The Happier the Hotelier, The Happier the Guest
What should Hotel Owners know about Social Media and Internet Marketing?
While winding down from #itb09, this question came up via Twitter.
My first reaction was: At least they should start reading Bill Marriot’s Blog. A good example!
Cool, Thanks for that.
My second reaction was: Plus they should read:
This photo shows Yours Truly at the T-List – PhocusWright Blogger Summit #ITB09 in Berlin. Photo thanks to @TravelSavvyKayt of Travel Savvy Mom at Twit Pic
You have 5 more days to vote for her and for Darren at the Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards
Yesterday I drove home from a busy two day Blogger summit/conference with a bag full of mixed feelings. During an 8 hours drive you are able to do a bit of thinking and rethinking.
Rereading my summary of last year’s event, I realize the feelings are more or less the same.
Rather than giving a full summary, this year I’ll concentrate on a few details:
In addition the following thought: One of my fellow bloggers once commented:”Well your Blog is just (hesitation) nice….” Well friend that is exactly my point. Out there there is enough of “Not so Nice”. I’ll leave that to others.
Part of the discussions in Berlin was again the Blogger vs Journalist “controversy”….
For instance:”Would you be a honest Blogger, if you had reviewed a hotel with a negative outcome and decided not to publish it?”. Kayt wonderfully worded my own feeling about this subject: She didn’t believe her readership was looking for negative, but more for positive advice and therefore would not publish a negative review. Hearing the comment I thought:”Stick to your believes.”
With that in mind I have decided to keep doing what I do and stick to my own curiosity and stick to my own myriad of subjects to write about and remain as positive as possible.
I have always considered to line this blog up with my hotel site, but because of the myriad of subjects here, I have now decided to start an entirely new Blog which will be more tailored, focused and dedicated to Haagsche Suites and things in and around it and keep this blog as my main armchair travel blog
Kudos and thanks to all involved in Berlin!
Just a few observations:
Offl
I believe this is a giant step forward:
The Guardian today launched Open Platform, a service that will allow partners to reuse guardian.co.uk content and data for free and weave it “into the fabric of the internet“.
Open Platform launched with two separate content-sharing services, which will allow users to build their own applications in return for carrying Guardian advertising.
A content application programming interface (API) will smooth the way for web developers to build applications and services using Guardian content, while a Data Store will contain datasets curated by Guardian editors and open for others to use.
Tech Crunch picked it up and made some comments.
I’m following @Twitchhiker also know as @Paul A Smith in his endeavor to “travel around the world in 30 days“. Well, actually he tries to travel just half of the world in 30 days: As far from Newcastle upon Tyne where he lives, to Campbell Island in the neighborhood of NZ, solely with the help of his Twitter followers. He reports extensively about the trip on his blog Twitchhiker (see also his site Never Odd or Even).
Twestivals gave him the idea of linking Charity: Water as the beneficiary of donations which you can make at JustGiving.com/Twitchhiker.
You can follow him on Twit Pic, on Flickr as Twitchhiker and on Youtube as… Twitchhiker of course. Here is his latest YouTube podcast:
I posted about this trip in Travel by Twitter: #Twitchhiker is taking off – First Leg #Amsterdam and in (a copied) post: The Twitchhiker: one man on a Twitter travel mission | Travel | guardian.co.uk.
He gets an amazing coverage all around the World. Since you can follow his day to day experiences on his blog Twithchiker and on Twitter Search Twitchhiker yourself, I would like only to share some odd details with you:
Before he left the typical British habit of settling every future uncertainty in betting inspired Paul to a Betting Post with quotes and all:
7/2 Twitchhiker to reach Campbell Island within 30 days
10/1 Twitchhiker to reach Campbell Island within a week
7/4 Twitchhiker not to get out of Britain
5/4 Twitchhiker not to get of Europe
2/1 Twitchhiker to have to abandon his mission due to lack of support from tweeps
8/1 Twitchhiker to become a movie within the next 5 years.
Well he succeeded to get out of Britain within a day…into Amsterdam
I offered him shelter for the night in my small hotel in The Hague which is close to Amsterdam, but in his post Going against the Grain he understandably explains that traveling from Amsterdam to the Hague would not bring him far that day, so he choose for Paris and to sleep there in a Hostel next to:
some hulk of dutch man who was snoring like a pneumatic hammer trapped in a washing machine locked in a filing cabinet been kicked down a hill. It was very funny for the first five minute, less so for the hours that followed.
Via Germany he doubled back to Amsterdam Schiphol and Flew into New York City. From there he traveled to Washington DC
Currently Twitchhiker is being driven by a very persistent and enthusiastic Ken Morill AKA @Yenra in beautiful a open Ford Mustang that has been brilliantly tagged by Ken’s daughter:
Also to be seen at @Yenra’s Flickr account:
Up to Pitssburgh