WINDSOR, Ont.— The Online Revealed Conference attracted more than 200 attendees to Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino in Windsor, Ont. last week to hear the latest trends in digital marketing innovation and best practices for marketing tourism and travel online.
Over the course of three days days, attendees had the opportunity to hear from industry leaders including Facebook, Google, Expedia and LinkedIn with keynotes from Hair Nari, VP North America for Expedia and Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image.
Expedia’s Nari pointed out that Canada is doing better post recession than U.S. “The RevPar was $78.8 in 2012 and it has been the best it’s been since pre-recession levels, while the U.S. is not at pre-recession levels just yet”.
Multiple workshops focusing on subjects ranging from SEO for hotels to Facebook marketing ROI, blogging, Pinterest for hotels and tools needed for measurement strategies provided attendees hands-on education learning opportunities.
Most experts at the conference agreed that when it came to travel marketing online, content was king. Hotel operators need to optimize content on their online properties by utilizing a mix of tools, such as photos, reviews, blogs and social media that’s right for them. In addition, mobile was picked as the fastest growing trend with Expedia’s Nair pointing out that “You don’t want to just look into mobile, you want to invest into mobile”.
The conference wrapped up with the presentation of The Canadian e-Tourism Awards luncheon hosted by the Canadian Tourism Commission. Winners were selected from more than 45 entries internationally. Best Western was awarded first place for best online campaign, New Brunswick Tourism was awarded first place for best website, Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism was awarded for best user generated content and Tourism Vancouver won first place for best innovative use of technology.
Visit @Hoteliermag on Twitter for all the insight from the conference.
