Monday 25 January 2010

VisitBritain ties with British Airways and EasyJet to promote Scottish cities

According to a press release, the national tourism body VisitBritain is partnering with airline brands British Airways and EasyJet to encourage visitors to travel to cities across the country and as part of the tie-up, British Airways and EasyJet will offer discount flights to 10 cities in the UK from 12 European countries. The cities include both Edinburgh and Glasgow and is promoted by a micro site www.visitbritain.fi/cities.

Glasgow will be promoted with the line "trend-setting vs traditional", highlighting the Scottish city's style credentials as well as its historical attractions, whilst Edinburgh is sub titled "Darkness vs Light!. Don't ask us...


Laurence Bresh, marketing director at VisitBritain, said: "The 'Cities Campaign' will not only help make visitors' money go further but it raises awareness of 10 key cities around Britain which offer great value for money."

Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, said: "British Airways is in a perfect position to send out the message that the 'Cities Campaign' arrives at a good time for tourists, with the value of the pound sterling still low."

Last year, a Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) report recommended VisitBritain should act as a co-operative agency supporting the five brands of Britain, England, London, Scotland and Wales.

Friday 22 January 2010

Fly Oxford to Edinburgh - A Varsity Challenge

All the very best of luck to a new air route linking Oxford and Edinburgh which is expected to attract 6,500 passengers over its first 12 months.
Flights to the Scottish capital will begin on Monday, March 1, with the journey taking 90 minutes compared to the average rail journey of six hours.
New airline operator Varsity Express hopes to tap into the tourism market of people visiting both historic cities.Prices will start at £49 one way, including taxes and charges.Varsity, which will fly 18-seat British Aerospace Jetstream planes, said it expected to carry 6,500 passengers in the first 12 months.

Commercial director Will Gilligan said: “Oxford is the third most visited English city by international visitors, with 10 million per annum, and Edinburgh is the second most popular destination after London in the UK.

“We have been looking to start a regular shuttle service on this route for some time.We have watched with interest the developments and investment at Oxford airport and believe it is a perfect, untapped market with plenty of potential, offering splendid facilities designed for private jet clients, enabling us to offer our passengers quick check-in times.”
Airport marketing manager James Dillon-Godfray said: “This is the first daily flight from Oxford and very much begins a new era, where we have something of direct benefit to the business community and tourists who can take a trip to Edinburgh and return within a day.
“This is a fundamental leap forward and is the jewel in the crown of all the routes and operations we now have.
Tim Gill, an aviation consultant contracted to Varsity, said: “Edinburgh is the most requested domestic route from Oxford, which by train can take over six hours with at least one change, sometimes three.
“Any day return combination would typically take 13 hours in transit.”
Flights will leave Oxford Monday to Friday at 8am.The return flights leave Edinburgh at 5pm.
For more information and to book flights, go to the website flyvarsity.com

VisitScotland’s £150,000 bonus bill to taxpayer !! Wow

Exclusive article in The Herald has exposed that Visitscotland has paid nearly £150,000 in bonuses to its senior management. VisitScotland has also confirmed that the taxpayer handed out about £75,000 in performance-related enhancements to its chief executive Philip Riddle.

The Herald requested the figures under a Freedom of Information exercise. Apparently under VisitScotland rules, the PUBLIC SECTOR directors are entitled to bonuses worth 10% of their salary, while the chief executive is entitled to a 15% increase. It would seem that Visitscotland are reluctant to talk about the specific targets but did say "that five corporate objectives were relevant when awarding increases based on performance." These included generating income and “in kind” contributions to support the public body’s core activities, helping build a positive corporate reputation, and promoting a successful tourism brand.

The figures reveal Mr Riddle received nearly £75,000 worth of bonuses since 2004, which took his remuneration package last year to nearly £220,000. Part of his latest pay deal included around £36,000 of retrospective bonuses from between 2005 and 2007 whilst his bonus for the last financial year has not yet been approved.

Riddell Graham, director of strategy, partnerships and communication, has benefited from about £9500 in bonuses since 2005 whilst Eddie Byers, director of business engagement, received nearly £14,000 in performance add-ons in the same period. Malcolm Roughead, director of marketing, got almost £29,000 in bonuses since 2004, while Ken Neilson, director of corporate services, received about £11,000. Paul Bush, the chief operating officer of EventScotland, has benefited from payments of about £9000 in the last two years.

The Herald states that the bonusses are controversial because "VisitScotland’s performance has not always pleased MSPs."
 
Not pleasing MSP's?
 
Let's put this in perspective here. This covers a period where restructuring saw the removal of area tourist boards and in spite of promises a much greater centralisation of control, it is also the period where the flagship policy of developing a world class online booking strategy failed, it is a period where the call centre function was criticised and ultimately was removed. 

If it doesn't please MSP's how do you think the tourism industry are going to take it!

Even regardless of the merits of VS strategies over the past five years, the revalation that bonusses have been paid whilst our market share has declined will be to many in the industry quite odious.

The industry has never felt more disenfranchised than it does currently and the revalations might just be good timing. If the public sector purse requires tightening then the role and status of the national tourist board must be questioned. Whilst the rest of us are worried about Return on Investment and how we can spend our money more wisely there remains a lack of leadership, of direction of strategy to take Scotland's tourism and hospitality sectors forward in the nedct ten years.
Instead strategy and long term planning appears to have been replaced with short term promotional activity - yes for sure there will be loud shouts about work in emerging markets and the success (sic) of Homecoming Scotland in developing our world profile - but the truth is that the role of VisitScotland, and indeed the public sector as a whole in the second decade, needs a reality check and radical scaling back.
It must get back to basics understand that it's role is in defining the destination and working with other agencies such as SDI to develop a consistent message about Scotland being a great place to live, to invest and to visit.
A single message consistently promoted across the necessary multiplicity of channels. 
Visitscotland should not be a promotions business, it should not be a booking agent, it should stop producing product as if it's a tour operator. It needs to have a simple role in marketing Scotland. The rest, in our opinion is the role of the private sector - hoteliers, attractions, restaurateurs, destination management organisations, marketing associations. 
According to the article, Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said people would be “very surprised” at the revelations, which “need to be investigated” and a spokeswoman for VisitScotland said: “Any bonuses paid at VisitScotland are based on robust performance measures which have to be achieved to a very high standard.” My goodness if I hadn't read the article I would have thought it was the PR company for RBS...
Mr Mather there has never been a better time for a radical review of what Destination Marketing for Scotland really means.

More Rooms Required for Open Champiosnhip

Homeowners in Fife are being urged to offer bed and breakfast accommodation to visitors flocking to the area for this year's Open Championship at St Andrews.
National tourism agency VisitScotland is encouraging homeowners within a 50-mile radius of the Home of Golf to register to take in guests between July 9 and July 25 this year.

Households who are interested in participating in the temporary scheme will be given a short assessment to ensure their accommodation meets VisitScotland’s minimum standards.

Richard Pinn, regional director for VisitScotland, said: "The Open Championship attracts more than 200,000 people to the area and VisitScotland markets this event worldwide.

"It is the only event in Scotland where there is a requirement to source additional accommodation in this way and with this temporary scheme in place we can be confident visitors are booking into a property that meets minimum standards.

"This is a great opportunity for local homeowners to make some income and also an opportunity for us all to showcase our famous Scottish hospitality during this world class golfing event.”

Councillor Tony Martin, Chair of Fife Council’s Environment, Enterprise and Transportation Committee, added: "We are keen to ensure that Fife maximises the opportunities presented by The Open’s return to St Andrews.

"In 2005 the event brought in £37million to Fife and supported 615 jobs. If we can help bring more people to The Open and provide more accommodation in Fife, the greater the benefit to the whole Fife economy."

Iphone Bookings For Scottish Hotels


Hotel reservations system supplier Bookassist has announced today a full-featured location-aware booking application for Apple iPhone and mobile devices merging mobility and hotel sales for its hotel clients.
The new application for hotels was announced as part of Bookassist’s annual presence at the FITUR international tourism trade fair in Madrid.
Hotels across Scotland who are already using Bookassist booking systems can now offer a state-of-the-art application to their customers to complement their web presence. Location-aware mapping with automatic routing, customer reviews, photo galleries and full transaction engine for booking are among the key features of the new mobile system for hotels.
Speaking at FITUR, Bookassist Head of Business and Operations Yahya Fetchati commented that “the new app will be customised for each individual hotel and will be available to all our hotel clients. As with all our products, our mobile platform will see continual development and upgrading to keep pace with the fast-moving mobile computing market”.
Commenting on the features of the iPhone app, Bookassist CEO Dr Des O'Mahony said: "Social media plays a big part in the travel decision and customer reviews are particularly important. Because hotels using Bookassist software have been automatically collecting customer reviews for many years, and responding to their customers' comments, the new app will have significant value for the hotel\'s potential customers in terms of feeding all that customer-generated content right into the app for every hotel."
The mobile application is currently on limited release and will be more widely available to hotels and hotel groups using Bookassist's booking engine in March 2010.
Bookassist® creates and manages successful and proven online strategies for over 2200 hotels and groups worldwide and is one of the fastest growing providers of online reservations fro accommodation providers of all sizes across Scotland.
Ian McCaig from the Bookassist Scottish office based in Ayr was delighted with the news, "This is a really great innovation for our accommodation partners and we look forward to rolling it out with them early in the Spring."
For further information on Bookassist in Scotland email scotland@bookassist.com

Tayleur Mayde Golf Head to the US PGA

For the first time since the company was started in 1999 Tayleur Mayde Golf Tours has decided to exhibit at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando next week. Tayleur Mayde has had 10 years experience of arranging golf tours to Scotland and Ireland marketing directly to the golfer in may countries including the USA and Europe.

However Jeremy Findlay, the company CEO, says "We recognize the important role that the Club Professional plays in not only arranging tours to Scotland and Ireland for their members but also in disseminating information to those members who wish to arrange their own trip. The Club Professional is a trusted individual"

So Tayleur Mayde Golf Tours has decided to go to the PGA Merchandise Show in order to be able to discuss with PGA members why Scotland and Ireland are premier destinations and how the company can help with the planning and execution of any proposed trip.

"By choosing a UK based tour operator the travelling group can be sure of a compnay that has very close contacts with golf courses and accommodation providers as well as being on hand during the tour should the need arise."

We also understand that there is a Scotland Golf Day planned on Wednesday 27th January 2010 prior to the PGA Show GTS (Golf Tourism Scotland) are organising a ‘Scotland’ golf day at The Celebration Golf Course, Orlando. VisitScotland & Scottish Development International are sponsoring the day.
The day will consist of up to 64 individuals representing various areas of the golf industry getting together for this better ball team event, followed by some good food, good company and the all important prize-giving.

The aim of the day is for Scotland the Home of Golf, to take over a little piece of Orlando for the day in which to network with fellow industry individuals and entertain some of those who have supported us with their business over the years.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Southern Scotland Tourism Marketing Meeting


We've been busy all morning at a meeting at Woodlands Farm near Girvan on the A77 presenting to a wide range of hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses about the recently launched Holiday Southern Scotland website.
The initiative is powered by The Claymore Project database allowing each business to manage their own information, offers, news events an images.

Friday 15 January 2010

Sitebuilder ProGolf Unveiled

The 2010 version of Sitebuilder ProGolf has now been launched across the UK and Ireland by The Edge Studios in Ayrshire.

Sitebuilder ProGolf allows for the creation of a fully updateable website using the multiple functions of our easy to use online content management system and creates your website based on individual designs. The management system allows the creation of your own multiple pages for events, features, news or promotions and these are easily dropped into your website structure. The ability to add feature pages has never been easier and requires only a basic knowledge.

Sitebuilder ProGolf is driven by The Claymore Project, an easy to use content management system to keep your website up to date and additionally manage your Image Gallery, your YouTube account and access your Site statistics, Adwords campaign, FlickR or TripAdviser accounts. It can even show local attractions on your Google map and will manage your own website descriptions for the Search Engines.


While doing work on the website design package and had another look at Lawrence Young's Dragon's Tooth Golf Course site again. He's got a nine hole course next to the Balluchulish Hotel near Fort William yet the site content, imagery and tone shows up many larger operations.

His understanding of the need to showcase his product made developing the site a pleasure and by choosing to use Sitebuilder ProGolf ha can manage his content, imagery, video footage and social media.

New Website Marketing Package For UK Golf


The 2010 version of Sitebuilder ProGolf has now been launched across the UK and Ireland by The Edge Studios in Ayrshire


Sitebuilder ProGolf  allows for the creation of a fully updateable website using the multiple functions of our easy to use online content management system and creates your website based on individual designs. The management system allows the creation of your own multiple pages for events, features, news or promotions and these are easily dropped into your website structure. The ability to add feature pages has never been easier and requires only a basic knowledge.
Sitebuilder ProGolf is driven by The Claymore Project, an easy to use content management system to keep your website up to date and additionally manage your Image Gallery, your YouTube account and access your Site statistics, Adwords campaign, FlickR or TripAdviser accounts. It can even show local attractions on your Google map and will manage your own website descriptions for the Search Engines.

While doing work on the website design package and had another look at Lawrence Young's Dragon's Tooth Golf Course site again. He's got a nine hole course next to the Balluchulish Hotel near Fort William yet the site content, imagery and tone shows up many larger operations. His understanding of the need to showcase his product made developing the site a pleasure and by choosing to use Sitebuilder ProGolf ha can manage his content, imagery, video footage and social media.

Thursday 14 January 2010

Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards are open for entries

The Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards are open for entries from today and the organisers are urging Scottish companies to bolster their credentials by entering these national ‘Oscars’ of the food and drink industry.

Now in their ninth year and jointly organised by Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland and Scotland Food & Drink, these prestigious awards have helped numerous businesses increase their profile, gain deserved recognition, secure valuable listings and increase profits. Clydesdale Bank has come onboard this year as Main Sponsor.

Award categories which might interest seafood businesses include a Fish & Seafood – retail category, foodservice product of the year, product innovation of the year, healthy choices/healthy eating, international business of the year and environmental sustainability. A full list of categories can be downloaded from www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org.

Paul McLaughlin, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, said: "We want the quality of our industry to be renowned internationally and for this we need revered products to champion our produce on a global stage.

"We urge companies to think about their success story and enter relevant award categories to help boost the reputation of the industry and of course their own business.

"Past winners have seen sales and product awareness soar, and we're confident the awards in 2010 will be a great success for all shortlisted companies, sponsors and guests."

Gareth Baird, director Food & Drink of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, said: "These awards have really gone from strength to strength and enabled a number of companies to grow as a result of winning a category. There is real value in winning an award, especially since we have much to be proud of within the industry."

A new category, Young Scottish Chef, sponsored by Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight, joins other categories which include those for retail products and those that recognise innovation, marketing, successful partnerships and efforts within food tourism.

Food and drink companies will be able to enter the Awards by downloading an entry form and emailing the completed form back to the stated email address on the forms.
The closing date for entries is 22nd February for the product categories and 6th March for all other categories.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Understanding Retrun on Investment

Understanding ROI? Hmmmmm...

Why bother? Well most don’t but if you start getting into the habit of looking at your marketing spend and analysing just what it generates you may very quickly realise that you’re facing the wrong way. It can be a serious wakeup call and when applied to the potential returns from online marketing be a “Road to Damascus” moment.We ran an articale at the beginnng of the year about ROI being King and the result was a few emails requesting more information on how best to interparate Return on Investment. So we have tried below to give an insight from our perspective.

The oft raised issue with online marketing is understanding just what you’re paying for when it comes to your website and associated spends. Using a basic ROI calculation may help you understand just a little bit better why diverting your spends towards your online marketing is well worth considering.

Very basically Return On Investment is calculated by working out the returns on your activities against the resources put into achieving those results.

In formula terms ROI % = ((Returns – Investment)/ Investment) x 100

Calculating Returns

Returns on investment should not be based on simple sales but the contribution or Gross Profit figure. Room sales should, for example, include the additional Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) including servicing, commission paid on the sales and other directly related costs.

While many marketers will happily calculate the ROI based on sales only it is not a truthful figure for your business and you should always use the Gross Profit figure. An online marketing campaign aimed at increasing room sales must be calculated on gross profit of those sales not the total sales. Similarly so should any F&B promotion or campaign.

Therefore the figure can more accurately be represented as

Return on Investment = (Gross Profit – Investment)/Investment
Simply divide it by 100 to calculate your percentage

Calculating Investment

For an online marketing campaign for example, the following annual costs should be included in the investment side of the calculation.
  • Website design costs
  • Pay Per Click Costs
  • Emarketing costs
  • Project Management Time
We would suggest that direct cost of the sales is calculated in the returns side of the equation. For instance for a restaurant promotion

Website Design Costs

Obviously include the development costs but ensure to spread the costs over the lifetime of the site. Don’t plan to hold on to your website for more than two years – so spread the costs over the projected lifespan. Include all related costs for maintenance, hosting, email services.

Pay Per Click

Online advertsing costs are easily managed. Set a planned budget for the year but track results. Is it converting to bottom line?

Look at your offline advertising budget and consider matching it (not always appropriate but good starting point – remember ROI!)

Emarketing Costs
  • Licence or fees - £20 - £50 per month?
  • Build in time to write newsletters – 2 hours each?
  • Analysis – 1 hour a month?
Project Management Time

Be realistic and include the time you or a member of your team need to devote to making the project work. In online marketing time is the most precious resource and without allocating it your online projects will fall short
  • Management of direct online availability – Five hours a week?
  • Management of website copy – two hours a week?
  • Management of Blog articles – five hours a week?
  • Facebook and other social Media – five hours a week?
  • Management of Review sites (such as TripAdvisor)and website references – two hours a week?
Only you can look at the time you have for your online marketing costs but whatever you do make sure you use an estimate and don’t discard. To achieve results online someone’s time is required. The website, the social media, the booking engine, the search engines are the vehicles available for your business but you have to take the responsibility of getting behind the wheel and driving the vehicle.

An online marketing campaign without a driver should not be expected to reach your destination on time or on target

Calculation of Return on Investment – Web Campaign
Returns

Estimated Additional Sales
25000
Gross Profit %
85%
Return (Gross Profit) on Additional Sales
21250


Investment

Project Costs
2500
Costs of Time
2500
Total Investment
5000


ROI
3.25
ROI %
325.0%

Understanding ROI?

Understanding ROI? Hmmmmm...

Why bother? Well most don’t but if you start getting into the habit of looking at your marketing spend and analysing just what it generates you may very quickly realise that you’re facing the wrong way. It can be a serious wakeup call and when applied to the potential returns from online marketing be a “Road to Damascus” moment.We ran an articale at the beginnng of the year about ROI being King and the result was a few emails requesting more information on how best to interparate Return on Investment. So we have tried belwo to give an insight from our perspective.

The oft raised issue with online marketing is understanding just what you’re paying for when it comes to your website and associated spends. Using a basic ROI calculation may help you understand just a little bit better why diverting your spends towards your online marketing is well worth considering.

Very basically Return On Investment is calculated by working out the returns on your activities against the resources put into achieving those results.

In formula terms ROI % = ((Returns – Investment)/ Investment) x 100

Calculating Returns

Returns on investment should not be based on simple sales but the contribution or Gross Profit figure. Room sales should, for example, include the additional Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) including servicing, commission paid on the sales and other directly related costs.

While many marketers will happily calculate the ROI based on sales only it is not a truthful figure for your business and you should always use the Gross Profit figure. An online marketing campaign aimed at increasing room sales must be calculated on gross profit of those sales not the total sales. Similarly so should any F&B promotion or campaign.

Therefore the figure can more accurately be represented as

Return on Investment = (Gross Profit – Investment)/Investment
Simply divide it by 100 to calculate your percentage

Calculating Investment

For an online marketing campaing for example, the following annual costs should be included in the investment side of the calculation.

  • Website design costs
  • Pay Per Click Costs
  • Emarketing costs
  • Project Management Time

We would suggest that direct cost of the sales is calculated in the returns side of the equation. For instance for a restaurant promotion

Website Design Costs

Obviously include the development costs but ensure to spread the costs over the lifetime of the site. Don’t plan to hold on to your website for more than two years – so spread the costs over the projected lifespan. Include all related costs for maintenance, hosting, email services.

Pay Per Click

Online advertsing costs are easily managed. Set a planned budget for the year but track results. Is it converting to bottom line?

Look at your offline advertising budget and consider matching it (not always appropriate but good starting point – remember ROI!)

Emarketing Costs

  • Licence or fees - £20 - £50 per month?
  • Build in time to write newsletters – 2 hours each?
  • Analysis – 1 hour a month?

Project Management Time

Be realistic and include the time you or a member of your team need to devote to making the project work. In online marketing time is the most precious resource and without allocating it your online projects will fall short

  • Management of direct online availability – Five hours a week?
  • Management of website copy – two hours a week?
  • Management of Blog articles – five hours a week?
  • Facebook and other social Media – five hours a week?
  • Management of Review sites (such as TripAdvisor)and website references – two hours a week?

Only you can look at the time you have for your online marketing costs but whatever you do make sure you use an estimate and don’t discard. To achieve results online someone’s time is required. The website, the social media, the booking engine, the search engines are the vehicles available for your business but you have to take the responsibility of getting behind the wheel and driving the vehicle.

An online marketing campaign without a driver should not be expected to reach your destination on time or on target

Calculation of Return on Investment – Web Campaign
Returns

Estimated Additional Sales
25000
Gross Profit %
85%
Return (Gross Profit) on Additional Sales
21250


Investment

Project Costs
2500
Costs of Time
2500
Total Investment
5000


ROI
3.25
ROI %
325.0%

Another New Golf Initiative for Scotland

A feature in the Aberdeen Press and Journal points us towards an new golf initiative aimed at cashing in on Scotland's golf product. The article states that, "A team of top tourism experts has been assembled to help golf clubs throughout Scotland cash in on Donald Trump’s plans to build a £1billion resort in the north-east.
Scottish Enterprise (SE) is funding a new campaign to capitalise on what it believes is an “outstanding opportunity” to drive lucrative golf tourism forward in the next five years."
The article announces that "SE has now appointed Edinburgh-based Business Tourism Solutions to help make the most of the potential. The new On the Tee campaign is being aimed at courses just below the top echelon.
The second-tier courses are to be offered help with branding, promoting themselves abroad and given better knowledge of the markets they should be targeting."
There is some further information available on the On The Tee Golf development project pages at the website of BTS.
When we find out more we'll let you know.

Friday 8 January 2010

Royal Golf Hotel is Back with an Online Edge!


The Royal Golf Hotel in Dornoch is reopening and The Edge are delighted to have been appointed to develop the hotel's online presence ahead of its April opening.
In advance of Christmas we were asked to make sure there was at least a temporary presence online and Steven in our design team has pulled together the holding site which incorporates a Google map, external links and the Bookassist online reservations system.
The Royal Golf Hotel Facebook page has also been launched and will form an important part of the hotel's social media campaign over the coming weeks.
It's really great news for the Royal Burgh of Dornoch that the Royal Golf Hotel is reopening and we look forward to working with Grant Sword and his team to maximise the returns from the website.

ROI is King!

Excuse the schoolboy French pun but as we move into 2010, Return on Investment really is King.

Every penny spent must lever the maximum return possible in all areas of the business. No more so than with online marketing.

So what should you plan to do in 2010?

Well this year is being labelled by many online marketing gurus as “The Year of The Independent”. So what does that mean?

Well in our eyes it means that the technology has come of age and now allows the independent operator access at an affordable cost to the same tools previously only available to the larger operators or to the Online Travel Agents (OTAs)

Accommodation providers need to focus on developing online marketing initiatives that bring the highest rates of return in terms of higher rates, lower commissions and the most bookings.

So what should you’re online focus be for the next twelve months? Well it should be the things that have got the best means of providing the Return on Investment.

Concentrate on the basics as they consistently bring in the most bookings and the highest returns. Some industry analysts estimate that more than 75% of hotel website bookings originate directly from these four basic areas alone.
  • Website Redesign
  • Search Engine Optimisation
  • Paid Search
  • Email Marketing
Website Redesign
If you haven’t done your website in the past eighteen to twenty four months then it is most likely that it requires some sort of surgery. New technology will have passed it by, the design may be dated. A new website with positive images, rich content and integration of social media is now a basic of any hotel website.

It almost goes without saying that a fully integrated online reservations system such as Bookassist is essential.

More about Website Design with The Edge

Search Engine Optimisation
No point having the best website in the world if no-one can find it. Don’t expect loads of business just because your hotel name comes up first. The vast majority of your potential bookers are not looking for you by name. We’ve developed our own 3-6-9 SEO Audi which will help you analyse your website not only month on month but against your key competition. Management of SEO terms and your website content is an ongoing process that once again can provide stunning increases in traffic leading to greater opportunity to convert.

It is essential and whilst the investment may be unseen, the results are not.


Paid Search
If used without caution it can be expensive but managed properly pay per click can provide excellent rates of return on the money spent. It really is worthwhile to allocate a decent budget to paid search for 2010 and monitor click throughs and bookings generated. It can be easily managed and monitored and should not be overlooked.

Email Marketing
Direct contact with your previous customers is maybe an accepted principle but it like the other basics above requires creativity and strategic planning. It’s no longer just about sending out brochures. It may involve post departure email questionnaires, deep linking to exclusive offers and certainly strong management of the design and content of newsletters. Mailing to customers who know you is very rarely viewed as junk or annoying, it may not be relevant at that particular time but one of those occasions it will push the button.

If you can focus the majority of your 2010 online marketing budget and efforts on these four areas and monitor your results so that you can allocate more of your budget to those specific elements in each initiative that works.

It doesn’t mean you systematically ignore Social Media and other offline tools but get the basics right when money is tight and can see dramatic increases in Return on Investment.

For more information on improving your ROI give us a call on 01292 521404 or send us an email

ROI is King

Excuse the schoolboy French pun but as we move into 2010, Return on Investment really is King.

Every penny spent must lever the maximum return possible in all areas of the business. No more so than with online marketing.

So what should you plan to do in 2010?

Well this year is being labelled by many online marketing gurus as “The Year of The Independent”. So what does that mean?

Well in our eyes it means that the technology has come of age and now allows the independent operator access at an affordable cost to the same tools previously only available to the larger operators or to the Online Travel Agents (OTAs)

Accommodation providers need to focus on developing online marketing initiatives that bring the highest rates of return in terms of higher rates, lower commissions and the most bookings.

So what should you’re online focus be for the next twelve months? Well it should be the things that have got the best means of providing the Return on Investment.

Concentrate on the basics as they consistently bring in the most bookings and the highest returns. Some industry analysts estimate that more than 75% of hotel website bookings originate directly from these four basic areas alone.
  • Website Redesign
  • Search Engine Optimisation
  • Paid Search
  • Email Marketing
Website Redesign
If you haven’t done your website in the past eighteen to twent four months then it is most likely that it requires some sort of surgery. New technology will have passed it by, the design may be dated. A new website with positive images, rich content and integration of social media is now a basic of any hotel website.

It almost goes without saying that a fully integrated online reservations system such as Bookassist is essential.

Search Engine Optimisation
No point having the best website in the world if no-one can find it. Don’t expect loads of business just because your hotel name comes up first. The vast majority of your potential bookers are not looking for you by name. We’ve developed our own 3-6-9 SEO Audi which will help you analyse your website not only month on month but against your key competition. Management of SEO terms and your website content is an ongoing process that once again can provide stunning increases in traffic leading to greater opportunity to convert.

It is essential and whilst the investment may be unseen, the results are not.


Paid Search
If used without caution it can be expensive but managed properly pay per click can provide excellent rates of return on the money spent. It really is worthwhile to allocate a decent budget to paid search for 2010 and monitor click throughs and bookings generated. It can be easily managed and monitored and should not be overlooked.

Email Marketing
Direct contact with your previous customers is maybe an accepted principle but it like the other basics above requires creativity and strategic planning. It’s no longer just about sending out brochures. It may involve post departure email questionnaires, deep linking to exclusive offers and certainly strong management of the design and content of newsletters. Mailing to customers who know you is very rarely viewed as junk or annoying, it may not be relevant at that particular time but one of those occasions it will push the button.

If you can focus the majority of your 2010 online marketing budget and efforts on these four areas and monitor your results so that you can allocate more of your budget to those specific elements in each initiative that works.

It doesn’t mean you systematically ignore Social Media and other offline tools but get the basics right when money is tight and can see dramatic increases in Return on Investment.

For more information on improving your ROI give us a call on 01292 521404 or send us an email

Golf Tourism Scotland Announces Regional Forums for 2010

Titled "Marketing Methods That Work", the forums are intended to provide the ideal start to the New Year. The season ahead will be crucial for golf businesses wanting to put the difficulties of 2009 behind them and the forums have been devised to provide expert guidance on how best to do that.

These afternoon events will bring together insightful presentations from leading practitioners in golf-related promotion, website design and photography, preceded by a networking lunch. Award-winning golf course photographer Mark Alexander will divulge the secrets of capturing great images and how to use them to attract business and generate revenue. Ian McCaig, from The Edge, shall reveal the unwritten rules that govern successful websites while PR specialist Yvonne Alexander will explain how to attract visitors by getting your stories told.

Dates and venues: Tuesday 9th February at Castle Stuart GL, Inverness; Thursday 11th February at North Berwick GC; Tuesday 16th February at the Inn at Lathones, St Andrews; Thursday 18th February at Cameron House on Loch Lomond. Timing: 1:00 - 4:45pm.

Cost: One FREE place per member company and £25 per person for non-members or additional representatives.

Forth Valley Golf Tourism Discussion

Clackmannanshire Alliance, with the support of both Falkirk and Stirling Council are hosting a Forth Valley golf tourism event at the Harviestoun Hotel on Tuesday 2 February 2010 at 2pm.
Guest speaker is Nick Hunter chairman of Golf Tourism Scotland. The event will give an opportunity for golf clubs and businesses across Clackmannanshire to explore the opportunities for the marketing and development of their golf facilities to visitors.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Bookassist announces Protel PMS Integration, further streamlines online business for hotels

In a major upgrade to its XML Connector technology, Protel hotel technology and online strategy firm Bookassist (bookassist.org) has announced the successful integration of its award-winning online booking engine with the Protel (protel-hotel-software.com) hotel property management system (PMS).

The solution allows hotels using Protel PMS products in-house and Bookassist's booking engine on their websites to seamlessly connect the two technologies. Incoming reservations from the website booking engine are automatically passed to the PMS, eliminating the need for any management or intervention by hotel staff.

Time and cost savings are the obvious advantage for hotels, together with improved accuracy of data in the PMS and a more up-to-the-minute representation of availability.

The OTA/XML-based integration of the two systems has already been deployed across all hotels in the ARCOTEL Hotel group (arcotel.at) in Austria, Germany and Croatia.

Ian McCaig from Bookassist in Scotland commented on the new product, "Many hotels have been asking about Bookassist's PMS integration throughout 2009 and this introduciton of the XML Connector is great news for accommodation providers in Scotland who recognise the need to build their direct online room reservations."

Protel integration is just one of a number of "flavours" that the Bookassist XML Connector product comes in, with leading PMS vendors now seamlessly connected with Bookassist's hotel booking engine. Further announcements will be made in the coming weeks regarding market-leading vendors connecting to XML Connector.

Guaranteed Best Rate - Shout it out Loud

The need to use Online Travel Agents over the past year has been for many a necessarily evil rather than a strategic plan. They undoubtedly have their uses and when used in conjunction with an online sales strategy to promote your own direct sales they can achieve very positive and complementary results. But OTAs should not be left to become your online strategy
To rely on third parties for your online reservations is a very dangerous policy indeed. Accommodation providers know that they should be providing their direct (potentially regular) customers with the very best service before, during and after their stay and one means of doing this is ensuring that they are your customers booking directly with you and not through an intermediary. Ask any accommdoation provider whether they would prefer a directly booked customer to a third party one and the answer will always be the same.
So what can you do about it? Well over the coming weeks we'll look at a number of areas but how about starting with Guaranted Best Rates?
It has always seemed fundamentally flawed that your customer can purchase better rates with the OTA's than if they book directly with the property. Not only on a customer service level but also on a cost basis. From our own experiences we all know that we will shop around - price comparison sites have built their selling proposition on it.

However even in insurance markets the direct supplier is asserting their independance. Increasingly the adverts will now send with the statement that the offer is not available on comparison websites.
Carry the logic forward to a hotel website. If a site visitor finds your site and finds an availability checker which states Guaranteed Best Rate are they more or less likely to book with you?
So there's the beginning make sure you have Best Availabale Rate promoted on your site heavily.
But what else can you do? Well look at your on and off line communications from top to bottom, start to finish and ensure the message is sent lod and clear.
Here's a little list to start things off:
  • Outgoing emails and enewsletters - Guaranteed Best Rate label like above
  • Correspondence - add to all your letters and confirmations. Why not print up labels and stick them on all your envelopes?
  • Room keys - if reprinting or producing nerw key rings make sure they promote Guranteed Best Rate on your website - Ramada Jarvis do it!
  • Tent cards in your public areas? 
  • On all your leaflets and brochures? 
  • Facebook, Twitter and Blogs? Reinforce on all your online communications.
  • Invoices on departure - ensure it's clear they can't book cheaper anywhere else the next time
  • Data Gathering - collect those email addresses and set yourself a collection target every week and ensure it again says Guaranteed Best Rate.
Overkill? No we don't think so. A website needs to increase traffic to ensure it can sell more online. Price sensitivity is prevalant and anything that can drive traffic to your website in the future must be done. Guaranteed Best Rate is just one of the tools to achieve it but an important starting point.
After all what chance of conversion from your own site if the room is available cheaper on ten other websites?
For more information on developing your online marketing strategy contact The Edge by email call 01292 521404 or visit The Edge Online

2010 Online Bookings up for Scottish Hotels


The New Year has started positively for Bookassist powered properties throughout Scotland according to Ian McCaig from the Ayrshire office.
"The first few days in January are showing fantastic growth on the beginning of last year and we're hopeful that this is a pattern that can be continued throughout the remainder of the month.Hotels are understanding much more clearly the need to grow their direct online sales and for the more proactive amongst them this is producing clear results."
He continued, "As well as providing a highly specified booking engine to the guests which makes it easy to book, hoteliers are beginning to recognise the need to support the reservations engine with marketing activity. A booking engine on its own is no longer enough. A site needs to portray their product graphically and attractively, it must ensure that the site is being found for the appropriate search terms by the appropriate markets and then Bookassist will convert and we believe convert more highly than any other online reservations system."
To achieve the above, Bookassist in Scotland don't only provide the online booking system but also the knowledge and marketing support to help secure the increase in direct sales that is required.
"Of course we understand why hotels have been looking to Online Travel Agents over the past year. The market for some areas in Scotland has been flat and reservations from any source are welcome but we don't beleive that this should be at any cost.
It's a simple question that we ask of our prospective clients; "Do you think the demand for booking direct through your own website is going to increase or decrease over the coming decade?" It may almost be a rhetorical question for sure but it focusses the mind on the need to take the provision of the online reservations service more seriously and actually plan strategically in order to speed up the growth."
Businesses who are looking at their online booking options are being encouraged to look at their whole online marketing strategy by the Scottish Bookassist team - search engine optimisation, paid advertising, e-marketing, social media (with purpose), guaranteed best rates, merchandising of rooms and add on products, online agency and corporate relationships and even best practice in designing a new website.
"All of these areas require not only consideration but action. We see examples of hotels plowing hours of time and hundreds of pounds a week into their local newspaper advertising and radio schedules and then skimming over their online marketing programmes and website content. It is our resolution in 2010 to work even more closely through our account management structure to build the understanding of how integral to all areas of their business an online strategy must be - even to the smallest of operators"
If you wish more information on building your direct online reservations contact scotland@bookassist.com or telephone +44 (0)1292 521404.