Top 4 Small Hotel Marketing Secrets

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Without huge marketing budgets or access to expensive industry PR services, small hotel and vacation rental owners need to get creative with their strategies. Small hotel marketing is all about staying flexible and crafty.

One of the easiest and most productive things small hotel or vacation rental owners can do to boost their occupancy is align themselves with travel associations or organizations. The travel industry is comprised of hundreds of specialized topics, each with a strong following and loyal clientele. Whether it’s annual fees or free membership, simply submitting your lodging’s address, website, and contact information to these organizations can boost your occupancy like the flip of a switch.

1. Gay travel: The gay travel industry is extremely lucrative and signing up to be a member on one of its most popular associations means tons of exposure. By simply demarcating that you are a gay-friendly establishment, you’ll be amazed at the amount of travelers that are immediately comfortable booking a few nights in your accommodation.

2. Eco tourism: Take some time to make adjustments to the way your hotel operates in the name of the environment and you instantly become eligible for some of this fastest growing trend’s organizations. A lot of these associations are free to join, as long as you qualify. Small hotel marketing is a perfect fit for eco-tourism.

3. Medical tourism: One of the travel industry’s fastest growing segments, signing up to be the preferred lodging for medical tourism programs means loyal, long-term guests. These are guests that will want to avoid big chain hotels in the name of privacy and intimate service.

4. Ratings associations: Paying to get a proper hotel inspection and quality rating can open the doors to a segment of travelers you never knew existed. There are travelers who select their lodging solely with these ratings in mind. If you’re looking to do marketing for your small hotel and have not gotten it inspected by a certified association, you may be ignoring a large canvass of eligible guests.

Memberships to travel organizations or associations is one of the few, instantaneous things a small hotel or vacation rental owner can do to increase his reservations. In our study, 4 hotels using travel memberships were able to bump up their monthly reservations by an average of 32% compared to those not practicing membership use. Aligning with special interest groups, particularly gay travel which, in our research, showed the biggest gains, has a way of catapulting small hotel or vacation rental occupancy to new heights.

How Can You Know the Foods That Cause Acne?

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When it comes to preventing or getting rid of acne it is very important to avoid the different foods that cause acne. The skin condition acne is usually focused more on young adults and adolescents. Foods actually are actually a huge contributor to acne cases. The acne causing foods really are quite common but actually can be avoided just with common sense. The saying “you are what you eat” is very true. Especially when dealing with one’s skin. Foods that cause acne manifest in your skin than turn into signs and symptoms of acne if they are ingested too often or in excess. These foods are fatty and greasy foods which are cooked in, or include, oil and grease.

Even if it is a healthy oil, it still oil and could threaten our skin with acne. Some foods are in themselves fatty, which means they contain a stunning amount of fat that will be transferred to our skin if it is processed or digested in the digestive system. Junk foods could become acne causing foods depending on if the individual is sensitive to the ingredients.

What can you do? Often times experts and dermatologists in the field of skin care recommend that you reduce the consumption of these types of foods. Unfortunately, many will recommend COMPLETELY eliminating these foods for a while, especially for those of you are prone to this skin condition. Make sure to keep your skin free from oil and very clean, mainly your facial skin, to help reduce acne symptoms and occurrence. Touching sensitive skin on our faces with hands that may be dirty can cause build up of dirt and other bacteria on the facial skin. While the foods that cause acne could vary depending on how the person’s body will react to the food reducing the amount of possible foods that may cause acne can also help reduce acne occurrences.

If one has no clue what foods they are sensitive to, it might be a good idea to increase water intake since this also can help to eliminate all sorts of bad toxins in the body. Also, increasing fruits and vegetables could help since they contain fiber. Fiber is very good for digestion. Fruits and vegetables seldom are acne causing foods actually, although the avocado is loaded with fats, there is no signs that it directly causes acne.

Your Travel Destination Shall Be Cebu, Philippines

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That may be a presumptuous statement to make but after reading this article thoroughly, there’s a good chance that you’d agree to make that statement as well.

But first, let’s get down to the basics.

Cebu, is in the Philippines. Now, when you mention the Philippines, it’s either Manila or Boracay that are the first places to come to your mind. But we assure you that Cebu is as good as both those places. Better yet, there’s no need to pass through other cities in the Philippines just to get to Cebu. As one of the major ports of the country, Cebu is then even directly accessible from other countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong, China.

The Olango Wildlife Sanctuary should always figure prominently in a tourist’s travel plans to Cebu, Philippines. In this sanctuary, tourists would able to catch a glimpse of different species of migrating birds coming from places as far as China and Siberia. Based on studies made of this natural phenomenon, these birds choose Olango as a wintering ground and a way to increase their fat reserves before they resume flight.

Cebu’s Fort San Pedro is the oldest tri bastion fort in the Philippines. Built in 1565, its 8 foot thick walls and 30 foot tall tower bore witness to several wars, not the least would be World War II, in which it served as barracks for American soldiers.

Casa Gorordo Museum is also one of the well-loved destinations of tourists once they arrive in Cebu. Taking a tour of this well-kept museum is like stepping into another time and era, thanks to the lovely antique furniture on display and the conservation of residential features from the old days such as the magnificent courtyard.

And speaking of Gorordo, make sure that you visit 415 Gorordo Avenue in Lahug, Cebu City because that is the address of the Sala Piano Museum. In this museum, you’d be able to a see a collection of about hundreds of pianos of different shapes and sizes.

Lastly, there’s the Kawasan Falls in Matutinao, Badian. The sight of this majestic waterfall would no doubt make you think how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful world.

Travel Tips – Nonverbal Communication Can Make The Difference

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Although speaking the language of the country that you’re traveling to will usually make the trip easier and more enjoyable, it is also important to understand the nonverbal communication signs used in that culture. Failure to understand that your facial expressions, gestures, and body position may be offensive to someone from the country that you are visiting invites unnecessary problems.

Darwin’s research on facial expressions has led to a widely held belief that the primary emotions conveyed by the face are universal, and thus not specific to any one culture. These facial expression are of happiness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, and sadness, so no matter where in the world you exhibit these expressions they will be recognized, even by those who have had no prior contact with western civilization. However, the acceptability of making certain facial expressions can vary widely between cultures. For example, while American women are encouraged to smile large smiles, it is considered inappropriate for Japanese women to do so.

Eye contact is an important part of many western, European, and Arabic cultures, but in many parts of the world, direct eye contact is considered disrespectful, especially to superiors. So when traveling in countries such as Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Japan, or in Native American reservations, keep in mind that the eye contact that you are intending to be sincere and friendly may be taken in a way that it was not intended to be.

Public touching is also sometimes an uncomfortable culture shock when traveling from a low contact culture (North American countries, northern European countries, Asian countries, Pakistan, and Native American Peoples) to a high contact culture (Middle East, South American countries, southern European countries) or vice versa. In high contact cultures, it is considered friendly to stand very close to each other and touch frequently, whereas this would be considered rude or improper in a low contact country. Typically, high contact cultures are also more permissive about same-gender touching among friends.

Head and hand gestures are common in almost all cultures, but sometimes the same gesture can have radically different meanings in different cultures. The “OK sign”, made by making a circle with your thumb and index finger with your three other fingers extended upward, means OK in the United States. However, in Japan, this hand gesture means “money”, in France it means “zero”, in Mexico it means “sex”, and in some South American countries like Brazil, it is an obscene gesture. The “thumbs up” gesture is similarly confusing. In some countries it has a similar meaning to that of the US, but in Iran and Sardinia, it is an obscene gesture. Nodding ones head up and down means yes in many cultures, but in other parts of the world it can mean anything from “no” to “I don’t know” to “I disagree”.

So save yourself some trouble, and look up an etiquette guide online for whichever country you’re going to travel to. You’ll be glad you did when you’re not getting yelled at in a foreign language for accidentally insulting someone.