With coronavirus ravaging the global hospitality industry, RockCheetah CEO Robert Cole presented the latest virus and hotel industry performance trends, as well as planning strategies to deal with uncertainty. The webinar, broadcast on March 19, 2020 was sponsored by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). My co-presenter was Loren Gray of Hospitality Digital Marketing.

1. Hotel Owners & COVID-19
Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies
Asian American Hotel Owners Association
Coronavirus Webinar
March 19, 2020
Image: “Holidays in North Korea” Random Institute (Unsplash)

2. Webinar Overview
• Current Situation
• Virus Facts & Trends
• Hotel Industry Impact
• Scenario Planning
• Creative Marketing & Messaging
• Planning
• Guest Needs
• Local Focus
• Strategies
• Execution
• Measurement
• Messaging
• Tools
• Resources
• Global | Government | Industry
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 2

3. Current Situation
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 3
Image: “Beaker Panics” Muppet Show (GIPHY)

4. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
MERS
Seasonal Flu
Ebola
COVID-19
SARS
Smallpox
Measles
0.8
1.3
1.9
~2.0
3.0
4.8
15.0
R0 (R-naught) = Number of Cases an Infected Person Will Cause
R0
How Contagious is Coronavirus?
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 4
Source: “How Bad Is the Coronavirus? Let’s Run the Numbers” BloombergQuint (https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/how-bad-is-the-coronavirus-let-s-compare-with-sars-ebola-flu) | Harvard School of Public Health (2020)
NOTE: Estimated, approx. same as 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic

5. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Seasonal Flu
Measles
COVID-19
SARS
Smallpox
MERS
Ebola
0.1%
0.2%
1.0%
9.6%
30.0%
34.4%
50.0%
Case Fatality Rate
Case Fatality %
NOTE: Harvard epidemiologist estimates range of 1% to 2%
How Deadly is Coronavirus?
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 5
Source: “How Bad Is the Coronavirus? Let’s Run the Numbers” BloombergQuint (https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/how-bad-is-the-coronavirus-let-s-compare-with-sars-ebola-flu) | Harvard School of Public Health (2020)

6. How to Stop the Coronavirus?
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 6
Source: “Flattening the Curve” United States Center for Disease Control (https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/how-bad-is-the-coronavirus-let-s-compare-with-sars-ebola-flu) | Harvard School of Public Health (2020)
Healthcare system capacity

7. Weekly Case Growth Comparison
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 7
Source: “Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases” John’s Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
Weekly Number of Coronavirus Cases
USA | Mar 7 (+6 Weeks) Italy | Feb 22 (+4 Weeks) China (Jan 18)
US: Week 3 Data only includes 5 of 7 Days...
Italy: Healthcare services are overloaded...
China: City lockdown in Week 1, widespread testing,
aggressive isolation (60 Million ppl)
56 Cases per Million
591 Cases per Million
33 Cases per Million

8. Hotel Industry Impact
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 8
Image: “Evening in Old Town” Scott Stewart-Johnson (flickr-cc)

9. Occupancy Impact
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 9
Source: “U.S. Outlook for 2020” CBRE Hotels Research, STR (March 2020)

10. Rate Recovery
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 10
Source: “Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the U.S. hotel industry” STR (March 2020)

11. Year Occ Occ^ ADR ADR^ RevPAR RevPAR^ Supply^ Demand
PUBLISHED FORECAST - BEFORE COVID-19 TRANSMISSION OUTSIDE CHINA
2019 66.1% 0.0% $131.20 1.0% $86.73 0.9% 2.0% 2.0%
2020 65.6% -0.8% $132.09 0.7% $86.63 -0.1% 2.0% 1.2%
2021 65.8% 0.3% $133.54 1.1% $87.86 1.4% 1.8% 2.2%
UPDATED DOWNSIDE FORECAST – PRELIMINARY 3/12/2020
2019 66.1% 0.0% $131.20 1.0% $86.73 0.9% 2.0% 2.0%
2020 59.3% -10.2% $117.58 -10.4% $69.78 -19.5% 2.0% -8.4%
2021 61.4% 3.5% $124.93 6.2% $76.75 10.0% 1.5% 5.1%
2022 64.2% 4.6% $134.83 7.9% $86.61 12.8% 0.3% 4.9%
UPDATED SEVERE-DOWNSIDE FORECAST – PRELIMINARY 3/12/2020
2019 66.1% 0.0% $131.20 1.0% $86.73 0.9% 2.0% 2.0%
2020 55.7% -15.7% $113.80 -13.3% $63.44 -26.9% 2.0% -14.0%
2021 57.7% 3.4% $107.34 -5.7% $61.90 -2.4% 1.5% 5.0%
2022 60.8% 5.4% $105.03 -2.2% $63.83 3.1% 0.1% 5.5%
Scenario Planning
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 11
Source: “U.S. Outlook for 2020” CBRE (March 2020)

12. This Event is NOT Like 9/11 or GFC
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 12
Source: "Updates on COVID-19 impact on Europe hotel performance” STR, CoStar Realty Information, Inc. (March 2020)

13. Creative Marketing & Messaging
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 13
Image: “Hairy Situation” JD Hancock (flickr-cc)

14. Remember: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 14
Source: “Our Hierarchy of Needs” Psychology Today (May 2012)

15. This Crisis is Local
• Support the Local Community
• How Can the Hotel Satisfy a Need?
• How Can Staff Assist?
• Demonstrate Hospitality
• Local Demand Sources
• Healthcare
• Government
• Long-Term Stay
• Contact All Local/Regional Clients
• Don’t Sell – Focus on Them
• Business Circumstances
• Personal Circumstances
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 15

16. Benchmark / Measure Performance
• Scenario Planning – Be Prepared
• Worst Case
• Probable Case
• Best Case
• If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It
• Resources
• Expectations
• Results
• How to Manage Uncertainty
• Test
• Learn
• Adjust
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 16

17. Marketing Planning
• Inventory Planning
• Out of Order Rooms
• Guest Density / Proximity
• Upgrading Opportunities
• Service Standards
• Cleaning Standards
• Staff Empathy
• Impact of Reviews
• Pricing Strategy
• Cancellation Policy
• Competitive Set Considerations
• Demand Creation v. Share Shift
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 17

18. Messaging
• Identify Customer Personas
• Business
• Leisure
• Contract / Long-term Stay
• Creative Development
• Hotel Stories
• Guest Stories
• Staff Stories
• Differentiation from Competition
• Match Property Strengths to Guest Needs
• Tailor Messages to Specific Personas
• Be Respectful of Competitors – Play Fair
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 18

19. Available Tools for Direct Business
• Google
• Google Analytics
• Google My Business
• Google Hotel Ads
• Google Display Network
• YouTube Ads
• Microsoft
• Microsoft Advertising
• Microsoft Search Network
• LinkedIn
• Sponsored Content/Messaging
• Targeted Text/Dynamic Ads
• Facebook
• Facebook Insights
• Facebook Ads Manager
• Instagram
• Instagram Insights
• Stories/Photo/Video/Explore/
Carousel/Collections Ads
• IGTV Streaming Ads
• Pinterest
• Pinterest Ads Manager
• Promoted Pins
• Twitter
• Twitter Ads Manager
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020
Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging
Strategies
Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 19

20. The Good News
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 20
Image: “Football Outside Jakarta” Robert Collins (Unsplash)
• We Will Recover
• Have a Plan
• Be Ready When the Opportunity Arises

21. Coronavirus Resources
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 21
Image: “Coronavirus Illustration” CDC (Unsplash)

22. • Global
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• Global Statistics
• https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
• Travel Industry
• World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)
• https://www.wttc.org/travel-advice/
• International Air Transport Association (IATA)
• Airlines
• https://www.iata.org/en/programs/safety/health/diseases/Airnlines
• Passengers
• https://www.iata.org/en/youandiata/travelers/health/
• Phocuswire Live Blog
• https://www.phocuswire.com/Coronavirus-impact-travel-industry
Resources – Global / Travel Industry
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 22

23. • Federal
• Center for Disease Control
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• National Institute of Health
• https://www.nih.gov/health-information/coronavirus
• Department of Labor
• https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus
• Department of State
• https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-
information.html
• State
• State Health Departments
• https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartment
s.html
• Local
• National Association of County and City Health Officials
• https://www.naccho.org/membership/lhd-directory
Resources – Government
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 23

24. • AAHOA
• https://www.aahoa.com/advocacy/disaster-preparedness
• AH&LA
• https://www.ahla.com/facts-about-coronavirus
• EcoLab
• https://www.ecolab.com/pages/coronavirus
• State Lodging & Restaurant Associations
• https://isuite.innsight.com/education/State-by-State-Restaurant-
and-Lodging-Associations
• STR
• https://str.com/data-insights-blog/coronavirus-hotel-industry-
data-news
• CBRE
• https://www.cbre.com/covid-19
Resources – US Hotel Industry
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 24

25. Thank you for your attention
AAHOA Webinar- March 19, 2020 Hotel Owners & COVID-19: Creative Marketing & Messaging Strategies Loren Gray  Robert Cole | 25
• Robert Cole
• robert@rockcheetah.com
• +1.262.309.9560
• Loren Gray
• loren@hospitalitydigitalmarketing.com
• +1.305.522.3522
Image: “Coronavirus Illustration” CDC (Unsplash)