Workshop to focus on online
brand building strategies
New York, NY � March 20, 2007 � Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS),
a leading Internet marketing consulting firm for the hospitality industry,
today announced the firm will present an Internet Marketing Workshop: �Economy
Hotel Branding Strategies Online� at the Economy & Budget Hotels World
2007 Conference, May 22-24 at the Millennium Mayfair Hotel in London.
Max Starkov, HeBS� Chief eBusiness Strategist and Jason Price, HeBS�
Executive Vice President will present a two-part workshop, focusing on
building brand equity online in the economy hotel sector and the importance
of brand awareness on the Web for increased direct bookings and increased
competitiveness.
Some of the topics in the workshop include:
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The effect of the Internet on economy hotel brands and their customers
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Building brand awareness online
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Building emotional connections with customers
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Building positive customer perceptions of the economy hotel brand ethics
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Best practices in growing the brand online
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Defining a corporate and franchisee friendly branding strategy
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Building local brand value at the franchisee/property level:
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Local Brand Ambassadors program
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Build local customer relationships
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De-commoditization of the economy hotel product
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Value vs. Price Equation and brand building
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Methods to structure the budget and maintain control
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Tactics on putting the marketing budget to work
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Case studies
According to Starkov, �In 2006, all hotel brands including economy and
budget brands far exceeded their own expectations in hotel bookings via
the brand website. These brand website bookings are at the lowest
cost point and highest ADRs, and branding online is essential and well
within reach by large and smaller hotel brands and independents.
This is especially important for the economy and budget hotel market because
it is a particularly competitive, dynamic and a robust segment of the hospitality
industry. Our goal at Economy & Budget Hotels World 2007 is to
describe brand building best practices with a hands-on approach.
We will describe the strategies and principles of online distribution and
marketing methodologies and explore resources for building a strong connection
with customers.�
Building a robust online presence and brand equity within the framework
of direct-to-consumer online distribution and creating interactive relationships
with clients presents substantial opportunities to hoteliers. Developing
brand equity can forestall price erosion, strengthen the brand for long
term economic health, increase ROIs, and enable direct communication with
a loyal customer base to promote the property and its services. As a result,
hoteliers are increasingly committing resources to creating pro-active
strategies that combine best Internet marketing practices with a comprehensive
online brand building strategy and an aggressive direct web presence.
Commented Jennifer Pettinger, Economy and Budget Hotel World Project
Manager, �The continued growth and success of this conference demonstrates
the strength of the sector and the importance of maintaining a flow of
current marketing, financial and business information. The conference
brings together senior level managers from the major hotel brands, franchises
and financial institutions across Europe, North America and Asia.
Our ongoing strategy for this program is to ensure the conference provides
an exchange of practical strategies and ideas that directly impact fundamental
business concerns. Internet marketing is a critical component of
that mix.�
About HeBS
Headquartered
in New York City, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS) is the industry�s
leading Internet marketing strategy consulting firm for the hospitality
vertical (www.hospitalityebusiness.com). HeBS has pioneered many of the
"best practices" in hotel Internet marketing and direct online distribution.
The firm specializes in helping hoteliers build their direct Internet marketing
and distribution strategy, boost the hotel Internet marketing presence,
establish interactive relationships with their customers, and significantly
increase direct online bookings and ADRs. A diverse client portfolio of
over 350 top tier major hotel brands, multinational hospitality corporations,
hotel management and representation companies, franchisees and independents,
resorts, casinos and CVBs worldwide has sought and successfully taken advantage
of the firm hospitality Internet marketing expertise. Contact HeBS consultants
at (212)752-8186 or [email protected].
About Economy & Budget Hotels World
Organized by Terrapinn Ltd, a leading global business-to-business media
company, delegates will have the chance to hear from over 35 top-level
speakers representing operators, brands, franchises, financial and other
related businesses from diverse geographies countries. A pre-conference
half-day interactive workshop hosted by Hospitality eBusiness Strategies
is designed to help organizations understand the importance of building
their brand and build strategies for optimizing their online distribution
and internet marketing in ways that contribute to building brand equity.
For more information or to register please visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/hotels_uk
or contact Jennifer Pettinger, Project Manager, on Tel: +44 (0) 207 092
1262 Fax: +44 (0) 207 242 2832 or at [email protected]
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