We have come a long way in the world of Internet Marketing. From the age of information (think glorified electronic brochure) on the web to the world of snappy online transactions…we’ve now moved into the age of an experiential and social Internet, all great leaps in a relatively short space of time.

Hotel eMarketers can lay claim to that cheery phrase too, as far as marketing and distributing hotel rooms on the internet is concerned, in spite of the traditional, people-centric nature of the industry. But despite the eMarketer code to boldly go where no other hotel marketers have gone before, very few venture into the fuzzy world of online marketing beyond rooms.

There’s lots more to promote beyond rooms in a hotel, of course. The biggest being the exciting range of Food & Beverage outlets that hotels feature today. And then there are ancillary services like Spa, Sports, Recreation and more features, depending on the nature of the hotel and it’s location. For hotels that are already up to the mark on their rooms eMarketing, perhaps the biggest challenge is the fact that most of these services are very hard to track, since sales conversion usually happens offline. Another challenge is the low tech nature of these services, since most hotels don’t feel the need to invest in online reservation and information systems and for restaurants, bars and spas. And then there is the need to portray a strong hotel ‘brand image’ while still bringing out the unique character and feel of various outlets and signature services.

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