Is Your Website Mobile Ready?

Good online and digital marketing businesses have been emphasising for several years the need for hospitality business to be mobile ready. Increases in mobile technology, new devices and improvements in booking software have all pointed towards the need for hotels, attractions and hospitality service businesses to be mobile ready. However it has taken a warning from Google to focus attention.

Website and news site around the world have been labelling the changes as "Mobilegeddon" and for many hospitality businesses this description is not far wrong. A random testing of thirty sites this morning found less than 20% ready for the changes and with so many searches on mobile devices for travel it could have major impacts on site traffic.

We have been building responsive websites as the norm for over a year now for tourism businesses and destination groups of all sizes. Most recent to go live over the weekend was an upgrade to a long term client Rosemary Young at Inveran Lodge in Nairn.

From the graphics above you can see just how well the content works on different devices but why is it now so important?

Google Search Changes

Recent announcements by Google seem to have terrified the hospitality sector into acting on their mobile strategies. Changes to be implemented in April 2015 indicate that Google searches done on mobile devices will be affected by whether a site is mobile friendly or not. It appears but is not certain that it is only searches actually undertaken on a mobile advice that will be affected but with estimates indicating search traffic on mobiles being up to 60% in some tourism sectors, non-compliance could have a devastating effect.

Your site must be responsive!

Responsive Web Design

Google are looking for your website to respond to the device it is being viewed on. The way we use the internet on a mobile device is entirely different from a laptop or desktop and intuitive drop down menus and easy to click buttons are essential. All websites built in the past year using our own Claymore Content Management System are already fully responsive and pass this test. Some older sites that have dedicated mobile version sites still pass.

Test your site with Google

However, now is the time to look at ensuring that your website is fully responsive and will work across all platforms and not just for the search engines. The customer is now used to sites that work on mobile and will simply leave one that isn’t – you must continually reduce friction for your site visitor. The easiest and most cost effective way to do this is to upgrade to one of our Open Rooms XV websites all of which have a responsive solution built in.

Send us an email message or call 01294 233713 for more information and a surprisingly affordable mobile ready solution!

Amazon set to expand its hotel offering?

This article is well worth reading if you happen to be an independent hotelier.

It is being reported that Amazon may be about to supplement the dicounted room offer that they currently offer through Amazon Local to general hotel room availability in an area setting the potential for a head to head with the likes of Booking.com at some point in the future.

According to the full article on Skift.com there is some activity in the States that indicates changes in Amazon Local to offer live availability in a selection of hotel properties.

If nothing else the article goes to underline that the dynamism in hotel distribution channels is unlikely to slow down and that hoteliers must maintain a strong relationship building strategy to drive DIRECT bookings wherever possible.

There will always be a secondary market for hotel rooms that must be integrated into strategic thinking but NOT at the cost of abandoning an even more aggressive DIRECT booking campaign.

Read Full Article here

Arnold Palmer Confirmed as course designer for second Castle Stuart Layout in the HIghlands

The legendary Arnold Palmer is to build his first golf course in the Home of Golf in a partnership with the world renowned Castle Stuart Golf Links in the Scottish Highlands.

The Arnold Palmer Group has confirmed it is joining forces with Castle Stuart’s managing partner Mark Parsinen and his team to collaborate on a spectacular new 18-hole links course on the Moray Firth near Inverness.

The new venture will complement the existing course at Castle Stuart, built by Parsinen and Gil Hanse and which has achieved worldwide acclaim since opening in 2009.

Plans for the venue’s second iconic course will be submitted within two months and it is envisaged work will get underway early next year, ahead of the return of the Scottish Open to Castle Stuart for the fourth time in six years. It is planned to have the new links open for use by 2019.

The partnership deal was announced by Arnold Palmer at his Invitational tournament which is being held this week at the golfer’s Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida.

Discussions on the project have been ongoing for some time and members of the Palmer team have visited Castle Stuart several times recently.

Arnold, himself, commented: “I have had a strong affection for Scotland since I first went there in 1960 to play in the Open at St. Andrews. I have returned many times since, including a memorable victory in the Open Championship at Troon in 1962.

“The opportunity to build an iconic golf course in Scotland would be the culmination of all these great experiences.  I am looking forward to my visit to Castle Stuart in a few months’ time.”

Mark Parsinen, who also co-designed Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife, said; “We have been in discussion for more than a year now with the Arnold Palmer Group and we are delighted that it has joined the partnership at Castle Stuart Golf Links.

“We are working with his design team on the routing of the new course with a view to beginning construction this time next year.”

The new course will be similar in length to the existing 7,193-yard links and will feature spectacular views across the Moray Firth as well as the 17th century castle which gives the course its name.

Stuart McColm, Castle Stuart Golf Links’ general manager, added: “This is fantastic news, not just for Inverness, but for the Highlands and for Scotland. We at Castle Stuart have focused on working with other partners to promote the Highlands as a world class golfing destination and this announcement that the Arnold Palmer Group wants to partner with us can only enhance that reputation.

“Having two world class courses in Inverness, together with all the other great courses in the Highlands, will undoubtedly drive more people to this area and have a significant economic impact.”

The development is another major milestone in the short but spectacular history of Castle Stuart Golf Links.
It has achieved global acclaim in its first six years and was placed at No. 56 on Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the World in 2013.

It staged the Scottish Open for three successive years from 2011-2013, with the 2013 championship, won by Phil Mickelson, reaching a worldwide television audience of more than 500 million, including weekend live coverage on NBC USA.

The championship, sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management and the Scottish Government, will return to Castle Stuart in July, 2016.

Facebook Introduce Call to Action Button

If any hoteliers have logged on to their Facebook Business page today you'll have noticed a new addition on top of the main header image.

Hoteliers  can now add a Book Now Button to their site whilst other retailers can drive traffic directly to their online stores or whatever conversion landing page they wish in fact.

As always it is about Reducing Friction and if that means simplifying the journey from Facebook to your booking page then we would say that's a pretty decent move and it will only takes a few minutes to achieve but do remember not to link back to your homepage - it says Book Now so take the visitor to where they expect to be taken!

We've created one of our Tourism Matters Briefings to guide you through and make sure you link to the right place.

Download Tourism Matters Briefing

How Much Social Media Do I Need?

For as long as we can remember we have been discussing the merits of increasing distribution of content through as many channels as possible.

Of course every business can control their own channels and what information goes through those channels - websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter, photo sharing sites, video channels and even online travel agents - but what is unclear is where that information then goes. The whole reason for uploading content into the cloud is to try to get it shared as widely as possible. Put it up and let it go.

This requires a distribution strategy and a positive content creation strategy and it is clear that individual businesses can never reach all distribution channels with a single message nor hit all niche markets with a standard line of promotion. 

A successful content distribution strategy therefore requires others to start talking about you. The more chatter there is out there the more chance you have of being found by the customer you had never even thought existed. Keep your distribution to normal channels and you by definition narrow your target market and will keep fishing in the same pool with an ever diminishing number of fish to catch.

It is therefore our belief that nurturing partnerships who wish to talk about your product positively is the best PR possible, of course you don't control the message but if that partner is a trusted one then the benefits are always likely to outweigh the benefits.

If that is accepted then you can never have enough positive distribution channels across multiple media. Your product may be doing well but it requires new markets to replace old in an ever changing marketplace and not looking beyond the present distribution may be seen as being very ricky. Make sure therefore that you develop these third party relationships, that you provide the resource that they need and encourage their positive PR whenever and wherever possible. It is the lowest cost of marketing available and third party non aligned recommendations are often the most effective in terms of return on investment.

Share Press Releases. Make images copyright free and accessible online. Share video. Offer incentives. They all will help build third party content distribution and increase your exposure.

Set up costs for social media may be small but the investment you need to make to ensure its effectiveness is time. And time is expensive. If someone else is doing this for you and indeed with you, that reduces risk and increases potentials reach. Win win scenario.

Search is a moveable feast and changes in logarithms has the potential to wipe out some of your best and most effective channels overnight. By increasing the routes to market you again by default reduce the risk of exposure to negative change. 

So in short, can you ever have too many social media and content distribution channels? 

Never.