Clockwork Marketing

03/06/2026

One week to go! 🗓️

We're in the final countdown to Gather and we cannot wait to bring you the second annual Southwest Food & Drink Summit.

Next Wednesday (10th June) at The Forum, University of Exeter, the South West's food & drink community comes together again for a full day of insight, innovation, and collaboration, spearheaded by Food drink Devon.

From 9:15am-4:30pm: Keynotes, workshops, lunch, networking
4:30pm-6:30pm: Drinks and informal networking (what a way to end!)

Last chance to grab your tickets - spaces are limited!
https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vMGrC0

See you there? We'd love to catch up and hear what you're working on!

14/05/2026

If you’re a hotelier or hotel marketer, you’re feeling it. Travel demand shifts. Rising competition. Tighter margins. You’re expected to grow occupancy, protect hotel revenue, and hit targets while OTA commissions quietly chip away at your profitability in the background. When OTA's (Online travel agents) dominate your distribution mix, they also limit your control and reduce your margins. The opportunity in 2026 isn’t to remove OTAs. It’s to rebalance them.

Heres a guide on how hotels can reduce OTA commissions and increase direct bookings in 2026:
https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0t_XPT0

12/05/2026

May is a funny month in hotel marketing.

Summer feels close enough to touch, but there is still time to shape the season ahead. For many hoteliers, the calendar may already look healthy in places. A few strong weekends. Some wedding guests. A bank holiday lift. But then there are the gaps. Midweek rooms, late June, early July, or that awkward Sunday night. The good news? You do not need to start again. You need a focused push.

Here is a simple May marketing checklist to help you fill more summer dates, drive more direct bookings and give guests a reason to choose you now.
https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0t_XKV0

07/05/2026

Something special is happening in our food & drink community! 🍽️

Gather Summit (Wed 10th June at The Forum, University of Exeter) brings together the South West's most innovative producers, entrepreneurs and industry professionals for a day of genuine learning and connection.

What we love about this event:
✅ Real expertise - speakers who've actually built successful businesses
✅ Practical workshops you can implement straight away
✅ Networking that leads to genuine partnerships
✅ Focus on our region's unique strengths

Who's joining us? 🙋‍♀️

Get your ticket here >> https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0v3fvL0

16/04/2026

With ongoing uncertainty in the wider world, many people are feeling more cautious about spending, planning and travel. They still want time away, but they are potentially looking for something shorter, simpler, closer to home and easier to commit to.

Here's why one night stays are not to be overlooked this spring and summer. > https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0tqJc_0

14/04/2026

Local and experiential marketing helps you make more of what already makes you special. It's not a shiny new trend. It is really about making your hotel feel more connected, more memorable and more rooted in the place guests are choosing to visit.

Done well, it can help you attract the right visitors, strengthen your brand and give people a better reason to book direct. Read more here.
>https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0tqLTZ0

19/03/2026

In celebration of B Corp Month we caught up with our local B Corp community at The Pig at Combe for cocktails and pizza in the sunshine last night.

The B Corp hotel’s sustainability manager, Kate Harvey, hosted a panel of B Corp businesses including Greg Parsons from organic cheesemaker, Sharpham Cheese, Ivo Devereux from Sapling vodka and Jacqueline Gunn from B Lab.

We met some brilliant people doing brilliant business in the right way, and special thanks to THE PIG Hotel for the amazing hospitality, Sharpham Cheese for the cheese and Pentire Drinks for the refreshing non-alcoholic cocktails.

17/03/2026

Spring and summer can feel like a gift in hospitality. Longer days, lighter moods, fuller diaries. They can also feel like a test. Guests expect fresh ideas, quick replies, inspiring content and “something new” every time they look at your website or social feeds. Meanwhile, you’re juggling rotas, reviews, refurb lists and rising costs.

This is where AI-generated content can help. Used well, it can save you time, keep your marketing consistent, and help you stay visible through the busiest and most competitive months of the year.

Here’s a friendly, jargon-free guide to using AI content for spring and summer campaigns, without losing your voice (or your sanity) > https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0szFtf0

12/03/2026

Over the last 30+ years our team has grown, our skills have deepened and the technology we use has transformed. But one thing remains the same: our commitment to helping hospitality businesses not just survive, but to thrive.

From independent hotels and boutique retreats to restaurants, spas and holiday parks, we’re here to support you in attracting the right guests, increasing direct bookings and building a brand your audience loves.

We are acutely aware of the part we play in promoting tourism and its impact on the environment and local communities and we are striving to become a more sustainable business for people, planet, and profit.

10/03/2026

A good spring clean of your data doesn’t need to be a big, scary “project”. Done little and often, it becomes one of the easiest ways to protect revenue, improve guest experience, and make marketing feel less like guesswork and more like common sense.

Here’s why it matters, what good guest data is really worth, and a practical checklist to get your database back into shape >

Spring has a funny way of showing up with a burst of optimism. The sun appears. The nights get lighter. And suddenly you’re looking at that overstuffed cupboard thinking, Right. Today’s the day. Your guest database is the digital version of that cupboard.