resort & Casino Banners).

• Launch of a new company website www.HeBSdigital.com (a 2011 Silver Adrian Award Winner).

• HeBS Digital’s experts and industry thought leaders continued our decade-long tradition of publishing groundbreaking articles on hotel e-commerce and online distribution hot topics and latest trends with 15 articles in 2011, including “Hotelier’s 2011 Top Ten Internet Marketing resolutions,” “2011 Social Media Marketing Resolutions,” “The Future is Now: The Emergence of The Customer Engagement Channel in Hospitality,” “Controlling Distribution Costs in Hospitality,” and “The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2012 Digital Marketing Budget Planning,” among others.

• Launch of new products and services designed with the hotelier’s needs in mind, including the HeBS CMS Premium, the most advanced content management system in the industry today, fully compatible with the recent Google Panda and “Freshness” Updates, featuring automated content push to the hotel’s social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and mobile site; the Reservation  Recovery Strategy to recover abandoned hotel bookings, a Mobile Marketing Starter Package to help hoteliers generate incremental revenues from their mobile websites, Facebook Sweepstakes functionality to engage the hotel’s social fans, as well as a Flash Sales Functionality for the hotel own website.

• One hundred-plus new accounts added to HeBS Digital’s hotel client portfolio. New hotel clients selected HeBS Digital for its award-winning website design, direct online channel strategy consulting services and full-service digital marketing services, including CMS Enterprise and CMS Premium solutions, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), mobile website and mobile marketing campaigns, social media and other digital marketing services.

• Achieved 2,649% ROI for our clients (weighted average), with an average cost per booking via the hotel website 10 to 15 times lower than a typical booking via the OTAs.

“The year 2011 was great for both HeBS Digital and our clients, and the entire team is excited and eager to bring our services to an even higher level in 2012,” said Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital. “Every day, we proactively research and implement ways to generate even higher ROIs for our clients; we also seek to create digital products and offer services to address their needs and concerns. That’s the bottom line for us. We take our credo to heart: HeBS Digital strives to be the smartest hotel Internet marketing firm in the industry, and to maximize clients’ online revenues and ROIs while providing real value and not just a service.”

Here are some comments made by HeBS Digital clients in 2011:

“We are very pleased that HeBS won these awards [the Web Marketing Association presented HeBS with two WebAwards for work created for The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch and for High Velocity in Indianapolis]. We have enjoyed a great working relationship with everyone on their team, and they are creating some exceptionally creative work.”

-Michael Bennett, Vice President of eCommerce and Communication for White Lodging

“This honor [Silver W3 Award] reinforces HeBS Digital as the industry leader in Internet marketing for the hospitality industry.  Our property maintains an extremely high set of standards for everything we do and HeBS Digital greatly exceeded our expectations with the creation of our new website.  They achieved exactly what we were looking for by providing online users with a quality and engaging experience, sophisticated and easy-to-use navigation and vivid imagery.  This new website allows the Las Vegas Hilton to secure a stronger position relating to online room bookings in the competitive Las Vegas market.”

-Ken Ciancimino, Executive Vice President of Administration, The Las Vegas Hilton

“Valencia Group has been working with HeBS Digital for over four years now, and every month they have made a point to keep us on top of the latest search engine marketing trends and continuously optimize our campaigns for increased performance. The result is that our search engine marketing campaigns drive significant revenues for the Valencia Group portfolio of hotel websites and have become an integral part of our online success.”

- Wendy Norris, Corporate Director of Revenue for Valencia Hotel Group

“In the ultra competitive casino industry, it is only through strategic partnerships with thought leaders like HeBS Digital Hospitality eBusiness Strategies that we are able to achieve and maintain our role as market leaders. We are honored to have received these awards and look forward to more exciting marketing campaigns in 2011.”

-Chad Hallert, Director of E-Commerce & Internet Marketing, Eldorado Hotel Casino & Silver Legacy Resort

About HeBS Digital:

Founded in 2001, HeBS Digital is the industry’s leading full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel strategy firm based in New York City (www.HeBSDigital.com).

HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the “best practices” in hotel Internet marketing, social and mobile marketing, and direct online channel distribution. The firm has won over 160 prestigious industry awards for its digital marketing and website design services, including numerous Adrian Awards, Davey Awards, W3 Awards, WebAwards, Magellan Awards, Summit International Awards, Interactive Media Awards, and IAC Awards.

A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of the hospitality Internet marketing expertise offered at HeBS Digital. Contact HeBS’ consultants at (212) 752-8186 or info@hebsdigital.com.

Editorial Contact:
Mariana Mechoso Safer
HeBS Digital
Phone: 212-752-8186
Email: mariana@hebsdigital.com
Web: http://www.hebsdigital.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebsdigital
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeBS_NYC
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hospitality-ebusiness-strategies

“At HeBS Digital we know the crucial role that customer reviews play in driving website traffic and bookings,” said Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital. “Hoteliers must also align the hotel’s ‘official’ content on their website with the ‘unofficial’ customer-generated content – otherwise there will be a gap in credibility. Revinate’s platform, coupled with HeBS Digital services, will allow hoteliers to take control of their reputation online, compare their performance against the competition, make operational improvements, increase loyalty, and drive sales.”

Revinate aggregates online reviews from sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Hotels.com and Priceline into one intuitive dashboard.  In addition, Revinate allows hoteliers to create custom searches to collect every mention of the hotel, its restaurant, competition,  or more across news sites, blogs, photo or video sites and social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and foursquare. But more than a listening platform, Revinate allows hoteliers to take action by responding to reviews, opening tickets, or updating social media accounts in real time, directly from the Revinate dashboard.

“Revinate’s intuitive platform helps us manage our customer reviews and social media strategy with better insight,” said Chad Hallert, Director of eCommerce/Internet Marketing at Eldorado Resorts, LLC. HeBS Digital takes this insight and provides recommendations based on how we’re doing against the comp set and against our goals.  The Revinate platform, combined with HeBS Digital’s customer review action plans is the key to our online reputation success. ”

“We are pleased to be working with HeBS Digital to provide our customers with the thought leadership and strategy that is often necessary to ensure that the deep intelligence we provide is being used to its greatest potential,” said Marc Heyneker, Co-Founder and VP of Sales and Business Development.  We look forward to seeing our customers thrive with their services.

Hotel-controlled content on review sites and social media channels have a considerable impact on visitor traffic and conversions, and HeBS Digital is a pioneer in driving customer review strategies for its clients. The HeBS Digital offering includes the Revinate platform plus HeBS Digital’s Customer Review Services, designed to help hoteliers make the most out of Revinate data, reviews, trends, and comp set statistics. HeBS Digital offers both a quarterly package and services a la carte. Click here to learn more about HeBS Digital Revinate Packages and Revinate services.

About HeBS Digital:

Founded in 2001, HeBS Digital is the industry’s leading full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel strategy firm based in New York City (www.HeBSDigital.com).

HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the “best practices” in hotel Internet marketing, social and mobile marketing, and direct online channel distribution. The firm has won over 130 prestigious industry awards for its digital marketing and website design services, including numerous Adrian Awards, Davey Awards, W3 Awards, WebAwards, Magellan Awards, Summit International Awards, Interactive Media Awards, and IAC Awards.

A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of the hospitality Internet marketing expertise offered at HeBS Digital. Contact HeBS’ consultants at (212) 752-8186 or success@hebsdigital.com.

About Revinate

With online guest-generated travel reviews increasing in both number and importance, hotel and restaurant owners and operators have a simple choice: either ignore the cacophony of social media and hope for the best or proactively track and manage what is being said online in a way that deepens customer relationships, strengthens brands and boosts revenue. If you opt for the latter, then Revinate’s user-friendly software platform, custom-designed for the unique needs of the hospitality industry, is an irreplaceable tool. Revinate’s powerful technology monitors all of the important social media venues – including Twitter, Facebook and TripAdvisor – and provides instant alerts whenever your property or brand is mentioned. Based in San Francisco, Revinate counts the world’s leading hospitality brands as clients. To learn more, please visit www.revinate.com

Editorial Contact:

Mariana Mechoso Safer
HeBS Digital
Phone: 212-752-8186
Email: mariana@hebsdigital.com
Web: http://www.hebsdigital.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebsdigital
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeBS_NYC
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hospitality-ebusiness-strategies

NEW YORK, NY (November 7, 2011) – Loews Hotels today launched the mobile website www.loewshotels.com/m featuring location aware capabilities built by HeBS Digital, the leading digital marketing and direct online strategy firm for the hospitality industry. The mobile website serves automatically on all mobile devices, has a touch-screen friendly design, is fully optimized for mobile searches, enables reservations through the Loews Hotels’ mobile booking engine and offers the ability to detect the location of the mobile device accessing the site.

“As more people use mobile searches we are adapting to provide readily available information to existing and prospective hotel guests at the time they need it most,” said Lise Struwing, Loews Hotels Director, Web Strategy. “As part of our focused mobile strategy at Loews Hotels – from a state-of-the-art mobile website to mobile marketing, geo-locating and other mobile services, we are catering to the modern mobile traveler.”

The addition of the ‘location aware’ feature to the mobile site enables Loews Hotels to provide a potential guest immediate information and data that enables them to know where the closest property is to their current proximity. A mobile device holder in New York City will automatically receive a prompt to book the Loews Regency Hotel and indicate location-specific special offers and packages. The ‘location aware’ capability helps streamline the guest experience by filling in addresses faster and providing directions personalized to the guest.

Google reports that 19 percent of all hotel queries are conducted on mobile devices, and 58 percent of mobile bookers made a hotel reservation on the same day of arrival and within 20 miles of their present location. Loews Hotels and HeBS Digital are pioneering the next generation mobile web to anticipate the needs of the hotel guest.

“What the customer wants from mobile is information that is local and immediate,” said Jason Price, Executive Vice President of HeBS Digital. “We see mobile as an opportunity to engage the customer at every stage of the travel experience. Adding a ‘location aware’ component to the mobile experience is only the beginning.”

About Loews Hotels
Headquartered in New York City, Loews Hotels owns and/or operates 18 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada, including the newest 414-room Loews Atlanta Hotel opened April 1, 2010.  Located in major city centers and resort destinations from coast to coast, the Loews portfolio features one-of-a-kind properties that go beyond Four Diamond standards to delight guests with a supremely comfortable, uniquely local and vibrant travel experience. Loews boasts some of the industry’s most innovative and successful travel programs, including Loews Loves Kids for families and Loews Loves Pets for discerning animals on the road. For reservations or more information on Loews Hotels, call 1-800-23-LOEWS or check www.loewshotels.com.

Follow Loews Hotels on Twitter: www.twitter.com/loews_hotels
Like Loews Hotels on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LoewsHotels
Watch Loews Hotels on YouTube: www.youtube.com/LoewsHotels

About HeBS Digital

Founded in 2001, HeBS Digital is the industry’s leading full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel strategy firm based in New York City (www.HeBSDigital.com). HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the “best practices” in hotel Internet marketing, social and mobile marketing, and direct online channel distribution. The firm has won over 150 prestigious industry awards for its digital marketing and website design services, including numerous Adrian Awards, Davey Awards, W³ Awards, WebAwards, Magellan Awards, Summit International Awards, Interactive Media Awards, and IAC Awards. A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of the hospitality Internet marketing expertise offered at HeBS Digital. Contact HeBS’ consultants at (212) 752-8186 or info@hebsdigital.com.

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Contact:
Loews Hotels
Lark-Marie Anton
(212) 521-2779
lanton@loewshotels.com

Hawkins International Public Relations
Emily Easter
(212) 255-6541
emily@hawkpr.com

HeBS Digital
Mariana Mechoso Safer
(702) 463-1857
mariana@hebsdigital.com

Hotel-Online Q1

Social Buying/Flash Sales Sites have become very popular over the past 3 years. What are the pros and cons for hoteliers utilizing this channel?

Max Starkov:

I stand firm on my assessment that social buying & flash sales sites are a recessionary phenomenon, and not some kind of new, emerging distribution channel that is here to stay. There is no doubt that as the economy improves, these sites will go away.

Social buying and flash sales sites in travel and hospitality such as Groupon, LivingSocial.com, and SniqueAway.com are an integral part of the economy and the supply-demand market equilibrium. For social buying and flash sales sites to exist, there must be market equilibrium (price-quantity) between: the demand side (quantity of members/engaged social buyers) and the supply side (quantity of fresh, intriguing deals).

In 2011, all signs are indicating that the hospitality industry is in recovery mode. STR projects that all three of the key performance measurements (occupancy rate, ADR and RevPAR) will realize steady increases for the year as a whole.

As travel demand improves, hoteliers are becoming reluctant to participate in social buying/flash sales sites because of their “open discount” business model, and provide the supply side of the equation with fresh, intriguing deals. The result? Both sides of the equation suffer & shrink. Online travel consumers, disappointed by the lack of fresh/intriguing hotel deals, are reverting back to the traditional booking channels: hotel direct, OTAs, GDS and voice.

Here are only some of the indisputable signs of this weakening and shrinkage in supply and demand:

• Visits to social buying/flash sales sites declined by 25% since June 2011 (Hitwise) due to:
  • Too many competitors
  • Deal fatigue
  • Not enough good deals
• Groupon and Off & Away were forced to partner with Expedia
• Groupon: Customer acquisition costs are out of control
  • Advertising costs: $263M in 2010 vs. $4.5M in 2009. $180M in Q1 2011!
  • Revenue per subscriber has fallen by 64.2% (06/09-03/11)
  • Number of deals sold per customer have decreased by 34%

Why should hoteliers be wary of using the social buying/flash sales sites? Here are only a few of the reasons that the economics do not work for the hospitality industry should mean:

• Flawed “Open Discount” business model:
  • Discounted rate is out in the open, which is against rate parity/BRG principles
  • Destroys rate integrity: against existing contracts(OTAs, corporate travel)
• Lack of opaqueness establishes new lower market price: hotel cannot charge rack rate since customer has accepted the discount rate as the new market value
• Cannibalization of existing customer base: 65% of daily deal buyers are already Frequent (38%) or Infrequent (27%) Customers (ForeSee 06/11)
• Deal face value is artificially ballooned to show value: this puts off potential customers by positioning the hotel as “too expensive”
• Steep discounts of 50%-67.50% are simply unacceptable

Here is a case study clearly showing the true cost of distribution via the flash sales sites:

As we see from the example, the cost of distribution via the social buying/flash sales site is 27 times higher than via the hotel own website. Why are some hoteliers still finding the social buying/flash sales sites attractive? There are two types of hoteliers in the industry:

• Smart, sophisticated hoteliers who understand that using social buying/flash sales sites leads to price and brand erosion, and ultimately damages the hotel’s price integrity and overall online revenues in the long run
• Hoteliers who employ a “lazy man’s approach” to hotel distribution and who are more interested in the immediate results ignoring or not caring about long term repercussions

Some hoteliers participate in social buying and flash sales sites merely because their competition is doing so. My advice? Don’t succumb to the devil. A smart hotelier would never repeat the mistakes or dumb moves of a dumb competitor, why do it now with the flash sales sites? Stick to the fundamentals in hotel distribution and make sure you are covering all the bases in the Direct Online Channel, including website re-designs, SEO, SEM, email marketing, social media, mobile web, online media, the voice channel, and GDS Travel Agent channel.

Hotel-Online Q2:

Google Hotel Finder: A lot has been said about the Google Hotel Finder and its implications for the industry. Who are the winners and losers from this new service?

 One thing is clear: with the introduction of the Google Hotel Finder (http://www.google.com/hotelfinder/), Google is not entering the OTA space and is not becoming an online travel agency. All bookings originating from the Google Hotel Finder take place on the hotel website or OTA website.

Therefore, in my view, the introduction of Google Hotel Finder is not a “revolutionary” and “game-changing” event as some industry experts claim. So what kind of an event is the Google Hotel Finder?

The Google Hotel Finder is:

• A logical extension to the Google’s Hotel Price Ads cost-per-click (CPC) advertising program, introduced in Q3 2010. This CPC lead-generation program initially started as a pilot with a number of big OTAs with the introduction of a pricing menu in the property Google Places page as well as in the Google Maps results pages.

• A smart way for Google to generate incremental revenues from the search engine results real estate it provided for free in the past, such as Google Places, Google Maps, etc.

• A natural progression of Google’s quest to provide the a) most relevant information, and b) the best user experience. When users are searching for hotels, they care about three important pieces of information in the result pages: hotel location (proximity to where the user is going to – Google has addressed this via the insertion of a Google Map in the results pages), price, and availability. The real-time availability widget and the pricing menus in Google Places, Google Maps and Google Hotel Finder address the latter.

At the same time, the hotel pricing and availability content in Google Places and Google Maps is a natural progression in Google’s strategic objective to accumulate the deepest and most relevant depository of local content ever created on this planet. Google has already achieved that.

Why does Google need local content? First, over 30% of all searches are local in character. Second, local content equals mobile content. Google is preparing for the dramatic entrance of the next digital medium that is already changing the way people access information and interact online – the mobile web.

Who are the winners from the new Google Hotel Finder?

• The OTAs are winners: Now the OTAs are dominating the pricing menus in each hotel’s Google Places page – in the past the only way an OTA could seep onto a Google Places page was via an AdWords paid search ad.
• The major hotel brands will be winners once they implement the Google API and start pushing real time availability and pricing information to Google, it becomes another direct online channel to pursue.

Who are the losers from the new Google Hotel Finder?

• The OTAs are also losers: Over the years the OTAs have become a type of meta search engines themselves. Expedia claims that 40% of their traffic researches hotels on Expedia but then visits and books on hotel branded websites. The OTAs will lose at least a portion of these “meta search” and “shopping around” users to Google Hotel Finder.
• All meta search sites, including Kayak.com, are definite losers. Now Internet users have a similar meta search environment to find the hotel, its location, pricing and availability and transact with the hotel or an OTA.
• Independent hotels so far are the losers since their pricing does not appear in the Google’s Hotel Price Ads (the drop down pricing menus in Google Places and Google Maps)

Currently all major OTAs participate in the program. All major hotel brands are working hard to implement the Google API (interface) between the brand CRS (Central Reservation Systems) and the Google back-end. Very soon we will start seeing real-time availability and pricing provided by the major brands in the pricing drop-down menus in Google Places, Google Maps and Google Hotel Finder.

As for the independent hotels, they have to push their GDS connectivity providers (such as Utell, SynXis, iHotelier, Genares, etc.) to implement the Google API and start serving real-time availability and pricing to the Google Hotel Finder and the drop-down pricing menus in Google Places and Google Maps.

Hotel-Online Q3: 

Social Media: There has been a lot of buzz about social media and its role in hospitality. Is it or is it not social media a distribution channel? What is the correct use of social media in hospitality and what should hoteliers do about it?

Max Starkov:

Let’s put the record straight: Social media is not a distribution channel in hospitality. Social media is a customer engagement channel, and an extremely important one at that.

There is no doubt that social media has changed how travel consumers research and plan travel, access travel information, and perceive credibility of information. Internet users are increasingly influenced by social media sites, location-based services (LBS) and location-based social networks (LBSN), near-field communication services (NFC) and peer reviews. By utilizing a comprehensive social media strategy, hoteliers can create social media “buzz” around the hotel, target receptive audiences, and ultimately stimulate hotel website visits, interactions, and bookings.

Social marketing should become an important component of any hotel’s marketing mix and part of the comprehensive direct online channel strategy for any hotel company. Naturally, it is important to use the right ROI metrics to measure the success of social marketing efforts of the hotel. Social media and social marketing initiatives should be reviewed with “sober eyes” and within the context of the impact of the multi-channel marketing strategy of the hotel.

Instead of focusing on bookings and revenue when measuring results from social media marketing, remember that currently the best uses of social media are as:

• An important component of a hotel’s multi-channel marketing
• An important customer service channel
• A brand-building and buzz-building channel
• A medium to interact with and engage customers
• A source of engaged and relevant traffic to the hotel website
• A way to make the hotel look current, cool, and up-to-date

Action steps to better utilize social media:

• Partner with a social media strategy company to launch/enhance your social media presence and provide ongoing quarterly reviews and trainings, as well as social media technology and creative services (e.g. custom tabs and interactive contests and sweepstakes on Facebook, etc)
• Establish a brand consistent Facebook and Twitter presence
• Locate/designate your on-property Social Media “Champion”
• Spend  minimum 1-3 hours daily to manage social media presence
• Post 3-5 times/week each on both Facebook and Twitter
• Use engaging posts (ask questions, use trivia, hold contests)

HeBS Digital received Silver W³ Awards for the following projects:

• Brush Creek Ranch (www.brushcreekranch.com)
• New York Palace (www.newyorkpalace.com)
• Las Vegas Hilton (www.lvhilton.com)
• Hotel Roger Williams (www.therogernewyork.com)
• “Big Break” Indian Wells Sweepstakes
• “You’re the Star” Silver Legacy Sweepstakes
• Loews Hotels Mobile Site (www.loewshotels.com/m)

“In this hyper-connected social and mobile world, hoteliers need to think beyond just the hotel website and develop multi-channel marketing campaigns that engage users across all “digital touch points”. HeBS Digital strives to reach today’s hyper-interactive travel consumer by creating not just award-winning, fully-interactive websites, but also digital marketing campaigns such as interactive contests and sweepstakes, mobile websites and initiatives to reach potential hotel guests at multiple touch points for compounded effect” said Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital.  “These awards are indicative of our ability to create intuitive user experiences that lead to customer engagement across all existing digital marketing channels, and we are proud have earned this recognition and to share these prestigious awards with our clients.”

The W³ Awards recognize creative excellence on the Internet, ranging from outstanding websites to web advertising, online video and mobile applications. The awards are sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), an invitation-only group of top-tier professionals from advertising, interactive, marketing and media firms.

Commenting on the award, Ken Ciancimino, Executive Vice President of Administration, said, “this honor reinforces HeBS Digital as the industry leader in Internet marketing for the hospitality industry.  Our property maintains an extremely high set of standards for everything we do and HeBS Digital greatly exceeded our expectations with the creation of our new website.  They achieved exactly what we were looking for by providing online users with a quality and engaging experience, sophisticated and easy-to-use navigation and vivid imagery.  This new website allows the Las Vegas Hilton to secure a stronger position relating to online room bookings in the competitive Las Vegas market.”

HeBS Digital received the following Travel Weekly Magellan Awards:

Gold Magellan Awards in the Hotels and Resorts | Web Marketing/Advertising Category:

• Shell Vacations Hospitality Black Friday Travel Interactive Scavenger Hunt and Sweepstakes
• Valencia Group’s Search Engine Marketing campaigns

Silver Magellan Award in the Hotels and Resorts | Web Marketing/Advertising Category:

• Silver Legacy Resort Casino’s the ‘You’re the Star’ Interactive Sweepstakes

“Today’s hyper-interactive travel consumer has very high expectations for hotel websites and digital marketing campaigns,” said Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital. “HeBS Digital’s products and services have consistently evolved to meet these expectations and to reach our clients’ audiences at multiple touch-points during the travel planning process. By launching campaigns simultaneously across various channels, such as the hotel website, an Interactive sweepstakes mini-site and search engine marketing campaigns, we are able to produce a much greater effect than launching these campaigns on their own. These awards are a testament to how Direct Online Channel multi-marketing initiatives such as these can be both innovative and ROI-driven at the same time, and we are proud to share these with our valued strategic clients.’

From design to marketing to client services, the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards honors the best in travel and salutes the outstanding travel professionals behind it all.

“Valencia Group has been working with HeBS Digital for over four years now, and every month they have made a point to keep us on top of the latest search engine marketing trends and continuously optimize our campaigns for increased performance,” said Wendy Norris, Corporate Director of Revenue for Valencia Group. “The result is that our search engine marketing campaigns drive significant revenues for the Valencia Group portfolio of hotel websites and have become an integral part of our online success.”

About Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS Digital):

Founded in 2001, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS Digital) is the industry’s leading full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel strategy firm based in New York City (www.HeBSDigital.com).

HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the “best practices” in hotel Internet marketing, social and mobile marketing, and direct online channel distribution. The firm has won over 150 prestigious industry awards for its digital marketing and website design services, including numerous Adrian Awards, Davey Awards, W3 Awards, WebAwards, Magellan Awards, Summit International Awards, Interactive Media Awards, and IAC Awards.

A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of the hospitality Internet marketing expertise offered at HeBS Digital. Contact HeBS’ consultants at (212) 752-8186 or info@hebsdigital.com.

About the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards

Travel Weekly and TravelWeekly.com are the most influential B2B news resources for the travel industry, delivering news, analysis and research for travel professionals. In-depth coverage of every business sector, including airline, car rental, cruise, destination, hotel and tour operator, makes Travel Weekly an authority in the industry. The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards recognize excellence in each of these categories, honoring successful and innovative industry leaders. Additional information about the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards can be found at travelweeklyawards.com.

The annual Travel Distribution Summit, now in its 13th year, provides networking opportunities and insights from travel insiders. The premier two-day summit will provide key information on how the travel industry can anticipate, adapt and thrive in the fast-changing online arena.

The “Social Buying and Flash Sales: The Pros and Cons” panel will examine the arguments for and against using flash sale sites as a distribution channel, and explore the risks and costs involved with a group deal. Hoteliers and industry members will receive insight from Starkov on the danger of relying on flash sale tactics in favor of the proven, ROI-centric direct online channel.

According to Starkov, “There is no doubt that hotel distribution has changed dramatically over the past 16 years since the advent of the “commercial” Internet. Online distribution, social media and the mobile Web have all changed how we connect with, engage and ultimately convert customers. But the fundamental principles of hotel distribution have not changed that much. Hoteliers need to focus on distribution channels that “pass the litmus test” i.e.: are cost-effective; generate the most bookings; protect rate parity and price integrity, and reach the targeted customer segments. In other words, the main focus and priority for any hotelier should be to sell as much inventory via the most cost-effective distribution channels that can potentially generate the most bookings, while preserving rate parity and price erosion.”

“We are excited to have Max Starkov, a thought leader in hotel online distribution and marketing, on this panel,” said Rosie Akenhead, EyeforTravel’s TDS Director. “Mr. Starkov always provides unique and provoking perspectives on the subject. I have no doubts this session will be an eye-opening experience for the conference participants.”

Starkov, along with Steven Rubin, Regional Director Revenue & Distribution, Kimpton Hotels; Kevin McLaughlin, CEO, smartdestinations.com;  Doug Aley, CEO, off & away and Doug Miller, SVP New Business Initiatives, LivingSocial, will explore these crucial topics regarding social buying and flash sale sites:

• Find out whether group buying is a viable distribution channel, and see which travel companies are testing it.

• Flash Sales: research tells us that airline flash sales don’t have maximum effectiveness. Which travel brands have bucked the trend and are reaping the rewards?

• Does group buying work for every aspect of travel: airline, hotel, car hire, cruise, OTA… and if not, why not?

• Ask LivingSocial and Off & Away about the risk and cost involved with a group deal and decide whether it’s feasible for your business.

“There are certain hotel distribution ideas and channels that work, and then there are those that are detrimental to the hotel industry and do not make economic sense”, continues Starkov. “Hoteliers must preserve rate parity and their brand by utilizing the most cost-effective distribution channels, instead of using desperate measures to sell inventory. The panel will provide the opportunity to give the hoteliers’ perspective, and I am thrilled to participate in this important event.”

Note: Exclusive to HeBS Digital clients, partners and HeBS Digital Report subscribers: quote “HeBS Digital” and claim a 10% discount off the usual rates to attend THE online travel & hospitality conference of the year! You can access the secure registration page here: http://events.eyefortravel.com/tdsusa/conference/registration.shtml

The sweepstakes, designed, marketed and written by HeBS Digital, allows participants to enter once a day for 30 days to win a free one-night stay at the Last Vegas Hilton. At the end of the 30-day sweepstakes, a Grand Sweepstakes prize will be announced: a complimentary 4-day, 3-night VIP weekend getaway in the Las Vegas Hilton’s Hollywood suite! This sweepstakes appeals to lovers of Sin City as well as fans of all things free!

Viva Las Vegas Sweepstakes

Contestants can enter the Viva Las Vegas Sweepstakes every day between July 6, 2011 and August 4^th, 2011 to win the Daily Prizes and be entered to win the Grand Prize. The contest also features a forward-to-a-friend functionality which awards a $250 cash card prize to the person who refers the most friends to enter the sweepstakes via the website. The Las Vegas Hilton Viva Las Vegas Sweepstakes is the perfect opportunity for entrants to win big!

The Las Vegas Hilton sweepstakes will encourage daily visits to the website, grow its opt-in email list and social media followings, and promote the property as the premier hotel in Las Vegas. Multi-channel marketing efforts to promote the sweepstakes include email marketing, Facebook & Twitter, strategic linking, online newswires, and the forward-to-a-friend functionality.

The Las Vegas Hilton consistently offers its guests personalized service, sophisticated accommodations, and unparalleled dining and entertainment. Onsite features include a 74,000 square foot 24-hour casino, the world’s largest sports booking venue, 200,000 square feet of event space to plan everything from corporate meetings to weddings, and much more.

Enter the “Viva Free Room Nights” at the Las Vegas Hilton here!

To kick off the 10-year anniversary celebration, HeBS Digital will be launching the following:

• A new website and URL of www.HeBSDigital.com.
• Client appreciation discount of 10% off all products and services from May 24 – June 24 (including mobile websites, sweepstakes, Facebook custom tabs, and more).
• Fan Frenzy Contest on Facebook to reach at least 1,000 fans on its Facebook page by June 30. HeBS Digital will give away $1 for every new Fan gained until the contest ends.
• Sweepstakes: HeBS Digital will launch an interactive sweepstakes in June celebrating major milestones over the past ten years. Prizes will correspond to each milestone and a grand prize of an iPad2 will be awarded.

Milestones HeBS Digital is celebrating from the past ten years:

2001:

HeBS Digital President & CEO Max Starkov conceptualizes and creates Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS Digital) as an extension of two travel Internet start-ups: Travelbreak.com and WhaleMedia.com. HeBS Digital secures its first clients and begins developing a portfolio of ROI generating services. Starkov starts teaching graduate courses on Hotel E-Commerce and Online Distribution at New York University’s Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism Studies, as an adjunct professor. Also this year, HeBS Digital starts the tradition of publishing groundbreaking articles on hotel e-commerce and online distribution topics with 12 articles in 2001, including “Wireless in Travel and Hospitality: Hype or Necessity?” and “Independent Hoteliers: Twelve Inexpensive Ways to Promote Your Website.”

2002:

HeBS Digital secures more notable clients, some of which are still with us today, locks in 2 industry conference speaking engagements, and publishes 5 industry research articles, including “Hotelier’s Top Ten New Year’s Internet Marketing Resolutions” and “Brand Erosion or How Not to Market Your Hotel on the Web”.

2003:

The HeBS Digital portfolio of clients hits 100 with Fairmont Hotels! HeBS Digital wins its first major website design award – the HSMAI Golden Click Award (now known as the Adrian Award), and is engaged for 2 major industry event speakerships.  HeBS Digital publishes 9 research articles, including “Best Rate Guarantees in Hospitality” and “Developing a Destination Web Strategy in Hospitality.”

2004:

HeBS Digital solidifies its place as the only hotel digital marketing firm to focus strictly on driving direct online channel revenues for its clients with the article, “The Year of Direct Online Distribution.” HeBS Digital also secures 3 HSMAI Golden Click Awards and 5 speaking engagements at major hospitality conferences.

2005:

HeBS Digital continues to gain notable clients, many of whom are still with us today. HeBS Digital also wins some big awards this year, including three HSMAI Golden Click Awards and an eMarketer of the Year Award for its client, Joie De Vivre Hotels. The firm has 5 speakership engagements and publishes 3 articles, including “The End of the Merchant Model as We Know It” and “Search Engine Marketing in Hospitality.”

2006:

HeBS Digital launches the first “Benchmark Survey on Hotel Internet Marketing Budget Planning and Best Practices in Hospitality,” in conjunction with NYU’s Tisch Center for Hospitality Studies. HeBS Digital also publishes 7 articles and wins 13 awards, including the Best Travel Website of the Year WebAward. Notable articles include “Consumer Generated Media – a Threat or an Opportunity” and “Developing a Blog Strategy in Hospitality.” The firm has 6 industry event speaking engagements, including a “Blog Strategy in Hospitality” workshop at EyeforTravel’s Travel Distribution Summit.

2007:

HeBS Digital wins 18 website design and digital marketing campaign awards, and reintroduces the important topic of mobile marketing as something to watch (after first introducing this topic in 2001) in one of its 9 published articles. Other important articles include “Building an eCRM Strategy in Hospitality” and “Measuring Results and ROI from Marketing Spend in Hospitality.”  The firm secures 7 guest speakerships, including a social media workshop.

2008:

HeBS Digital introduces its first Web 2.0 application on a website – an interactive sweepstakes for Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno, Nevada. HeBS Digital wins 21 hotel website design and digital marketing awards, and publishes 6 articles, including “Best Practices on Monitoring Hotel Review Sites” and the much acclaimed “Getting Back to the Basics: The Hotelier’s Internet Marketing Action Plan.”
This year, HeBS Digital has 10 guest speakership engagements, many of them on customer engagement, best practices in managing the direct online channel, and social media.

2009:

HeBS Digital dominates HotelMarketing.com’s Most Popular articles of the year with 6 articles, including the groundbreaking “Mobile Marketing & Distribution Strategy in Hospitality: the Future is Already Here” and “The Prisoner’s Dilemma, the Stockholm Syndrome, or a Case of Both?,” an article on the increasing dependency on OTA’s, which garnered many comments. This is also a big year for awards, with HeBS Digital receiving 16, including the Gold Magellan Award for its interactive sweepstakes product. HeBS Digital’s President & CEO receives the HSMAI “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing” honor.

2010:

HeBS Digital receives its 100^th creative digital marketing award! HeBS Digital receives a total of 39 website design and digital marketing creative awards and publishes 12 new articles, including “Best Practices in Hotel Website Design” and “Engaging the Hyper-Interactive Traveler Using Web 2.0 and Social Media: The Hotelier’s Best Practices Guide.” Max Starkov is appointed to serve on the HSMAI Digital Marketing Council, the highest hotel Internet marketing authority in the country, commissioned to monitor and educate HSMAI members about the emerging trends and innovations happening in hotel digital marketing universe. HeBS Digital also expands its client services by opening a dynamic, fully-functional client services office in Las Vegas.

Over the past ten years, HeBS Digital has grown to a 65+ person company of top-notch, in-house experts in all areas of hotel website design and digital marketing. HeBS Digital’s senior team has 11 Master’s degrees in hospitality studies, tourism, marketing and business administration from top universities. The company continued to expand and generate serious ROIs for clients even during the recession (2240% ROI overall for clients in 2009 and 2237% ROI in 2010) by constantly driving innovation, developing best practices in the industry, and providing exceptional services to each and every client. Clients stay with HeBS Digital an average of 5-6 years, proving the company is not just an agency but a partner to its clients.

“HeBS Digital doesn’t just provide a service to hoteliers; we offer value and a partnership. We have always strived to be the smartest company in the industry – not the largest. We are very excited to take our company to the next level, and believe that rebranding to HeBS Digital exemplifies our commitment to constant innovation in the online space,” said Max Starkov, President and CEO of HeBS Digital. “Every strategy we have created, every website we have launched, and every digital marketing campaign we have promoted from the day HeBS Digital started operating has had one major goal – to drive serious revenues for our clients. From all of us at HeBS Digital, we would like to extend a warm thank you to the industry and to our clients for your support. We look forward to continuing our mission of helping hoteliers maximize online revenues and maximizing value for our clients with cutting edge services for years to come.”