Supporting resort committee members is an important element of TATOC’s work.  Many members are suddenly faced with learning new skills and making decisions about areas that are new to them. Ross Parsons, TATOC webmaster, takes a look at some of technical issues that committee members may face – and makes a few helpful suggestions.

Many resorts view their website as just another item to tick off the ‘to do’ list. However, with a little knowledge and effort your website can complement your marketing strategy and become a superb lead generation tool for rentals and sales.

Your resort’s website should be considered your reception desk on the internet and it must reflect a professional image of your resort. Here are some tips on the best way to use to the power of the web to promote your activities.

Photography
If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right and this is especially true with the use of images on your website.

Decent photography is key to promoting your resort on the web and the cost of a professional photographer will be a worthwhile investment. Images can be used time and again on your site, e-mail campaigns and in your printed marketing materials.

For some committees the budget is tight and affording a professional can be an issue. However, digital photography allows novices to snap like never before.

So make sure the lighting is as bright as possible, “dress” the apartment like a show house, think about what you are shooting (do guests really need to see an image of the toilet?), fill up a few memory cards and choose your best shots.

Put your resort on the map
Let your customers see where you’re located. Free services from Google Maps and Panaramio allow you literally to put your resort on the map. Just add your logo and photographs and your website will enhance your profile.

Google Maps can also be embedded into a webpage on your site and is a great addition to your contact page. Maps provide your visitors with greater peace of mind about the resort, its location and surroundings.

Think about content
Writing content for your website can seem daunting but adding new copy on a regular basis is an essential part of search engine optimisation.

Stuck for inspiration? The answer may be on your doorstep. Look around your area for news on events, attractions, night life and scenic spots and write about them. This information will enhance the user experience, and the new and original content is always appreciated by the search engines so your rankings may improve.

The ‘Landing Page’
Don’t confuse this with your homepage. If you are running e-mail, on-line or print advertising campaigns, don’t direct your clients to your homepage where you might lose them. Instead, develop a ‘landing page’ on your site that is just for that particular offer so enquiries go there directly.

This is not just a gimmick. You should always direct web traffic to a page that directly corresponds with your advertising. A ‘landing page’ allows you to channel the enquiry, provide the exact information the client is looking for and turn this into a reservation or sale. 

Generic web advertising can have poor success rates because they are just not targeted. For example:

Click here great rates! > (linking to the resort’s homepage)

This will be much less successful than targeted advertising such as:

£500 for a family of four for 7 nights > (linking to a page specifically about the offer with an enquiry form or booking engine)

Social Networking
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and blogging all offer the chance to expand your web presence and add a new level of interaction to your site. Up-dating these can seem daunting and time consuming but these services will open your resort to a whole new marketplace.

Many resorts already run social networking campaigns to interact with their guests for free. When we returned from our honeymoon, my wife added the resort as a ‘friend’ on Facebook. She now receives regular updates on the weather, special offers and beautiful images of the resort to remind us of what we enjoyed. I am sure this simple activity will encourage us to book again.

For the more technically aware, there are services such as TwitterFeed which will populate your social networking accounts services using an RSS feed.

Add an RSS feed
You will have probably seen an icon like this on websites (RSS icon)

RSS allows you to syndicate your content to other websites or services such as Twitter Feed. Users of RSS feeds can also subscribe to your feed and get your latest content on their desktop or through their browser. You can also submit your RSS feed to RSS feed directories or use it to keep a blogging account up to date. RSS allows your content to be in many places at once.

Taken from Sharetime Magazine issue 5