Hraba Hospitality Consulting

Seriously…. where are our revenue managers?

I know, in these times, you cannot maintain total rate integrity without looking like an out of touch management group.  Others try to maintain their rates by laughing at their clients and just being rude, something so pompous and idiotic I need to quote it here.  CMO Scott Williams, from Morgans Hotel Group (on behalf of the Clift in SF) said it professional as can be:

““You can bury your head in the sand, discount your rooms, piss your brand away. But we are a luxury brand and we will act like a luxury brand. I’m going to look back at this recession and say ‘we didn’t just drop our pants.’

He has a way of making a point, doesn’t he?  It is a valid issue, no matter how garrish, classless, and totally out of touch he is.  (Even using that “L” word can get you in trouble.  The current “luxury” fiasco that has everyone up in arms, from groups to spas.)  Not everyone is maintaining rates with such bravado.  Choice Hotels seems to be doing a great job.

Whatever the case, the question is (more…)

Josiah Mackenzie, hotel marketing pro, blew my mind once again with his exhaustive and insightful advice in using Flickr for Hotels.  His social media plan and help is just…. wow.  Thanks sir.  Some of his thoughts will be in the social media bible, whenever someone has enough time to sit down and write one (even though it seems to change second to second).  Whatever the case, his work always gets me thinking.  This time it brought me back to the vague, somewhat uneasy marriage of business and flickr.

Something people don’t seem to want to talk about, or at least isn’t brought up too often in regards to Flickr, is their famously nebulous Flickr TOS & Yahoo Terms of Service.  I have spoken to (more…)