eBook - Show and Tell: The Travel Agent's Guide to Social Media Strategy

Social media is more prevalent than ever. In fact, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 88% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 say they use some form of social media. And it’s not just for the younger generations—64% of those aged 50 to 64 are plugged in as well. Blame it on the ubiquity of the smartphone, the siren song of collecting “likes,” or whatever you choose, but social media is popular—and your customers are interacting with it daily.

Article - The Best Emerging Tech for Small- to Mid-Size Business Travel Management

Small- to mid-size businesses (SMBs) run lean and mean, and that means there is often one person—you—in charge of managing the entire travel system. This can seem daunting when many of your efforts are looked over by employees who have grown accustomed to personal choice and ease of use in their leisure travel scheduling, and they expect the same from their business. To do the best job possible, you need to wear the hat of dealmaker, policy creator, policy enforcer and travel manager all in one.
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Hospitality B2B Payment: What Will the Future Hold?

When the hospitality industry speaks about payment innovation, much of the emphasis is put on guest payment experience in the hospitality space. With more and more guests demanding ease of payment for trips and hotel stays, it’s no wonder that keeping up with payment demand sees such enthusiastic discussion.But by concentrating on guest payments, we tend to overlook hospitality B2B payment. Third-party B2B payments are a part of everyday life for hotel and travel agency finance and accounting t
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What Will Hotel Recovery Look Like After COVID-19?

Much speculation has been expressed across the hospitality industry about what hotel recovery will look like after COVID-19. Rightfully so, as we saw the steepest decline in travel history happen swiftly within days of outbreaks in major cities and regions across the globe. Many hotels are still shuttered, awaiting word from governmental agencies on when they can safely reopen. Other hotels, that have either remained open or have reopened, are not yet seeing the amount of business they need to
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COVID-19 and Hospitality: The Road to Recovery for Meeting Planners

While we have yet to see the final impact that COVID-19 will have on meetings and events, it’s clear that it is one of the largest hurdles that meeting planners have ever faced. From information gleaned through industry surveys, we know that nearly every meeting planner has been affected by the coronavirus in their daily work. What we can do now is look at the current climate and take a step back in history to see the story of meetings and events recovery from past economic downturns. Below, we
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COVID-19 and Hospitality: The Age of Virtual Events

As we live our new normal of social distancing, many meeting planners are looking to virtual events as an alternative to in-person events and conferences. While this is more challenging for large-scale festivals and tradeshows, small and large conferences are learning they can pivot in-person events to an online format with relative ease. Virtual events can feel like more of an uphill battle for meeting planners. There’s less ability to promote, a lack of monetization opportunities, and engagin
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COVID-19 and Hospitality: How Can Hotels and Meeting Planners Prepare?

The hospitality industry has seen one of its biggest downturns in history with the sudden onset of COVID-19. Travel bans and restrictions are growing daily as the novel coronavirus continues to move into new regions and countries. One of the highly affected hospitality sectors is meetings and events. With companies enforcing strict travel guidelines and widespread event cancellations and postponements, COVID-19 is bringing a level of market disruption nearly unrivaled in history. “There has bee
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3 Ways Hotels Can Win More Meeting and Event Bookings

From RFPs to payments, emerging technology has virtually transformed the full event planning cycle for both planners and hoteliers. Event planning thought leaders are looking beyond hotel airport proximity and square footage to how hotels can wow their clients and simplify their event experience. How can your hotel keep up with growing trends that will win more meeting and event bookings? 1.Embrace Instant Booking to be Most Accessible to Planners For smaller events, like business off-site mee
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5 Ways Revenue Managers are Thinking More Like Marketers

With the new customer acquisition and channel needs of a modern hotel, revenue managers and marketers are overlapping in thought and action more than ever before. And while both departments have traditionally worked independently, large hotels chains are learning fast that cross-collaboration between these two vital departments can bring more business, strategic partnerships, insights, and revenue. In order to make the most of the revenue management/marketing partnership, savvy revenue managers
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B2B Payment Trends in 2019: The Ups and Downs of Cryptocurrency

For the final installment of our three-part series on 2019 B2B payment trends, we’re addressing one of the most talked about topics in the world of payments: cryptocurrency. Check out our first post on payment automation and our second post on the promising opportunity in cross-border payments. What is Cryptocurrency and Why Should We Care? Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that allows for transparent and instantaneous transactions based on a seemingly uncrackable cryptographic code. With c
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B2B Payment Trends in 2019: Cross-Border Payments

In part two of our three-part series on 2019 B2B payment trends, the focus is on the promising future for cross-border payments. For more on 2019 payment trends, check out our first post on payment automation. B2B cross-border payments are thriving in today’s interconnected world. In fact, B2B cross-border transactions accounted for in revenue in 2018, far outweighing consumer-to-business cross-border payments which accounted for just $54 billion. And this increase in demand has extended to bus
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B2B Payment Trends in 2019: Big Leaps in Payment Automation

Over the next three posts, we’ll be discussing progressive business-to-business (B2B) payment trends and their effect on finance and accounting departments within the hospitality landscape and beyond. For the first installment, we’ll be taking a deep dive into recent developments in payment automation technology and what we can expect to see in 2019. FinTech is Stepping up to the Plate The B2B payment landscape is undergoing a massive shift as B2B payments continue to increase over time, and b
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Green is the Gold Standard for 2019 Meetings and Events

As demonstrated by the backlash against plastic waste, like drinking straws, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how their buying choices can affect the environment. For meetings and events planners, this means thinking about how to make environmentally sustainable choices and minimize waste. Forty-one percent of waste goes into the garbage, and only thirty-five percent is recycled, according to sustainability specialist Shawna McKinley. This means that the average 1,000 attendee, 3-da
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A Tipping Point for Hospitality Payment Innovation

A recent study from PYMNTS.com and Amadeus reports just 15 percent of travel companies have attempted hospitality payment innovation in their systems over the last three years—despite the high bank fees associated with fragmented international business models. The report notes that third-party fees associated with consumer payment average 4.7 percent for airlines, 6 percent for hotels and 7 percent for travel agencies. But paying those fees is still often the cheapest option, given that the onl
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How to Embrace Technology That is Shaping Millennial Travel

Hoteliers and travel agents have seen hospitality industry trends change and grow over time. But the presence of technology that appeals to millennial travelers—both established and up-and-coming tech—is changing the industry like never before. With millennial travel accounting for 80% of online bookings, transitioning your business efforts to web and mobile is key to staying competitive in the hospitality landscape of today—and tomorrow. We offer a few suggestions on how to maximize your prese