Who is the i.guest? What is an i.guest? The i.guest is the contemporary traveler who is changing the face of hospitality marketing. Welcome to Travel 2.0.

The i.guest is Informed. Internet-empowered. Independent. And, importantly for innkeepers, is Identified.

The i.guest is finding places to stay and booking rooms (not just seeing availability at midnight) on the Web. Everyone knows that. But many innkeepers don’t realize yet that their prospective guest is not just looking at their website to make a decision. Increasingly, especially with a younger demographic, the i.guest insists upon hearing what others have said about your inn. They want independent confirmation of your advertising claims from first hand experience. Tripadvisor is king. But so, increasingly, are other social media sources and communities on the Internet.

Your i.guest wants to learn about you and your area from more than one source, and they will book at their leisure and pleasure, not yours, but only if you let them. This independent and informed guest uses the Internet as their core tool, but blogs and other social media sites will affect their decision to buy more than your inn’s website. So, what are YOU doing to attract the i.guest? Do you have a blog at your inn? How does it work? Do you track reviews on Tripadvisor? We’re all ears!

Peter