This document provides recommendations for implementing an effective e-distribution strategy for Villa Marina Lodge in Panama. It recommends using a channel manager and property management system to automate bookings across online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com and Expedia. Practicing basic revenue management techniques, like dynamic pricing and length of stay restrictions, can help increase occupancy and room rates. Implementing these changes could lead to an estimated $10,746 in additional monthly revenue for the lodge.

1. Spread the awareness, get together and act for a responsible tourism.
How to Implement a
Successful
E-Distribution
Strategy at Villa
Marina Lodge ?
Become Hopinoer
Hopineo for Villa Marina Lodge – November 2014

2. Introduction : Market Segments to
Target
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?
Market Share
Market Growth
You’re working already well with this high potential segment,
continue investing and developing it.
You’re working already well with this low future potential
segment, continue working with them but stop investing on it.
There is a great potential, but it needs you to start investing
on it, do you want to go for it?
Low potential, forget about it.
 DMC for international couples & families
Booking in direct and through OTA
International and National Indiv. interested in :
 Fishing
 Marine Life
 Bird-Watching & Photography
 Honeymoon
 Surfing (with higher budget)
 National from the capital weekends / holidays
 Surfers backpackers
 Groups of national guests (friends)
 Walk-in tourists with car rental

3. Introduction : Marketing Action Plan
• Online Distribution (Booking Button & OTAs)
• Dynamic vs Static Pricing
• Cancelation Policy
• Restrictions (MLOS)
• Smart Packages
• Rooms Category and Inventory
• Guests Reviews (TripAdvisor & OTAs)
4. Revenue
Management
3. Hotel
Website
& SEO
2.
Positioning
& Guest Experience
1. Clear Understanding of the Market
→ Next Step !
OK
OK
OK
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4. How to Implement a Successful
E-Distribution Strategy
at Villa Marina Lodge ?
1. Use a Channel Manager
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and PMS
2. Start Selling through OTA
(Online Travel Agencies)
3. Practice Basic
Revenue Management

5. 1.1 Channel Manager & PMS : What are
these ?
Hotel own website
(thanks to a booking button…)
OTA’s = Online Travel Agencies
Reservation Delivery Rates & Availability
PMS =
Property
Management
System
Wholesalers
(Hotel Beds…)
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GDS
(Amadeus, Sabre…)
Channel
Manager
(Booking.com, Expedia…)

6. 1.2 Channel Manager & PMS : Which
Benefits ?
• Push up occupancy and rates (Revenue Management) by:
• Playing with rates : adopt a dynamic pricing strategy.
• Playing with length of stay restrictions.
• Sell on more OTA, increasing your online visibility.
• Allowing guests to book directly through the hotel website.
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Increase
Revenue
• Adjust inventories on real time automatically: no over-bookings.
• Avoid human mistakes by automatizing recurring tasks.
• Track your performance, get statistics, adjust your actions.
Gain
Efficiency
• Centralize and automatize recurring tasks:
• No need to log-in to each extranet one by one.
• Update rates and inventories in one click on all channels.
• No need to copy guests booking info : direct into the PMS.
• Guests can check availability and rates alone: less emails.
Save
Time
$

7. 1.3 Which ones to choose ?
• Between 80$ and 350$ / month.
• Different pricing models: fix set up cost, monthly fix or % fees ? Price
• Find a channel manager which can be connected to your PMS if you
have already one.
There a plenty of different Channel Managers and PMS solutions.
You can ask Ben from Hotelminder, he’s an expert and can help you in making the good choice
and setting up the whole thing : ben@hotelminder.com
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Compatibilit
y
• Possibility of connecting all the OTA Channels on which you want to sell ?
• Depending of your property specificities and the level of revenue
management you want to practice.
Funcionaliti
es

8. 1.4 Possible Solutions for Villla Marina
Lodge
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PMS
Channel
Manager
Estimate
d cost /
month
Comments
1 350$
The best of the best
for RM*
2 150$ Ok for basic RM
3 80$
No Yielding
(dynamic pricing)
*RM: Revenue Management.

9. 2.1 OTA : Online Travel Agencies
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What are these ?
 Websites allowing travelers to compare hotel room rates and book through them in exchange
of a commission paid by the hotel (15-20%).
Why selling through OTA ?
 Increase your online presence and visibility for guests making searches on Google.
 Get more booking opportunities.
 Attract rate sensitive guests adopting a smart dynamic pricing strategy.
 Show up in “book a hotel” section of famous travel websites like Lonely Planet or Frommers.

10. 2.2 OTA Analysis for Playa Venao,
Panama
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OTA
#
Hotels
Playa
Venao
Playa
Venao
Hotel
Resort
El Sitio
de Playa
Venao
Selina
Beach
Break
Hotel &
Surf
Camp
Villa
Pelicano
(Las
Tablas)
Posada
Los
Destilade
ros
(Pedasi)
1 6
n/a
26 r
109$
45 r
96$
30 r
80$
34 r
150$
45 r
120$
14 r
2 3
180$
11 r
99$
n/a
12$
new
3 2 140$ 74$
4 2 180$ 90$
5
*Rates for Double Room on Sun. 8th Feb 2015.

11. 2.3 Main OTA : Booking.com
→ Originally based in the Netherlands.
→ Owned and Operated now by Priceline, based in the USA.
→ One unique travel booking site.
→ + 200 countries.
→ #1 Worldwide
Link to list your property : https://join.booking.com
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12. 2.4 Main OTA : Expedia
→ Headquarter: USA
→ + 150 travel booking sites.
→ + 70 countries.
→ # 2 Worldwide
Link to list your property : https://join.expediapartnercentral.com
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13. → Headquarter: Netherlands
→ One unique travel booking site.
→ + 120 000 hotels partners
→ In Top 6 Worldwide
Link to list your property : http://hotelpartner.easytobook.com/?amu=280823224
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13
2.5 Main OTA : Easy to Book

14. → Headquarter: Argentina
→ One unique travel booking site.
→ # 1 in Latin America (21 countries)
Link to list your property : http://comercial.despegar.com/pa/advertisehotel
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14
2.6 Main OTA : Despegar

15. Become Hopinoer
What is that ?
→ Revenue Management is the art of increasing your hotel incomes by pushing up :
 Occupancy in low season.
 ADR (Average Daily Rate) in high season.
The main KPI (=Key Performance Indicator) to watch out for your hotel is the
RevPar : Room Revenue Per Available Room
15
3.1 Revenue Management : Objective
Occupancy
%
Average
Daily Rate
$
RevPar
$

16. Become Hopinoer
* LOS= Lenght of sStay
16
3.2 Revenue Management : Toolbox
Dynamic
Pricing
Room
Categori
es
LOS*
Restricti
ons
Cancelati
on
Policy
Package
s &
Promotio
ns
UpSales

17. 3.3 Revenue Management :
Recommendations for Villa Marina
Lodge • Rooms Superior : starting from 95$
• Rooms Deluxe : starting from 130$
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Dynamic
Pricing &
Categories
• Stay 4 nights, get a free sunset meal for two.
• At each new booking received, send an email back with offer for
one more night.
Packages &
Promotions
• Be very clear about your cancelation and modification policy.
• Make special rates with no-refundable policy at J-30
Cancelation
Policy
• Put minimum Length of Stay (LOS) restriction on busy week-ends
(2 nights minimum on Saturdays).
LOS
Restrictions
• Offer to guests on arrival to get an upgrade for only 20$ more (if
avail).
• Offer clearly set of activities and restaurant food & beverage. UpSales

18. 3.4 Revenue Management: Financial
Projections
# rooms : 9 Occ % ADR $ RevPar $
Monthly
Rev $
Additional
Monthly Rev $
12% $ 135 $ 16 $ 4 374
Optimistic 40% $ 140 $ 56 $ 15 120 $ 10 746
Normal 30% $ 125 $ 38 $ 10 125 $ 5 751
Pessimistic 20% $ 115 $ 23 $ 6 210 $ 1 836
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Current Results
Projection

19. To Go Further with your Marketing
Strategy…
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Billboard Effect
 1/3 of the visitors on OTA sites will go check the hotel website either for more information, larger photos or to
compare rates.
 1/3 will go and search for the hotel on Social Media sites to find out what others are saying about the hotel, they
will either go back to the OTA or search for your hotel.
 1/3 of the guests on your website will go to OTAs to find out if rates or sales conditions are better or if booking
process is easier. Or will go there because they are used to dealing with OTAs
Read these two articles :
http://www.wihphotels.com/publication/hotel-distribution-and-the-billboard-effect/
http://www.xotels.com/en/marketing/case-studies-in-hotel-internet-marketing

20. To Go Further with your Marketing
Strategy…
5. Sales & Communication
4. Revenue Management
3. Hotel
Website
& SEO
2.
Positioning
& Guest Experience
1. Clear Understanding of the Market
→ Next Step !
OK
OK
OK
OK
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• Tour Operators & DMC
• Events Agencies
• Social Media
• Blogs & Magazines
• Travel Forums

21. This document was elaborated for the Villa Marina Lodge, Panama,
in a serie of works and studies allowing tourism professional to make their activity more sustainable.
What is missing? Which improvments could be done?
Please, feel to free to share with us your feedback to continue
building together a better future for Hopineo, its partners, and more globally
for a more responsible tourism.
Contact :
Florie Thielin
floriethielin@gmail.com
www.hopineo.org
www.thehospitalitytour.com
www.facebook.com/thehospitalitytour
« The recognition of tourism as an economic powerhouse and contributor to all three pillars of sustainable
development – economic, environmental and social – underlined the enduring relevance of UNWTO’s mission to
promote responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. »
World Tourism Organization, 2013
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