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Top 10 'MUST DO' Hotel Strategies to Boost Direct Bookings
- 1. Welcome to the Workshop Presentedby Adrian Caruso
- 2. About your WorkshopPresenter This is Adrian in the nice overalls
- 3. One of Adrian’sfamily’s first properties
- 4. Established since2002 – 11 years Australasia’s leading hospitality digital marketing and business improvement firm Offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland Services: o Hotel Consulting & Strategy o Web Design & Development o Search Marketing o Email Strategy o Social Media o Branding o PR Over 150 years of combined experience Who is TA Fastrack?
- 5. New Brand 1June
- 6. Some of ourclients....
- 7. Workshop Agenda 1. Thebiggest trends impacting the industry NOW 2. Do’s and Don’ts of Hotel Distribution 3. Features EVERY hotel website needs! 4. Social Media – Everyone has got it wrong 5. How your competitors have allocated their marketing budgets so far 6. Q&A session
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- 9. Hands up whohas a written strategy to increase their direct bookings?
- 11. Let’s see araise of hands Who can track every $$$ they spend on marketing into actual bookings? http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/6205610856/
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- 16. Definition of customerservice I CARE, I CAN DO and I WANT YOU BACK AGAIN The hotel solved my problem! Trend: Customer service goes public and global (You’re not serving one guest; you’re defining your brand globally) Customer Service
- 17. What are yourWOW Factors ? 31e5
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- 19. 1. Train, train,train your reservation staff constantly 2. Measure your Enquiry to Booking Conversion Ratio 3. Follow up every phone and email enquiry 4. Upsell at every opportunity – especially pre-stay Top 5 Strategies in Hotel Reservations e6
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- 21. What is thebiggest trend currently impacting online marketing for hotels?
- 22. Get ready fora mobile-only world
- 23. By 2015 smartphone saleswill reach 982 million Research points that mobile will surpass desktop use within the next 18 months
- 24. Let’s see araise of hands How many of you: 1. Check email on their phone or tablet device? 2. Have posted photos on Facebook from your phone or tablet device? 3. Searched for a business’ info number on your phone or tablet device? http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/6205610856/
- 25. • 7% Tablets •14% Mobile • 79% Desktops Bad mobile websites are the #1 deterrent to booking travel on phones. 21% of all hotel searches are now conducted on mobile devices!
- 27. 306% - HotelQueries by Tablet 120% - Hotel Queries by Mobile 7% - Hotel Queries by Desktop Quarter ending 31 March ‘13
- 28. The results arein Q1 2013 vs. Q1 2012
- 29. The truth isin the numbers Q1 2013 vs. Q1 2012
- 30. Is your websiteoptimised for Mobile? of web traffic will come through mobile devices by 2014 Image: http://www.bravenewcode.com/product/wptouch-pro/?utm_campaign=wptouch-home-top&utm_medium=web&utm_source=bravenewcode
- 31. Look At YourWebsite Bring up your website on your smartphone
- 32. How is yoursite working? Do you see broken images or missing content? Can you read the text without zooming or scrolling? Can links and buttons be clicked with a thumb? Are navigations options obvious? Is search functionality easily accessible?
- 33. What about yourbooking engine? Do you see broken images or missing content? Can you read the text without zooming or scrolling? Can links and buttons be clicked with a thumb? Are navigations options obvious? How quick can a user make a purchase?
- 35. Analyze your mobilevisitors
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- 38. Desktop During the day (office) Tablet Evening– Lounging around Mobile Lunch break – Happy Hour On-the-Go
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- 40. Desktop Full-Website Content Tablet Full-website content, presentedin a highly-visual format, enabled for touch screen navigation Mobile Specialised content for the mobile traveller on the go, enabled for touch- screen navigation
- 41. Fully Responsive WebsiteDesign
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- 45. Website Design &Usability First impressions count
- 46. F F F Howpeople read a website
- 47. What’s the mostimportant item on your website?
- 48. Do not havea Quick Quote on your Website!
- 49. Make sure youown your website and domain name DO NOT RENT OR OUTSOURCE IT !
- 50. Rented Website Commissions paidper booking 15% $75000 TOTAL $75000 Your own Website New Website Cost $5000 Yearly hosting costs @ $150 p.a. $ 450 SEO per month $690 $24840 Adwords $890 $32040 TOTAL $62330 Difference of $12,670 Why Should You Own Your Own Website?
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- 52. Use the bestphotos
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- 61. http://searchengineland.com/by-the-numbers-twitter-vs-facebook-vs-google-buzz-36709 Growth of GoogleQueries 2007-2012 Number of Searches/Day on Google 3 Billion Searches/Day (announced Aug. 2012)
- 63. Where Does ItAll Fit On Search Engines? Google Maps Organic (SEO) Paid Listings Paid Listings
- 64. Only 18% ofClicks Go Here
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- 69. Adrian’s Definition ofSocial Media is: 32
- 70. Make friends first Socialize Getinvolved Rules for Social Networking e32
- 71. Social Channel UsersChange Facebook 12,000,000 - You Tube 11,000,000 - BlogSpot 4,000,000 200,000 LinkedIn 2,200,000 - Twitter 2,114,000 - WordPress.com 1,700,000 100,000 Instagram 1,500,000 200,000 Tumblr 1,100,000 100,000 TripAdvisor 960,000 - Flickr 800,000 20,000 Pinterest 640,000 20,000 MySpace 390,000 - Google+ 377,500 300,000 Yelp 200,000 8,000
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- 79. How your rankingaffects room nights
- 80. Pros & Consof TripAdvisor • Popularity • Found on search engines • Dialogue • Ranking • Competitive Research • One Stop Shop
- 81. How to ImproveYour TripAdvisor Ranking • Offer services and amenities above customer expectations • Monitor and respond to hotel guest reviews • Be honest and forthright with responses • Suggest to customers that they post a review on TripAdvisor
- 82.
- 83. Do’s and don’tsof Hotel Distribution
- 84. Do’s of HotelDistribution 1. Focus on the Direct Online Channel e8 Do’s & Don’ts of Hotel Distribution
- 85. Research has shownthat the average cost per booking via OTAs is in average 8-10 times higher than via the hotel website! Research has shown that 75% of all hotel bookings will be online Across the industry, Direct Online Channel sales (via the hotel website) will exceed 62% of total online hotel bookings The direct online channel is by far the most cost-effective distribution channel and provides hoteliers with excellent ROIs, immediate results and long-term competitive advantages In the first quarter of 2012, 81.7%of online bookings for the top 30 hotel brands were direct via the brand website, while only 28.3% were via the indirect online channel (e.g online travel agencies like Wotif, Hotelbeds.com etc). “ Hotel Website NEEDS TO BE The Main Revenue Driver
- 87. Do’s of HotelDistribution 1. Focus on the Direct Online Channel • Independent hotels are overly OTA- dependent • 76% of online bookings from non-branded hotels came from OTA’s • 24% from hotel’s own website • Branded hotels are overly brand-dependent e8 Do’s & Don’ts of Hotel Distribution
- 88. 2. Maintain RateParity Between January – June 2012 • 60-87% of 3-star hotels were cheaper on OTA sites • 75-93% of 4-star hotel were cheaper on OTA sites • 69-86% of 5-star hotels were cheaper on OTA sites • Include a BEST RATE GUARANTEE Do’s & Don’ts of Hotel Distribution
- 89. 3. Market toInternational Visitors 4. Use the OTA Channel Correctly • Focus on the ones that are providing you with most bookings • Include in all contracts that neither OTAs nor their affiliates may bid on branded keywords in SEM campaigns Do’s of Hotel Distribution
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- 91. 3. Market toInternational Visitors 4. Use the OTA Channel Correctly • Focus on the ones that are providing you with most bookings • Include in all contracts that neither OTAs nor their affiliates may bid on branded keywords in SEM campaigns • Making the most of visual merchandising Do’s of Hotel Distribution
- 92. 1. Don’t participatein Flash Sales/Social Buying Sites 2. Don’t Do Last-Minute Discounts via OTAs 3. Don’t Manage Promotions Via the OTA’s in isolation DON’Ts of Hotel Distribution
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- 95. Reservation Hotel Stay Check-out Post Stay Marketing 1.Pre-stay • Book activities • 7 day arrival email • Other Pre-stay Marketing • Guest Loyalty • Arrival SMS 2. During-stay • Profile Updates • Arrival Notes • Transaction data modelling • Incident tracking 3. Post-stay • Thank you email • Real-time survey • TripAdvisor Link • Return offer • Guest Loyalty 4. Further Marketing • Post stay Marketing • Loyalty Programs • Trigger Campaigns • Birthday • Frequency • Interests • Special Event Create a Schedule
- 96. How Are YourPeers Allocating Their Budgets? 33% Website re-design – Fully responsive 27.2% SEO 26.0% SEM (paid search) 24.3% Email Marketing 15.7% Display Advertising (banners)
- 97. ‘HOT’ Initiatives YourPeers Are Allocating Their Budgets 15.6% Mobile Marketing 14.0% Local Search 13.4% Social Media 12.3% Retargeting/Remarketing Advertising 12.0% Online Video
- 98. Image: flickr/A wildquestion/[f]oxymoron Do you have any questions?
- 99. One hour consultation Hotel Business+ Marketing Consultant FREE
- 100. Where to start? Services: FullService Marketing Agency Hotel / Mobile Websites Search Marketing Email Social Media Branding / Design email@tafastrack.com Call AUS 1300 659 289
- 101.
Editor's Notes
- #10 What is the biggest trend currently impacting online marketing for hotels?NEXT SLIDE
- #11 After extensive research including seeing where our client intend to spend their budgets in 2013, nearly one-third of respondents planned to spend as much as 49 percent of their advertising and marketing budgets on digital marketing initiatives (including website design and optimization). This is the third year we have compiled this research and we see that, ‘economic constraints’ continue to negatively affect digital marketing budgets more than any other reason (e.g. last year’s budget, what peers are doing, property renovations and non-marketing constraints).Our research shows that hoteliers are going back to the basics and putting budget dollars into core initiatives that produce the best results and the highest ROIs. Here are the top five strategies your peers consider of highest priority in their 2013 Digital Marketing Budget based on spend.NEXT SLIDE
- #13 What is the biggest trend currently impacting online marketing for hotels?NEXT SLIDE
- #22 What is the biggest trend currently impacting online marketing for hotels?NEXT SLIDE
- #23 Mobile is the biggest game changer. It is a reservation tool, a service tool, and an upsell tool… all in one! With advancement of smartphones, the massive quantity of consumers using their devices to research and purchase, and the convenience that is so important to today’s fast-paced consumers, it’s vital that the hotel industry is fully embracing this trend. And it’s not really a trend anymore; it’s simply here to stay, and is only growing.
- #29 The results from Q1 2013 are in, and they show a seismic shift from desktop to mobile and tablet devices. Across all our hotel client’s portfolio, consisting of hundreds of hotel properties, we saw a major shift from desktop to tablet and mobile in every data category.The most notable developments in Q1 2013:- Website traffic by device category: nearly 40% of web visitors and 28% of page views were generated from non-desktop devices (mobile and tablet)- Over 10% of bookings, roomnights and revenue came from tablets and mobile devices- Tablets generated 281% more roomnights and 505% more revenue than “pure” mobile devices- iPad outperformed all other tablet devices and was responsible for more than 88% of traffic and nearly 90% of tablet revenueMobile devices represent a very interesting phenomenon: Nearly 24% of website visitors came from mobile devices, but these mobile visitors generated only 3.17% of the bookings. Why?In my view, there are several reasons:Many mobile users start their research and information gathering via their smartphones, and later continue via their desktops/laptops at the office or at home. Forrester reports that smartphones are the most common starting place for online activities:Search for information: 65% of users start on a smartphone; 65% of them continue the process on a desktop, 4% on a tabletBrowse the Internet: 63% of users start on a smartphone; 58% of them continue the process on a desktop, 5% on a tabletShopping online: 65% of users start on a smartphone; 61% of them continue the process on a desktop, 4% on a tabletMany hoteliers lack a mobile-friendly website presence or have an “impossible to use” booking engineMost hoteliers do not track voice bookings that came from the mobile website: an average of 1 in 7 mobile website bookings comes via the reservation phone listed on the mobile site
- #30 How did the “three screens” results from Q1 2013 compare to the results from Q1 2012? We see a significant – even dramatic – shift from the desktop to the tablet and mobile channels within one short year:Q1 2013 vs. Q1 2012 Percentage Increase/Decrease by Device Category:The most notable year-over-year developments in Q1 2013 were:- Website visitors to desktop websites declined by more than a quarter, while more than doubling via mobile and tablet devices.- Desktop pageviews declined by nearly 15% while increasing by nearly 74% via tablet and 84% via mobile devices.- Bookings and roomnights from tablets exhibited the biggest growth and more than doubled; revenue increased by nearly 95%.- Revenue from mobile devices also exhibited steady growth of nearly 58% as travel consumers are becoming more comfortable transacting via their smartphones and as smartphone penetration reaches an all-time high of 44% in Australia and New Zealand- Revenue from desktop devices is on the decline, year-over-year, by more than 5%.Tablets were the biggest winner over the past year. Tablet penetration already exceeds 15% in the Australia. In Q1 2013 tablet shipments worldwide soared 142% year-over-year to 49.2 million. The latest data from NPD DisplaySearch calls for the tablet market to surpass PC notebooks in 2013. Tablets are expected to reach shipments of 240 million units this year, while 207 million PC notebooks will be shipped.
- #31 In fact, based on the rate of adoption, it is projected that the number of users accessing the Web via mobile devices will exceed desktop devices by 2014.eMarketer, the value of mobile transactions will reach close to 1 trillion dollars by 2014.
- #36 How many mobile visitors does your site get each month?Which pages do they land on the most?Which pages do the exit through the most?What mobile device are they using?What keywords did they find you through?
- #41 What Should Hoteliers Do About the Three Screens?Begin by treating the desktop, mobile and tablet as three separate channels. Internet users exhibit different behavioral patterns when browsing the Internet and the desktop website, mobile and tablet devices, as they address different needs at different times of the day and week. It is obvious why specialized content is needed for each device:Desktop users need as much information as possible, including a minimum of 25-50 content pages per property and another 50-100 specialized marketing and landing pages featuring special packages, promotions, and events. Desktop users also place high value on visual galleries with photos and videos.Mobile (smartphone) users require a 10-15 page mobile-enabled website with slimmed-down content with an emphasis on maps and directions, an easy-to-use mobile booking engine, and a click-to-call property reservation number. As mentioned, more than half of the U.S. population is still using feature phones, which are not sophisticated enough to display full desktop websites. The vast majority of people of age 65+ do not use smartphones today, and these are exactly the baby boomers you would want as your property guests.Tablet users require deep, visually enhanced content about the property and its destination. A well-structured, highly visual hotel tablet-optimized website can generate conversion rates several times higher than those of mobile devices.
- #42 What is responsive web design?Simply put, responsive web design is a development technique that optimizes your site for any sized screen, based on size of the device that is viewing the content. For example, if someone views your site from their desktop computer, the website's code will detect the larger sized screen and appropriately adjust the site's layout and design for that larger monitor. Things such as the main navigation, body content and image size will be optimized for people browsing at a desktop computer, in order to provide the best layout for usability on that device.On the other hand, the same user will likely interact with the site very differently on a tablet or smartphone than they would sitting at a computer with a mouse or a laptop touchpad. When searching on a tablet or mobile phone, users have to tap directly on the link in order to get the information they want, instead of hovering over the information with a tiny pointer. In order to provide the best user experience for someone on a mobile phone, buttons have to be bigger so people can easily tab where they want, phone number should be clickable (and trackable!), and information should be concise and easy to find. Fat fingers and small smartphone screens are a bad combo.What does responsive website design look like??
- #43 Why does your Hotel Need a ResponsiveWebsitre?Usability and user experience: Think of how annoying it is when you are searching for something on your phone and you land on the site’s desktop version, with microscopic links and too much information. What do you do? Most likely you'll try to pinch and zoom on the screen until you can make out the information you’re looking for or bounce off immediately and go to a site that’s easier to use. Either way, this makes for a bad user experience and a potentially lost guest. With responsive web design, the right version of your site will always be served to your user on the first try which makes for a better user experience.Cost and return: Your initial investment in the site may be slightly higher, it may take a bit longer to develop, and you may have to research to find a developer with the proper skills to effectively create your site in responsive web design. However, since potential guests will be served the information they want on the first try they’ll be more likely to stay on your site and book if they like what they see. Also, if your hotel is easily bookable through all mediums guests will be more likely to book with you. Another thing to consider is that instead of paying someone to manage the content on three different websites (desktop, mobile and tablet), with a responsive website you're only paying someone to update content on a single website.Three websites in one: As mentioned above, content management is simple for all three sites, because you're really only updating a single website instead of three separate ones. Most responsive websites will have a simple content management system. The Blue Magnet Hotel example above was built in Wordpress. Since this is all technically one site, we only have to make the change once and the mobile site, tablet version and desktop version will all reflect the updates. This is great for maintaining consistency of information across all of your sites.Google will love you: In June of 2012, Google explained the best practices for building a mobile site and responsive web design was mentioned as the "recommended configuration" for targeting smartphones. Responsive websites, whether viewed on a mobile device, tablet or desktop computer, all use the same HTML, which make it easier for Google to index. Rather than indexing 3 different, independent versions of your accommodations page, Google prefers to only index a single page--a responsive one that adapts to various screen sizes. This doesn't necessarily give you any SEO bonus for using responsive web design, but it helps avoid duplicate content issues that arise from having a copy of each of your webpages in each of the various viewing formats. Google doesn't need 3 different copies of your homepage. It's redundant and Google will likely drop one from its index if it identifies it as such. It's best to have a single page at a single URL that works across all devices.With the import
- #44 Mobile is the biggest game changer. It is a reservation tool, a service tool, and an upsell tool… all in one! With advancement of smartphones, the massive quantity of consumers using their devices to research and purchase, and the convenience that is so important to today’s fast-paced consumers, it’s vital that the travel industry is fully embracing this trend. And it’s not really a trend anymore; it’s simply here to stay, and is only growing.
- #46 First impressions countUse the right colours for your audience and to draw attention to select elements. Don’t try to make everything jump out as it’ll have the opposite effect – nothing will stand out!Only use media and animations to help support your content and informationLayout – create a clear navigation structure and organise page elements in a grid fashion (as opposed to randomly scattered). Don’t be afraid of white space and avoid clutter
- #67 Mobile is the biggest game changer. It is a reservation tool, a service tool, and an upsell tool… all in one! With advancement of smartphones, the massive quantity of consumers using their devices to research and purchase, and the convenience that is so important to today’s fast-paced consumers, it’s vital that the travel industry is fully embracing this trend. And it’s not really a trend anymore; it’s simply here to stay, and is only growing.
- #72 No.1 Social Media site used by Australians and New ZealandOver 11.7 million users in Australia AND 2.26 million in New Zealand54.64% of population in AUS and 53.81% of population in NZThe average time spent on Facebook a day is about 22 minutes (Females)Nearly 3 in 5 Australians and Kiwis online are now interacting with companies via social media sitesNearly nine in 10 (86%) of Australian’s and New Zealanders look to their fellow Internet users for opinions and information about products, services and brands
- #75 So once you have set up a Brand Page you need to set up a Landing page within your Facebook that is designed to convert as many people who visit it into FANS as possible. And to do that you need to add REALLY STRONG reasons why someone should become a FAN. For example if someone is going to become a FAN, are they going to learn something, are they going to gain something, is there something that becoming a FAN will improve their lives. The better the page, the better the offer is set up to convert visitors into Fans, the more FANS you will receive from all of your efforts. And if you Facebook Landing page converts visitors at twice the rate of your visitors, then you will build FANS at half the cost, which means you can build twice as many FANS as your competition with the same budget. And that is a serious competitive advantage.
- #76 Now for those of you who don’t know what FANS are people who have clicked on the LIKE button on your Facebook page. When they click on the LIKE button, they are subscribing to receive updates from you on their Facebook on their NEWS FEED. Its similar to when someone enters their name and email address on your website to join your email newsletter EXCEPT that it is on Facebook
- #77 Now that you have Fans you want to build a relationship with them so they start to trust and LIKE you.You need to start nurturing the relationship and that is sharing the very best content you have with themContent that add value to their lives and makes it better….and we are in the best industry to do this for we sell pleasure, happiness and well beingThe better the content the more the fans will LIKE you and the more likely that they will SHARE it with their friends and if they SHARE it with their friends then you will really start sharing the power of social media which is leveraging the relationship your fans already have with their friends and family.On the flip side…if you don’t share great content and you just go out there and hard sell travel and promote travel deals only and so on you risk putting off your fans and you risk getting them to click the UNLIKE button which is also on your Facebook page and if they click on the UNLIKE they are saying they don’t want to be your fan anymore and the content that your shared with them will no longer appear on their Facebook page News Feed.Its like when someone unsubscribes from your email marketing.The worse case scenario is that you start to lose fans faster than you build them so the one thing that you want to keep in mind is that you want to share they very best content you can. Content that really adds value to their lives and if you do that everything else will follow.Lets go through some of the top Social Media Content Ideas that have worked for our major clients.
- #78 Mobile is the biggest game changer. It is a reservation tool, a service tool, and an upsell tool… all in one! With advancement of smartphones, the massive quantity of consumers using their devices to research and purchase, and the convenience that is so important to today’s fast-paced consumers, it’s vital that the travel industry is fully embracing this trend. And it’s not really a trend anymore; it’s simply here to stay, and is only growing.
- #80 TripAdvisor rankings are based on their own metric called “The Popularity Index,” a proprietary algorithm that determines rankings based on the quantity, quality and frequency of reviews for any given property. But how exactly does ranking translate to room nights?We’ve known for some time that even a small change in TripAdvisor ranking can have a significant impact on web traffic – the higher the ranking, the higher the traffic to the hotel’s website.But traffic, these days, doesn’t mean much. What we want is qualifiedtraffic. How much of that traffic from TripAdvisor is actually converting online?That’s hard to say, to be honest. It stands to reason, however, that if a large number of people are using TripAdvisor to research your property, then your ranking must play a pretty sizable role in your bookings.To put this theory to the test, we took a random sampling of Fastrack’s client base. The data speaks for itself – the closer a property is to a Number 1 ranking on TripAdvisor for its given market, the greater its direct online bookings.The information breaks down like this:Properties ranked #20 in their market see 10% more directly booked room nights per month versus those ranked #40Properties ranked #10 in their market see 10% more directly booked room nights per month versus those ranked #20Properties ranked #5 in their market see 9% more directly booked room nights per month versus those ranked #10Properties ranked #2 in their market see 7% more directly booked room nights per month versus those ranked #5Properties ranked #1 in their marketing see 11% more directly booked room nights per month versus those ranked #2The graph details the number of room nights booked compared to the property’s ranking on TripAdvisor.What does this all mean exactly?According to our data, efforts to improve a rank from the bottom 25% to the top 25% are beneficial, but additional and greater opportunity for an increase in room nights as a result of improved ranking exists when the new ranking represents the top 20% of any market. Working to increase your TripAdvisor ranking should be a key component in your overall web strategy.Looking even deeper, a review of properties that jumped from a top 5 ranking to a first place ranking reveals that these properties saw massive increases in TripAdvisor referral traffic and, as a result, directly booked room nights.The Popularity Index also relies heavily on the age of reviews; with older reviews carrying less weight than more recent reviews. As a result, a ranking increase (or, heaven forbid, a ranking decrease) can be almost immediate (sample below)
- #81 PopularityTripadvisor is easily one of the most popular travel review sites. Often, consumers check this site in the beginning of their search process to determine where they will stayFound on search engines It ranks well on search engines, often at the top of the pageDialogueOwners have the option to respond directly to consumers (and the general Tripadvisor audience) It’s an open forum for properties and guests to discuss their visit, answer questions and resolve any issuesHotels have a voice on the review site and this can help sway searches to pick a hotel that is attentive and responsive to guestsRankingHotels in a given region are ranked on TripAdvisor by the number of positive reviewsThe more positive, recent and frequent reviews will increase a hotel’s rank on the site. Great tool for hotels to assess and determine where they need to improveCompetitive ResearchHotels can also see information about their direct competitors in the area What are their strengths and weaknesses etc?One Stop ShopTripAdvisor is a recommendation site for travellers looking for where to stay, eat, fly and do in a given destination. It is a comprehensive site where consumers can do all the necessary research and book from there if they wishSo what can I do to increase my TripAdvisor ranking?A TripAdvisor ranking can be quickly improved by:Offering services and amenities above customer expectationsMonitoring and responding to hotel guest reviews (sometimes there are opportunities’ where the customer is still on property)Be honest and forthright with responsesSuggest to customers that they post a review on TripAdvisor – you have to be very careful about how you solicit reviews, though. TripAdvisor has approved free marketing tools available for you if you sign into your listing and click on the aptly named “Free Marketing Tools” button.Ultimately, responding to the feedback in your reviews—either to correct those elements that have drawn the ire of a customer or to support an aspect of your property that has been praised—is the most direct course of action that a hotel can take to increase a TripAdvisor ranking, and probably the most effective.
- #82 A TripAdvisor ranking can be quickly improved by:-Offering services and amenities above customer expectations- Monitoring and responding to hotel guest reviews (sometimes there are opportunities’ where the customer is still on property)- Be honest and forthright with responses- Suggest to customers that they post a review on TripAdvisor – you have to be very careful about how you solicit reviews, though. TripAdvisor has approved free marketing tools available for you if you sign into your listing and click on the aptly named “Free Marketing Tools” button.Ultimately, responding to the feedback in your reviews—either to correct those elements that have drawn the ire of a customer or to support an aspect of your property that has been praised—is the most direct course of action that a hotel can take to increase a TripAdvisor ranking, and probably the most effective.These days, reputation management is no longer an option to an effective online strategy for hotels. In fact, it hasn’t been optional for some time now, as seen here, here, and here.
- #85 Focus on the Direct Online ChannelNEXT SLIDE
- #88 Focus on the Direct Online ChannelIndependent hotels are overly OTA-dependent.Independent hotels have traditionally been easy prey for the OTAs due to lack of focus in and understanding of the economics and cost-effectiveness of the direct online channel, as well as ignorance of basic online distribution rules such as rate parity, and weak negotiating power with the OTAs. Last year, for example, more than 76 percent of online bookings for non-branded hotels came from the OTAs and just 24 percent came from the hotels’ own websites (STR, HSMAI FoundationThis isn’t to say hoteliers are not in a position to put up a fight. Rising travel demand means that OTAs’ commissions are already shrinking due to push back from major hotel brands and the industry as a whole. Hoteliers have realized that flash sales sites and last-minute discounters are bad for business and lead to severe price and brand erosion and loss in business in other channels. Contracts with the OTAs are up for renewal this year and the major hotel brands should be pushing for commissions below 15 percent. Independent hoteliers should not pay commissions above 20 percent. I pray that you finally put a stop to this extraordinary leak in revenues to the OTAs and third parties?Independent hoteliers must budget for a major expansion in their direct online channel efforts in 2013 if they want to decrease their over-dependence on the OTAsNEXT BULLET POINTBranded hotels are overly brand-dependent.Major hotel brands are doing a good job of brand building and online marketing at global and national levels, but simply do not have the bandwidth to cover regional, state and local markets. Branded and franchised hotels that are over-reliant on their brands’ online marketing efforts are missing out on serious incremental online revenues from local, state and regional initiatives. For example, TA Fastrack has a number of very pro-active franchised hotel clients, which consistently enjoy higher revenues from their vanity websites than from Brand.com.Hoteliers – branded or independent – must focus on the direct online channel. This means employing best practices in the online distribution channel and increasing direct online revenues via hotel website re-designs and enhancements; allocating funds to SEO, SEM, re-targeting, mobile marketing, etc.; and utilizing the OTAs only as part of a balanced distribution strategy.
- #89 Maintain Rate ParityBetween January – June 201260-87% of 3-star hotels were cheaper on OTA sites75-93% of 4-star hotel were cheaper on OTA sites69-86% of 5-star hotels were cheaper on OTA sitesMaintain a thorough rate parity strategyInclude a BEST RATE GUARANTEEAll changes to reservations and special request MUST be through the hotel - The hotel provides superior customer service, NOT the OTA’sAll publicly available rates include 24-hour OTA sales and flash sites MUST be available on your hotel website and online booking engine
- #90 Market to International VisitorsAnalyse foreign tourist arrivals to determine top 10 international feeder and demand markets Implement 5-10 page optimised foreign language translations for market with most potential and existing demandTranslate booking engine tooImplement foreign language SEM campaigns on Google and Bing that land on translate site.Implement listing on worldwide travel directoriesUse OTA’s with high market shares in foreign countries such as Booking.com and Expedia.comUse the OTA Channel CorrectlyFocus on the ones that are providing you with most bookingsInclude in all contracts that neither OTAs nor their affiliates may bid on branded keywords in SEM campaignsMaking the most of visual merchandisingUse strict rate parity with OTAs; monitor their attempts to sell ‘lower’ rates for your property by reducing their commissionsUse OTAs for NEED periods: week-ends, group cancellations, low season NOT as a replacementUse a sale on a OTA ONLY as a last resort; equally promoted on your own website
- #92 Market to International VisitorsAnalyse foreign tourist arrivals to determine top 10 international feeder and demand markets Implement 5-10 page optimised foreign language translations for market with most potential and existing demandTranslate booking engine tooImplement foreign language SEM campaigns on Google and Bing that land on translate site.Implement listing on worldwide travel directoriesUse OTA’s with high market shares in foreign countries such as Booking.com and Expedia.comUse the OTA Channel CorrectlyFocus on the ones that are providing you with most bookingsInclude in all contracts that neither OTAs nor their affiliates may bid on branded keywords in SEM campaignsMaking the most of visual merchandisingUse strict rate parity with OTAs; monitor their attempts to sell ‘lower’ rates for your property by reducing their commissionsUse OTAs for NEED periods: week-ends, group cancellations, low season NOT as a replacementUse a sale on a OTA ONLY as a last resort; equally promoted on your own website
- #94 Mobile is the biggest game changer. It is a reservation tool, a service tool, and an upsell tool… all in one! With advancement of smartphones, the massive quantity of consumers using their devices to research and purchase, and the convenience that is so important to today’s fast-paced consumers, it’s vital that the travel industry is fully embracing this trend. And it’s not really a trend anymore; it’s simply here to stay, and is only growing.
- #97 Go through each BULLET pointNaturally, “fixing” the hotel website remains of paramount importance to hoteliers. Anything you do online today – from social media to banner advertising to email marketing – leads back to the hotel website. The results in favour of SEO and SEM show that hoteliers are paying attention to the importance of search engines for revenue generation, and how changes in the search engine algorithms affect their SEO strategies, and therefore we see an increase in budgets dedicated to SEO and Local Search.NEXT SLIDE
- #98 What about all of the “hot” initiatives like social media and mobile? Hoteliers are ranking the following strategies in the top 10 initiatives they will be spending theirmarketing dollars on in 2013 , immediately after the five “core” initiatives I mentioned aboveREAD BULLET POINTS
- #99 Ok that’s the end of Phase 4. Can I ask everyone to spend 5 mins and total up each column into the Section totals then summarise any high and medium priority tasks. Then calculate your final totals from each phase and identify the 3 items you plan to implement.