Is Your Company a Premium Member with a Subsidiary and You Want to Unlock Membership Benefits for Your Subsidiary without Purchasing a New Membership at Full Price? Premium Members can now receive discounted Premium Membership for their subsidiaries to access member features, benefits and exclusive discounts without having to purchase an entirely new membership for the separate company.

• Silver Members: Get 50% discounted Silver Annual Membership for additional subsidiary companies you would like to access member benefits, credits and discounts
• Gold Members: Includes free Silver Annual Membership for up to 1x subsidiary company
• Platinum Members: Includes free Silver Annual Membership for up to 3x subsidiary companies
  

Learn more about discounted subsidiary membership

It has been brought to our attention that some users may be experiencing a site routing issue.  HTR's hosting provider had an issue this morning that overwrote our DNS settings and was quickly resolved but may take up to 24-hours to propagate.

The issue has been resolved but we appreciate your patience as it may take up to 24-hours for some users to be able to access the site without the error message.

With the rollout of Premium 3.0 came lots of new benefits included with membership packages ranging from guest posting to review incentive cards, sponsored articles, advertising, lead credit and more.  

One of the requests that we've received from lots of members since is the ability to have a more streamlined and centralized place to track and use their various benefits so today we're excited to rollout the all new ledger and credit system 🧮 🚀

• WHAT: New dashboard home, credits system, ledger and self service guest posting
• WHY: Make it easier for members to track, manage and use their benefits

New Dashboard Home

Along with the new ledger and credits system comes a newly redesigned dashboard home page that brings a simplified view to the ways you can leverage HTR to educate buyers, build your brand and grow your install base.

New Credits System

In order to simplify benefit tracking, benefits can now be tracked according to the type of item that they are (eg. advertising credit, content credit, posting credit, lead credit).  Credits of each type can be used interchangeably for items that require the same credit type (eg. if you purchase 30 ad credits to run a sponsored retargeting campaign, you can instead decide to use those same ad credits for a different advertising product like an eblast).  

Credits will automatically accrue with your membership and be valid for use throughout the duration of your membership the same as they have been.

New Ledger System

If you are currently a member or have purchased ala cart credits off platform before you know how much of a pain this was.  Now, you can view your credit balances for each type of credit (eg. Advertising credit, Content Credit, Lead Credit) etc right from the settings tab of your vendor dashboard.  The new ledger system is also integrated into Membership Plans so when your plan renews, transactions are automatically created logging the benefits that you received with your membership plan and you will see your credit accounts increase respectively in real time.

Self Service Guest Posting

If your company has post credits available on your account you can use them to post guest posts to build your brand as a thought leader and boost the visibility of your content to reach HTR's audience of 100k+ hoteliers each month by submitting guest posts right through the vendor dashboard.

FAQs

How did my company get starting balances?

If your company has starting balances it means that either a) you have purchased items in the past that have been converted 1-to-1 into the new credits system to simplify tracking and usage or (b) you have an active membership plan that is accruing credits automatically according to your plan benefits.

Can I see my company's history retroactively?

Unfortunately no.  The ledger system is setup to track all transactions (credit purchases and usages) on a go forward basis so any past purchases will not be viewable in the ledger.  That said, you will have a starting balance transaction that will include your company's current credit balances as of the launch date of the new ledger system.  If you have questions about your starting balances or past transactions please feel free to reach out via the on-site live chat and a member of the team will be happy to assist.

Has pricing changed with the new credits system?

No, prices haven't changed.  All prices are the same as they were previously, the only difference is that now you will add credits to your account that can be used interchangeably towards various items instead of having to buy a specific item giving you more flexibility.

Have my membership benefits changed?

No, your membership plan is exactly the same and includes the same benefits as always.  The only difference is that you can now use use credits accrued from your benefits on other items as well.  For example, let's say your plan includes 10 press releases/year which is equal to 10 post credits.  If you want, you could now instead choose to use those 10 post credits towards another type of posting like Guest Posting instead.

On the one hand, HTR leads are the most highly qualified, vetted and targeted leads online guaranteeing that all leads: 

1. Are verified hoteliers
2. Have verified email contact info
3. Have been individually vetted by HTR's lead diligence team to ensure information accuracy (and that the lead is who they say they are)
4. Have expressed category level intent to purchase (ie. looking for a new PMS, etc)

That said, some clients have requested additional targeting options specifically the ability to exclude certain brands that they do not want to (or cannot) work with. 

Today HTR is rolling out a new feature to be able to add additional targeting/filtering to the lead inbox by submitting up to 5 brand exclusions to add to your account so that: 

• ✅ Increase targeting by filtering out brands you don't want to work with
• ✅ Add up to 5 brands to your account where you won't receive leads from any of those branded properties
• ✅ If any leads make it to your dashboard from one of those brands, get 100% refund

Add brand filters to your account

Free for Premium Members

This new benefit is now available to Premium Members (all plans) at no additional charge and non-members can add additional brand level targeting for a flat annual fee of $2500/year.  

Check out the new top rated products announcement page bringing the winners of the annual HotelTechAwards front and center on HTR year round to garner more visibility and leads.

Running a hotel is hard and 2020 was the most challenging year in history.

But with every crisis comes opportunity and here at Hotel Tech Report, we've spent the last 3-months scouring the globe for the best tech products to bring your hotel back stronger than ever in 2021.

During the 3-month 2021 HotelTechAwards period, 318,466 hoteliers across 127 countries visited Hotel Tech Report and spent more than 3,000 hours contributing 10,227 verified hotel software product reviews to help you save time, make better vendor decisions and determine the best hotel tech products of the year.

HTR's community of hoteliers from the world's leading hotel companies surfaced innovative products ranging from contactless check-in solutions and next-gen guest messaging all the way to automated revenue management systems and business intelligence software.

We are excited to share with you the best hotel tech products of 2021!

View the full announcement eblast

On December 15th, the 2021 HotelTechAwards period comes to an end and all companies will have had a full 14-weeks (Sept 1-Dec 15) to earn as many points as possible per the competition scoring rubric.  Please note that to ensure a fair competition for all participants, the December 15th deadline is firm and final with NO EXCEPTIONS.  

Upcoming Dates to Keep in Mind

1. ✅  December 9-10 Review Inbox Access Period
2. 🏁  December 15: Competition Deadline
3. 🧮  December 16-18: Analysis and Data Audit
4. 🌚  December 21-31: Winner Determination + Go Dark Period
5. 🤫  First week of January: Winners Notified
6. 🥇  Tuesday January 12, 2020: Public Announcement of Winners
   

Learn more about what happens on December 15th after the cutoff deadline

HotelTechAwards Home Stretch FAQs

• (Q1) Will the review manager be unlocked again to submit last minute verifications for reviews where the user didn't click the verification link?
• (Q2) What should I be focused on leading into the final stretch of the awards?
• (Q3) If I'm showing in 1st place in the leaderboard on December 15th @ 5pm when data is frozen does that mean I've won my category?

Check out the answers to the FAQs

Have you run into any of these issues when listing your integrations on Hotel Tech Report before?

1. "We have a lot of integrations but listing lots of integrations at once takes forever"
2. "I want to list all of our integrations to get them verified but some of our partners aren't listed on HTR"
3. "How can I tell how many verified integrations I have and how many I need to meet the category average or most integrated in the category for the HotelTechAwards?"

   ---

   
   

Well, thanks to Laura @ protel and Thomas @ Revinate--you can sleep easy tonight with the all new redesigned integrations experience 🙌

Now you can...

• Add dozens of integrations in seconds without leaving the search bar...
• Easily add integrations even if the partner isn't listed with the new fast add flow...
• Check your relative integrations counts within your category for the HotelTechAwards
• Sort by integration status to quickly find unverified integrations and get them verified to get get verified credit
• (BONUS) 🎸 Watch Jimmy Melt Faces @ Woodstock

I. Add dozens of integrations in seconds without leaving the search bar...

II. Easily add integrations even if the partner isn't listed with the new fast add flow...

III. Check your relative integrations counts within your category for the HotelTechAwards

IV. Sort by integration status to quickly find unverified integrations and get them verified

V. (BONUS) 🎸 Watch Jimmy Melt Faces @ Woodstock

What Are the Credit Types?

• Post Credits: Self service DIY content that can be posted by members right from the vendor dashboard which include: press releases (1 post credit), hosted reports (1 post credit) and guest posting (5 post credits)
• Content Credits: Content that is produced by HTR in collaboration with the vendor requiring additional communications, processes and planning which include: Ghost Written Articles (2 content credits), Sponsored Articles - Short Form (2 content credits), Sponsored Articles - Long Form (4 content credits) and Buyers Guides (3 content credits)

What's Changing?

• The Media Shop now had post and content credits separated
• What is changing for members? Members still receive the same exact benefits from their membership plans but when checking and using balances, you will do so for post credits and content credits separately

Will My Balances Be Impacted?

No, your balances will not be impacted.  Companies will maintain the same dollar value balance, the only difference is that content credits now have a base price of $1000 instead of $250 previously.  Here's an example of why this doesn't impact your balance in terms of dollar value: 

Example: If your company had a previous content credit balance of 10 credits this had a dollar value of $2500 (10 x $250).  Since content credits are now valued at $1,000, your company would still have $2500 worth of content credit on your account, but it would now be 1.5 credits instead of 10 credits ($2500/ $1000=1.5 credits).

Do Premium Members Still Receive Discounted Preferred Pricing?

Premium Members still do receive the same discounted pricing on all items as they did previously as well as all of the benefits included with your membership which can be found in your membership portal.

Why is this changing?

Over the course of 2020 tons of new benefits have been added to membership including: lead credit, post credit, content credit, advertising credit, awards credit and more.  As these credit types have grown, so has the complexity in managing, tracking and using credits.  Therefore, in Q1 '21 HTR is rolling out a new dashboard home page and ledger system (sneak peek) to make this process more seamless, easy to utilize and transparent for members.  This update is in preparation of the upcoming improvements to the dashboard and credit management system.

While the review manager has always had in app messaging pop up with tips and tutorials and the help center has had best practices and templates, they now sit from and center in the campaign flow and review manager to make sure everyone on your team is able to optimize your campaign to follow best practices, save time and increase conversion.

New Campaign Daily Sending Limits to Improve Deliverability

With the rebuilt review manager and improved performance more companies have been sending more campaigns and larger campaigns.  To ensure strong deliverability new daily sending limits have been implemented which include (1) 250 users/campaign (2) 500 requests sent/day

New Pre-Written Base STARTER Templates

If its your first time sending a review campaign it might take you some brain racking to figure out what the heck to write to get users to leave reviews.  The review manager now has new pre-written base STARTER templates to save you to time.

Its important to remember these are STARTER templates and are meant to serve as a starting point but you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD CUSTOMIZE AND MAKE THEM YOUR OWN.  Remember, your goal is to follow all of the best practices but most importantly: 

1. Make sure you are sending your campaigns from someone users have rapport with and will recognize in their inbox
2. Make sure you customize your templates to sound like a personal 1-to-1 email to each user (not a generic mass marketing email!) 

You can also check out more pre-written starter templates in the help center and