Hotel Blogs - When Hotel Marketing gets Social

20 Beautiful Bloggers...

   

 

I still have 4 pictures missing...Hopefully they will come shortly in my email inbox. Otherwise, if you are not happy with your picture, send me another one. I have tried to keep the same size, hence why some pictures are sometimes a bit distorted. By the way it took me a while to put together all these pictures in one post...pffff....If you click on the picture you should be re-directed to each respective blog...Enjoy...

Finally a big thank you for for all of you who took a bit of their time to respond to my 5 questions.

I think now is the time where I should should go the next level...meaning Video Podcasts...Stay tuned !!!!!

20 Blogs about Travel #20 at last...

My 20th interview and last of this serie "20 Blogs about Travel" was conducted with David Ourisman who blogs at Travel Horizons.

 

1) For how long have you been blogging?

 

I actually began my first blog in October 2005. It was/is called Uncommon-Sense. Instead of just getting upset at the outrageous of rhetoric coming from the hard right in the U.S., I decided to respond to it from a progressive theological perspective... So the answer to your first question is, about a year-and-a-half.I began Travel Horizons a year later, in October 2006, so I've been blogging about travel for about six months.

2) What is your blog about?

I have a very eclectic range of topics, but I keep coming back to my favorites. I enjoying posting photographs taken on my trips and writing about the experience of traveling. I have posted a number of articles conveying travel tips. But I am drawn to writing about my first love, Paris, the City of Lights.

3) What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

I use blogger. I chose it because it was easy and free. I may be moving my blog to my own domain name.

4) What are your top 3 hotels you have stayed in?

a) The Ritz Paris, Paris, France

This is a stunning hotel with beautiful rooms and superb and warm service for its guests.

b) Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, Bora Bora, French Polynesia

I spend three days there earlier this year. Although it is not the most luxurious hotel in Bora Bora, it is very nice and comfortable, and it has the best snorkeling.

c) Hotel Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, USA

I attended a wedding there once and stayed in a bungalow. Beautiful rooms, beautiful grounds, beautiful pool, just beautiful.

5) What is your best hotel related website?

Virtuoso.net. Unfortunately, this website is not open to the general public, but it offers extensive valuable information on over 600 of the finest luxury hotels in the world.
David, could we have some screenshots of this website and gives us the targetted audience?

Thanks for your time David and all the best with your blog Travel Horizons. More interviews are available here.

Technorati Tags: travel blog, travel blogs, travel horizons, david ourisman  

Pictures of the 19 bloggers wanted...

Just a quick note to ask the 19 bloggers to send me their picture to feature on a future post with their individual interview... (James, I already have your picture so ignore this message)

One more interview to go...

I have just realized that I am reaching the 20th interview on the section "20 Blogs I like about Travel and Hospitality...".

Now... this final interview is a tough choice for me as I am reading more and more new interesting blogs about this fantastic industry.

So I decided to give you the opportunity to respond to the famous 5 questions and send me your answers to guillaume@hotel-blogs.com. Remember that I will only publish your answers if your blog is related to the hospitality or travel industry and that your blog doesn't feature on my blogroll. The first one that will impress me in terms of content will be featured on the 20th interview on Hotel Blogs.

I just would like to take this opportunity to thank the 19 bloggers who gave me a bit of their time to respond to my 5 questions in the past.

20 Blogs about Travel...#19 - James Garner / Caterer Blog

My 19th interview was conducted with James Garner who writes the Editor's Blog for CatererSearch.com (the online edition of the very much reknown UK hospitality offline publication Caterer and Hotelkeeper) . James is the  managing editor of CatererSearch whom I have met at the Hilton Trafalgar last month (one of my favourite spot to drink a coffee and meet people or work between business appointments).

Alongside his team of 11 journalists, he also initiated the Caterer Blog. Caterer Blog is ranked 383,877 on Technorati with 12 blogs linking their blog.

1/ For how long have you been blogging?
 
I’ve been blogging for over a year on another blog, called Kitchen Rat, which a light-hearted gossip and rumour blog for the UK hospitality industry. Earlier this year, I launched a new blog from Caterer and Hotelkeeper’s website www.caterersearch.com called the caterer blog. I also have a personal blog about the experiences of being a first-time-dad.

2/ What is your blog about?

The caterer blog is written by CatererSearch’s team of experienced journalists. A blog is great for journalists as it allows them to write more freely and give their own opinions on things that interest them in the hospitality industry, but which don’t make a feature in Caterer and Hotelkeeper or a news story on CatererSearch.

 

 

3/ What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

MoveableType (part of SixApart who also manages Typepad) – not sure. It was a decision taken centrally by one of our parent company’s blogging experts.

 

4/ What are your top 3 hotels you have stayed in?

Gleneagles, Auchterarder,  Scotland,  UK

The Hotel, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas,  USA

The Soho Hotel, London, UK

5/ What is your Best Hotel related website?

Tripadvisor – it’s a great site, with loads of user generated content, which I love and its really made an impression in the market and with hoteliers. It’s also got a blog now that can be quite amusing.

Thanks for your time James and all the best with your different blogs initiatives within CatererSearch. More interviews are available here.

Technorati Tags: caterersearch, caterer, hotel blog, james garner, reed 

20 Blogs about Travel...#18 - Mark Ashley

My 18th interview was conducted with Mark Ashley who writes the blog UpgradeTravelBetter. His blog is ranked 12,595 on Technorati with 278 blogs linking to his.

1/ For how long have you been blogging?

Just over one year.  I started the blog in February 2006. 

2/ What is your blog about?

 

The blog's motto is "Living the first class life... at coach prices."  The blog is consumer-oriented mix: tips on getting the most for your money, travel news, commentary, and reader Q&A.  I don't really write much about destinations.  Rather, I focus more on the mechanics of travel.

 

3/ What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

 

I am using WordPress (version 2.1.2, if you want to be very specific.)  I started off using Blogger and posting at upgradetravel.blogspot.com, but I found blogger.com's system to be too limited and prone to errors/downtime.  The plugins for WordPress are fantastic.

4/ What are your top 3 hotels you have stayed in?

 

Tough question.  My three aren't necessarily all the best or most luxurious hotels I've stayed in, but they're some of my favorite hotel stays because they were memorable:

 

The House at Tamarind Cove, St. James, Barbados

The fact that it was our honeymoon helped, to be sure, but this was a great stay.  A hotel with no front desk, and with a locked front door, to make it exclusive to the outside, and informal on the inside.  A personal "service ambassador" who managed all requests, from serving breakfast in the morning, to serving as concierge.  Not the biggest rooms, but certainly a great way to celebrate the nuptials!

 

Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park, Tucson, Arizona

The rooms were nothing special, pretty standard for the chain, but I'll never forget the hotel's courtyard, filled with citrus trees.  Picking ripe oranges and grapefruit right off the trees was a treat.

 

Sheraton Delfina, Santa Monica, California

Again, the rooms were nice, but not really out of the ordinary for a Sheraton.  They had just remodeled, and everything smelled new.  But the rate was amazing: We had booked via Hotwire, for a grand total of $33.95 for the night, including all taxes.

5/ What is your Best Hotel related website?

 

Of the major chains, Sheraton's recently updated site is kind of interesting.  When I'm booking personal travel, I tend to gravitate toward Hotwire and Priceline, which aren't that pretty, but the price is usually right! (Not always as good as that Sheraton in Santa Monica, but still...  :)

Thanks for your time Mark and all the best with your blog UpgradeTravelBetter. More interviews are available here.
Check out as well the results of the Travvies Awards initiated by Mark who reward the best Travel blogs.

Technorati Tags: sheraton, upgradetravel, upgradetravelbetter, priceline, hotwire, blogs, travel, hotels, hotel

20 Blogs about Travel...#17 - Mike Wylie

My 17th interview was conducted with Mike Wylie who writes at MikeWylie.com

1/ For how long have you been blogging?

Since September 2006.

2/ What is your blog about?

My blog is mainly about hotel internet marketing and online travel.

3/ What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

I chose typepad because I had become familiar with it when my company set up a blog for hotelbook.com.  We researched several blogging platforms and found typepad to give us the most flexibility.

4/ Your top 3 hotels you have stayed in? 

#1 Mauna Lani Resort, Kohala Coast, Hawaii, USA

#2 Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY, USA

#3 St Regis Resort, Aspen, CO, USA

5/ Best Hotel related website

Hopefully I won’t offend my other clients and friends at other hotel companies, but I honestly have to say that Rydges Hotels has the most comprehensive and engaging hotel site.  They do some many things right and are not afraid to try anything new or different

Thanks for your time Mike and all the best with your different activities. More interviews are available here.

20 Blogs about Travel...#16 - TourismInternetMarketing

My 16th interview was conducted with Jens Thraenhart who writes the excellent TourismInternetMarketing blog

1/ For how long have you been blogging?

I finally created my own personal blog this past holidays, and launched the site on December 31, 2006 (just before celebrating New Year's Eve).  I have been planning to have my own blog since I first started looking at this space about three years back when I headed up e-commerce for Fairmaont Hotels & Resorts.  During that time I co-founded WOW.travel, which was an online magazine about the most amazing hotelexperiences in the world (we recently merged that site with Kiwi Collection, a publisher of coffe-table books and an online directory of luxury hotels). Now, being responsible for E-Marketing and CRM for Canada Tourism, I thought it is timely to share my thoughts about how to leverage the power of the Internet as a marketing medium in the travel industry (a goal I also had when founding the HSMAI Travel Internet Marketing Organization - www.travelinternetmarketing.org). 

2/ What is your blog about?

The blog are my own personal thoughts around e-strategy, customer relationship management, consumer and marketing trends,  in the hospitatlity and tourism industry.

3/ What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

I am using Serendipity (http://www.s9y.org).  Serendipity is similar to other well-known weblog scripts like Moveable Type or Wordpress. I chose the system (not only because it is a German software and I am German) but more importantly since it is supported by my hosting provider.  I like it so far, and haven't had any problems so far.  I played around with Blogger and Typepad, but it didn't give me the control I was looking for.

4/ Your top 3 hotels you have stayed in? 

This is difficult, since I have stayed in so many, and as past Chairman of  Wow.travel, I got exposed to a lot of amazing properties. One of my favorite hotels is definately the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise ( www.fairmont.com/lakelouise) . I also would point out the Heli-Hiking/Skiing Bugaboo Lodge ( http://www.canadianmountainholidays.com/areas/bugaboos_hike/ ), which had the opportunity to experience in the summer.  Other favorite hotels would probably be the Shangri-La in Hong-Kong ( http://www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/island/en/index.aspx ) and the Zannos Melathron Hôtel in Santorini, Greece (http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/search-book/hotel-restaurant/zannos/ ).  And then there is thee hotel, I really realy want to visit when I can find some time.  Cornell Classmate Jason Friedman just opened the Four Seasons Tent Camp, Golden Triangle (http://www.fourseasons.com/goldentriangle/), which can be reached by riverboat amid Thailand's exotic bamboo jungles.

Four Seasons Tented Camp,  Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai, Thailand

5/ Best Hotel related website

I would say that Sheraton.com has taken an innovative approach to integrating Social Networking and Selling Rooms.  Obviously, I am fond of Fairmont.com (smile), but you can also have a look at my posting " Top 3 Hotel Website Designs of 2006" (http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/index.php?/archives/57-Top-3-Hotel-Website-Designs-of-2006.html

Thanks for your time Jens and all the best with TourismInternetMarketing. More interviews are available here.

20 Blogs about Travel...#15 - Dot Tourism

My 15th interview was conducted with Dominic Sawyer who writes the tourism blog Dot Tourism.

1/ For how long have you been blogging?

I started the Dot Tourism blog in October 2006.

2/ What is your blog about?

Online marketing in travel and tourism with an emphasis on destination marketing. The main aim of the blog is to post news, tips and opinions and develop communications with others interested in the area. I've worked in the tourism industry since 2000 helping clients with their digital marketing and in 2005      I set up my own business, Dot Tourism, to specialise in the area.

3/ What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

I use Wordpress hosted on my own server space.
The main ones I looked into were Wordpress, Blogger and the Six Apart offerings such as Typepad
I went for Wordpress for perceived control and customisation benefits.

4/ Your top 3 hotels you have stayed in? 

...

5/ Best Hotel related website

TripAdvisor is easy to use and full of good content. The user reviews and supporting material for each
destination helps me plan trips around the UK. There is the issue of fake reviews always
at the back of your mind (more thoughts here)
Looking forward to the redesign of the site in early 2007 and how they plan to improve the community aspects of the site.

Thanks for your time Dominic and all the best with Dot Tourism. More interviews are available here.

20 Blogs about Travel...#14 - The BOOT

My 14th interview was conducted with Tim Hughes who writes the excellent blog the BOOT (the Business Of Online Travel).

1/ For how long have you been blogging?

 Only about  six months - I used to confine my ranting to my team members.  But with a new job I lost access to a "compliant" group of listeners so switched to blogging

2/ What is your blog about?

The online travel business - the ins and outs of intermediaries and and suppliers selling their services online.  I also add a little bit of general travel discussion - what is like to be a consumer of online travel

3/ What is your blogging platform and why did you choose it?

I chose Blogger/Blogspot (owned by Google).  Would like to say it was a result of an extensive comparative analysis - but really it seemed to be the one most used by the bloggers that I read.

4/ Your top 3 hotels you have stayed in?

Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast, Queensland Australia
Banyan Tree, Bangkok, Thailand
Le Meridien Piccadilly, London, England

5/ Best Hotel related website

Too hard to answer - the beauty of this sector is that there is no absolute winner.  There are "local jewels" that are best in the home destination (Wotif- Australia, HRS - Germany, Venere - Italy, Rakuten - Japan).  Among the global players my top three are HotelClub, Hotels.com and Sidestep.  Among the up-and-comers I like Bezurk and Kayak (though they are probably no longer an up-and-comer)

Thanks for your time Tim and all the best with The BOOT and your new career move (when will we know more about the company?) . More interviews are available here.

Technorati Tags: travel, blogs, the boot, tim hughes