Tuesday, 24 April 2012
The Gathering - be part of it
The Gathering is a unique chance for us all to join a countrywide, citizen-led initiative to reach out to Ireland's global diaspora and bring them home for an unprecedented year-long celebration of all that is great about Ireland, Spread the word!!
Who would you bring to your Gathering in 2013?
who would you bring to your gathering in 2013???
The Gathering Ireland is a chance to join a citizen-led initiative to reach out to Ireland’s diaspora & bring them home for a year-long celebration.
Monday, 23 April 2012
The g Hotel, Galway
The G Hotel in Galway will today join an elite group of only 12 others in Ireland to be awarded five stars by the AA.The hotel's restaurant -- Gigi's -- has been awarded two AA rosettes in recognition of its fine dining. The hotel achieved its five-star status following a series of unannounced visits by AA inspectors -- and last week learned that it had made the grade. "This really is a very prestigious award for the hotel," said a delighted Triona Gannon, general manager. The hotel opened in November 2005 and was designed by renowned milliner Philip Treacy, from Ahascragh, Co Galway.
To-day April 23rd sees the re-release of ABBA's last studio Album, ABBA - THE VISITORS!
I remember it the first time around and still have the original vinyl released in 1982!! The Visitors, as a Deluxe Edition is not only the original album, you also get seven bonus tracks and a exclusive DVD compromising of rare and previously unreleased material. The Visitors, as an ABBA record, is somewhat different to what you might expect. Gone is the “lighter” music of Waterloo and Mamma Mia! and its place we have When All Is Said And Done, a song that depicts Benny and Frida slowly going their separate ways. The Visitors, the opening song, does a tremendous job of allowing you to know within the first few bars that this record is more “mature” than previous releases with the instinctive synth and pulsating beat. Head Over Heels and Slipping Through My Fingers are more fine examples of this. The major hit single is One Of Us, with its beautiful intro to an amazingly catchy chorus.
Here's a link to "When All Is Said And Done!" Released in April 1982, 30 years ago, it stills sounds as fresh today as it did back then !!
The bonus tracks is where you get to embrace what this Deluxe Edition is about. Songs like Should I Laugh Or Cry, previously a B-Side, Cassandra and The Day Before You Came are the picks here. They all fit in perfectly with the original album. We are even giving a very special track, From A Twinkling Star To A Passing Angel. It may only be a demo, however what it most definitely isn’t is filler as this is the standout song from the extras.
Enjoy!
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Recently,
After 2 days locked away in the Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel, Killiney, Co
Dublin, A team of 5 students, representing Shannon College of Hotel Management
was selected as the outright winner of the Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI)
Business Management Game 2012, in association with Champagne Taittinger and
Fáilte Ireland. Congratulations Shannon and commiserations to my fellow team
mates, at DKIT! We did ourselves proud!!
http://www.eyefortravel.com/social-media-and-marketing/5-golden-rules-social-media-roi
The 5 Golden Rules of Social Media
Facebook page? Check! Twitter account and dedicated hastags? Check! Competitions, discounts and giveaways? Check! Any real, measurable and abundant ROI from social media campaigns?
Guys,
A recent EyeforTravel survey of APAC travel brands shows that despite 67% claiming to have deployed social media initiatives, more than half admitted confusion or inability to effectively rack and measure ROI.
One respondent describes ‘For all its potential, social media keeps me up at night.. It feels a little bit like jumping in at the deep-end without arm-bands and being expected to swim’
Social media experts explain how brands can move beyond deploying social media for ‘engagement’ or to ‘raise awareness’ and instead concretely generate incremental revenue and real ROI. Excerpts below;
Hotel Social Media and Review Analytics for Service and Sales
1) Identify where social media will save you money
Social technology can increase efficiency. Using social media and review analytics could also save you substantial amounts of money in customer surveys, business intelligence, and market research. Exposure from social campaigns could replace some of your investments in advertising and PR, saving money from budgets there as well.
2) Count inbound leads from social media
Many hotels are using social media listening tools to pick up on conversations with people looking to buy what they are selling. Hubspot research showed companies that blog generate 88% more inbound leads than those who do not blog.
3) Measure for sales conversion improvement
Social media - and online customer reviews in particular - play a key role in optimizing sales conversion rates." Brian Ferguson, EVP at Expedia, quantifying the ADR impact as well: “A 1 point increase in a review score equates to a 9% increase in average daily rate (ADR).” Measure the increase in revenue directly attributable from using social media in the sales process.
4) Track progress towards business KPIs and strategic objectives
Insights from the social web can play a key role in reaching strategic business goals such as improving guest satisfaction or increasing the percentage of direct bookings. When you understand the financial impact of reaching larger business goals such as these, quantifying the contribution of social media towards reaching that goal becomes easier.
(EyeforTravel and Greg Tilston published a good overview of social KPIs on the EyeForTravel blog.)
“The online reputation of each of our brands is a key success indicator for us. Online reviews not only give us insights into our daily operations, they also directly influence our revenue and profitability.” – Luis del Olmo, EVP and CMO of Melia Hotels International
5) Measure campaigns
Driving email newsletter subscriptions? Need to increase the number of inbound links to your website for SEO purposes? Want to increase visitor time on your website? Campaign or project-based ROI might ultimately be the best measure of return on investment. Especially if you compare the cost associated with reaching a goal with what it cost you in the past using other tactics. Martin Soler at WIHP wrote a good article if you want to learn more about this:
The 5 Golden Rules of Social Media
Facebook page? Check! Twitter account and dedicated hastags? Check! Competitions, discounts and giveaways? Check! Any real, measurable and abundant ROI from social media campaigns?
Guys,
A recent EyeforTravel survey of APAC travel brands shows that despite 67% claiming to have deployed social media initiatives, more than half admitted confusion or inability to effectively rack and measure ROI.
One respondent describes ‘For all its potential, social media keeps me up at night.. It feels a little bit like jumping in at the deep-end without arm-bands and being expected to swim’
Social media experts explain how brands can move beyond deploying social media for ‘engagement’ or to ‘raise awareness’ and instead concretely generate incremental revenue and real ROI. Excerpts below;
Hotel Social Media and Review Analytics for Service and Sales
1) Identify where social media will save you money
Social technology can increase efficiency. Using social media and review analytics could also save you substantial amounts of money in customer surveys, business intelligence, and market research. Exposure from social campaigns could replace some of your investments in advertising and PR, saving money from budgets there as well.
2) Count inbound leads from social media
Many hotels are using social media listening tools to pick up on conversations with people looking to buy what they are selling. Hubspot research showed companies that blog generate 88% more inbound leads than those who do not blog.
3) Measure for sales conversion improvement
Social media - and online customer reviews in particular - play a key role in optimizing sales conversion rates." Brian Ferguson, EVP at Expedia, quantifying the ADR impact as well: “A 1 point increase in a review score equates to a 9% increase in average daily rate (ADR).” Measure the increase in revenue directly attributable from using social media in the sales process.
4) Track progress towards business KPIs and strategic objectives
Insights from the social web can play a key role in reaching strategic business goals such as improving guest satisfaction or increasing the percentage of direct bookings. When you understand the financial impact of reaching larger business goals such as these, quantifying the contribution of social media towards reaching that goal becomes easier.
(EyeforTravel and Greg Tilston published a good overview of social KPIs on the EyeForTravel blog.)
“The online reputation of each of our brands is a key success indicator for us. Online reviews not only give us insights into our daily operations, they also directly influence our revenue and profitability.” – Luis del Olmo, EVP and CMO of Melia Hotels International
5) Measure campaigns
Driving email newsletter subscriptions? Need to increase the number of inbound links to your website for SEO purposes? Want to increase visitor time on your website? Campaign or project-based ROI might ultimately be the best measure of return on investment. Especially if you compare the cost associated with reaching a goal with what it cost you in the past using other tactics. Martin Soler at WIHP wrote a good article if you want to learn more about this:
Monday, 16 April 2012
Mobile Comerce / Wireless Technology
What is Mobile Commerce?
Mobile commerce (also known as mobile e-commerce or m-commerce consists of two primary components. The first is the ability to use a wireless phone or other mobile device to conduct financial transactions and exchange payments over the Internet. The second is the ability to deliver information that can facilitate a transaction -- from making it easy for your business to be "found" via a mobile Web browser to creating mobile marketing campaigns such as text promotions and loyalty programs.
Why Should You Care?
Just as the Internet and e-commerce revolutionized the way we promote, market, shop for and buy goods and services, wireless devices and mobile commerce are poised to create another revolution in the world of commerce.
Intersting Link to website on future trends in Mobile Commerce! http://gigaom.com/mobile/four-mega-trends-shaping-the-future-of-commerce/
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