Good morning, everyone.

Thank you for joining us today.

I'm Tracy Sabattis.

I manage the Regional
Guides at Mannix Marketing

along with Valleri who
is our Director of Sales.

For those of you who aren't
familiar with the Regional

Guides and the tourism
part of Mannix Marketing,

we have several
sites from Albany

to the Adirondacks that have
millions of website visitors

and hundreds of thousands
of social media followers

and newsletter subscribers.

Valleri will be taking
you through tips

for marketing your lodging
property during all the phases

of the COVID 19 pandemic.

A couple of housekeeping
items before we get started.

We're going to be sharing
a lot of information today.

Don't worry about taking notes.

We are recording the
webinar and we'll

be sending it out this week.

If you have any questions,
enter them into the Q&A.

And we will leave time at
the end to answer those.

If we don't get to yours,
we'll follow up later.

Valleri, take it away.

Good morning everybody.

As Tracy said, I
am Valleri James.

I am the Director of
Sales at Mannix Marketing.

My primary role here is
to help local businesses

with their marketing
and advertising.

I want to start off by thanking
you for joining us today.

We have a variety of properties
from the capital region

and the Adirondacks
on the webinar.

But the concepts I'm
going to show you

will work no matter what size
or type of lodging property

you have.

I've talked to a lot of
people in preparing for this.

I know some of you aren't
sure where to begin.

I know that some of
you have started,

but you're not sure if
you're on the right path.

So my goal today is to see
what I can do to help you.

The first thing
you want to do is

be mindful of your messaging.

Currently, New
York is on a pause.

Our governor has
mandated that we need

to pause now and play later.

Hotels are considered
an essential business,

but I do know some county
officials are asking visitors

to remain at home
for the time being.

You need to be mindful of
the situation for your area.

When talking about visiting
the region, for now

it should be about the future.

But definitely talk about it.

Encourage people to plan
and do their research

for their next vacation.

Here's a nice example using a
pause now, play later hashtag.

You also want to daydream with
your guests about future stays.

People will be traveling
again before you know it.

Here is a great example of
daydreaming in Lake George.

You're going to hear
me repeat this daydream

theory throughout the
webinar because it's

really important for you to
stay connected with your guests

and get them excited about
vacationing with you.

Now that we've talked
about the messaging.

Let's talk about the marketing.

There are three
phases of marketing

during COVID, which we'll
talk about in a few minutes.

But first, I want to talk
about a little preplanning.

You need to preplan before
you do too much marketing.

All of you are at
different stages

of marketing your business,
but these are good things

to consider at any stage.

You also need to
keep in mind that you

might need to adjust your plans
throughout the different phases

of reopening.

First thing you need to do is
determine your target audience.

How has your target demographic
changed because of COVID?

Conferences and large
events have been canceled.

Did you have business
travelers before COVID?

Has that been impacted by
people working at home?

Did you have Canadian
travelers before COVID?

The border is closed.

Your guests may look a little
differently this season.

How do you need to
change your marketing

strategy based on who your
current and near future guests

are?

You need to figure out
your cancellation policies.

People are going to be
uncomfortable about booking

a vacation even after the
travel ban has lifted.

Tell them a
cancellation policy that

is going to give
them peace of mind.

That way if they need
to cancel, they're not

going to be worrying about it.

Offer direct booking incentives.

What incentives can you offer
to get people to book with you

directly?

This is a great time for
you to save OTA fees.

Create packages and incentives
for future bookings.

I love this example
where Golden Arrow

is polling their guests to find
out what would appeal to them.

What kind of packages can
you offer your guests?

Now is a good time
to try something new.

Know what your safety
measures will be.

How are you going to protect
your guests and your staff?

Your guests are
going to want to know

what you are doing,
especially if they have not

stayed with you before.

Make sure you have this
safety plan in place

before you start your
marketing because people

will be asking about it.

Now that we have talked
about preplanning,

let's get into the different
phases of marketing.

There are three phases of
marketing during COVID.

Phase one is staying connected
while we're on pause.

Phase two will be the
initial demand for travel.

And phase three will be the
increased demand for travel.

Right now, we are at the
tail end of phase one.

We are nearing the
end of the pause.

It's time for you to
start planting seeds

for future travel.

If your property is
a seasonal property,

this phase is critical
to your success for 2020.

The first thing you want to
do is create brand awareness.

What is your property known for?

How many times have
people heard of you?

Help people get excited
about staying with you.

Here is an iconic photo
of Mohawk Mountain House.

It's sure to get their guests
excited about visiting them.

Create a connection to the
region for your guests.

What is your region known for?

Should you be showcasing
hiking in the Adirondacks,

boating on Lake George,
horse racing at Saratoga,

going to a concert at
the Time Union Center?

Whatever your region
is popular for,

you should be
talking about often.

Show support for your community.

Tell people what you're doing.

It can be as simple as
a shout out thanking

your local hospital staff, or
a donation to your local food

pantry.

Keep your guests informed.

What are your safety measures?

Are you open?

Are you taking reservations?

Is your restaurant
open, but your rooms

are not, or vise versa?

Make sure people know the status
of your property at all times.

Consider making your status
a pinned post on Facebook.

Pinned posts stay at the
top of your newsfeed,

and then all your other
posts show up after.

This way it'll be
easy for people

to find out what
your situation is.

When we move on to phase two,
the initial demand for travel,

the pause has ended
and some people

are going to be
ready to travel now.

You need to be very aggressive
during these early stages.

Reach out to people
who are daydreaming

about vacations with incentives
and flexible cancellation

plans.

There are going to be
a lot of properties

vying for less travelers, so
this should be your big ramp

up phase.

Continue to help people
dream about traveling.

Keep them dreaming about your
property and your destination.

For example, if you're
in a beach town,

live shots of the
ocean are a great way

to keep people
dreaming about a visit.

Think about what brings
people to your destination.

How can you keep
them daydreaming?

Promote your property's unique
selling points, as well as

those of your region.

Continue to sell
your brand, but also

start to encourage people
to book their trip.

Let potential guests
know what makes

you different from the
properties in the area.

Here's a great example of Lake
Clear Lodge showcasing their

on site amenities like private
beaches and trails, kayaks,

on-site dining and takeout.

You can also promote
your regional amenities

like open spaces and fresh air.

Upstate New York is going to
be a very popular destination

for people who want
to enjoy the outdoors.

Introduce incentives for
those who want to book direct.

For example, you could do,
book early and save, say,

people who book their
vacation by the end of June

and get 20% off.

You can give credits for
on-site purchases such as food

and beverage or activities.

Maybe you could
include a gift card

to a local restaurant
or attraction.

You can provide early checkout,
or early check in excuse

me, or late checkout.

Offer better cancelation
policies than your guests get

with the OTA's.

That'll be a big one.

It's really going to
be important to market

to people in drive markets.

People will not be comfortable
taking long trips that

involve mass transportation.

We love this gas and go package.

It's a great way to market
to those in a drive market.

You're providing
a gas card, a gift

card to a local
convenience store,

and some iconic
Ocean City taffy.

What can you offer to
your potential guests

to get them to choose you?

Finally, we hit phase three,
the increased demand for travel.

The stay at home order has been
completely lifted for a while

and travelers are
ready to vacation.

Your objective is clear.

Get more bookings.

You want to be the most
aggressive with your marketing

during this phase.

Let people know you are open
and ready to welcome them.

We love this example from Naples
Grand who recently reopened.

There will be a lot of
people that want to travel.

They're just going to
need a little nudge

to get out the door.

Promote bookings via your social
media, your email newsletter,

and paid advertising to get
ahead of your competition.

During this phase, you want to
move from promoting your brand,

to more of a book now message.

Promote incentives
for booking right now.

Here's an example from B
Ocean Resort offering 35% off

to book by June 1st.

That's a pretty
aggressive incentive.

Create some packages that
will appeal to your new target

audience.

Here are a few ideas for you.

Maybe you can
promote stay-cations

for people who don't want
to go too far from home.

How about weekend getaways for
people who went back to work,

but still need to get
away from their home?

Or how about a romance
package for those

who've been cooped up with their
kids for a couple of months?

I bet those are
going to be popular.

You may also want to consider
some all inclusive packages

for essential workers who
need to relax and unwind.

Think about what your
property has to offer

and what incentives
you can give.

Another unique idea is to
create a blog post or press

release that you can share with
the media or local influencers.

You can use this
opportunity to announce

that you're open for business
and taking reservations.

You can use it to promote
incentives and safety measures.

You can showcase
the unique selling

points of your property.

Since travel is just
starting to reopen,

I could not find
a current example,

but here is a piece
we did for Trout House

last fall to let
people know why they

are the perfect place
for a Fall getaway.

What can someone do to
showcase your property?

Now that we have talked
about the phases,

let's get a little more
specific on what you

need to do to update
your sites, and how you

will be doing your marketing.

Things you need to
do during each phase

are update your website, your
social media, and your property

listings.

By property listings,
I mean things

like TripAdvisor, Google My
Business, and Saratoga.com.

Make sure all your information
is always accurate.

Let's first talk
about your website.

The first thing you
want to do is update

the status of your property.

Are you open and
taking reservations?

Are you closed and
taking reservations

for future bookings?

Make sure it's clear.

We love this pop up
done by Western Resort.

It's a great way
to let people know

what's happening
at your property

as soon as they
hit your website.

Prominently display
your cancelation policy.

Having your cancelation
policy front

and center on your
home page shows

that you have nothing to hide.

It gives people
the peace of mind

that if they book with you
now and need to cancel,

it's not going to be a problem.

You want to promote direct
bookings on your website.

You should always want people
to book with you directly,

as it helps you create a better
relationship with your guests,

and now more than ever, you
do want to save the OTA fees.

If you don't have a booking
engine on your site,

now's a great time
to invest in one.

Highlight special offers and
incentives on your website.

Fundings might be tight right
now, so providing incentives

is a great way to get
guests to choose you

over your competitors.

A special offer may also
make booking directly more

attractive than any
rewards they'll get

from booking with their OTA.

How about offering free
breakfast or a free

drink at your bar?

Or better yet, offer both.

You also want to
reassure guests safety.

Your guests need
to know that you

are taking proper precautions
to ensure their safety, as well

as the safety of your staff.

Add a COVID page to
your website that you

can update throughout COVID 19.

Here's an example of the page
Lake Motel added to their site.

Now that the page
is in place, they

can update it as they move
through the different phases

of reopening.

Let me give you a
couple other things

to reconsider for your website.

Add a re-targeting pixel to your
website as soon as possible.

This way you can
remark it to people

who are visiting your site now.

If you're not sure what
a re-targeting pixel is,

just make sure you ask us.

Ad live chat.

Your guests have questions.

They want to know what
your property is doing.

Consider adding
links or doing blog

posts on which local
businesses are open.

This is going to change
throughout the phases

of reopening, but
it's definitely

something your guests are
going to want to know.

Here's a great
example of a post done

of where to eat in St. Augustine
during the coronavirus.

Next up is social media.

I can't stress
enough how important

your social media is now.

Most people go to
social media to look

at what you're doing before
they go anywhere else.

Do not go dark.

I am really surprised by
the number of properties

both near and far that are
not posting on social media.

We think this is a
very big mistake.

Not only are you losing a
connection with your guests,

but you are also potentially
impacting your future reach

on social media.

So again, I cannot stress
enough get out there and post

on social media.

In the initial phase, we've been
mindful of being on pause here

in New York because
some of our regions

are sensitive about encouraging
people to visit right now.

But you should be asking
people to plan for travel later

this year.

We love this example, telling
you that staying at home

gives you more time to plan.

How can you
encourage your guests

to start planning
their next vacation?

You're hearing this
again, encourage

daydreaming and memory sharing.

We live in such
a beautiful area.

There is no shortage of
photos and memories to share.

This post done by The Lodges at
Cresthaven hits the trifecta.

It's a beautiful
photo of the area.

It asks you to share
your special memories.

And it also subtly promotes
visiting this summer.

How about doing a virtual
tour of your property

and showcasing your amenities?

Walk around with a
camera, or even a phone,

and show guests your
private beaches,

your access to biking trails,
on-site dining, playgrounds,

outdoor pools.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Just get out there and do it.

Show some support
for your community.

A little love does
go a long way.

People like to see you
helping your community.

Here, the chef at
Saratoga Arms is

making cookies for the hospital
staff at Saratoga hospital.

It's a wonderful way to
thank the hospital workers,

but it's also a nice reminder
of their signature cookie.

What can you do to
support your community?

Ask people to sign up
for your newsletter.

Email marketing is one of
the most effective ways

to stay in touch
with your guests.

You can also offer
incentives to those

who are joining your list now.

Talk about your safety measures.

Consider doing a
walk-through that

explains your safety plans.

Take photos of your staff
cleaning your property,

and link to pages
on your website

that keep your guests updated.

More than ever, use
your social media

to encourage people to
book their vacations.

You can start right now with
encouraging future bookings,

but you need to get more
aggressive with the book now

messages as the travel
bans start to lift.

Consider doing a live video
inviting your guests to return.

This will be especially helpful
to those of you who have

guests that return every year.

They will love to hear
from you personally.

I know it sounds crazy but
you have to ask for the sale.

We love this example
reminding people

that this property is
taking future bookings,

and it's encouraging their
guests to give themselves

something to look forward to.

Lastly on the things you
need to do for yourself,

you need to update and inform
your email subscribers.

During the early
phases of the crisis,

people want to hear about
what your COVID plan is, how

you've been impacted by COVID.

Are you taking reservations
for the future?

Do you have packages
and incentives

that you're going to offer?

And once again, what are
your cancelation policies?

You cannot reassure your
guests too many times.

During the later phases of
reopening when the travel

ban is lifted, invite people
to rebook if they've canceled.

Announce that you're open
and taking reservations.

Promote your special offers,
highlight your cancelation

policies, inform your
guests of the safety plan,

and highlight your destination.

This hotel in Sanibel is
offering an amazing deal

for booking now.

What do you have to offer?

Now that I've told you what
you can do on your own,

I'm going to share
some things that we can

do to help you, or do for you.

As Tracy said,
Mannix Marketing has

local tourism based web sites
from Albany to the Adirondacks.

We've had these sites for
years and have built up

quite a following.

Millions of people visit
our website sites each year,

hundreds of thousands
follow us on social media,

and tens of thousands
subscribe to our newsletter.

We are also a full
service digital marketing

agency that can help you with
all of your digital marketing

needs.

So let's talk about how you
can reach new audiences.

As I had mentioned
earlier, email

is a great way to reach people.

Right now, you should be
building your email marketing

list with giveaways.

You want to have the best,
biggest marketing list

possible so that when the
stay at home order is lifted,

you are hitting
the ground running.

There are a lot of
companies that you

can use to run giveaways, but
I want you to try our killer

giveaway program.

When you do a
giveaway with us, we

do all the work and
all the marketing.

We set up the
giveaway, we promote it

in our email newsletters,
we promote it on our site,

and we promote it
on our social media.

Giveaways are very
popular with our users

right now, so the results
have been fantastic.

LakeGeorge.com currently
has three giveaways running.

Two of those are for lodging.

Lodging giveaways tend to get
between 750 and 1,500 new email

addresses per giveaway.

Here's another note.

People don't tend
to enter giveaways

for things that
don't want, so you

do end up with a really
targeted list of subscribers.

At the end of the giveaway
when the property does

get the new email
addresses, they

can immediately use those email
addresses to promote bookings.

It can also use them to
promote midsummer incentives

for slow weeks, and
promote fall getaways.

You'll have the list forever,
so you can use it anytime.

Another way you could be
marketing yourself right now

is through display ads.

We like to call those online
billboards for your property.

Brand awareness is
key always, but it's

especially key in phase one.

Keep your name out there
as much as possible.

This is the lodging
section of LakeGeorge.com.

We currently have display ads
running on every single page

of that section.

These properties are being seen
by thousands of people visiting

our site, exploring the
local lodging options,

whether they're looking for
a hotel, a cottage, or a camp

ground.

In later phases of re-opening,
you should use display ads

to promote offers
and incentives,

and again, that
book now message.

You're going to
need to work harder

this year to get your
bookings than you ever have.

And don't forget, I mentioned
that re-targeting campaign

we mentioned earlier.

If you need help with
that, let me know.

Reach out to social
media influencers too.

There are a lot of travel
bloggers, but most of them

aren't region specific.

I want you to think of
Saratoga.com LakeGeorge.com

and Adirondack.net as
influencers in our marketplace.

We've built quite a
list of followers,

and in fact there's over

nearly 200,000 for Lake
George, and almost 100,000

for Saratoga.com We
have a lot of people

who are fans of our area.

So let us help you promote that
you're open and ready to take

reservations.

Or we can promote special
offers and booking incentives.

Here's an example of how we can
help Lake Clear Lodge showcase

their unique amenities and also
promote booking your summer

vacation now.

If you're not open yet, you can
still ask for future bookings.

So think about what
you can do and what

you have to promote that
we can help you with.

Lastly, I want to talk to you
about using our email marketing

list to promote your property.

We have built a list of
loyal regional enthusiasts

over the years.

We have more than 75,000
total subscribers.

You can send out an email to
all of them or part of them,

and let people know what
your property is doing.

Here's a campaign
we did last year

for Adirondack Wine
and Food Festival

when they wanted to sell
more tickets to their event.

If you are ready to
take reservations,

let us showcase your
unique selling points,

detail your special offers,
and get you bookings now.

I want to leave you with one
well-known quote from Forbes.

People who are aggressive with
their marketing and advertising

during an economic crisis always
fare better when it's over.

You have a lot of
tools at your disposal.

Figure out which ones are
best for your property,

and get moving.

If you don't know
what you want to do,

please do not hesitate
to reach out to me.

I love to brainstorm and
talk about marketing.

So does everybody at Mannix,
so you can call anybody.

Thank you so much
for joining us today.

I'm going pass it back to Tracy
to go over those questions

that you asked.

Thanks Val.

If you have questions
enter in the Q&A.

We did have a couple come in.

You mentioned a
re-targeting pixel.

You mentioned that
a couple of times.

What exactly is a
re-targeting pixel?

A re-targeting pixel is a
piece of code that you put

on your website now.

Your webmaster can
do that for you.

What it does is capture
the IP addresses

of people who have
visited your site so you

can market to them again.

A good example of that is say
you went to Macy's and you

thought about buying a pair of
shoes and you didn't buy them.

And suddenly you see ads for
that pair of shoes popping

up all over the internet.

So that's how you use
a re-targeting pixel.

You talked a lot
about social media.

How often should we
post to Facebook?

Is it still good
practice to only

post a couple times a week?

I think you could post
at least once a day.

You have to keep in mind
that not everyone who

is following you is
going to see your posts,

so you're not bombarding the
same people with information

like it used to be.

So I wouldn't recommend
that you do that.

You want to keep
people top of mind

to make sure that they are
thinking about your property.

I gave you a lot of ideas.

So you could literally do
one of those things a week

and not be overdoing it.

OK.

This is probably
a tricky question.

How can you reassure
people who are

scared to travel when
no one can guarantee

that they will be safe?

I think there's only
one thing that you

can do to reassure
people, and that

is to have a really
good safety policy,

and to make sure you are
getting it out to the guests.

And it's really
ultimately up to them

at the end to decide if
they think your property is

a safe one to visit.

Let's see.

How would you encourage
people from drive markets

to stay overnight
versus same day travel?

I think you're going to
have to go with incentives

and safety policy.

So if people think that your
place is a safe place to stay,

I think that's a
good start, but also

what can you offer them to
get them to stay overnight?

I think that is going to
be your two keys this year.

Another question is I know
your focus is marketing,

but does Mannix know of any
good sources for best practices

for cleaning to
the new standards?

I really don't have
any of those handy.

I can certainly look
into it see if there

is anyone else in the company
who any connections on that

though?

All right.

Are there any other questions?

I think that's--

I don't see any other
questions coming in.

Thank you.

I think that was great, Val.

Thanks everyone for joining us.

And if you have any questions
you want to send in later,

just reach out to Val
or anybody at Mannix,

and we'll be happy to help you.