Digital marketing certificate helps hospitality professionals drive customer engagement
As consumers increasingly rely on online resources to make travel and hospitality decisions, businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to meet customers where they are. But what constitutes a successful strategy in an increasingly saturated market?
In the Hospitality Digital Marketing certificate program, associate professor Rob Kwortnik and former clinical professor Bill Carroll — both from the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration — present an approach based on foundational hospitality marketing concepts and principles designed to integrate a company’s brand communications across media channels.
“Today’s hospitality consumers make decisions across multiple digital touchpoints before they ever walk through your door. This program teaches professionals how to create and execute marketing strategies that reach guests with messaging that resonates,” Kwortnik said.
Through a detailed case study of a fictional Baltimore hotel, participants learn to develop comprehensive integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategies that create consistent cross-channel brand experiences. Courses include Marketing Hospitality Brands Through Digital Media, Implementing Brand Strategy Through Digital Media, Communicating the Brand Across Marketing Media and Success Metrics for Hospitality Digital Marketing.
“We guide participants through building a complete IMC strategy for a hotel,” Kwortnik said. “They learn to identify their target market, develop creative strategies and optimize their online presence. These are skills they can immediately apply to their own properties.”
The coursework covers shaping consumers’ brand beliefs, developing website and search engine marketing strategies and content creation for social media and online communities. Participants also explore the full suite of traditional media, including print, radio, television and public relations. Working with real-world scenarios, professionals learn to adapt to shifting market conditions and evolving media landscapes — and they understand how to measure the success of their IMC activities.
“The hospitality industry’s future belongs to professionals who understand how to connect with guests in meaningful ways through digital marketing,” Kwortnik said. “This program prepares leaders to shape that future while staying true to the fundamentals of hospitality excellence.”
Year-long, free access to the Hospitality and Marketing Symposia are available as part of the program. The sessions enable learners to engage in real-time conversations on essential hospitality industry topics and trends with professional peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond.
Learn to lead digital evolution in hospitality marketing. Enroll in Cornell’s Hospitality Digital Marketing certificate program.