E tourism

www.sti-innsbruck.at© Copyright 2008 STI INNSBRUCK www.sti-innsbruck.at
Semantic Enabled
Carmen Brenner, Dieter Fensel, Michael Fried, Jennifer Kaiser, Birgit Leiter, and
Ioannis Stavrakantonakis

www.sti-innsbruck.at
Application Field eTourism
Overview
1. Facts and Figures on Tourism in Austria and Tyrol
2. Multi-channel communication (MCC)
3. MCC and yield management (YM)
4. MCC, YM, LOD, and service integration on-the-fly as-
you-go
5. The value proposition in eTourism
6. Summary
2

Facts and Figures on Tourism in Austria and Tyrol
• Number of accomodations in Austria
(http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/tourism/accommodation/accommodation_capacity/034896.html)
– Commercial 20.000
– Private 50.000
• Number of bedplaces winter/summer: 1 Mio.
• Intensity of tourism supply (beds per 1.000 inhabitants)
– Total winter 119 (447 in Tyrol)
– Total summer 124 (467 in Tyrol)
3

• Total overnight stays 126 Mio (42,7 Mio in Tyrol)
(http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/tourism/accommodation/arrivals_overnight_stays/029044.html)
• Travel intensity per inhabitant (number of overnight stays divided by the
resident population): Total 16 (63 in Tyrol)
(http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/tourism/accommodation/arrivals_overnight_stays/028972.html)
• Direct employment in tourism: Total 307.000
(http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/tourismus/tourismus-satellitenkonto/erwerbstaetige/019852.html)
• Direct spendings of foreign and resident visitors: 30.586.000.000 €
(http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/tourismus/tourismus-satellitenkonto/wertschoepfung/019849.html)
• Direct percentage of overall GDP through tourism: 7.4%
(http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/tourismus/tourismus-satellitenkonto/wertschoepfung/019848.html)
4

5
source: http://www.tnooz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/four-pillars-FULLjpg.jpg

Overview
you-go
6. Summary
6

Obstacles of Multichannel Communication
Exponential growth of Online Communication Channels
7

Communication is becoming bi-directional
8

Communication is becoming bi-directional
Contents of communication are becoming more and
more granular
9

The Crazy Hotelier
10
HOTEL
RECEPTION
The Hotelier of today has to deal with many different communication channels:

The Crazy Hotelier
11
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customerThe Hotelier of today has to deal with many different communication channels:

The Crazy Hotelier
12
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone

The Crazy Hotelier
13
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email

The Crazy Hotelier
14
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax

The Crazy Hotelier
15
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website

The Crazy Hotelier
16
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites

The Crazy Hotelier
17
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites

The Crazy Hotelier
18
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites
- social network sites

The Crazy Hotelier
19
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites
- blogs

The Crazy Hotelier
20
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites
- blogs
- fora & destination sites

The Crazy Hotelier
21
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites
- blogs
- chat

The Crazy Hotelier
22
HOTEL
RECEPTION
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites
- blogs
- chat
- video & photo sharing

The Crazy Hotelier
23
HOTEL
RECEPTION
The Hotelier doesn’t
only has to deal with an
overwhelming number of
communication
channels, but also has
to pay up to 15% sales
commissions to the
booking sites!

The Crazy Hotelier
24
HOTEL
RECEPTION
-> 80 million overnight stays
-> 4 billion € transaction
volume
-> 101 million € sales
commission

Efficient and Effective Online Communication
• Solve these obstacles by mechanizing important aspects of these tasks,
and therefore offer a scalable, cost-sensitive, and effective online
dissemination solution.
• Introduce a layer on top of the various internet based communication
channels that is domain specific and not channel specific.
25
Information model
defines the type of information items in the domain
Channel model
describes the various channels, the interaction
pattern, and their target groups
Weaver
mappings of information items to channels

Channel Model
Information Model
The three pillars of Online Communication
Branch specific concepts
Collect feedback
+
statistics
Web 3.0/Mobile/OtherWeb/Blog
Distribute content
Social Web
Weaver
26

Information model
The information model defines the type of information items in the touristic
domain.
The domain ontology has following features:
• Ability to map as many business entities as possible
• Meaningful information for LOD exposure
• Compatible with Good Relations and schema.org for SEO
27

Tourism Ontology
28

Example hotel information item acco:Hotel
gr:name: Hotel Rotes Wildschwein
gr:description: Romantik Wellness Hotel in the
Tyrolean Mountains
schema:geo: 47° 16' 0" North, 11° 24' 0" East
acco:size: 56 (rooms)
acco:occupancy: 98 (persons)
acco:occupancyAdults: 95 (adults)
acco:occupancyInfants: 3 (infants)
acco:petsAllowed: yes
29

Using the information model for tourism
30
The hotel’s perspective:

www.sti-innsbruck.at 31
The customer’s perspective:
Using the information model for tourism

Channel model
The channel model describes the different channels, their interaction patterns
and the target groups.
• Channels can be
– online or offline
– for broadcasting or sharing
– for group communication or collaboration
– of static or dynamic information
• The number of different channels is growing constantly
• The target groups are very different from channel to channel
32

Offline and Online Channels
• Walk-in customer
• Telephone
• Email
• Fax
• Hotel website
• Review sites
• Booking sites
• Social network sites
• Blogs
• Fora & destination sites
• Chat
• Video & photo sharing
33

Channels
• Hotel website
– Direct booking (crucial for a successful hotelier)
– Content management system
– Full control and ownership of data
– Integration of social networks via like buttons, widgets, etc.
• Email newsletters
– Still a major means of marketing
– Especially in tourism
– Mostly for existing customers and not customer aquisition
34

Channels
• Booking and Review Sites
– Customers book over these channels
– Customers can express positive as well as negative views
– Quick reactions are important
– Examples
• Holidaycheck
• tripadvisor
• hotelkritiken.de
• zoover
• trivago
• ciao.de
• Votello
• TrustYou
• Hostelworld.com
• Caribbean Style
• Check my stay
• Cosmotourist
• Cruise Critic
• Global Hotel Review
35
• Profi Hotelempfehlungen
• Real Holiday Reports
• Schiffsbewertungen
• travel-and-guide.de
• Travel Intelligence
• Traveluation
• TripsByTips
• UnserSchiff.de
• Yelp
• ab-in-den-urlaub.de
• Booking.com
• Expedia.de
• hotel.de
• tiscover.com

Channels
• Social Networks
– Highly dependent on the target marketing area
– Varying target groups for different businesses
– Examples
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google Plus
• 200+ social networks worldwide
• Blogs
– Emerging topics like tumblr
– Often businesses enrich their classical online presence with an additional blog
36

Weaver
The weaver is responsible for mapping of information items to the appropriate
channels.
• Separation of content and communication channels
• Reuse of the same content for various dissemination means
• Explicit alignment of information items and channels
37

Weaver component
Elements 1 to 3 are about the content. They define the actual categories, the agent
responsible for them, and the process of interacting with this agent.
1. Information item
It defines an information category that should be disseminated through
various channels.
2. Editor
The editor defines the agent that is responsible for providing the content of an
information item.
3. Interaction protocol
This defines the interaction protocol governing how an editor collects the
content.
38
The details of the Weaver

Weaver
39
Elements 4 to 9 are about the dissemination of these items.
4. Information type
An instance of a concept, a set of instances of a concept (i.e., an
extensional definition of the concept), or a concept description (i.e., an
intentional definition of a concept).
5. Processing rule
These rules govern how the content is processed to fit a channel. Often
only a subset of the overall information item fits a certain channel.
6. Channel
The media that is used to disseminate the information.

Weaver
40
7. Scheduling information
Information on how often and in which intervals the dissemination will be
performed which includes temporal constrains over multi-channel
disseminations.
8. Executor
It determines which agent or process is performing the update of a
channel. Such an agent can be a human or a software solution.
9. Executor interaction protocol
It governs the interaction protocol defining how an executer receives its
content.

Weaver Example
Holiday Package
• Target group: families
• Content: text and pictures
Item: holiday_package
Editor: Hotelier
Type: Concept Description
Channel:
homepage/packages
Schedule Constraint:
date > current date
Executor: Drupal (CMS)
Executor Interaction Protocol:
none
41

Weaver Example
42
Weaver
Concepts
Channels
Holiday
package
Theater -
weekend
Seminar

More Weaver Examples
Theater Weekend
• Target group: senior couples
• Content: text, pictures, video
Conference
• Target group: business audience
• Content: text and pictures
43

Weaver Example
44
Weaver
Concepts
Channels
Holiday
package
Theater -
weekend
Seminar

Weaver Example
45
Weaver
Concepts
Channels
Holiday
package
Theater -
weekend
Seminar

Hotel Rotes Wildschwein
46
Homepage
http://www.rotes-wildschwein.at

RSS feed
http://www.rotes-wildschwein.at/rss.xml
47

Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotes-
Wildschwein/321731534545050
48

Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/HotelRedBoar
49

Overview
you-go
6. Summary
50

Multi-channel booking problem
• Hotels are facing the multi-channel booking problem
• More than 100 different booking channels available
• Daily maintenance of right balance of rooms availability
across more than 100 channels does not scale
• Average time for hoteliers required to maintain a profile of a
medium size hotel at one portal takes between 5 to 15
minutes a day
• An effort of maintaining hotel’s profile on 100 portals would
require then at least 20 hours of work
51

Multi-channel booking solution
• The multi-channel solution for hotel-industry internet
distribution
seekda! connect
seekda! IBE
52

• Automatic support for online booking on multiple channels
• One single entry point providing direct connections to
different booking platforms
• Simple, Web-based user interface for management of
bookings
seekda connect

• Over 4200 accommodation facilities are using sekkda

Direct bookability for hotels
• Booking quickly and directly via hotel Web sites
• Seekda producs for direct bookability:
– Dynamic Shop
– Dynamic Shop Mobile
• Benfits:
– Hotels do not give part of their profit to booking chanells
– Guests spend less time in booking using the instant booking engine solution of
seekda
55

Dynamic Shop integrated in the Hotel website
56

Direct bookability for hotels
• Does the customer find the hotel web site?
• Does the customer trust the web site?
• Are his/her requests properly answered?
• Is his/her feedback taken serious and form a positive review of the hotel?
57

Multi Channel Communication and Yield
Management
• Multi-channel communication tools can improve revenues and benefits
within the hospitality industry by:
– Increasing the on-line visible presence of hotels
– Make hotels offers visible to a broader audience via multiple channels
– Attract potential guests to hotel websites and thus increase direct bookability
– effective and targeted on-line marketing
58

+
= holistic multi channel communication
and yield management for the hotelier
59

Hotelnavigator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rA0wdkPB7gA
60

Overview
4. MCC, YM, LOD, and service integration on-the-fly
as-you-go
6. Summary
61

MCC, YM, LOD, and service integration on-the-fly
as-you-go
• Multi-channel communication
• seekda booking engine
• Linked Open Data (LOD) (http://linkeddata.org/)
• On the fly service integration as you pay
• Everything integrated into a comprehensive map
62

Multi-channel communication
- walk-in customer
- telephone
- email
- fax
- hotel website
- review sites
- booking sites
- blogs
- chat
- video & photo sharing
63

Branch specific concepts
Collect feedback
+
statistics
Web 3.0/Mobile/OtherWeb/Blog
Distribute content
Social Web
Weaver
64
SCEI

• Scalable on-line communication tool based on machine processable
semantics, that supports processes such as yield, brand, and reputation
management.
• SCEI is entitled to support the following process:
1. Content creation
2. Selection of publication channels
3. Content adaptation
4. Publication
5. Feedback collection
6. Content detection
7. Impact analysis
65

SCEI
Reference architecture
Semantic
RepositoryContent Management
System
Publication
Workflow Engine/ Communication
patterns
Domain and task specific
interface
Domain and task specific
interface
…
Content creator
Engagement Impact
Analysis
SCEI
Workflow
designer
Target users
Media
Monitoring
66

seekda booking engine

seekda booking engine - direct bookability for
hotels
• Booking quickly and directly via
hotel Web sites
• Seekda producs for direct
bookability:
– Dynamic Shop
– Dynamic Shop Mobile
• Benfits:
– Hotels do not give part of their
profit to booking chanells
– You do not loose the guest
having him booking other hotels
68

Linked Open Data (LOD)
• Web of Documents • Web of Data
“Documents”
“Things”
Hyperlinks
Typed Links

LOD Principles:
1. Use URIs as names for things.
2. Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those names.
3. When someone looks up a URI, provide useful RDF information.
4. Include RDF statements that link to other URIs so that they can discover related
things.

Figure from http://www4.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/lodcloud/state/, September 2011
Facts:
• 295 data sets
• Over 31 billion triples
• Over 504 billion RDF links between data
sources

• Use LOD to integrate and lookup data
about
– places and routes
– time-tables for public transport
– hiking trails
– ski slopes
– points-of-interest
72

Linked Open Data (LOD) - data sets
• Open Streetmap
• Google Places
• Databases of government
– TIRIS
– DVT
• Tourism & Ticketing association
• IVB (busses and trams)
• OEBB (trains)
• Ärztekammer
• Supermarket chains: listing of products
• Hofer and similar: weekly offers
• ASFINAG: Traffic/Congestion data
• Herold (yellow pages)
• City archive
• Museums/Zoo
• News sources like TT (Tyrol's major daily
newspaper)
• Statistik Austria
• Innsbruck Airport (travel times, airline
schedules)
• ZAMG (Weather)
• University of Innsbruck (Curricula,
student statistics, study possibilities)
• IKB (electricity, water consumption)
• Entertainment facilities (Stadtcafe,
Cinema...)
• Special offers (Groupon)
73

On the fly service intergation as you pay
• Data and services from destination
sites integrated for recommendation
and booking of
– Hotels
– Restaurants
– Cultural and entertainment events
– Sightseeing
– Shops
74

• Solutions for ad-hoc service integration for touristic destination sites
• Two integration approaches:
– via Web scrapping as a quick integration solution
– via APIs and backend integration for a long term, durable solution
75

• Web scraping integration
– Create wrappers for current web sites and extract data automatically
– Many Web scraping tools available on the market
76

• APIs and backend integration
– Contractual based integration of data, functionalities and services for mutual
benefits
– More fine grain integration not only at the level of Web but deeper, at the level of
backend systems
– Requires usually enterprise application integration solutions (e.g. Web services)
77

Everything integrated
• Integration into a comprehensive map of multi-channel communication,
seekda booking engine, Linked Open Data and on the fly service
integration as you pay to generate added value for businesses as well as
customers
• Combination of multi channel communication and yield management
– dacodi
– seekda booking solutions
• enriched with Linked (Open) Data
– Machine understandable interlinked data
– Bike and hiking trails, sight information, etc.
• and on the fly service integration as you pay
– Solutions for ad-hoc service integration for touristic destination sites
– Bike rental, ski passes, etc.
– Services are quickly integrated through scrapping and later through API and
back•end integration
78

Everything integrated: Tourist Map Austria
79
• Based on Open
Street Map

80
• Based on Open
Street Map
• Increase on-line
visibility for hotel and
destination via multi-
channel
communication -
SCEI
SCEI

81
• Based on Open
Street Map
channel
communication -
SCEI
• Hotels, ski passes,
etc. directly bookable
– seekda engine
SCEI

82
• Based on Open
Street Map
channel
communication -
SCEI
– seekda engine
• LOD to integrate and
lookup data about
hiking trails, ski
slopes, etc.
LODSCEI

83
• Based on Open
Street Map
channel
communication -
SCEI
– seekda engine
• LOD to integrate and
lookup data about
hiking trails, ski
slopes, etc.
• On the fly service
integration as you pay
LODSCEI

• Based on Open Street Map
• Fullscreen map with GPS for orientation
– Optimized for tablets and smartphones
• Data control
– Hoteliers, Townships, Assotiations, etc. can easily
maintain their own data
– Integration of public transport (missing in Google maps)
– Direct booking possible
• Social
– Integration of Facebook, Twitter, etc.
– Crowd sourcing of reviews, tips, etc.
– Plan common activities on-site
84
SCEI

LOD
+ +
= independence for the hotelier and
added value for the customer
SCEI
Everything integrated
85

Overview
you-go
6. Summary
86

The value proposition in eTourism
87
2 Bio € Business Volume/Year in Tyrol
10% Marketing/
Communication
40%
Accommodation
Costs
15% Booking
Fees
5% Profit 30% Taxes

88
Marketing Accommodation
Costs
Booking
Fees
Profit Taxes
The Problem:

89
Marketing Accommodation
Costs
Booking
Fees
Profit Taxes
The Goal:

3 main fields of activity
• Multi Channel Communication (MCC)
• MCC and Yield Management
• Next Generation Destination Sites
Prevent Black holes in the touristic value proposition!
90

Summary
• Tourism is a main contributor to the Austrian economy (7,4% to overall GDP).
• Exponential growth of Online Communication Channels (trend to bi-directional
communication & granular content).
 solution: a scalable, cost-sensitive and effective online dissemination solution (to
distribute content & collect feedback and statistics).
• Information model: defines the type of information items in the domain.
• Channel model: describes the various channels, the interaction pattern and their
target groups.
• Weaver: responsible for mapping of information items to the appropriate channels
– Components: Information item; Editor; Interaction protocol; Information type; Processing rule;
Channel; Scheduling information; Excecution; Excecutor interaction protocol
• Hotels face a multi-channel booking problem (more than 100 booking channels
available)  multi channel booking solution: seekda connect
• seekda + dacodi = holistic multi-channel communication and yield management for
the hotelier
91

Summary
• Use LOD to integrate and look up data about:
– Places and routes; Time tables for public transport; hiking trails; ski slopes; POIs
• On the fly service integration as you pay
– Integration via: Web scrapping/API and backend integration
• Goal: Everything integrated!
– Integration into a comprehensive map of multi-channel communication, seekda booking
engine, LOD and on the fly service as you pay to generate added value for businesses
and customers
– seekda + SCEI + LOD = independence for the hotelier and added value for the customer
• The value proposition in eTourism – 2 Bio € Business Value/Year in Tyrol
 15% booking fees
 Prevent black holes in the touristic value proposition!
92

Thank you for your attention!
93

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Editor's Notes