About

In a nutshell: Josiah and Katie are building Hotel Marketing Strategies into a ‘Hotel Profitability Accelerator’ - where we share behind-the-scenes stories of technology innovation with forward-thinking, service-oriented hotel professionals. (Affectionately dubbed our ‘Shakers’)

Here’s the story on how it all got started, and why we do this….

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Hi!

Josiah MackenzieMy name is Josiah Mackenzie, and aside from a few college years working the front desk at a converted lighthouse on the California coast, my background isn’t in hotels or hospitality.

So why am I doing this, and why should you listen to me?

  1. I’ve spent the last 10 years working with various web technologies: running a few software companies and developing marketing campaigns for firms throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
  2. I’m opening my own hotel in about 10 years from now (2020)
  3. This site is a way for me to bring these two interests together: blending my internet experience with an industry I’m learning.

One Saturday after a long run and a lot of coffee, I decided my purpose here is: To help you create great travel experiences for your guests using the best new technology.

Hotel News Now once called me a “new media pragmatist,” and I like that label. There is so much hype out there about new technology, and I try my best to look at it with a no-nonsense, do-our-guests-actually-care perspective.

So that’s why I’m doing this. I’m here to discover, analyze, and test the latest new marketing techniques, and then report back to you on what’s actually working.

I’ve only been publishing Hotel Marketing Strategies for a few years now, and frankly, the response has surprised me. There are about 15,000 people that read this on a monthly basis. If you type “hotel marketing” into Google, this is the #2 site out of 74 million results (watch out, HotelMarketing.com!). Traditional media such as Entrepreneur magazine, the Washington Post, MSNBC, and Fox Business have quoted me, and I’ve been published by Hotel Executive, HotelsMag, eHotelier, and HospitalityNet.

But what excites me the most has been getting to know the audience that has gathered around this site. I might be the only blogger to get on a plane and fly halfway around the world to meet with one of my readers. But the conversations I have are what keeps me going.

I love listening to, learning from, and connecting hoteliers passionate about using the best new technology to provide some old ideals:

  • Better communication
  • Superior service
  • Memorable experiences

This blog is about you and for you. See how you can participate on the contribute page.

And let’s connect! I invite you to signup for my one-email-per-week summary (in the right column), join me on Twitter, connect on Facebook, or send me an email.

Warmly,

Josiah

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“Hotel Marketing Strategies is a vibrant community of highly original information that explores the real-world application of emerging technology and trends to drive top-line growth and to deepen customer relationships — so essential in today’s economic climate. It’s no wonder that thousands of hospitality executives and marketers follow Josiah; he’s at the forefront in helping to demystify technology to enrich the customer, employee and shareholder alike. I highly recommend becoming a fan!”
- William Brown, Miami, USA