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February 10, 2017

More tripe from OTA’s (Online Travel Agents)

 TRM compare the hype with reality…

Mastering tourism marketing in 2017: building trust, reputation and authority

from Coffeys – Bronwyn White reports:

We are as an industry in truly exciting times where we have online marketing opportunities, that will NEVER arise again.  Pretty serious stuff.  This is all due to the infancy of semantic search – the search engine algorithms that determine what is presented to a traveller why they are searching for holiday ideas. (see what happens below!)

It is a time where you have the opportunity to really strengthen your business or destination brand in a way that you will never be able to do again. How strong and tight your brand is will determine your success. And because we are at the beginning, opportunities are nigh for big and small business.

We are on a level playing field for the first time in years and years. So let’s do this!

When Google switched over to semantic search (contextual search) a couple of years ago, it changed everything. We are on the cusp of big things. Never will we be here again.

So, I’m not going to give you any hot new trends for 2016 in this blog piece. What I would like to give you are the greatest evidenced-based opportunities you are likely to see for 2016 and in fact…for a very long time.

Tourism Marketing has transformed

Marketing has transformed, and 2016 is the year to adjust…or be left in the dark ages. Marketing and branding are both closely tied to internet search. Everything you do and say on the web from now on will impact on your brand and your search impact.

The difference between then and now is that you have two types of customers to impress with your strong brand: travellers and Google. And if you confuse your potential customers and Google with a weak fragmented brand, both will go elsewhere. They won’t be able to figure you out.

What contributes to trust, reputation and authority?

  1. Content, and lots of it – fresh, continuous and of variety.

The only way your customers and potential customers are going to find you on the Internet via search is with content. If you don’t have content, travellers will not find you. It is that simple. This is generally the answer I give people when they ask me why they should focus on content marketing.

Your content should be genuinely useful, be shared and commented on, and on your social media platforms. Your followers should be engaged and you should be having meaningful conversations with them.

  1. Strong brand.

This means, not trying to be all things to everyone. It means strong marketing and consistently talking to your well developed and evidence-based persona’s or segments.

Weak brands that are fragmented and inconsistent are hard for travellers and Google to trust. You won’t be found.

  1. Mobile

Plan totally for mobile. More people are searching on mobile than ever before, and are often more likely to search on mobile than on a desktop. And as we saw this year, Google are penalising those websites that aren’t mobile friendly.

The internet and Google has changed the way our potential customers find us and what information they will receive, and in doing so, has profoundly changed how we need to market our businesses and manage our online presence.

Now to illustrate the advantages of this super modern internet age…

Above is the real TRM reception.  But below are some more images provided by OTA ‘s (Online Travel Agents) when naive tourist anglers like me click on Turangi Motels… when search engine algorithms determine what is presented to a traveller when they are searching for holiday ideas. 
 
A photo never lies?
 

The image above is in fact the DOC Waihohonu trampers hut on the walking track between the Desert Road and Whakapapa.

 
The next image is the old Turangi iSite building now used as a classroom on State Highway 41 – main road between Turangi and Tokaanu.  (The rear building used to accommodate the Turangi Museum exhibits [which are still locked away?  But that is another story.] which was entered through the Information Centre.  The large round pipe section is from the pipes feeding the Tokaanu Power Station turbines from Lake Rotoaira, to illustrate the diameter of the pipes pinching water from the Whakapapa on the western side of Mt. Ruapehu, and from the Tongariro River on the eastern side and diverting it.)
 
Finally in the third image they fluked it.  That is a photo of the sparrows perched on the gable end of TRM waiting for SWMBO to feed them.  Not exactly representative of TRM but we can only be thankful – at least they got one out of three…  Another OTA scored nil
 
They have had over a year to correct it but no – they did not even answer our request to get it right…  It is amazing how these firms have sucked in the tourists.  Last weekend on Saturday alone, when everyone was booked out for the long weekend, TRM had two families arrive only to discover their original bookings had been cancelled by their OTA’s.  So most of our day was trying to relocate them.  Yet everyone still relies on them?.  Amazing…  The power of TV advertising…
 
So don’t believe all you see on OTA’s – if in doubt always contact the motel directly and ask for SWMBO.  She loves their comment that TRM is always open…
 
TRM’s conspiracy theorist, SWMBO, (currently missing in action?) was convinced that the Taupo Council put them up to it as retaliation over our sign wars? 
 
Can you believe that after TRM failed to remove our new sign in 2016 or pay the $300 fine for re-erecting the new refreshed sign (the original signs had been there for over fifty years!), within a couple of months they reassessed TRM land to be in a RED ALERT FLOOD HAZARD zone (i.e. insurance increased 50%) , then removed all traces of TRM from the Taupo Council tourism website, and all TRM brochures were removed from their iSite…  But obviously these incidents were just coincidental and could not possibly be linked?  But conspiracy theorists like SWMBO are so suspicious.   It’s no wonder if She is a bit paranoid?
 

Following repeat of the TRM Daily Report  dated: August 31, 2016

TRM – like you have never seen it before…

A great 2 star hotel in Turangi‎ Low Price Guarantee. Book Now!‎‎

OTA’s = Online Travel Agents… Their images are supposed to be of Tongariro River Motel?  I’ll bet you have never seen TRM looking like this? This is to explain again why we have to go on and on about them and why you should not rely on them…  Even though they are our photos that have been used,  TRM is not featured.  If they cannot get the correct basic info would you trust them with all your confidential cc details. ?? SWMBO blames DOC of course. 

DOC’s Waihohonu Hut features as Tongariro River Motel?… The following is the sort of nonsense you can expect when you troll the internet looking for the best deal…  we have no idea who this OTA is, apart from the fact they have obviously pinched the info with no understanding of what TRM is, but no doubt will get a commission for on-selling your enquiry to booking-dot-com or a similar OTA. They have no idea of what they are even describing. This one describes Tongariro River Motel as a two star hotel (?) with but then goes on to say:

Tongariro River Motel 8.8 stars Very Good

The Tongariro River Motel enjoys a prime position right in the centre of the town. Lake Rotopounamu is within a 10-minute drive away, and the property offers free parking. Guests of the Tongariro River Motel can enjoy a range of services, including free bike rental. Facilities at the motel include laundry facilities, a playground and free Wi-Fi. The motel also offers ski lockers during the ski season. Included in the rooms are a refrigerator and a microwave. The motel has several oversized rooms to accommodate families. The Tongariro River Motel has its own on-site restaurant, perfect for those wishing to dine in. The motel enjoys a prime location, allowing guests easy access to a range of popular attractions. Taupo Airport (TUO) is within a 40 minute drive away.”
Oh Really?  What a load of misleading BS info.  i.e.
TRM is not in the middle of town.
TRM does not have an on-site restaurant.
TRM does not have shared kitchen facilities as shown in above photos.  etc…..
Amazingly, even though they are our photos that have been used,  TRM is not even featured.  They cannot get the correct basic info yet prospective guests trust them with all their confidential cc details.  Would you trust them?  Yet thousands of tourists do – for the ‘convenience’ of booking online?  If you want to stay at the real Tongariro River Motel then it is far better to contact us directly – ross@tongarirorivermotel.co.nz
Apart from SWMBO’s beautiful flower basket, those photos feature a remote DOC hut about 50 km south on the Round the Mountain walking trail only accessible by tramping in from the Desert Road.
(This was the hut they claimed Helen Clark was responsible for.  We are told that when DOC knew she was going to visit they built a new hut with accommodation for more tourists – 28 bunks –  than any other hut on the National Park circuit.  The older accommodation is now closed.  It is located next to the historic hut which was an early pioneer version of TRM (?)  It was the over night stop located on the main north-south route when stage coaches carried tourists south  from the Tokaanu wharf – after they had crossed Lake Taupo.)
 
If you should wish to book it please do not contact TRM.  :

The Waihohonu Hut has Seasonal restrictions

In the Great Walks season (23 October – 30 April ):
  • Bookings are required
  • Huts have gas cookers and resident wardens
Outside the Great Walks season (1 May – 20 October):
  • Bookings are not required – first come, first served
  • There are no gas cookers or resident wardens
More from their website:
(TRM are probably fortunate the OTA did not choose the historical hut instead?)

Historic Waihohonu Hut

IMG_6214You can visit Tongariro National Park’s Waihohonu Hut. The hut was built in 1904 to accommodate park visitors and tourists travelling by coach from Waiouru or Tokaanu.
Its use ended in 1968, when it was replaced by a “new” Waihohonu hut (see image below – which has since been replaced by the above 28 bunk hut). After 1979 the then Tongariro National Park Board discouraged its overnight use. IMG_6228 It has been maintained as an unused historic hut since then.

Fabric

A timber framed hut, measuring approximately 7.2m x 4m, clad in corrugated iron. There are two rooms, the main or men’s bunkroom and the women’s bunkroom each sleeping six people. The walls are lined on the interior with corrugated iron. The floor is tongue and groove boarding. This is very a rare and possibly unique feature. The cavity between the external and internal layers is filled with pumice. The timber for the hut is totara, apparently pit sawn at Pihanga, though some radiata has been used for repairs, primarily in reconstruction of the chimney. The hut occupies a most attractive site backed by beech trees with a grassed clearing in front. This is the oldest example of a typical early two-room mountain hut in New Zealand. It employs the innovative, and possibly unique use of pumice infill for insulation. It is also an attractive vernacular building on a splendid site.

History

This hut was completed in 1904 by the Tourist and Health Resorts Department for park visitors and tourists travelling by coach from Waiouru or Tokaanu. Intensive tourist use dropped off in 1908 with the opening of the Main Trunk railway on the other side of the park. It was nevertheless used by early skiing parties and was the base for the first alpine skiing epxediition in July 1913 by William Mead and Bernard Drake – the founding members of the Ruapehu Ski club. Its use ended in 1968, when it was replaced by a new Waihohonu hut (see photo below – now closed). After 1979 the then Tongariro National Park Board discouraged its overnight use. It has been maintained as an unused historic hut since then. Historic themes are mountain recreation, and tourism. This was the first hut built in Tongariro National Park, oldest exisiting mountain hut in New Zealand and oldest existing building erected by the Tourist and Health Resorts Department. It was the base for the first recreational skiing in New Zealand. It was in active use for over 60 years and remains standing on its original site. The hut was registered as a category one historic place by the Historic Places Trust in 1993.

Future management

The hut will be maintained to protect its historic fabric and minimise deterioration. A conservation plan (Cochran 1991) has been prepared to guide its management. It contains more information about the hut. As it is sited on a tramping route, the hut could be recommissioned and rented out to parties to generate revenue. In 2004, with funds donated by the Tongariro Natural History Society, new interpretive displays were installed both inside and outside the hut to mark the centennial of its construction.

Inside historic Waihohonu Hut.

Inside historic Waihohonu Hut

Image: Janette Asche ©

 
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