Marketing

📈 To be chosen by Google as an authoritative source, hotels must enrich their sites with clear service information, optimize for SEO, update content frequently, maintain an impeccable Google Business Profile with consistent data, and have a presence on local sites and thematic portals.

✈ Giuseppe Ciminnisi, president of Fiavet Confcommercio, announced a historic agreement with Ryanair allowing travel agencies to sell the airline's tickets. After nine months of negotiations involving Fiavet, Adiconsum, and Aiav, the "Travel Agent Direct" section will launch on Ryanair's website by July 30, 2025, where agencies can create free accounts to sell products excluding promotions. Agencies must display Ryanair fares transparently, with refunds processed within 7 days and customers informed of changes or cancellations directly by Ryanair.

🚀 Italian travelers' bookings to Asia surged by 58% between 2022 and 2024, and searches for Asian flights grew 38% in early 2025 compared to the previous year. Japan is expected to welcome 49.3 million visitors by 2026, a 155% increase from 2019, while the Maldives anticipates 2.5 million visitors, marking a 148% recovery from pre-pandemic levels. Airlines, like Air France and KLM, are adding new flights to Asian destinations in response.

🏨 Sojern, a multinational digital marketing firm for the hospitality industry, serves over 10,000 active clients worldwide and boasts 300+ integrations with leading Booking Engines. The company analyzes 350 million traveler profiles monthly and has 100+ partnerships within the travel sector. Sojern's Travel Ecosystem helps hotels target likely bookers, optimizing campaigns in real-time across various channels, including Display advertising, Social media, SEM, and Metasearch. Its Pay on the Stay model requires no initial investment from hotels, as Sojern fronts the marketing costs and hotels pay a commission post-stay, ensuring a guaranteed and transparent ROI.

📱 Alidays Travel Experiences and Allianz Partners launch a six-month communication campaign with impactful visuals and a full-funnel approach, starting April 2021. The campaign, including Digital Out-of-Home in Milan and a mix of online and social media, promotes four destinations: West USA (April-May), Japan (June-July), East USA and NY (September-October), and Maldives (October-November). Davide Catania, CEO of Alidays, and Marco Gioieni, CEO of Allianz Partners Italia, emphasize personalized, worry-free travel experiences and client-focused excellence.

✈ Iberia, a major airline, implements significant policy changes for travel agencies, focusing on accelerating the transition to NDC (New Distribution Capability). As of today, base fares will exclusively be sold through NDC channels, affecting all European countries (except the UK) plus the US, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Additionally, short and medium-haul tourist products will now have different offerings between NDC and traditional GDS (Global Distribution Systems), with NDC providing exclusive benefits such as discounts, a commitment to customer quality, and a 21-day ticket issuance deadline, compared to the 49 days in GDS. Tour operator rates will still be available under the Iberia Óptima and Comfort fare families with more options in NDC.

📰 Kimbo, a historic Neapolitan coffee brand, launched a new ad campaign titled "Kimbo: tutta Napoli in un caffè" on March 30, 2025, celebrating Neapolitan culture and coffee traditions since 1963. Directed by Umberto Marino, the spot features a chorus of city residents preparing coffee, culminating at a rooftop party. The soundtrack, "Anema e Core" by Serena Brancale, reflects the brand's soul. Moviheart produced the spot, which will be broadcast on major Italian TV networks and digital media platforms, including RaiPlay and Netflix, in a strategic campaign by OMD Italia since 2024. Kimbo also celebrates Naples' 2500th anniversary and its own 60+ years of history, asserting its premium status through quality coffee and its signature cuccuma pot.

💸 Expedia Taap enables travel agencies to add a service fee of up to 30% to lodging reservations on their platform. Agents can apply this fee to both standalone accommodation bookings and package rates. This feature, highly requested for compensating agencies' expertise and time, can be easily monitored through Expedia Taap's monthly reports. Vice President Robin Lawther highlighted the move as a natural platform evolution. The service fee option is available in markets including the US, Canada, Mexico, and various European countries.

🍺 Ichnusa, a popular Italian beer brand, introduces Ichnusa Non Filtrata in 44cl cans, available from early April in stores and HoReCa channel. The new format follows a successful national expansion from regional Sardinian roots since the 2017 launch of Non Filtrata. A survey by YouGov lists Ichnusa among the top ten well-known brands in Italy. A TV ad campaign by Robilant started on March 30, emphasizing Sardinian identity, accompanied by a digital strategy for the can launch. AstraRicerche research shows 50% of consumers interested in the can format, with 71% valuing its portability and 56% noting optimal light protection. The can is favored for outdoor activities, concerts, sports events, and beach days, with 73% preference in Sardinia for outdoor use.

🏠 Travelers with a family income over €75,000, aged 18-65, are altering accommodation preferences, favoring high-end facilities, with 3-star hotels losing ground and bed & breakfasts giving way to 4 and 5-star accommodations due to uneven quality levels. Italy remains the top destination with a preference for coastal areas, and 25% of the sample favor itinerary travel. There's a 40% shift in accommodation choices compared to 2-3 years back for enhanced comfort, budget changes, or different needs. Bed & breakfasts have halted evolution since 2022, with a 3% decrease in registered facilities totaling 33,400. Affluent clients (44%) tend to self-organize on platforms like Booking.com, yet 50% of them reserve directly or communicate with the property after visiting OTA sites. In dissatisfaction, 60% experienced it mainly with 3-star hotels, B&Bs, and vacation homes due to inconsistent service, while vacation villages maintain high standardization. Luxury clients expect mobility services, beauty centers, and information points within 5-star facilities, areas where Italy could improve.