The hospitality industry is optimistic and expects a brighter and better trend in 2014. As the economic landscape is progressing, there will be a change in the trend of “staycation,” and people will now intend to focus on the value of travel. In other words, tourists now look for comfortable, simple, yet high-quality experiences. It is important for hospitality companies to capitalize these opportunities to stay ahead in the industry. However, brand awareness and a multi-channel environment have heightened the competition. To meet the challenges , the hospitality sector should come up with strategic marketing initiatives.
At www.HotelCluster.com, are some of the emerging trends that people in the hospitality industry should keep in mind while preparing strategy for 2014.
2.
As per statistics, American hotels spent about
$2.7 billion as OTA commissions in 2010. To
avoid this expense, hotels are trying to increase
direct bookings. To achieve this, they are
developing their own websites and trying to
convince travelers to opt for direct bookings and
avoid bookings through OTA. Hence, hoteliers
should focus more on fresh content, rich media
and frequent promotion updates in their
websites to increase their online booking.
HotelCluster.com
3.
Marketing experts will realize that to reach a wider
audience, brand awareness is crucial. A consensus will
develop of the fact that content marketing is the
ultimate way to get the word out rather than traditional
advertising. Hence, a strong online presence is vital.
Engaging blogs, interactive social media
platforms, webinars, newsletters, e-books, photo and
video sharing media are efficient, yet cost effective tools
that will enable your brand to reach people
quickly, resulting in effective lead generation.
Besides, these days people prefer direct booking and
make their transactions online, so frequent
updates, fresh contents, hassle-free transaction modes
and user-friendly navigation are imperative to stay
ahead of the competition.
HotelCluster.com
4.
Travelers will focus more on the emotional value to their
trip and will strive to experience a better quality of life
during leisure travel. Hence, instead of opting for costeffective getaways, they will look for a better experience
and begin to place high value on splurging. Even though
the trend of overnight leisure trips shall continue, there
will be a sharp increase in travel spending.
Likewise, tourists are now more concerned with the
food on the table, rather than focusing on celebrity
chefs. They will be more demanding in terms of quality
ingredients and will prefer healthy food with organic
ingredients.
HotelCluster.com
5.
Social media plays an important role in attracting
tourists. Personal connection is already at its
epitome, and researching everything using social media
is the recent trend. This applies to the hospitality
industry, too. People tend to read and compare reviews
before choosing their trip. So, effective online persona is
imperative to get an edge over the competitors. Ensure
that you participate in review sites and hotel listing
websites. Updating blogs constantly and including
testimonials from former guests are great ideas. The
meeting planner tool comes in handy to strengthen the
professional relationship with your customer. Twitter
accounts that focus on customer service will help to
draw more tourists.
HotelCluster.com
6.
Hotel marketers should focus on ways to
capitalize mobile applications in 2013, as social
media and mobile devices have already become
inseparable. Smartphones have replaced
desktops and laptops, and social media updates
from mobile phones are the preferred trend.
HotelCluster.com
7.
There is expected to be a sharp increase in the
number of international visitors to the USA.
Hence, hotels can choose to refinance the
business in order to meet the demand and to
stay ahead of the competitors.
HotelCluster.com
8.
In order to allure potential travelers, embarking
videos and photo sharing sites, such as
Instagram and Pinterest, is vital, as more and
more people will view and share videos and
photos that will become a great advertisement
for the business.
HotelCluster.com
9.
The hospitality industry is optimistic and expects a brighter and better
trend in 2013. As the economic landscape is progressing, there will be a
change in the trend of “staycation,” and people will now intend to focus
on the value of travel. In other words, tourists now look for
comfortable, simple, yet high-quality experiences. It is important for
hospitality companies to capitalize these opportunities to stay ahead in
the industry. However, brand awareness and a multi-channel
environment have heightened the competition. To meet the
challenges, the hospitality sector should come up with strategic
marketing initiatives.
At http://www.hotelcluster.com/blog/category/hospitality-industry-2/
are some of the emerging trends that people in the hospitality industry
should keep in mind while preparing strategy for 2014 hotel industry
trends.
HotelCluster.com