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Now that many of us have survived, paid for, and made the conversion to chip card equipment - touted as the answer to credit card security questions - we discover that securing that electronic payment information as the card is being swiped isn't enough: the day-in and day-out hacks are being done on the back-office computer or other venues connected to the network that the financial information is being transmitted through. In other words, there are some weak links in the security chain. The article
"Why security remains a critical issue ..." suggests a number of actions that can help protect your guests' information.
A side bar to this article titled "Why continuing the fight against OTAs may be a foolish Proposition" is a thought-provoking read. It's no secret that the OTA's are outspending our industry on marketing - because they clearly can. This item caught our attention: research (to be officially released in more detail shortly) points to just 7 percent of guests going back to a hotel after booking an OTA. Have you been successful in guiding your repeat guests (who initially booked thru an OTA) to book directly with you? This would be an excellent discussion on our innkeeper-to-innkeeper Facebook group or forum!
Every picture tells a story, and SEO gets the story found. How to Optimize Images for SEO
puts the two together. Search Engines are not able to 'read' an image, but rather use the surrounding text to determine what it is and why it might be valuable. Alt Text (Alternate Text) is part of your webpage's HTML code and it is read by Google to determine relevant content. (And Alt Text is used by screen readers for the visually impaired to understand what an image is - this will become increasingly important as websites are required to meet certain ADA criteria.) Read how Alt Text is different from the surrounding text, the Title Tag of an image, and about using keywords, image size ... and more.
Reputation and Channel Management - featured past PAII Webinar. When you take a well-deserved break from your innkeeping routine, consider this webinar! And, the caveat is: Reputation Management is not about controlling what people say ... it's about controlling how many people see what others say!
ZIKA FUNDING - As PAII Member Innkeepers with the joint membership in AH&LA, you received a "Take Action" request regarding urging Congress to provide funding to address the Zika virus, with cases now in the US. There are many reasons to be concerned; health being primary, and the economy-including the tourism economy being in the mix. Please review the alert, take the sample letter and personalize it, and send the letter to your members of congress. Thank You.
Save $100! - Yes, that is the dollar amount you'll keep in your pocket (and bring along to St. Charles!) when you register for America's Innkeeping Conference & Trade Show during the month of August. Here's the deal: Full Registration (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday March 27-29) is $335 and Guest Registration (partner, staff - from the inn of the full registrant) is $205. And there's more: The first 200 registered innkeepers and guests receive a ticket to the off-site evening reception at the Foundry Arts Center in Historic St. Charles, transportation included! http://www.innkeepingshow.com/innkeeper-registration
If you are a PAII Member, don't forget to join us on our Facebook Forum!
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