In your region :

1. Have you identified the strategic places tourists usually go for information upon arrival at the destination (tourism boards, bus/train stations, restaurants, etc.)? Are you in any form present in these places, for example, with flyers, posters, or front desk staff who recommend your services?
2. Are you in contact with receptive travel agencies who sell your destination?

On the Internet:

1. Do you have a Google account and an email address dedicated to your company?
2. Do you have an official company Facebook page linked to its location?
3. Do you have a basic website?
4. Does your company appear on GoogleMaps?
5. Does your company appear on TripAdvisor?

Special [Accommodations]

1. Do you sell your rooms through other websites such as market leaders booking.com, airbnb, hostelworld, etc.? Or on alternative, more responsible websites such as bookgreener, bookdifferent, fairbooking, bedycasa, etc.?

Special [Excursions]

1. Do you sell your tours through other websites such as viator, meetrip, or www.visit.org for NGO’s and Foundations?

Internet can nowadays not be overlooked. It became the major source of information for travel planning. All the “paths” that your future visitors are taking before booking are leading to your website. It is the very heart of your digital strategy (cf visual 1).

During the six steps of their decision-making process (cf visual 2), travelers are going to make many back and forward on the internet. Your main objective is then to optimize your presence and generate trust.

Your website:

1. Do you have a clear and attractive website?
   • with high quality pictures? (by paying the services of a photograph, by swapping free services with skills, by using free stock images)
   • with a user-friendly navigation?
   • using a responsive design/template?
   • which loads quickly? (use for example pingdom)
   • available in various languages? (if you target international guests)
2. Do you use a channel manager? (for example MyAllocator, Beds 24, QuickYield for the cheapest ones)
   • to centralize your availabilities and rates updates of your different distribution channels?
   • to use a booking engine on your website and facebook page? (called as well booking button, or book now)
   • to better track your bookings and sales statistics? (occupancy and average daily rate)

1. Is this channel manager connected to a PMS?
   (for example CloudBeds, BananaDesk, ManCloud…)
2. Do you monitor the number of visits on your website (the traffic)? (using for example the free Google Analytics tool)

TripAdvisor:

1. Do you appear on the top 5 TripAdvisor results for your destination?

Facebook:

1. Do you have a Facebook fan page for your company? (not a profile or group)
2. Have you taken the time of filling carefully the “about” section? (including using pertinent keywords in the description part of it)
3. Are the pictures appearing on your Facebook fan page of excellent quality (main picture, cover picture, shared pictures)?
4. If you’re targeting international travelers : Do you publish in different languages Publiez-vous dans plusieurs langues ? Do you sometimes limit your posts’ audiences when pertinent (to not spam the ones which are not concerned)?
5. Have you activated the call-to-action “book now” button?

Your website SEO:

1. Do you appear on the 1st page of Google results (of each “Google” of the different countries that you are targeting) when looking for pertinent keywords (like “hotel + destination name”) ?
2. Do you follow the basic principles of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
3. Within your website, do you have a blog where you publish regularly pertinent articles using storytelling ?

Storytelling and social media:

1. Do you publish short videos to liven up your website and social media ?
2. Are you proactive in getting press (or other blogs) articles featuring your stories ?
3. Do you efficiently promote the diverse leisure activities in your destination ? (within your hotel and upon arrival of your guests to make them want to stay longer)
4. Do you have an efficient emailings strategy ?
5. Do you have a LinkedIn profile in order to connect with other tourism colleagues/partners ?
6. Do you use Twitter in order to interact with influential and pertinent people for your destination ? Have you created lists ?
7. Do you publish pictures on Instagram using pertinent hastags (#) ?
8. Do you plan your posts en social media (using for example Hootsuite) ?
9. Do you appear on travel guides (Lonely Planet, Frommers, Routard, Petit Futé…) ?
10. Do you take part to conversations taking place on online travel forum (TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet…) ?
11. Do you have a strategy to win the loyalty of your past customers (putting in place online contests, loyalty programs with special promotions, sponsoring, etc…) ?
12. Can you develop long-term win-win partnerships with other pertinent companies targeting the same customers than you (but which are not direct competitors) ?