Guest Aquisition Marketing

Program Description

Hoteliers are serving an increasing number of digitally-savvy travel consumers who can be engaged, acquired and retained only via digital marketing and technology strategies and tactics. Today’s hotel guests have become even more digitally-savvy compared to just a year ago - the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation by as much as 7 years (McKinsey & Company).

Course Participants will learn how to build upon the successful customer engagements achieved via Guest Engagement Marketing in the Dreaming and Planning Phases, in order to “close the deal” in the Booking Phase. Learn how to convince the online traveler not only to choose the hotel but book the hotel direct. Digital marketing formats included in this category are all Performance Marketing i.e. ROI-focused direct-response marketing formats, such as SEO, paid search/SEM, display advertising, retargeting, metasearch, email marketing, affiliate marketing, omni-marketing campaigns, etc., as well as all of the hotel website related marketing initiatives.

Participants will learn how to convert the engaged travel consumer into a hotel guest by utilizing the full range of performance marketing (direct response) initiatives and advertising formats in the Booking Phase: from SEO, SEM to display advertising, retargeting, metasearch, email marketing and omnichannel marketing campaigns.

Program Outcomes

Develop understanding of the hotel guest Digital Customer Journey and its five phases: Dreaming, Planning, Booking, Experiencing and Sharing.
Conceptualize successful digital marketing strategies to successfully acquire customers in the Booking Phase.
Learn how to develop hotel, company-specific, digital marketing budget for an effective and efficient Guest Acquisition Marketing.
Learn how to achieve better results with less marketing spend.
Evaluate the digital marketing technology needs of the hospitality organization required to support its Guest Acquisition Marketing efforts.
Develop Google-specific Guest Acquisition Marketing Strategy.
Design digital marketing campaigns for the Booking Phase of the Digital Customer Journey, including Omnichannel Marketing, SEO, SEM, Metasearch, Online Display, Retargeting, Lookalike Audiences, Social Media Performance Marketing, Programmatic and Data Marketing, Email Marketing, etc.

Program Faculty

Max Starkov is a hospitality digital strategy, technology and marketing executive, consultant and expert with 30 plus years of industry experience. Max has spent his entire professional career in hospitality and online travel, focusing on hotel digital strategy, technology and marketing. Max has consulted hundreds of major hotel chains, boutique and luxury hotel brands, independent hotels, resorts and casinos on their digital technology and marketing strategies. Until recently, Max was the Founder and Board Director, President & CEO at NextGuest (NextGuest.com), a 150-employee hotel digital strategy, technology and marketing consulting and services firm, headquartered in New York City with global offices in Europe and Asia Pacific. Before NextGuest, Max founded and served as CEO of two Internet travel startups: Travelbreak.com 1995-1999 (direct supplier-to-consumer online travel marketplace), WhaleMedia.com 1999-2001(Winner of Microsoft's Global RAD Award for hotel online booking systems).

As an online travel expert consultant with the major expert knowledge networks, Max has consulted hundreds of Wall Street analysts and investment bankers on the online travel marketplace, hospitality industry technology and marketing, online distribution strategies, etc. Max is a published author of hundreds of articles, opinion articles, white papers and best practices guides and is recognized "thought leader" in digital technology and marketing strategies in hospitality and travel. Max is the recipient of the hospitality industry’s most prestigious award, the HSMAI “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing” and served on the HSMAI Digital Marketing Council, the highest hotel digital marketing authority in the country, commissioned to monitor and educate HSMAI members about the emerging trends and innovations happening in hotel digital marketing universe.

Since 2001 Max has been an adjunct professor, graduate and undergraduate courses, on hospitality technology, online distribution, digital marketing and CRM at New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality Studies. Some of the courses include:

Hospitality Technology
CRM in hospitality
Online Distribution in Hospitality and Tourism
Digital Marketing in Hospitality and Tourism
Digital Marketing for DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations), etc.

Max has an MS in Economics of International Tourism & Hospitality, Sofia University and an MBA in E-Commerce degree, Beta Gamma Sigma Honors, from Fordham University in New York.