We hear you: there is a lot of news out there and not a lot of time to get through it.  Every Monday we post some of the articles on marketing, social media, hotel distribution and other hospitality topics that we thought were worth reading. Below are a few highlights from last week in the news:

Reputation Management

Many people check other consumers’ opinions online before purchasing travel.  What percentage of those consumers are actually writing reviews themselves? Online reviews represent a certain group of consumers – this article seeks to understand and explain who that group is and what makes them share.
What Influences Customers’ Online Reviews

Marketing

Do QR codes feature in your marketing mix? Ever used them (un)successfully? There have been many recent comments and posts slamming their effectiveness – this article suggests there may be more to it that marketers are overlooking: 
No, QR Codes Aren’t Dead. They’re Just Used Badly

Industry News

Corporations are increasing travel budgets for 2012, with anticipated flight and hotel costs increasing 3-6% between the US and APAC.
Companies to Pay More for Plane Tickets and Hotel Rooms Next Year

Hospitality Strategy

Steve Jobs continues to inspire across industries, including hospitality. This article offers tips based on Jobs’ inspirational quotes and talks, for hoteliers to value and embrace details, experience, and teamwork among other things.
Five Lessons Hoteliers Can Learn from Steve Jobs

Social Media

Two articles with tips from the social media world that our staff appreciated this week include:

5 Ways to Humanize Your Company with Social Media

17 Twitter Marketing Tips from the Pros

And finally – it is great to see Mashable picking up some case studies of success in our industry. We appreciate the innovative approaches of Accorhotels and others to social media.
How Hotels and Travel Companies are Nailing Social Media