Weekly Brief: January 5, 2026
Happy 2026. A quieter week for job postings and news, with most of the job postings being re-posts of jobs that I’ve already featured here at some point. A quick read this week with just the highlights to start you off.
Hotel Marketers to Know will be back next week, but if you know anyone who is doing something cool, starting something new, or looking for their next position, I’d love to feature you or them! Reply directly to this newsletter anytime you’re ready.
Thanks for reading.
☞ Know of a new-to-hotels marketer or a hotel marketer who was recently laid off? Forward this newsletter to them!
Marketing Briefs
Did You Know?
Trending news, marketing news, and reports:
TikTok Most Popular Social News Source For Gen Z // Media Daily News
The Year the Newsletter Business Reached a Fever Pitch // WSJ
The Biggest Wellness Trends of 2026 // Vogue
Meet the Woman Shaking Up Food and Travel TV with the Help of Anthony Bourdain's Crew // People
Where to travel in 2026: The best places to visit // CNN Travel
5 Luxury Hotel Themes for 2026 // Skift
Global Travel Trends 2026: Why Wellness, Tech-Free Zones, and “Quiet Parks” Are Dominating Your Next Vacation // TTW
Set (and Reset) Your Social Media 2026 Baselines // LinkedIn - Julia Holmqvist
Advertising Will Boom in 2026, but Hollywood Is at Risk of Being Left Behind // Hollywood Reporter
Boost Sales and Support with Separate Navigation Links // LinkedIn - Casey Hill
Top digital marketing trends and predictions for 2026 // Google
38 Short Marketing Insights To Start 2026 Strong // Frontera Brands
Amazon has announced that Expedia is one of four new companies building artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for its Alexa+ assistant that will launch in 2026. // Phocuswire
Where are they now? Revisiting the Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2025 // Phocuswire
These Google Maps AI Tools Can Make Your Holiday and NYE Travel Plans Seamless // CNET
Job Postings & Career News
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Looking Forward: Q1
reposted from last week
Holidays & Activations
Jan 1 - New Year’s Day
Jan 19 - MLK Day
Feb 2 - Groundhog Day
Feb 8 - Super Bowl LX
Feb 14 - Valentine’s Day
Feb 16 - Presidents’ Day
Feb 17 - Lunar New Year (Year of the Fire Horse)
Mar 8 - Daylight Savings Time
Mar 17 - St. Patrick’s Day
Mar 20 - First Day of Spring.
Anchor seasonal menu changes and refreshed creative
Travel Periods
Lunar/Chinese New Year
Mid-Winter Break (Feb - mid-west school break)
Spring Break - mid March - mid April (Easter falls on April 5 in 2026)
Conferences
TravMedia's International Media Marketplace | Jan 21 - 22 | New York, NY
Skift Megatrends | Jan 22 | New York, NY
Pre-Planning:
HITEC/HSMAI | June 15 - 18 | San Antonio, TX
Hotel Data Conference | Aug 5 - 7 | Nashville, TN
Things To Do - Hotel Marketer Edition
Audit Your Website for 2025 Mentions
Audit your website for outdated year references and any offerings that were set to expire (including Book By dates that can be extended).
Refresh homepage hero copy to reflect seasonality and current demand drivers.
Choose a handful of 3rd party sites to audit each month. I start by reviewing top referring sites in analytics and adding them to my list, then googling my hotel names and adding 3rd party sites that show up in the top 5 pages.
Review comp set across multiple channels, including social media, brand/vanity websites, and 3rd party sites (Expedia, GMB, Cvent, etc).
What is the 5.15
Leading luxury hotel marketing across resorts and task force marketing roles over the past 15+ years led me to begin publishing The Hotel Marketing 5.15 in 2025 as a way to help keep clients up to date on hospitality marketing news and activations. I currently work remotely for Ka Laʻi Waikīkī Beach, LXR Hotels & Resorts.
Based on a communication method developed by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, the 5.15 is a weekly format designed to synthesize key insights in 15 minutes or less and be read in five minutes. This newsletter applies the same principle to hotel marketing: concise, actionable trends and opportunities curated for industry professionals.
This newsletter may contain affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.