Dragonfly Media (HSMAI member and strategic partner of HSMAI Curacao) is looking for a content editor for a large tourism website. If you’re good at writing English copy and have a good ‘feel’ for the tourism and hospitality industry you should check out their job posting.
The Curacao Marriott Resort & Casino has two open positions in their sales department.
The Sales Manager
As the local, on property sales contact for local and intra – Caribbean customers, the Sales Manager is responsible for proactively soliciting and managing local transient and intra – Caribbean transient (wholesale and leisure)/group and catering related opportunities.
Download the complete vacancy.
The Reservations Sales Agent
Providing the guests with the highest service possible by handling all reservation requests via telephone, fax, mail and Internet in a friendly, efficient and prompt manner.
Download the complete vacancy.
Ocean Encounters, a family owned and operated Gold Palm Five Star IDC PADI and National Geographic Dive Center with 5 facilities on the island, is looking for:
Full time marketing & Sales Representative
Full Time Shop Coordinator (more…)
We were very pleased with the high attendance during the presentation ‘Internet Marketing for Newbies’ on September 20! You can download the presentation’s powerpoint at Dragonfly Media’s blog.
Thank you everyone, for your time.
Take some time to let it sink in while we’ll keep you updated with interesting info!
Like this article from hotelmarketing.com: How user friendly are your top internal entry pages? (more…)
The new Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino is looking for motivated candidates to provide excellent service in a premium resort. Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino is a AAA, 4 Diamond Resort with 240 rooms, a casino, shopping mall, beach and pool area, cinema’s, parking garage, a public park and is due for completion late end 2007.
The Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino has the following job and career opportunities on short term:
| By David M. Brudney, ISHC
Source:hsmai.org
Show me a successful, highly respected hospitality Sales professional and I’ll show you someone who has mastered the art of developing referrals.
No greater compliment can be paid to a hospitality Sales pro than to have a prospect call to book a piece of business because “John Jones (a client of the Sales pro) told me I should call you.”
Now keep in mind, referrals don’t just “happen”. They develop from a process that usually takes time.
Referrals have to be earned
Good hospitality Sales pros develop referrals by taking care of business first:
Exceed Client Expectations. After you’ve booked a group, do everything possible to see that your client’s expectations have been exceeded. How will you know that? The client will tell you. If the client doesn’t, you have to ask.
Personal Contact. Never let the client depart from your property without meeting personally, making sure the client has everything needed, and say “thank you” for the business. Post-convention or conference meetings don’t count. You must do it in person, one-on-one.
Follow Up. Send a hand-written personal note to the client to be received a day or two after the event. A phone call and/or personal Sales call to the client’s office within two weeks at which time you can ask about feedback and any success stories since the event. You can use that valuable time also to reconfirm a repeat booking (if applicable), in case you didn’t nail that down at the event’s conclusion.
Drilling into the Account. If you have not done so before, this is an excellent opportunity to “drill” into the account - - “up, down, and out”. Ask for the names of (and introductions to) other executives and event planners in or connected with that organization.
For example (up), perhaps the CEO or general manager serve as board members or site selection committees of national, regional or state associations and professional societies.
Perhaps (down) a Sales manager lower on the totem pole at that company has a Sales meeting coming up with no property in mind.
And perhaps (out) this particular organization has strategic partners, website linked or not, or preferred vendors, some of whom may have new business to book.
Testimonials. Many clients - - typically upon being asked - - will write testimonial letters after a very successful event and/or when the Sales pro or the property staff exceeded the client’s expectations. Testimonials can be extremely useful tools when soliciting similar-type business.
Referrals have to be earned
But the best Sales pros are always on the lookout for those great referrals. Referrals represent instant credibility and value with the potential buyer.
Why are referrals so valuable? Because typically they come so unexpectedly. You didn’t have to expend the time, money nor effort to get the booking. No, the referral came because of the work you’ve done previously and because you earned it.
Timely referrals can lead to bookings when the Sales pro is having a slow (booking) month or quarter and is in need of making his/her numbers.
The very best time to ask
When is the best time to ask a satisfied client for a referral? At the very moment the satisfied client has given his/her thanks for a job well done.
“I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done”
“I don’t know how we would have pulled this off without you”
“This was by far the best meeting overall we’ve ever had”
Hearing those words - - that’s when the very best Sales pros respond with:
“Thank you. You know, the best thanks of all would be to give me the names of 2-3 decision makers/planners so we could do the same good job for them!”
In my four decades of experience in hospitality Sales, I have yet to come across a satisfied client that - - upon being asked to do so - - failed to supply a couple of names and contact info that led me to booking new business.
Never forget that planners talk to each other and they share the good and bad experiences.
Some satisfied clients will take ownership of the whole referral process. I’ve had satisfied clients make phone calls to prospective clients, give great testimonials, some have even arranged introductory lunch meetings. And insisted on picking up the tab, to boot!
Be sure and look for referral opportunities everywhere and anytime. I recommend one a month, 12 a year for new hospitality Sales professionals. If you can pick up 12 referrals a year, you are on your way to a long and successful career in hospitality Sales. And don’t be surprised if a referral comes some day from one of your competitors who can’t accommodate and who holds you and your property in high regard.
What’s next? Sales Lesson #8: Dealing with today’s new meeting planner.
© Copyright 2007
David M. Brudney, ISHC, is a veteran sales and marketing professional concluding his fourth decade of service to the hospitality industry. Brudney advises lodging owners, lenders, asset managers and operators on sales and marketing “best practices” and conducts reviews of sales and marketing operations throughout the U.S. and overseas. The principal of David Brudney & Associates of Carlsbad, CA, a sales and marketing consulting firm specializing in the hospitality industry since 1979, Brudney is a frequent lecturer, instructor and speaker. He is a charter member of International Society of Hospitality Consultants. Previously, Brudney held sales and marketing positions with Hyatt, Westin and Marriott.
CONTACT
David M. Brudney, ISHC, Principal
Phone: 760-476-0830
Email: David@DavidBrudney.com
ORGANIZATION
David Brudney & Associates
http://www.DavidBrudney.com
2938A Luciernaga Street
USA - Carlsbad, CA Phone: 760-476-0830
Fax: 760-476-0860
Email: David@DavidBrudney.com
Source: hotelmarketing.com
In today’s dynamic market where occupancy rates and ADRs depend on how well hoteliers utilize Internet marketing, it is no longer sufficient to measure basic website traffic stats like visitors, page views, or campaign stats like banner click-through rates and PPC clicks.
Marketing is all about results. Unlike offline marketing, we can track and analyze ROIs from our online marketing campaign results quickly and accurately over the Internet. There is no medium that allows tracking like the Internet does, yet in hospitality, we didn’t adopt these tracking technologies as soon as they were available. Instead we relied on cheap or free analytical tools to provide us with the information that management uses to make decisions. As a result, we are often basing important marketing decisions on inferior information.
We consistently receive numerous questions from hoteliers concerning how to most efficiently track and measure the ROI of online marketing efforts down to the reservation process. What metrics should hoteliers measure and pay attention to? What are the best practices in measuring ROI from the hotel’s marketing efforts? Or ROI from the hotel website? What are the best analytical tools out there? (more…)
Source: Hotelmarketing.com
No matter how you engage with customers–-face-to-face or online, through the mail or over the phone–your brand is an essential element that differentiates your company from your competitors. A well-defined brand tells customers and prospects who you are and what you stand for.
Elements of a brand include many things. At the most basic level, brand is represented through the company logo, the colors used and tag lines employed, if any, that evoke the company’s essence. Consistent use of these elements helps build a strong brand image. For example, the “swoosh” check-mark style of the Nike mark with the accompanying tag line “Just Do It” is one of the best-recognized brands worldwide. (more…)
Source: Marketingprofs.com
In the beginning, your company created a Web site. And it was good. But then it grew. And grew. And grew. Until it encompassed the heavens and the earth in content. Something for everyone. Everything for someone. And it ceased to be a coherent presentation to anyone. It became Encyclopedia Corporatica—a massive tome of information that includes press releases from five years ago. An impressive body of work, to be sure. But as a sales tool, as a marketing vehicle, it sags under its own weight. In the lightening-paced world of online marketing, your Web site has actually become less nimble. Before you can run with a daring new idea, you now have to make sure it fits with your existing information architecture, look-and-feel, and IT feature set. (more…)
Source: E-marketer.com
What’s the latest thing in online marketing for hotels?
Site design. Hotels have awakened to the challenge from online travel agencies, and they are shifting money into online marketing to meet it, according to a new study by Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS).
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The worldwide study of hospitality executives found that 68% of hoteliers plan to shift their budgets from offline to online marketing in 2007. Emerging media will not be part of the mix for most hotels, based on respondent opinions about what produces the best return on investment (ROI).
Web site optimization was listed most often (72%) by hotel execs, followed by search optimization and organic search (68%) and Web site redesign/design (62%). Only 17% of respondents named consumer-generated media, blogs and their ilk as bringing high ROI.
This is particularly relevant for online video, because individual hotel videos are a competitive advantage that many online travel agencies do not have. (more…)